Guangzhou Daily first used the term to reference Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun, and Xu Jinglei in July 2000, when they were all in their 20s.
[6][7] Shu Qi (born 1974), a Taiwanese-Hong Kong actress who gained fame in late '90s Hong Kong cinema, and Tang Wei (born 1979), a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama who gained fame through Lust, Caution (2007), were sometimes mentioned together as "Four Dan Two Bing One Shu One Tang" (四旦双冰一舒一汤).
[11][12] In August 2016, Southern Metropolis Daily conducted a survey among 173 million netizens and 110 professional media and industry insiders.
In addition, in the early 1990s, Hong Kong's most popular male stars were collectively referred to as the "Four Heavenly Kings" (Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai).
Later, Taiwan also introduced four male idols labelled "Four Younger Heavenly Kings" (Alec Su, Nicky Wu, Jimmy Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro).