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Transformation Into Butterflies in the Legend of the Butterfly Lovers
WANG Li
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2026.05.001
Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
The Legend of the Butterfly Lovers is a popular Chinese legend which has been listed as one of the Four Great Chinese Folktales, alongside Legend of White Snake, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and Meng Jiangnü Bringing Down the Great Wall. The story tells of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, two lovers whose devotion defied social conventions. After their tragic deaths, their spirits transform into a pair of butterflies. This study explores and traces the motif of transformation into a butterfly, intertwining philosophical reflection, the romantic aesthetics of butterflies in Chinese literary tradition, and their transformation as an enduring symbol of union and eternity.
The Legend of the Butterfly Lovers, transformation, butterflies
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