The timeline of Xi Shi's life spans from near the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (circa 722-481 BCE) and early beginnings of the Warring States Period (circa 775-221 BCE). Though we cannot pin-point her exact date of birth, we can certainly assume that she was real through the legend that she had left behind. Why I picked Xi Shi instead of a million other women that brought the downfall of a state, I do not know, as we do not know why we pick blue or pink as our favorite colors. Maybe it is because the story of Xi Shi is well-known, and she is considered one of the four beauties of ancient China (the others, I believe, were Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan and Yang Guifei [1]). Perhaps, it is intriguing since there are questions about how the legend of Xi Shi should end. What would Disney do to the legend? This is my interpretation of Xi Shi's tale [2].

Xi Shi was a native of the state of Yue. Since it is necessary to focus on her life, we will momentarily ignore the fact that Xi Shi's native state was brutally defeated by the state of Wu in 494 BCE. Fu Chai, the King of Wu, had the chance to avenge his father's death and kill Gou Jian, the King of Yue, however, he opted to spare the state of Yue. His (the King of Wu's) most trusted advisor, Wu Zixu, warned him that showing mercy to Yue will later cause trouble. As the ancient saying goes, "Junzi [nobleman/gentleman], ten years later for revenge isn't too late."

After three years of servitude in the state of Wu, Gou Jian returned home along with those that accompanied him during the hardship (that would be his wife and one of his advisors). There, while the façade showed Yue being the humbled vassal state, Gou Jian was rebuilding his army to defeat Wu once and for all. General Wen Zhong (who governed Yue while Gou Jian was in exile at Wu) came up with a number of ways to deceive Wu, and one of them was to distract Fu Chai with a number of beautiful women from Yue.

It was Gou Jian's advisor, Fan Li (the advisor who followed him to the three years in Wu), who found Xi Shi. The process of selecting the women was long, however, rest assured that Xi Shi passed with flying colors.

A few years passed, and Xi Shi became Fu Chai's number one object of affection. He was infatuated with her so much that when Wu Zixu suggested attacking Yue instead of Chu (another advisor by the name of Bo Pi--he, ironically, was from the same state of Chu that Wu Zixu originated from [3]--had suggested earlier that Wu attack Chu instead of Yue), he had Wu Zixu commit suicide.

When 482 BCE came around, "while the King of Wu was away at a conference of rulers to discuss control of the central plain, Yue launched a surprise attack on Wu, inflicting heavy casualties. Nine years later Yue won a decisive victory. When the King of Yue decreed that Fu Chai be sent to lifelong exile to an island in the sea. the latter in shame cut his own throat." [4] Thus the story of Wu-Yue concludes.

It is widely known that Fan Li and Xi Shi were in love with each other from the moment they first met. Some have said that they left the politics of the times, and lived remotely happily ever after. Alas, it is a shame that the Disney ending that we seek cannot be found. After the fall of Wu, Xi Shi was summoned to Gou Jian's court. Being enchanted with her, he took her as his concubine. Whether its jealousy of Gou Jian's primary wife or not being able to be with Fan Li as the cause of an ending, we have an epilogue that follows the fall of Wu. Xi Shi drowns in the river and dies.