西施的故事，誕生于那段“生聚教訓(xùn)”的經(jīng)典歷史中。從顧盼生輝的浣紗女，到變身吳宮妃，關(guān)于西施的這一部分隱秘計(jì)謀，越人不會(huì)在自己的史書(shū)中記載。故紙堆里的這位美人，身影始終模糊。

大凡“美人計(jì)”中主角，都不會(huì)留下一個(gè)好的名聲，西施緣何在歷代都成為一個(gè)例外？千百年來(lái)，西施的傳說(shuō)令人津津樂(lè)道無(wú)窮期，她的形象，漸漸借由文學(xué)的想象空間和細(xì)節(jié)描寫(xiě)，不斷地被豐富，成為了一份珍貴的越文化遺產(chǎn)。

本期視點(diǎn)從歷史文獻(xiàn)、古書(shū)考證、人文地理、風(fēng)情美食等角度，對(duì)西施的故事，作出多元解讀。

Xi Shi： Her Beauty worth All Poetic Words

Xi Shis story is closely associated with the famous fall and rise of the Yue State more than 2，000 years ago. In that legend， she morphed from a clothe-washing village girl to a concubine in the palace of the Wu State. The historians of the Yue State were all hush-hush about the critical role Xi Shi played in a scheme that eventually toppled the Wu State. That is probably why the ancient history gives only vague descriptions about the beauty. This conspicuous silence gave rise to numerous folk tales and unofficial history and inspired stories and opera plays to recreate the beautys life. Four articles in this issue of Cultural Dialogue examine the legacy of Xi Shi from the perspectives of history， ancient literature， culture， geography， and culinary art.