Lady Meng Jiang

Common card · No. 398907

Lady Meng Jiang or Meng Jiang Nü (Chinese: 孟姜女; pinyin: Mèng Jiāng Nǚ) is a Chinese tale with many variations. Later versions of the tale are usually set in the Qin dynasty; in those tales, Lady Meng Jiang's newly married husband was pressed into service by imperial officials and sent as corvée labor to work in the construction of the Great Wall of China. Lady Meng Jiang heard nothing after his departure, so she set out to bring him winter clothes. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the Great Wall, her husband had already died. Hearing the news, she wept so bitterly that a part of the Great Wall collapsed, revealing his bones. The story is now counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being The Legend of the White Snake (Baishezhuan), the Butterfly Lovers, and The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd (Niulang Zhinü). Chinese folklorists in the early 20th century discovered that the legend existed in many forms and genres and evolved over the last 2,000 years. The section of...

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