Love Stories from Mythology

Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo

Zhu Yingtai, an intelligent young woman from a wealthy family, convinced her father to let her go to school provided she was dressed as a young man. On the way to the capital city, she meets scholar Liang Shanbo. They vow to become eternal friends and for three years study together. Zhu Yingtai fell madly in love with Liang Shanbo, but he was too busy with his studies to notice that Zhu Yingtai was actually a girl.

Suddenly, she is requested by her father to return home immediately. Before she leaves, Zhu Yingtai confesses her true identity to the headmaster's wife and asks her to give Liang Shanbo a jade pendant as a betrothal gift. For part of the journey, Liang Shanbo travels with Zhu Yingtai to see her off. Zhu Yingtai makes several hints as to her true identity but fails to make Liang Shanbo notice. As a final effort, she tells him she will act as a matchmaker between him and her "sister". Before they part, Zhu Yingtai reminds him to visit her home so that he can propose to the sister.

Months later, Liang Shanbo finally visits Zhu Yingtai and discovers that she actually is a woman. They quickly fall in love and vow to be together until death. However, Zhu Yingtai's father has already arranged for her to marry another young man of more wealth. Liang Shanbo dies of a broken heart and is buried near the church where Zhu Yingtai will marry the rich man. On the wedding day, mysterious winds prevent her from exiting the town without first stopping by Liang Shanbo's grave. When she visits him, she begs for the grave to open up and with a clap of thunder, it does. She throws herself into the grave and once she is with him, two butterflies fly out of the grave with the spirits of the two lovers. The live as butterflies never to be parted again.

Because the story has such similarities to Romeo and Juliet, the municipal governments of Verona and east China's Ningbo city hold a love culture festival in Verona each year. During the festival, a marble statue of the two lovers turning into butterflies was placed in front of the Juliet Museum. There is also a bronze statue of Juliet in Ningbo.