Romeo And Juliet From China

Liang Shan Bo

And

Zhu Yingtai

( Sampek Engtay )

Title  :   The  Legend Of  Liang  Shan  Bo  And  Zhu  Ying  Tai( Jin Dynasty 1.600 years ago )

Mandarin Edition

Translator  :   Angela Hanum

Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 )  and Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) is the one of four Chinese legends and one of legend which gave great influence to Chinese modern arts and cultures.

For Indonesian, Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) and Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) called Sampek Engtay.   This love story had ever staged by Teater Koma in Jakarta at 2005,  and got tremendous response from the audiences.

In China,  this love story diffused more over 1.600 years as well as got awards " A Masterpiece of Love Loyalty  For Centuries "  and got epithet Romeo And Juliet From The East.

Appeared at Jin Dynasty more over 1.600 years ago,  this love story tells of the journey of love.  Tells of a pair of young people, Shan Bo and Yingtai( 祝英台 ).

Yingtai  was a girl from one village in Hangzhou ( 杭州 ) whom wholeheartedly wanted to go to a school for study.  In ancient China time,  girls were not allowed to attend a school.  As it continues to be persuaded,  finally Yingtai's father gave the permitted to go study. 

To pursued her study in the capital city of Hangzhou,  and with her father's helped,   Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) forced to posing as a man and she went to school with her private servant girl.  On the way to capital city of Hangzhou ( 杭州 ),  she came across a young learner,  Shan Bo.  They talked each other during their trip to find a school in the capital city.

Afterwards, they studied in Wansong School ( 萬松學校 ) together for three years.  During these years,  Shan Bo and Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) sworn brothers but Shan Bo didn't know that his " brother ",  Yingtai ( 祝英台 )was actually a woman as well as fell in love with him too.

After graduation, when the time came for them to part, she told Liang Shanbo( 梁山伯 ), 

"We must arrange a time when you can come to my house. I have a younger sister and I shall request that my father betroth her to you." 

Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) was, of course, referring to herself.  Although Liang Shanbo ( 梁山伯 ) agreed to the proposal, he felt unworthy of the match as he came from a poor family. 

One in the beautiful morning,  Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) received a letter from her father to asked her to go back home as quickly as possible. Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) confused.  If she goes back to home, it does mean she will never meet Liang Shan Bo( 梁山伯 ) anymore.  Whereas, the feel of love for Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) is growing in her heart.

Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) told to her private servant about anxiety her heart.  Her servant said  Zhu Yingtai should to tell  her love feeling for Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ).  But  she wasn't ready to tell to Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) about the truth.

After she thought very hard,  Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) got a brilliant idea, though.  She wrote a love letter made from a jade for Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) and asked to her teacher's wife to deliver the letter to Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) when she's on the way to home.  

Upon her departure, she couldn’t stand dropped her tears to Liang  Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) who saw her off, but Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) had not apprehended her meaning at all.  Thereafter, their teacher's wife whom got the notes from Yingtai to deliver her letter, gave the love letter to Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ).

When Liang Shan Bo read the letter and he realized the letter tells the truth about  ( 祝英台 ) Zhu Yingtai's condition as well as love feeling to him, Liang Shan Bo( 梁山伯 ) decided to hurried ( 祝英台 ) Zhu Yingtai's house.

When he arrived at Yingtai's house, he met the house servant,

" May I meet Jiuguan Master ?  "  asked Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ).

" Our young mistress is Jiuniang. There's no Jiuguan living here."   replied the servant. 

Shan Bo more convinced what was written in the letter is true, that Zhu Yingtai( 祝英台 ) is young mistress of the house and she is a girl.

Unfortunately, when he came across Yingtai( 祝英台 ),  she had been forced to betroth a rich guy, Ma.  Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) told that her father sent her a letter to returned to home for marriage.  Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) also told that she fell in love to Liang Shan Bo during they were being a classmate at school and she didn't fell in love with Ma. 

Liang Shan Bo endeavored to met Yingtai's father and tried to proposed Yingtai before her wedding day and asked to Yingtai's father to cancelled her wedding. What lickerish, ( 梁山伯 ) Shan Bo's proposal rejected outright by Yingtai's father and kicked him out of his house because he was exactly poor.

Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) should to make a deal with the reality that he lost his  first love to Yingtai. Filled with remorse and regret, he died sometime later of a broken heart. His last request was that his remains be buried at the foot of Qingdao Mountain (青島山 ). 

Two years later, it was wedding day of Yingtai and Ma.  When she and her entourage family was on the way to Ma's house, they passed through Qingdao Mountain ( 青島山 ), there was a sudden fierce wind and the revellers were forced to stop.  

Stepping down from her bridal sedan chair, Zhu Yingtai saw ( 梁山伯 ) Liang Shan Bo's grave and immediately fell to her knees, weeping bitterly.  She cried on ( 梁山伯 ) Liang Shan Bo's grave.

Suddenly,  overcast covered the bright sky.  The rain came and thunder boomed. The grave burst open suddenly.  Yingtai ( 祝英台 ) jumped into the grave in front of her father's eyes and all her families.  Her father and all her families crying over and calls Yingtai ( 祝英台 ). But it was useless.

Thereafter the wind had calmed down,  the grave closed up again.  Then,( 祝英台) Yingtai's father and her families were seen two exquisite butterflies dancing together above the grave. They flew together into the distance unite their love in the blue sky.

Even today, when the azaleas are in full bloom, you may well see two large butterflies, one yellow, the other black, fluttering and dancing together. People would point to the yellow one and say, 

" That's Liang Shan Bo( 梁山伯 ). "   

and then to the black one saying, 

" That's Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英台 ). " 

If there's a pair of butterflies and you catch the one of butterflies then the butterfly die, the others of pair butterfly will die too. It represent of love between Liang Shan Bo ( 梁山伯 ) and Zhu Yingtai( 祝英台 ).

So, do not ever separated a pair of butterflies....................................