Legend of Meng Jiangnu
01 · Historical Records
The legend originated in the period from the pre-Qin to the end of the Six Dynasties and has two great sources: the tale that the Qi general Qi Liang died attacking Ju and his wife wept and brought down the wall; and the tale that the Qin conscript Qi Liang died building the wall and his wife wept and brought down the wall. From the early Tang to the Five Dynasties the focus of the legend shifted from weeping down the Great Wall to sending winter clothing. After the Song, while continually influenced by the two sources, the legend on the one hand attached itself to walls and other structures in various places, took root, and combining with local history and scenery presented a rich and varied aspect.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Meng Jiangnü legend is a legend about Meng Jiangnü's tragic love song of seeking her husband over a thousand li. Laiwu in Shandong is one of its important areas of circulation, with Shangwangzhuang village in Chayekou town of Laicheng district as the core area, radiating along the Qi Great Wall and forming a cluster of legends. In those years, after Qin Shi Huang unified China, border trade was frequent and merchants came and went north and south at Chayekou. Meng Chengxin of Mengjia valley village, in business, met the merchant Fan Youshan of Wangzhuang village; they became close friends and swore to be friends unto death. As both their wives were pregnant, they betrothed the unborn children. The next year Fan Youshan's family had a boy named Fan Xiliang, and Meng Chengxin's family a girl named Meng Jiangnü, and it was agreed that they should marry at eighteen. When Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall and seized men everywhere for labour, Fan Xiliang, to evade conscription, changed his name to Wan Qiliang; after several failed attempts to hide he was taken by the soldiers, and died of hunger and exhaustion on the Great Wall, buried within it. Meng Jiangnü sought her husband over a thousand li, enacting a tragic love song. The legend takes various forms, mainly oral narration and singing; oral narration includes the origin of Meng Jiangnü and the episode of weeping for her husband and bringing down the wall. Shangwangzhuang village has formed a Meng Jiangnü belief: on the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, at Qingming, the Winter Clothing Festival and New Year's Eve the villagers of their own accord burn incense and sacrifice at Meng Jiangnü's tomb, praying for peace and expressing remembrance. The Meng Jiangnü legend is of long standing, has a wide reach and circulates widely in Laiwu, handed down from generation to generation.
The Meng Jiangnü Legend of Shangwangzhuang Village
The cluster of legends centred on Shangwangzhuang village in Chayekou town, Laiwu.
Seeking Her Husband over a Thousand Li
The core episode of Meng Jiangnü seeking her husband at the Great Wall and enacting a tragic love song.
Weeping for Her Husband and Bringing Down the Wall
The classic episode of Meng Jiangnü weeping down the Great Wall.
Sacrifice at Meng Jiangnü's Tomb
The votive activity in which villagers of their own accord sacrifice at Meng Jiangnü's tomb on the fifteenth of the third lunar month, at Qingming, the Winter Clothing Festival and New Year's Eve.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Local tradition holds that Meng Jiangnü's ancestral home was Mengjia valley village in Zhangqiu, and that she married Fan Xiliang of Shangwangzhuang village.
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 a long history and is poignantly moving; it circulates widely and is closely bound up with the Great Wall and the customs and scenery along it, becoming the creative subject of many art forms and possessing relatively high historical, folkloric and artistic value. Telling of the pursuit of love and resistance to feudalism, it embodies the national spirit of fearing no hardship and persevering, and plays a positive role in transmitting national culture and strengthening cultural identity.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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