Legend of Meng Jiangnu
01 · Historical Records
According to the Zuo Zhuan, Duke Xiang, year 23: in the autumn of 550 BCE (the fourth year of Duke Zhuang of Qi, in the Spring and Autumn period) the Qi general Qi Liang led troops to attack the state of Ju (present-day Ju county, Shandong) and was killed. Two hundred years later the Tangong records Zengzi's account of the matter: His wife met his coffin on the road and wept bitterly for him. Because of its deep popular roots the Meng Jiangnü legend has endured for more than two thousand five hundred years, spreading throughout China and undergoing many changes of content: what was originally the wife of Qi Liang of the Spring and Autumn state of Qi (Meng Jiangnü) finally had her tragic fate linked to Qin Shi Huang and the Qin Great Wall. The legend's area of circulation is extremely wide; according to Gu Jiegang's research in the 1920s the provinces and regions it reached include Beijing, Hebei, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and Gansu.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
His wife Meng Jiang met the coffin in the outskirts, where the Qi wall joins the Zi river, north of present-day Quanyuan town in Boshan, Zibo. The king of Qi wished to offer condolences there, but Meng Jiang resisted and demanded that the sacrifice be conducted with due ritual at the palace. After Qi Liang was buried Meng Jiang remained grief-stricken. Duke Zhuang sent someone to condole with her. By Liu Xiang's Shouyuan, Shanshuo chapter of the Western Han there appears the record that his wife grieved so that she wept toward the wall and a corner of it collapsed and the wall crumbled. In the Lienü Zhuan there appears the episode of Qi Liang's wife throwing herself into the Zi river, north of present-day Quanyuan, and dying. The deeds of Qi Liang's wife are the original content of the Meng Jiangnü legend. There are also many places with remains connected with Meng Jiangnü, such as the Jiangnü shrine and Jiangnü tomb at Shanhaiguan, the Jiangnü shrine in Suizhong county, Liaoning, the Meng Jiangnü temple in Qi county, Henan, the Crying Spring and Meng Jiangnü temple in Shaanxi, the stone statue of Wan Xiliang in Shanghai, and the four Jiangnü springs in Boshan, Shandong. The figure of Meng Jiang makes people realise the kindly character of ancient women and the bitter suffering war brought to the people, expressing the ancient people's loathing of war. The story of Meng Jiangnü has been transmitted through the generations at Boshan, and the folk song Meng Jiangnü Weeps at the Great Wall is still sung among the people of Boshan. The custom of the sorrowful mourning chant connected with the legend, formed before the Western Han, has been handed down generation by generation among the people of Boshan; to this day middle-aged and elderly women of Boshan still sing long songs in place of weeping, using the traditional Meng Jiangnü tune to express their grief, and the Meng Jiangnü-style weeping chant is widely current in the countryside, forming as it were a culture of weeping.
Qi Liang's Wife Weeping for Her Husband
The most primitive form of the legend, seen in the Zuo Zhuan, Tangong and Lienü Zhuan.
Meng Jiangnü Weeps at the Great Wall
The core episode after the legend was fixed, its folk song still sung at Boshan.
The Jiangnü Springs at Boshan
Four spring relics in Boshan said to be connected with the Meng Jiangnü legend.
The Meng Jiangnü Weeping Tune
The traditional tune formed from the custom of sorrowful mourning chant, with which middle-aged and elderly women still sing in place of weeping.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
But tracing to the root, both the capital of Qi whose wall Qi Liang's wife brought down with her weeping and the Zi river into which she threw herself are in the Zibo area of Shandong.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Legend of Meng Jiangnu · Legend of Meng Jiangnu · Legend of Meng Jiangnu · Legend of Meng Jiangnu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Meng Jiangnü legend has been transmitted through the generations in the Zibo area, and the folk song Meng Jiangnü Weeps at the Great Wall is still sung among the people of Boshan; the custom of sorrowful mourning chant formed before the Western Han has been handed down from generation to generation among the people of Boshan, and to this day middle-aged and elderly women still sing long songs in place of weeping with the traditional Meng Jiangnü tune to express their grief, forming a culture of weeping rich in local colour and a precious living sample for the study of folk legend.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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