Butterfly Lovers: A Tale of the Chinese Romeo and Juliet

Based on the Chinese folk tale 'Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai', this romantic tragedy portrays 'Romeo and Juliet' from a distinctly Chinese angle, with its two star-crossed lovers facing the obstacle of a class-based arranged marriage and the archaic idea that 'a virtuous woman is one without any talent.' Their fateful convergence begins as the heroine, Yingtai, escapes from her imprisonment in a home where she is not valued and disguises herself as a man, only to fall passionately in love with Shanbo, the poor young scholar she comes to live and study with while she is in disguise. Yingtai's family is not at war with Shanbo's; rather, it does not recognise its existence. Traversing class and gender expectations, Yingtai and Shanbo spiral toward the inevitable consequences of a life so much at odds with tradition.

Ms. Fan Dai is the author of two books: The China Boy Who Fought His Way into Broadway (Homa & Sekey Books, 1998) and Thirty Thousand Miles in the United States and Canada (The Commercial Press, 1999). A native of China, she received her English and professional training in England and America. She holds an M.A. degree from the State University of New York and is currently teaching English at Zhongshan University. Ms. Dai has also published over 70 newspaper and magazine articles.