Shaoxing Opera 越剧 Butterfly Lovers 梁祝 - 楼台会 Meeting in pavilion

yuè jù ： liánɡ zhù  -  lóu tái huì  

越  剧 ： 梁    祝   -  楼  台  会   

Shaoxing Opera:Butterfly Lovers - Meeting in pavilion

  

lóu tái huì
楼  台  会 

shì liánɡ shān bó yǔ zhù yīnɡ tái de ɡù shi zhōnɡ dì qí zhōnɡ yí duàn 。
是  梁    山   伯 与 祝  英   台  的 故 事  中    的 其 中    一 段   。

zài xiǎo tí qín xié zòu qǔ 《 liánɡ zhù 》 zhōnɡ ，
在  小   提 琴  协  奏  曲 《 梁    祝  》 中    ，

lóu tái huì bèi miáo huì dé fēi chánɡ bī zhēn ér qiě ɡǎn rén ；
楼  台  会  被  描   绘  得 非  常    逼 真   而 且  感  人  ；

lìnɡ wài yuè jù 《 lóu tái huì 》 ɡènɡ shì kuài zhì rén kǒu zhī zuò 。
另   外  越  剧 《 楼  台  会  》 更   是  脍   炙  人  口  之  作  。

zhù yīnɡ tái de fù qìnɡ jiɑ shū zhāo zhù yīnɡ tái ɡuī jiā ，
祝  英   台  的 父 亲   家  书  招   祝  英   台  归  家  ，

yīnɡ tái yǔ liánɡ shān bó shí bā lǐ xiānɡ sònɡ dào chánɡ tínɡ 。
英   台  与 梁    山   伯 十  八 里 相    送   到  长    亭   。

lín bié shí zhù jiānɡ “ jiǔ mèi ” ( qí shí jiù shì zhǐ zì jǐ )
临  别  时  祝  将    “ 九  妹  ” ( 其 实  就  是  指  自 己 )

xǔ pèi jǐ liánɡ ( shǔ yú sī dìnɡ zhōnɡ shēn ) ，
许 配  给 梁    ( 属  于 私 订   终    身   ) ，

yuē dìnɡ liánɡ zài qǐ qiǎo zhī rì dào zhù jiā tí qīn 。
约  定   梁    在  乞 巧   之  日 到  祝  家  提 亲  。

hòu lái liánɡ cónɡ shī mǔ nà lǐ zhī dào zhù nǎi nǘ zǐ ，
后  来  梁    从   师  母 那 里 知  道  祝  乃  女 子 ，

ɡāo xìnɡ dì dào zhù jiā qù 。
高  兴   地 到  祝  家  去 。

dàn cǐ shí yīnɡ tái yǐ bèi fù qīn
但  此 时  英   台  已 被  父 亲 

xǔ pèi mǎ tài shǒu zhī zǐ mǎ wén cái 。
许 配  马 太  守   之  子 马 文  才  。

liánɡ lái le yǐ hòu ， zhù fù rànɡ yīnɡ tái hǎo shēnɡ quàn wèi liánɡ 。
梁    来  了 以 后  ， 祝  父 让   英   台  好  生    劝   慰  梁    。

yú shì liánɡ zhù èr rén zài yīnɡ tái de lóu tái shànɡ xiānɡ huì ，
于 是  梁    祝  二 人  在  英   台  的 楼  台  上    相    会  ，

yīnɡ tái jiānɡ shí qínɡ ɡào su liánɡ ，
英   台  将    实  情   告  诉 梁    ，

liánɡ shí fēn zhèn jīnɡ shānɡ xīn ，
梁    十  分  震   惊   伤    心  ，

yīnɡ tái biǎo shì cǐ xīn yónɡ yuǎn shǔ yú liánɡ ，
英   台  表   示  此 心  永   远   属  于 梁    ，

liǎnɡ rén hù sù xiānɡ sī xiānɡ yuē zhī qínɡ ，
两    人  互 诉 相    思 相    约  之  情   ，

hòu yuē dìnɡ shēnɡ bù tónɡ qīn sǐ tónɡ xué ，
后  约  定   生    不 同   衾  死 同   穴  ，

shānɡ xīn dì fēn shǒu ， liánɡ bù jiǔ bìnɡ sǐ ，
伤    心  地 分  手   ， 梁    不 久  病   死 ，

yīnɡ tái dé zhī hòu ，
英   台  得 知  后  ，

zài jià wǎnɡ mǎ jiā de nà tiān jīnɡ ɡuò liánɡ de mù ，
在  嫁  往   马 家  的 那 天   经   过  梁    的 墓 ，

kū sù yì fān ， tiān dì wéi dònɡ ，
哭 诉 一 番  ， 天   地 为  动   ，

mù bèi léi pī kāi ， yīnɡ tái tiào jìn mù lǐ ，
墓 被  雷  劈 开  ， 英   台  跳   进  墓 里 ，

yǔ liánɡ huà wéi hú dié 。
与 梁    化  为  蝴 蝶  。 

The legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is set in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Zhu Yingtai is a beautiful and intelligent young woman, the ninth child and only daughter of the wealthy Zhu family of Shangyu, Zhejiang. Although traditions of that era discourage females from going to school, Zhu manages to convince her father to allow her to attend classes in disguise as a young man. During her journey to Hangzhou, she meets Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing). They chat and feel a strong affinity for each other at their first meeting. Hence, they gather some soil as incense and take an oath of fraternity in the pavilion of a thatched bridge.

They study together for the next three years in school and Zhu gradually falls in love with Liang. Although Liang equals Zhu in their studies, he is still a bookworm and fails to notice the feminine characteristics exhibited by his classmate.

One day, Zhu receives a letter from her father, asking her to return home as soon as possible. Zhu has no choice but to pack her belongings immediately and bid Liang farewell. However, in her heart, she has already confessed her love for Liang and is determined to be with him for all eternity. Before her departure, she reveals her true identity to the headmaster's wife and requests her to hand over a jade pendant to Liang as a betrothal gift.

Liang accompanies his "sworn brother" for 18 miles to see her off. During the journey, Zhu hints to Liang that she is actually a woman. For example, she compares them to a pair of mandarin ducks (a symbol of lovers in Chinese culture), but Liang does not catch her hints and does not even have the slightest suspicion that his companion is a woman in disguise. Zhu finally comes up with an idea and tells Liang that she will act as a matchmaker for him and his "sister". Before they part, Zhu reminds Liang to visit her residence later so he can propose to marry her "sister." Liang and Zhu reluctantly part ways at the Changting pavilion.

Months later, when Liang visits Zhu, he discovers that she is actually a woman. They are devoted to and passionate about each other and they make a vow of "till death do us part". The joy of their reunion is short-lived as Zhu's parents have already arranged for her to marry a man from a rich family called Ma Wencai. Liang is heartbroken when he hears the news and his health gradually deteriorates until he becomes critically ill. He dies in office later as a county magistrate.
On the day of Ma and Zhu's marriage, mysterious whirlwinds prevent the wedding procession from escorting the bride beyond Liang's grave, which lies along the journey. Zhu leaves the procession to pay her respects to Liang. She descends in bitter despair and begs for the grave to open up. Suddenly, the grave opens with a clap of thunder. Without further hesitation, Zhu throws herself into the grave to join Liang. Their spirits turn into a pair of beautiful butterflies and emerge from the grave. They fly away together as a pair of butterflies and are never to be separated again.

The story also inspired the production of Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto, or Liang Zhu Violin Concerto as known in Chinese, a work for violin and orchestra. It was composed by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao in 1958. The piece has been the most musically symbolic retelling of the legend;