Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai!

Folklore

"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", "The Legend of the White Snake", "Meng Jiangnu", and "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" are also known as the four major legends in ancient China. Among them, the Legend of Butterfly Lovers is the most powerful oral inheritance art in my country, and it is also the only Chinese folklore that has had a wide impact in the world. The story of Butterfly Lovers has been circulating among the people for more than 1,460 years. It is a household name in China and has far-reaching popularity. It is known as the eternal song of love and is also known as the "Romeo and Juliet" in the East.

This beautiful, sad and touching love story has been circulating on the banks of the Cao'e River in Shangyu and at the foot of the beautiful Longshan Mountain for many years.

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in Zhujiazhuang, Shangyu County, Zhejiang, by the Yushui River, there was a daughter named Yingtai, who was not a member of Zhu's family. She was beautiful and intelligent. She studied poetry with her brothers since she was a child. Due to the talents of Mu Banzhao and Cai Wenji, she hated her family for being helpless. A good teacher, he wanted to go to Hangzhou to study under his teacher. Zhu Yuanwai rejected his daughter's request. Zhu Yingtai was eager to learn and pretended to be a fortune teller. He said to Zhu Yuanwai: "Based on the divination, it's better to let your daughter go out." Zhu's father saw that his daughter was disguised as a man, and there was nothing wrong with it. , in order not to bear to disappoint her, he had to reluctantly agree. British and Taiwanese women disguised themselves as men and went to Hangzhou to study. On the way, he met Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Kuaiji (today's Shaoxing) who went to Hangzhou to study. They fell in love at first sight and enjoyed reading each other. They gathered soil at the Caoqiao pavilion to make incense and they became sworn friends. Not long after, the two came to Wansong Academy in Hangzhou City to become apprentices and enroll in the school. From then on, the classmate *** studied and became inseparable. Liang Zhu has been a classmate for three years, and our love is as deep as the sea. Yingtai loves Shanbo deeply, but Shanbo never knows that she is a woman. He only cares about brotherhood and has no special feelings. Zhu's father missed his daughter and was in a hurry to return home, so Yingtai had to return to his hometown in a hurry. Butterfly Lovers parted ways, reluctant to leave. On the way to see each other off, Yingtai kept borrowing things to express love. Shan Bo is honest and simple, and doesn't understand why. Yingtai was helpless and lied that her ninth sister was very similar to her in appearance and was willing to act as a matchmaker for Shan Bo. However, Liang Shan Bo's family was poor and he could not come as expected. When Shan Bo went to Zhu's house to propose marriage, he didn't know that Zhu's father had already arranged for Ying to marry him. Taixu was betrothed to Ma Youcai, the son of the prefect who lived in Maojian City (now Yinxian County). A happy marriage has become a shadow. The two met on the balcony, looked at each other with tears in their eyes, and parted sadly. When we parted, we made a vow: we can't live together in the same quilt, and we must share the same acupuncture point in death! Later, Liang Shanbo was appointed as the magistrate of Yin County (now Fenghua County) by the imperial court. However, Shanbo became depressed and fell ill, and died soon after. He died and was buried in Kowloon Market, Maojing City. When Yingtai heard the bad news about Shan Bo, he vowed to die. When Yingtai was forced to get married, she took a detour to pay her respects in front of Liang Shanbo's tomb. In response to Zhu Yingtai's grief, there was a strong wind, rain, thunder and lightning, and the tomb exploded. Yingtai jumped into the tomb, the tomb was closed, the wind stopped and the rain stopped, and a rainbow hung high. Butterfly Lovers turned into butterflies and fluttered around the world.

Historical origins

About Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, there are records like this: Liang was from the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu was from the Northern and Southern Dynasties. They are thousands of years apart. Zhu Ben was a chivalrous woman who robbed the rich and helped the poor. She once went to Ma's house three times to steal money, and finally Ma Wencai, the son of Ma, died in an ambush and was stabbed to death. The people buried her generously and erected a monument in front of the tomb, with the words "Tomb of the Heroine Zhu Yingtai" engraved on the front and the details of the incident on the back. Over time, the monument sank into the ground. Liang was the magistrate of Yin County, Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. He was an upright and honest man. He lost his wife in middle age and had no children. When he was buried after his death, Zhu's tombstone was dug out. People felt sorry for him and could not bear to demolish Zhu's tomb. However, a place was chosen for Liang to be buried. It seemed inappropriate, so they were buried together and a stele was erected. The black one was Liang and the red one was Zhu.

The main archaeological discoveries and historical records about Liang Zhu at present are:

(1) According to Wei According to research by historians of the Jin Dynasty, the story of "Liang Zhu" originated from Majiang Town, Runan County, Zhumadian City, Henan Province. The ruins of his hometown include the Tomb of Liang Zhu, Liang Zhuang, Zhu Zhuang, Mazhuang, Hongluoshan Academy, Yuanyang Pond, and Shibali Xiangsong. Gudao, Caoqiao (Caoqiao) and Zou Tong's tomb where Master Liang Zhu was buried, etc.

(2) In Mapo Village, west of ancient Zoupi and adjacent to the north bank of Weishan Lake, there is a tombstone dating from the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty. The tombstone was buried deep under siltation for a long time and was not excavated until 1995. This is the only tombstone among the nine existing tombs of Liang Zhu in the country. The full text is 843 words. It is completely different from myths, legends and operas. It not only records the place where the two were buried together, but also points out the reason why the local officials ordered the two to be buried together. According to the inscription, Zhu Yingtai, an only daughter, disguised herself as a man and went out to study in Yishan, Zoucheng. She crossed Wuqiao East from Jiuqu Village and met Liang Shanbo. They slept together and were undressed for three years, so they can be said to be devout believers and good scholars. One day, Yingtai returned home because of homesickness. Shanbo learned the truth and paid her a visit. Not long after leaving, he finally returned home and was buried in the east of Wuqiao (according to Zouxian County records, the bridge was submerged during the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty). When Tai saw that the Ma family was about to welcome his bride, he thought deeply about Shan Bo, so he sacrificed his life for righteousness and died of sorrow. The village party officials said that they were buried in Shan Bo's tomb on the occasion of his order.

According to inscription records and field investigations, the original place of the legendary Butterfly Lovers story was Jining City. The reason is: in terms of time, the Mapo Stone Stele is the earliest one to record the story of Liang Zhu. Not to mention that the stele is based on the records of foreign chronicles. Even if it was established in the eleventh year of Zhengde, it is much earlier than the "Ningbo Prefecture Chronicles" and "Yixing Chronicles" in the late Qing Dynasty. From the geographical location, it is consistent with reality. Liang Zhu's tomb is located in To the southwest of Mapo Village, it is about three kilometers away from Jiuqu Village, where Zhu Yingtai is located in the north, and about ten kilometers away from Boliang Village, where Liang Shanbo is located, in the southeast. If Zhu Yingtai went to Yishan to study, it would be reasonable to cross Wuqiao and meet Shanbo. .

(3) Chang Lu Xiaonong, a researcher on the Butterfly Lovers culture in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, believes that from historical records, the earliest written records of the Butterfly Lovers story were in Yixing.

Many experts in Jiangsu academic circles, historians, and tourism circles believe that from Song Xianchun's "Pi Ling Zhi" to Feng Menglong's legendary novels in the Ming Dynasty, there are a large number of texts and other evidence showing that Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were from Yixing.

(4) Ma Chengzhao, an expert on Liangzhu culture and chairman of the Ningbo Yinzhou District Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said that based on his research on "Yinzhou County Chronicles", Liang Shanbo should be from Yinzhou and Zhu Yingtai should be from Shangyu. .

(5) In fact, the story of "Butterfly Lovers" has different versions in Ningbo and Runan. Runan legend: In the Jin Dynasty, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were classmates for three years, but they failed to realize that Zhu Yingtai was a girl. Later, Zhu Yingtai was betrothed to the Ma family. Liang Shanbo failed to propose marriage and fell ill. Before he died, he asked his family to bury him on the roadside where Zhu Yingtai's wedding sedan passed by, so that he could see Zhu Yingtai get married. After learning about it, Zhu Yingtai got married in mourning clothes. , when the sedan passed Liangshan Bo's grave, he got off the sedan to pay homage and ran into a willow tree and died. Ningbo legend: Liang Shanbo was the county magistrate of Yinzhou in the Jin Dynasty. He was an honest and good official. Because he offended the powerful, he was tortured to death. The people built a large tomb for him. Zhu Yingtai was a chivalrous woman from Shangyu in the Ming Dynasty. She robbed the rich and helped the poor, but was later killed by the powerful. In order to commemorate them, the local people buried the two people together and entered into a "shadow marriage". Archaeological evidence for the two legends has been found in two places. In Runan County, there are still tombs of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, which are located on both sides of the ancient official road in Mazhuang Township. The unearthed tomb walls prove that both tombs are from the Jin Dynasty. Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were not engaged, so it was impossible for them to be buried together. This separate burial was in line with the customs of the time. In Ningbo, there is still a tomb where Liang and Zhu are buried together.

(6) The legend of Liang Zhu originated in the Jin Dynasty. The earliest extant written material is "Ten Paths and Four Bos" written by Liang Zaiyan in the early Tang Dynasty. In the late Tang Dynasty, the "Xuan Shi Zhi" written by Zhang Du gave a literary rendering, and its general outline can be seen: "Yingtai, the daughter of Zhu's family in Shangyu, pretended to be a man and traveled to study, and graduated from the same school as Liang Shanbo in Kuaiji. Shan Bo, His courtesy name was Chu Ren. In the second year, Shan Bo visited his friend and found out that his daughter was missing. Zhu Shima was buried in the west of Luang City. The boat passed by the tomb, but the wind and waves prevented him from entering. When he asked about Zhi Shanbo's tomb, Zhu went to mourn. The ground suddenly cracked, so Zhu's family was buried together. "The Tomb of the Righteous Woman"

(7) The earlier and more complete extant is "The Temple of King Yizhong" written by Li Maocheng, the magistrate of Mingzhou (now Ningbo) in the Song Dynasty. The article states that Liang Shanbo was born in 352 AD. He died on the 16th day of the eighth lunar month in 373 at the age of 21 and was never married; Zhu Yingtai got married in the late spring of 374; the Liangshan Bo Temple (also known as the "Yizhong King Temple") was built in 397. If the records are reliable, the "Legend of Liang Zhu" should have occurred within more than 20 years from 374 to 397 AD, and was fully formed from the Song Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty. The more important literature records since then include "Li Xiuqing's Marriage to Huang Zhennu" by Feng Menglong in the Ming Dynasty, and "The Short Story of Zhu Yingtai" by Shao Jinbiao in the Qing Dynasty. The latter has the ending of turning into a butterfly.

(8) In July 1997, a Jin Dynasty tomb was unearthed from Liangshan Bo Temple in Ningbo. The location, specifications and burial objects of the tomb are consistent with the identity and burial place of the county magistrate of Liangshan Boyin County recorded in the chronicles. , is considered to be credible physical information.

(9) In the 1950s, when the famous writer Zhang Henshui wrote the novel "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", he verified 10 places of origin based on folklore: Ningbo, Zhejiang, Yixing, Jiangsu, Qufu in Shandong, Qingshui in Gansu, Shucheng in Anhui, Hejian in Hebei, Jiaxiang in Shandong, Jiangdu in Jiangsu, Puzhou in Shanxi, and Suzhou in Jiangsu.

(10) Regarding the Liang Zhu monuments, 17 sites have been discovered so far, including 6 study halls, 10 tombs, and 1 temple. Experts generally believe that the Butterfly Lovers Reading Center was formed under the influence of the legend of the Butterfly Lovers, and their origin cannot be disproven.

Different versions

Although people are familiar with the legend of "Butterfly Lovers", few people know where the hometown of "Butterfly Lovers" is and how many versions of "Butterfly Lovers" there are across the country. According to relevant personnel from the China Folklore Association, there are about 10 places across the country that claim to be the hometown of "Butterfly Lovers". In several places that have jointly applied for "World Heritage", they also tell their own stories about "Butterfly Lovers".

(1) Yinzhou version: The county magistrate of the Jin Dynasty and the chivalrous girl of the Ming Dynasty had a "hidden relationship"

In Ningbo, Zhejiang, it is said that Liang Shanbo was the magistrate of Yinzhou in the Jin Dynasty and an upright official. , because he offended the powerful and was mutilated to death, the people built a large tomb for him. Zhu Yingtai was a chivalrous woman from Shangyu in the Ming Dynasty. She robbed the rich and helped the poor, but was later killed by the powerful. In order to commemorate them, the locals buried the two together, which was regarded as a secret marriage. There are existing tombs of Liang Zhu and Liang Zhu in Yinzhou, as well as the former residence of Liang Zhu. There is an old saying circulating there, "If a couple wants to grow old together, the Liangshan Bo Temple will come to them."

(2) Shangyu version: Zhujiacun is the hometown of Zhu Yingtai

It is said that the ancestors of the Zhu family were originally from Taiyuan, Shanxi, and moved south to settle here. They originally made a career in teaching in Shangyu County, and their descendants Moved to various places in Shangyu. The lyrics of my country's first color opera film "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" read: "Shangyu County, Zhujiazhuang, by the Yushui River, there is a Zhu Yingtai, who is both talented and beautiful..." According to reports, Zhujia Village Zhongyuan There was a large-scale house that was later destroyed due to the war. The residential area was about 500 square meters, and there were also garden ruins. There is a lake near the village called "Qianjin Lake". There are golden osmanthus and silver osmanthus hugged by two people, as well as ancient trees such as cypress and pomegranate. There are also ancestral halls and stone tablets recording the history of the Zhu family.

(3) Hangzhou version: Liang Zhu was read by classmate *** at Wansong Academy

In the Yue opera "Butterfly Lovers", there is a libretto of "Caoqiao sworn homage", which talks about Liang Shanbo Zhu Yingtai and Zhu Yingtai, who were disguised as men, met on the way to study in the provincial capital of Hangzhou. They recognized each other and became "brothers" at "Caoqiao", which refers to the Caoqiao Pavilion next to Wangjiang Gate in the east city of Hangzhou. It is said that the place where Liang Zhu's classmates first studied was Wansong Academy on the West Lake. Therefore, the people also called this place Liang Zhu Academy. Its predecessor was Baoen Temple. It was rebuilt into Wansong Academy in the 11th year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty. The academy was destroyed during the Chongzhen period. After Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed Fuwen Academy.

(4) Yixing version: The legend of turning into butterflies is deeply rooted

The earliest record of the story of Liang Zhu in Yixing is "The Story of Shanquan Temple", which was first recorded in the second year of Jianyuan of Qi Dynasty (480 AD). It is said that Zhu Yingtai's old residence is located at the Shanquan Temple in Yixing. Liang Zhu studied together since childhood, and later went to Qilu, Soochow and other places to study and visit friends, and gradually developed a relationship. The legend of Butterfly Lovers has been recorded in Yixing, and the plot of "Butterfly Transformation" was also formed in Yixing, which is recognized by domestic academic circles. Yixing now has place names and sites such as "Zhujiazhuang" and "Liangjiazhuang", as well as "Eighteen Xiangsong" sites such as Guanyin Hall, Lotus Pond, Shuangjing, and Jiuli Pavilion. Yixing has officially designated the 28th day of the third lunar month as the "Butterfly Viewing Festival", and named the butterflies after "Liang Shanbo" and "Zhu Yingtai".

(5) Jining version: The scholar-bureaucrats built a joint tomb for Liang Zhu.

In Mapo Township, Weishan County, Jining City, there is the "Tombstone of Liang Shanbo Zhu Yingtai", which is the tomb of Zhu Yingtai of Liangshan Bo. It was erected in the eleventh year (AD 1516) when the tomb and temple of Liang Zhu were rebuilt. The inscription records that Zhu Yingtai lived in Jiuqu Village, Jining, and his father, Zhu Yuanwai, was very distressed because he had no son. Zhu Yingtai disguised herself as a man to study in order to relieve her father's worries. Liang and Zhu were classmates for three years. Liang Shanbo died of illness at home, and Zhu Yingtai died of grief. The scholar-bureaucrats were moved by Zhu Yingtai's filial piety to his father and his devotion to the Liang family, so they built a joint tomb for the two of them. Today, the Confucius Temple in Qufu still retains the "Liang Zhu Study Place", and there are also "Liang Zhu Study Cave", "Liang Zhu Temple" and other sites on Yishan Mountain.

(6) Runan version: Classmate Liang Zhu was educated but not buried together

Legend has it that in the Jin Dynasty, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were classmates for three years, but could not tell the difference between them. Daughter body. Before Liang Shanbo died, he asked his family to bury him on the roadside where Zhu Yingtai's wedding sedan passed by, so that he could see Zhu Yingtai getting married. Zhu Yingtai learned that she was getting married in mourning clothes. When she passed Liang Shanbo's grave, she asked her to While worshiping in a sedan chair, someone was unexpectedly hit and killed in front of a willow tree. The tombs of Liang Zhu were built separately, each with its own tomb. Now in Runan there is the "Taizi Temple" where Liang Zhu studied, also called "Hongluo Mountain". It is said that there once was the "Hongluo Academy" here. The legendary well on Hongluo Mountain where Liang Zhu carried water is still there, and there is a tablet next to the well with the words "Liang Zhu Well" written on it.