Four Dan Actresses (四旦 or 四大名旦 or 四小名旦 or 四大花旦 or 四小花旦) is a Chinese term referring to the four most
bankable young actresses from
Mainland China in the early 2000s:
Zhang Ziyi,
Zhao Wei,
Zhou Xun and
Xu Jinglei, then all in their 20s. The designation was first made by a
Guangzhou Daily editorial in July 2000. It gained widespread use in the China following a series of interviews on
Southern Metropolis Daily from December 2001 to January 2002. As expected, the four actresses dominated
Chinese cinema in the following decade with varying degrees of success.