Chinese legend · 声匠改编 · 3:58
The Butterfly Lovers
Yingtai dresses as a boy to go to school, and her best friend Shanbo never guesses her secret. China's Butterfly Lovers legend, gently retold.
Narrator
Zhu Yingtai
Liang Shanbo
Squire Zhu
YinxinOther languages · 2 languages
About this story
The Butterfly Lovers, the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, is one of China's Four Great Folk Legends and is often called the Chinese Romeo and Juliet. One of the earliest surviving mentions is in a Tang-dynasty geography by Liang Zaiyan, which records that the two share a tomb; the butterfly ending appears later and spread widely in Ming and Qing times. This retelling follows the best-loved scenes from Chinese opera: Yingtai in disguise, the sworn brothers, three years at school, the long farewell walk, the meeting at her home and the butterflies.
What it teaches
It is a story about friendship, love and courage: Yingtai dares to dress as a boy to get an education and stays true to her heart to the end. It also invites children to think about how unfair it was when young people had no say in who they married.
Suits
Ages 7 and up; best shared with a grown-up
Tips for telling it
- On the farewell walk, pause after each of Yingtai's hints and let your child guess what she is really trying to say.
- Tell Shanbo's death briefly and gently, and let the ending land on the two of them finally free together.
- Afterwards, play part of the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto; its melody follows this very story.
Questions people ask
- What is the story of the Butterfly Lovers?
- Zhu Yingtai disguises herself as a young man to study, becomes sworn brothers with Liang Shanbo and studies beside him for three years. When he finally understands and comes to propose, she has been promised to another man; Shanbo dies of grief, and on her wedding day Yingtai joins him in his grave, and the two rise as butterflies.
- Where and when is the Butterfly Lovers set?
- The legend is set in the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420), with Yingtai from Shangyu in Zhejiang province and the two studying in Hangzhou. One of the earliest written records, from the Tang dynasty, says the two lovers were buried in the same tomb.
- What is the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto?
- It is a famous Chinese violin concerto written in 1959 by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, built on melodies from Yue opera. It follows the story scene by scene, from the sworn brotherhood and the farewell to the transformation into butterflies.
- Why is it called the Chinese Romeo and Juliet?
- Like Shakespeare's play, it is about two young people kept apart by their families' plans who are united only in death. The Chinese legend is centuries older and ends with the lovers flying away as butterflies.
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