Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (vernacular Version)
by Anonymous
About This Novel
This book is written in vernacular, and the language is concise and easy to understand. "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" is one of the four major folk love legends in ancient China. It is centered on poignant love and resistance to feudal ethics. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhu Yingtai, a wealthy girl from Shangyu, longed to study, so she disguised herself as a man and went to Kuaiji Academy to study, and became a brother with Liang Shanbo, a poor boy. The two have been classmates for three years and have a deep friendship. Yingtai has a secret affection but cannot express it openly. Before leaving, she hinted at her identity by saying "there is a sister in the family waiting to be married" (actually referring to herself), and asked Shanbo to propose marriage in the future. Shanbo came to visit and found out that Yingtai was a woman, but found that she had been betrothed to Ma Wencai, the son of the Ma family, by her father. The two met on the balcony and confided their hearts to each other but were unable to change their fate - Zhu's father refused to marry on the grounds of family status, and Shan Bo eventually died of illness with regret. On the day of her wedding, Yingtai insisted on taking a detour to Shanbo's tomb to cry and offer sacrifices. Suddenly the tomb opened, and Yingtai jumped into it regardless of his own safety. Then a storm started, and a pair of colorful butterflies flew out of the tomb, symbolizing that the two souls had broken away from the shackles of ethics and would be together forever. The story has a romantic ending of "turning into a butterfly", praising the loyalty and unyielding love, and has become a classic symbol in Chinese folk culture of resisting the feudal marriage system and pursuing free love.
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