The Butterfly Lovers
(; pinyin: Liáng Shanbó yu Zhù Yingtái; literally: Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai) is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo
(???) and Zhu Yingtai
(???), whose names form the title of the story. The title is often abbreviated to Liang Zhu
(??) and often regarded as the Chinese equivalent of Romeo and Juliet. [1] [2]
Six cities in the People's Republic of 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 [3], submitted in 2006 through the Chinese Ministry of Culture.
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THE BUTTERFLY LOVERS TICKETS
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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 noble Zhu family of
Shangyu,
Zhejiang. Breaking traditions that restricted females from going to school, she convinces her father to allow her to disguise herself as a young man and travels to
Hangzhou to attend classes. During her journey, she meets Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Kuaiji (now known as
Shaoxing), who lives in the same province as her. They chat and feel a strong affinity for each other at their first meeting. Hence, they gather some soil as incense and take the oath of fratenity in the pavilion of a thatched bridge.
For the next three years in school, they share the same room where there is only one bed and two quilts. Zhu Yingtai falls in love with Liang Shanbo gradually. 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 Yingtai receives a letter from her father, asking her to return home as soon as possible. Zhu Yingtai has no choice but to pack her belongings immediately and bid Liang Shanbo farewell. However, in her heart, she has already confessed her love for Liang Shanbo 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 Shanbo as a betrothal gift.
Liang Shanbo accompanies his "sworn brother" for 18 miles to see her off. During the journey, Zhu Yingtai hints to Liang Shanbo that she is actually a woman. For example, she compares them to a pair of
mandarin ducks (symbolic of lovers in Chinese culture) but Liang does not catch her hints and does not have even the slightest suspicion that his companion is a woman in disguise. Zhu Yingtai finally comes up with an idea and tells Liang that she will act as a matchmaker for him and her 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 pavilion where they first met.
Months later, when Liang Shanbo visits Zhu Yingtai, 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 Shanbo 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 Wencai and Zhu Yingtai's marriage, mysterious
whirlwinds prevent the wedding procession from escorting the bride beyond Liang Shanbo's grave, which lies along the journey. Zhu Yingtai leaves the procession to pay her respects to Liang Shanbo. 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 Yingtai throws herself into the grave to join Liang Shanbo. Their spirits turn into a pair of beautiful butterflies and emerge from the grave. They fly together as a pair 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
Shi Dao Si Fan Zhi
(?????), the author
Liang Zaiyan (???) wrote
[4]:
The righteous woman Zhu Yingtai was buried together with Liang Shanbo.
In
Xuan Shi Zhi
(???), the author
Zhang Du (??) wrote
[5]:
Yingtai, a daughter of the Zhu family of Shangyu, disguised herself as a man and attended school together with Liang Shanbo from Kuaiji. Shanbo's courtesy 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 (?, in present-day western Ningbo) and died of illness later and was buried west of the city of Mao (?, 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. Chancellor Xie An proclaimed the grave as "Tomb of the righteous woman".
The legend was also recorded in various official records such as
Yin Xian Zhi
(???),
Ning Bo Fu Zhi
(????) and
Yi Xing Jing Xi Xin Zhi
(??????).
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" (???), "Liang Shanbo Temple" (????), "Husband and Wife Bridge" (???) and Qin Gong (??) are officially recognised 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, not to be confused with
Cantonese opera) and
In the Shade of the Willow
(???, Liuyìn Jì) in
Sichuan opera. The
Shaoxing opera version was made into a colour
motion picture in the 1950s () in the
PRC. The filming by the Ministry of Culture and the East China Military and Political Commission took place in Zhu's legendary home town of Shangyu.
Based on the romance, the
Shaw Brothers also produced
Love Eterne
(, ), a film in
Huangmei Opera directed by
Li Han Hsiang in 1962, starring
Ivy Ling Po as Liang and
Betty Loh Ti as Zhu.
In 1981
Jann Paxton, working in the theater arts program at
Old Dominion University in
Norfolk,
Virginia, was introduced to the
Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto by a
Chinese exchange student. Paxton was so inspired by the concerto and its originating legend that he conceived a full length
ballet based on the original story and set about obtaining the limited performance rights to the score from its owners in
China. Choreographed by
Randy Strawderman and
Jann Paxton (who also designed the sets and costumes),
The Butterfly Lovers Ballet made its
official United States premier in the spring of 1982 at the Agnes de Mille Theatre by The
North Carolina School of the Arts in
Winston-Salem,
NC as part of that schools Spring Dance Gala. The principal roles of the two lovers,
Liang Shanbo and
Zhu Yingtai, were performed by
NCSA students Sean Hayes and Alicia Fowler. Paxton’s story line remained true to the classic Chinese version with the addition of several supporting characters. The ballet was performed in "
black box theater
" style and utilized various fabric props and costume changes, (similar in style to the interpretation of
Uncle Tom's Cabin, called, "Small House of Uncle Thomas", in the second musical film version of
The King and I) (1951) to suggest changes in scenery and time.
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, and performed it in
English.
A Cantonese stage musical is produced in 2005, featuring pop singer-actress
Denise Ho as the title role.
Films
The Lovers
directed by
Tsui Hark, featuring
Charlie Yeung Choi-Nei and
Nicky Wu in
Hong Kong was produced in 1994. This movie has won the following Hong-Kong Awards in 1994 :
Nomination best director -TSUI Hark, Nomination best supporting actress- Carrie NG Ka-Lai,
Nomination best art direction, Nomination best costums, Best music James WONG Jim.
A movie based on a
Wuxia version of the story was filmed in
Shanghai in 2008. The story features Taiwanese popstar
Wu Chun as Liang Shanbo and Hong Kong
Twins popstar
Charlene Choi as Zhu Yingtai. Chinese actor
Hu Ge co-stars as Ma Wencai .
[6] [7]
TV series
In 1999, a TV series based on the legend was produced by
Formosa TV in the
Taiwanese Hokkien language, starring
Zhao Jing as Liang Shanbo and
Alyssa Chia as Zhu Yingtai.
In 2003, a TV series based on the legend was produced by
China Television, starring
Show Luo as Liang Shanbo and
Vivien Leung as Zhu Yingtai.
Inspired by the excavation in 1997,
Hunan Television has spent 3 years in preparation for the new TV series
Liang Shanbo & Zhu Yingtai
() and spent more than RMB$24 million for this big TV series production. A fine cast has been assembled for this TV series, which was first broadcasted in 2007. The Taiwanese “heart-throb”
Peter Ho
(???) () has been chosen to play the role of the male protagonist in the story – Liang Shanbo.
Dong Jie
(??) (), one the best actresses in China, has been selected for the role of Zhu Yingtai. The teaming of Peter Ho and Dong Jie as the Butterfly Lovers was one of the main attractions in this series and their performance was highly anticipated by audiences.
A team of 7-8 scriptwriters and authors worked through multiple drafts and numerous revisions before completing the script of this classic Chinese love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The scripts itself took 3 years to complete.
Glorious imagery, sublime music and a romance set against one of the greatest tragedies of the Eastern Jin Dynasty are all blended perfectly by the producer
Chao Ye, director
Chen Junliang and music in consultation with the "Liangzhu" original composer -
He Zhanhao.
The 2007 version of
Liang Shanbo & Zhu Yingtai
() TV series first broadcasted in Guizhou China has since then earned the reputation of the highest reception of TV result. Fans reviewed that the exquisite performance of Peter Ho and Dong Jie is one of the main factors of success as their performance brought the Butterfly Lovers to life. Few fictitious characters were introduced to this series to help lighten the overall tone of the legend with their informal and highly personal sentiments. Besides the strong cast, other factors which contributed to the success of this 2007 Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yintai included best music, best costumes, best scripts, attention to details, genuine historical research on the legend, best scenery and an engaging and memorable storyline.
thumb as Zhu Yingtai &
Peter Ho as Liang Shanbo
To date, this production is considered to be the most comprehensive, finest and largest scale television series which presents truest adaptation of the original legend.
Animated films
A Chinese animated feature film was released in 2004, directed by
Min-chin Tsai.
The music
The story also inspired the production of
Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto
, or
Liang Zhu Violin Concerto
as known in Chinese, a work for
violin and
orchestra. It was composed by Chinese composers
Chen Gang and
He Zhanhao in 1958. The piece has been the most musically symbolic retelling of the legend; at almost 30 minutes long, it is one of the classics of modern
Chinese music. During the 1970s,
Hong Kong's
TVB television station adapted the legend as a musical miniseries, with
Roman Tam and Susanna Kwan supplying the vocals for the soundtrack composed by
Joseph Koo. At least two motion pictures have used it for their theme music:
The Lovers
(, ) directed by
Tsui Hark and featuring
Charlie Yeung Choi-Nei and
Nicky Wu in
Hong Kong; and
The Butterfly Lovers
(, ), an animated film directed by
Tsai Min-chin and featuring talents of
Elva Hsiao (???),
René Liu (???) and
Jacky Wu (???) in
Taiwan.
In 2004, Taiwanese girl-group
S.H.E released a song based in part off the story on their
Magical Journey album, listed as the 9th track.
Chinese pop singers
Genie Zhuo and
Gary Cao performed a duet entitled
Liang Shanbo and Juliet
(a combination of Liang and Zhu and Romeo and Juliet).
The
Chinese band,
12 Girls Band, has a song called
Butterfly (Hudie, in Chinese) based on
LiangZhu. This song is the track nº 15 of the album
Shining Energy.
References
- Amazon.com
- Guandog News
- UNESCO Item 7
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- ??,?????,??????,?????????????,??????????,????,??????,?????????????,???????????????,??,?????????,????,???????????,????,?????,?????????????????????
- http://asianfanatics.net/forum/-talk461376.html Asian Fanatics - Butterfly Lovers Movie, starring Ch
- http://www.butterflyloversmovie.com/bl_main.html Official Website of Butterfly Lovers