 |
|
 | |
 | |
|
|
| |
| |
There is a famous fable in China, taught to every young child, about two lovers, whose names are in the title. They met as male friends, but in fact Zhu Ying-tai later revealed that she was a woman, and they knew they were in love. As you might imagine, this plays a powerful role in the self-awareness of young people whose sexuality or gender is not conventional, and this was especially so before the general awareness of these things that has come about in the last decade or so.
There are several film versions, but the easiest to obtain is the 1963 Shaw Brothers version, beautifully filmed. It is sold in the West under the title The Love Eterne. I found it very powerful and moving, and it is an excellent start for western viewers who may be unaccustomed to Chinese material. It is described as an operetta, but it is nearer to a romantic musical. Ivy Ling-po plays the man Liang Shan-bo and Betty Loh-ti plays the woman, Zhu Ying-tai. I have a synopsis from the 1963 film version of the story here:
There are very many versions of the story that have been filmed, and the conversion of the Chinese title to English is a bit variable too. The picture is from the 1954 Wang Tian-Ling version. Both the main characters are usually played by female actors.
Versions I know about include:
Liang Shanba yu Zhu Yingtai (1954) aka the Romance of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai
Liang Zhu hen shi (1958) aka the Tragic Story of Shanbo Liang and Yingtai Zhu
Liang Shanba yu Zhu Yingtai (1964)
Liang Shan-bo yu Zhu Ying Tai (1963) aka Liang Shan-po and Chu Ying-t'ai aka The Love Eterne.
HF May 2007
 |
This Page: Liang Shan-bo yu Zhu Ying-taiReturn to Alphabetical Index PageReturn to Home Page |
Hazel Freeman's |
 |
Hazel Freeman |
and hosted at |
|
