Xi Shi, one of the Four Beauties in ancient China, was a legendary beauty of the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC). She was so beautiful that all the other girls dreamt to be as beautiful as she was.

However, she would often put her hands on her bosom and had a frown on her face as she often suffered from pains in her chest. An ugly girl who lived nearby saw her and thought that she looked very beautiful that way. Therefore, when she went out, she also put her hands on her bosom and had a frown on her face.

However, no one wanted to see her and they all believed that she was even ugly with that pose. As she lived in the east of the village, what she did was called Dong Shi (Miss East) aping the frown of Xishi.