Butterfly lovers 梁祝

The butterfly lovers is a love story that depends on individuals and can be tragic or have a happy ending.

Background

Set in the Jin dynasty (266–420), the main characters are Liang Shan Bo (梁山伯) and Zhu Ying Tai(祝英台). Zhu Ying Tai was the daughter of a wealthy family who was to offer their daughter an education. Zhu Ying Tai disguised herself as a man to study in a boarding school.

There, she met Liang Shan Bo, a young man from a humble family. After spending much time together, zhu ying tai was infatuated with Liang Shan Bo.

As they left the school, Zhu Ying Tai invited Liang Shan Bo to visit her and suggested she recommend “her sister” to him. When Liang Shan Bo visited, Zhu Ying Tai revealed her real identity.

The pair of young lovers hoped to get married, but Zhu Yin Tai’s family preferred her to marry a man of equal social status to their family and objected to the marriage.

Dispaired by the situation, Liang shan bo died of a broken heart.

Social resistence

When her family pressured her into the marriage, Zhu Ying Tai agreed on the condition that she be allowed to pay respects at the tomb of her departed lover.

When her wedding entourage arrived at Liang Shan Bo’s tomb, the bride stepped out of her sedan chair and stripped away her wedding gown. Beneath her red wedding gown were mourning clothes. She paid respect to her lover and committed suicide at the tomb.

The tomb was said to have opened, and her body fell into the tomb. After that, the lovers transformed into butterflies hence the title butterfly lovers.

Legacy

The butterfly lovers were the subject of various films, TV series, and a Violin Concerto. There is even a monument to them in Italy.

Unlike the story of Madam white snake, Butterfly Lovers is one of the individual desires trumping social norms. The love denied to them in life; the young lovers had it in death.

Like the Patriotic princess, death is an act of social resistance, and the lovers achieve what they could not have here and now in the afterlife.

Related articles:

Legends

Do you this story has a happy ending or a tragedy?

Jin Dynasty tomb art