To Make The Fish Sink And The Goose Fall

During the Spring and Autumn Period, there lived in the state of Yue a beautiful girl named Shi Shr. Everyday, Shi Shr would go to the river with a group of girls to wash yarn. When the fish in the river saw how beautiful Shi Shr was, then forgot to swim and down to the bottom of the water, ashamed. Later, the king of Yue gave Shi Shr to the king of Wu, who made her his constant companion. Because she was so beautiful, the king was unable to concentrate on the affairs of the state, and the state of Wu was soon destroyed.

Wang Jau-jun was another beautiful girl, who lived during the Han dynasty. In order to avoid going to war, the Han emperor sent Wang Jau-jun to the king who wanted to fight him. Wang Jau-jun was on her way to the enemy state, when she was spotted by a goose which was flying overhead. The goose was staring so intently at Wang Jau-jun that it was not watching were it was flying, and fell into a forest.

Today, a girl who is very beautiful can be said to "make the fish sink and the goose fall."

沈魚落雁

宋之問〈浣紗篇〉形容的美女，是春秋時代越國的女子西施。傳說西施在溪邊浣紗，溪水倒映著她婀娜多姿的身影，美麗動人，連溪水中的游魚看了都忘了游水，結果魚兒竟然慢慢地沈到水底。當地人見此狀無不嘖嘖稱奇，就送給西施「沈魚」的美號。

至於「落雁」，有人認為指的是王昭君，據說，漢朝皇帝為了不打仗，和敵人講和，就把王昭君迫婚於單于，在送王昭君去北方的路上，被天空飛的大雁看見了。怎料，飛雁只顧著看漂亮的王昭君，竟忘了拍振翅膀而跌落到樹林裡。