Wong Tai Sin lot 59 of 100
Dong Shi copies the frown
Lowest (下下). Grade as given on the named web transcriptions. We have not seen it on a temple printing, and we do not know that the temple prints one.
涴溪紗女美無雙
媚至吳王國破亡
最惱東施效顰笑
山雞豈可勝鸞凰
The gauze-washing girl by the stream was beautiful beyond compare.
Her charm reached the king of Wu, and his state was destroyed.
Most annoying is Dong Shi, copying her frown.
How can a mountain pheasant outdo a phoenix?
What this lot says
Two warnings in one verse: beauty and charm can bring a ruler down, and imitation of someone else's manner makes a person look foolish.
It is graded lowest. As a prompt, it says to be yourself, and to beware of copying what only works for someone else.
A lot is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
The story behind it
Dong Shi copies the frown (東施效顰)
A traditional allusion named with this lot. We have not traced the story to a source we could read, so we do not retell it here.
Where this text comes from
This verse is a traditional temple text with no known author, here read from named web transcriptions. We compared the sites character by character and show every difference. We could not establish whether the sites are independent of one another, and we have not read a temple printing.
Fortune Sticks (fortunesticks.org) (the text shown above)
涴溪紗女美無雙 / 媚至吳王國破亡 / 最惱東施效顰笑 / 山雞豈可勝鸞凰
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Luckeyes (算命眼, luckeyes.com)
浣溪紗女美無雙 / 媚至吳王國破亡 / 最惱東施效顰笑 / 山雞豈可勝鸞凰
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Andy.hk (加賀風水)
涴溪紗女美無雙 / 媚至吳王國破亡 / 最惱東施效顰笑 / 山雞豈可勝鸞凰
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Where the sources differ
- Line 1, character 1: fortunesticks.org and andy.hk read 涴; luckeyes.com reads 浣. This is a different character.
- The allusion in the lot title: fortunesticks.org and luckeyes.com name it 東施效顰; andy.hk names it 西施澣紗.
- The allusion in the lot title: the temple's website (Sik Sik Yuen, taonet.siksikyuen.org.hk) names it 吳王寵西施.
English translation and commentary are by Cast & Chart.