西施的故事，誕生于那段“生聚教训”的经典历史中。从顾盼生辉的浣纱女，到变身吴宫妃，关于西施的这一部分隐秘计谋，越人不会在自己的史书中记载。故纸堆里的这位美人，身影始终模糊。

大凡“美人计”中主角，都不会留下一个好的名声，西施缘何在历代都成为一个例外？千百年来，西施的传说令人津津乐道无穷期，她的形象，渐渐借由文学的想象空间和细节描写，不断地被丰富，成为了一份珍贵的越文化遗产。

本期视点从历史文献、古书考证、人文地理、风情美食等角度，对西施的故事，作出多元解读。

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.