Wednesday 18 June 2014

Butterfly Lovers 梁祝

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.

The legend is set in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, about 1600 years ago. In order to pursue her academic success, Zhu Yingtai decided to go to Hangzhou to attend classes in disguise as a young man. During her journey to Hangzhou, she met Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Kuaiji. They studied together for the next three years and Zhu gradually fell in love with Liang. But Zhu is a bookworm and failed to notice it. Later, after being clear about Zhu`s love to him, he headed for the Zhu`s family to propose marriage. Unfortunately, Zhu had been betrothed by her father to another man named Ma Wencai. Liang was so grieved that he suffered decease and finally died. On the day of Ma and Zhu’s marriage, Zhu went to Liang’s tomb to show respect to him. She was very grieved and begged for the grave to open up. After a while, the tomb opened as she wished and Zhu threw herself into it without any hesitation. Later on, the lovers turned into a pair of beautiful butterflies and flied wing to wing and would never to be separated again.

The Sino-Italian love culture festival was held Wednesday in the northern Italian city of Verona, co-sponsored by the municipal governments Verona and east China's Ningbo city. As the fictitious hometown of Romeo and Juliet, leading characters in Shakespeare's famous play Romeo and Juliet, Verona is one of the most ancient and beautiful cities in Italy. Ningbo is also a city in east China's Zhejiang province, where the Chinese classical romantic tragedy Butterfly Lovers, or Liang Zhu, took place. The Butterfly Lovers is also known as China's play of Romeo and Juliet. A white marble statue portraying Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the two lovers who eventually turned into butterflies, was placed in the square in front of the Juliet Museum in central Verona during the festival. Fifteen couples from Ningbo in Chinese-style costumes held a romantic wedding in Verona, with blessing from the locals. Ningbo and Verona became sister cities in October 2005. A delegation of Verona visited Ningbo in 2007 and presented the city a bronze statue of Juliet.

Niulang (cowherd) and Zhinu (weaver) is one of the most famous Chinese folk love legend. The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago.

Niulang was an honest and kind-hearted cowherd and lived by himself herding cattle and farming. One day he came across a beautiful girl – Zhinu, the seventh daughter of the Goddess, who had escaped from the boring heaven to look for fun, Zhinu soon fell in love with him and came down secretly to earth and married him. They lived a happy life and gave birth to two children. Unfortunately, the Goddess soon found out the fact that her daughter married a mortal. She was furious and took Zhinu back to the heaven.

Niulang was very upset after his wife left him. Driven by Niulang’s misery, his ox began to talk and helped him fly to heaven to meet his wife. At the time when he was about to catch up with his wife, the goddess found this and used her hairpin to slash it across the sky creating the Milky Way between them. Zhinu became the star Vega and Niulang the star Altair. They were separated on the two banks and could only feel their tears. Moved by their love and devotion, lots of magpies formed bridge for the couple to meet each other. The Goddess was also touched by their love and finally allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar month.

On that day Chinese people will look up the sky and see the two stars Altair and Vega on the same side of the Milky Way for the once in a year meeting.

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