There were many historical women famous for their beauty, some of whom became scapegoats for public criticism for destroying counties. However, there were also men who were also engraved into the history books for their pretty faces and incredible charm. The legends about them were no less dramatic.
Pan An (潘安)
Pan Yue, also known as Pan An, a famous litterateur in Jin Dynasty, might be the most famous handsome man in China. His reputation spread so widely that people used "look like Pan An (貌若潘安)" as a compliment. The extent of his attractiveness can be derived from a story called "throw fruits into a carriage until it is full (掷果盈车)".
It was said that every time Pan went out, people would run after his carriage, trying to sneak a peek at him. Apparently, the number of his fanatic fans was so large that not everyone could approach him. So the dedicated, of course mostly women, found a creative way to express their admiration—throwing fresh fruits onto Pan's carriage. Nobody knows whether Pan was ever hit by the fruit, but every trip outside was a harvest for him.
However, Pan was famous not only for his appearance but also his literature prowess. Equal in popularity with another litterateur, Lu Ji, there was a saying that "Lu's literary talent is like a sea; Pan's literary talent is like a river (陆才如海,潘才如江)".
Wei Jie (卫玠)
Wei Jie, Jin Dynasty, was recognized as a pretty boy at the age of five. His grandfather said that Wei was good-looking in a different way and he was very sorry that he was too old to live until Wei grew up. When Wei was a teenager, he went onto the street in a goat-carriage, people all thought he was a statue made of jade. Even his uncle, General Wang Ji, who was also extremely handsome, said that hanging out with Wei was like "putting a gleaming pearl beside me (珠玉在侧)".
Needless to say, such a stunning appearance attracted crazy fans too. When Wei travelled from Yuzhang to Jianye, people eager to look at him gathered together and blocked the street. But maybe because beauty is always fragile, people's craze for Wei led to his tragedy. Since Wei had been weak in health since birth, after being watched for several days, he became sick and died later. People described his death as "Wei Jie was watched to death (看杀卫玠)". Perhaps it was the most bizarre death one could imagine, but for a pretty handsome guy, it seemed to be a little… romantic.
Prince Lanling (兰陵王)
Gao Changgong, in the North Qi Kingdom of the southern and northern dynasties, the forth son of Emperor Wenxiang, also known as Prince Lanling (兰陵王), was famous for his diligence, modesty, military talent and, of course, charming looks.
But not everyone was lucky enough to witness his charm. It was said that as a military general his face too pretty to scare enemies, so he had to wear an ugly mask in battles. After a victorious battle, his soldiers composed a song and dance "Prince Lanling in Battle (兰陵王入阵曲)" praising the magnificent Prince. Later, it became an imperial court dance in the Sui Dynasty, and it was even introduced to Japan, where it has been preserved and performed to this day.
