This module, the topic for this project is ‘Fairytale.’
We had to pick 3 fairytales and do a pattern on the fairytale. I had researched for both western fairytales and eastern ones, and I decided to settle with Chinese Fairytales, or Myths.
I remember that there were many famous romance myths that I had heard of long ago. After looking through, I had selected these three romance myths.
The Butterfly Lovers
The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend which tells a tragic love story between a pair of famous lovers- Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Their love story is considered as the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet.
The story happened in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420). In order to pursue her studies, Zhu Yingtai disguised herself as a man and decided to go to Hangzhou for further study. During her trip she met Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Kuaiji, they soon became good friends and then sworn brothers. They studied together in Songshan Academy in Hangzhou for the next three years and Zhu gradually fell in love with Liang. But Liang did not know that Zhu was a woman and failed to notice it.
One day Zhu had to go home as her father missed her so much. She frequently hinted that she loved Liang when seeing her off, however Liang was an honest and unassuming man and did not understand her love confession. But under, Zhu professed that she would be a match-maker to introduce one of his sisters to Liang. However, Liang’s family was poor and he did not arrive at Zhu’s family on time. Later Liang headed to Zhu’s family to propose marriage. Unfortunately, it was too late and Zhu had been betrothed by her farther to Ma Wencai, a son of an high local official. The two had no way to change it but to shed tears face to face. They promised at parting that even if they could not stay together during their lifetime, they hoped to be buried in the same tomb after death.
Later Liang was ordered to govern a county, however he missed her so much that he became ill and finally died. Hearing his death, Zhu vowed to die for love after him. On her marriage with Ma, Zhu went to Liang’s tomb to pay respect to him on the way. She was very grieved and prayed the heaven to open up the tomb. Then miracle appeared, the tomb opened as she hoped and Zhu leaped into it immediately, and then the tomb soon closed. Later on, the lovers turned into a pair of butterflies and the two would never to be separated again.
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