love greeto's blog: The Butterfly Lovers

The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo (梁山伯) and Zhu Yingtai (祝英台), whose names form the title of the story. The title is often abbreviated to Liang Zhu (梁祝) and often regarded as the Chinese equivalent of Romeo and Juliet.

Six cities in China have collaborated in 2004 on a formal application for the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on the legend at UNESCO, submitted in 2006 through the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

Legend

The legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is set in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Zhu Yingtai is a beautiful and intelligent young woman, the ninth child and only daughter of the wealthy Zhu family of Shangyu, Zhejiang. Although traditions of that era discourage females from going to school, Zhu manages to convince her father to allow her to attend classes in disguise as a young man. During her journey to Hangzhou, she meets Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing). They chat and feel a strong affinity for each other at their first meeting. Hence, they gather some soil as incense and take an oath of fraternity in the pavilion of a thatched bridge.

They study together for the next three years in school and Zhu gradually falls in love with Liang. Although Liang equals Zhu in their studies, he is still a bookworm and fails to notice the feminine characteristics exhibited by his classmate.

One day, Zhu receives a letter from her father, asking her to return home as soon as possible. Zhu has no choice but to pack her belongings immediately and bid Liang farewell. However, in her heart, she has already confessed her love for Liang and is determined to be with him for all eternity. Before her departure, she reveals her true identity to the headmaster's wife and requests her to hand over a jade pendant to Liang as a betrothal gift.

Liang accompanies his "sworn brother" for 18 miles to see her off. During the journey, Zhu hints to Liang that she is actually a woman. For example, she compares them to a pair of mandarin ducks (a symbol of lovers in Chinese culture), but Liang does not catch her hints and does not even have the slightest suspicion that his companion is a woman in disguise. Zhu finally comes up with an idea and tells Liang that she will act as a matchmaker for him and his "sister". Before they part, Zhu reminds Liang to visit her residence later so he can propose to marry her "sister." Liang and Zhu reluctantly part ways at the Changting pavilion.

Months later, when Liang visits Zhu, he discovers that she is actually a woman. They are devoted to and passionate about each other and they make a vow of "till death do us part". The joy of their reunion is short-lived as Zhu's parents have already arranged for her to marry a man from a rich family called Ma Wencai. Liang is heartbroken when he hears the news and his health gradually deteriorates until he becomes critically ill. He dies in office later as a county magistrate.

On the day of Ma and Zhu's marriage, mysterious whirlwinds prevent the wedding procession from escorting the bride beyond Liang's grave, which lies along the journey. Zhu leaves the procession to pay her respects to Liang. She descends in bitter despair and begs for the grave to open up. Suddenly, the grave opens with a clap of thunder. Without further hesitation, Zhu throws herself into the grave to join Liang. Their spirits turn into a pair of beautiful butterflies and emerge from the grave. They fly away together as a pair of butterflies and are never to be separated again.

Historical accounts

The earliest record of the legend can be traced back to the late Tang Dynasty. In Shidao Sifan Zhi (十道四蕃志), the author Liang Zaiyan (梁載言) wrote

The righteous woman Zhu Yingtai was buried together with Liang Shanbo.

In Xuanshi Zhi (宣室志), the author Zhang Du (張讀) wrote

Yingtai, a daughter of the Zhu family of Shangyu, disguised herself as a man and attended school together with Liang Shanbo from Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing). Shanbo's style name was "Churen". Zhu returned home first. Two years later, Shanbo visited her and only knew that she was a woman then. He was disappointed and felt as though he had made a loss. He asked her parents for her hand in marriage but her family had already betrothed her to the Ma family. Shanbo assumed office as a magistrate in Yin (鄞; in present-day western Ningbo) and died of illness later and was buried west of the city of Mao (鄮, in eastern Ningbo). Zhu was on her journey to the Ma residence by boat and passed by Liang's grave. The strong wind and waves prevent the boat from advancing. After learning that it was Shanbo's grave, she set foot on land and broke down. The ground suddenly cracked open and Zhu was buried within. Jin Dynasty chancellor Xie An proclaimed the grave as "Tomb of the righteous woman".

The legend was also recorded in various official records such as Yinxian Zhi (鄞縣志), Ningbofu Zhi (寧波府志) and Yixing Jingxi Xinzhi (宜興荊溪新志).

Liang-Zhu Cultural Park

The Liang Shanbo Temple built in 347 by the locals in memory of Liang Shanbo, who had contributed greatly during his term in office as a magistrate to resolving the problems caused by the flooding of the river. The Liang-Zhu Cultural Park in Ningbo was built by the locals, with the love story as its main theme. The "Liang-Zhu Tomb" (梁祝塚), "Liang Shanbo Temple" (梁山伯廟), "Husband and Wife Bridge" (夫妻橋) and Qin Gong (寢宮) are officially recognized by the Chinese Liang-Zhu Culture Association as culturally significant sites for the birth of the legend.

Artistic interpretations

Stage plays and operas

The legend had been adapted into traditional Chinese opera in several local varieties, as Liang Zhu in Yue opera (also called Shaoxing opera) and In the Shade of the Willow (柳蔭記) in Sichuan opera. The Yue opera version was made into a colour motion picture in the 1950s in China. The filming by the Ministry of Culture and the East China Military and Political Commission took place in Zhu's legendary hometown of Shangyu.

Based on the romance, the Shaw Brothers Studio also produced Love Eterne, a film in Huangmei opera directed by Li Han-hsiang in 1962, starring Ivy Ling Po and Betty Loh.

In 1981, Jann Paxton conceived a full length ballet, titled The Butterfly Lovers Ballet, which made its official United States premiere in 1982 at the Agnes de Mille Theatre by the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The leading roles were played by Sean Hayes and Alicia Fowler. Paxton's story line followed the classic Chinese version, but with the addition of several supporting characters.

In May 2001, a group of students from the University of Oxford formed the Liang Zhu Drama Production Company, and rewrote the whole story into a contemporary drama that was performed in English.

A Cantonese stage musical was produced in 2005, featuring pop singer-actress Denise Ho as the title role.

The story has been adapted into Vietnamese Cai Luong a number of times, with its Sino-Vietnamese title as "Lương Sơn Bá-Chúc Anh Đài. The story's ending is similar to the original one but with some differences. The leading roles have been played by Vietnamese actors and actresses such as Hương Lan, Phi Nhung, Tái Linh, Phương Mai, Mạnh Quỳnh and Vũ Linh.