Goddess Marriage
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The legend of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy
As with all the great Chinese Love stories, this one starts with forbidden love and ends tragically. The legend of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy (董永与七仙女 ) is a widely known love story between a goddess and a mortal. Once there lived a very poor family, with just a father and his son. They worked day and night in the field just to earn enough for rent and a little food. One year a brutal drought destroyed the land, and sick with sorrow, the father passed away, leaving no inheritance for the son. The boy, Dong Yong (董永), was honest and very kindhearted, and all he wanted to do was give his beloved father a proper funeral, but he had no money at all. The impoverished little scholar effectively sold himself into slavery to pay for his father's funeral. Three days after the funeral ended he started working day and night to pay off his debt. One day, as he took a moment of respite under a tree, a beautiful maiden approached him and asked why he was working so hard with so little rest. Dong Yong told the girl why he worked so hard for such a pitiless landlord, and burst into tears. The maiden had a story of her own as well – she said her mother had died when she was young and her father had remarried, and now her new stepmother wanted to marry her off to someone. She then burst into tears as well. Dong Yong, unsurprisingly, had a novel solution – he suggested they get married, because neither of them had anywhere to go, and neither of them had any family left. He said that perhaps these two strangers could help each other heal their wounds. From that moment on, the sorrow that loomed in their hearts drifted away, and they asked the spirits of the earth to marry them then and there. The newly wedded husband and wife started working together for the landlord, but he had his conditions. The couple had to weave ten items of cloth each night, and they agreed.
Legend of Dong Yong
The legend of Dong Yong and the seventh fairy is a story wildly known in China. The story has it that a guy in the Han Dynasty named Dong Yong was so dutiful that the seventh fairy in Heaven was touched and descended to the human world to help him pay off his debt by weaving. The story is much favored by the general public and has been selected on the List of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritages. The legend of Dong Yong first appeared in Biography of Dutiful Sons written by Liu Xiang, a famous scholar in the Western Han Dynasty. Record of the legend provided in Soushenji (Deities Searching Record) written by Gan Bao, a scholar in the Jin Dynasty has been widespread in the rural areas in China by virtue of its prominent theme (Filial piety) and integral plot, thus serving as an original edition of story evolution and literary transplantation, which has exerted profound influence on later generations. This story embodies the cultural tradition of filial piety in China; meanwhile, it contains some romantic tinge, which caters to the general public's desire for happy marriage. Moreover, with its artistic features reflecting on the skillful combination of fantastic imagination with human reality, the story has been acting as a common theme for pop literature (e.g. talking and singing, traditional drama) and the subject matter of the movie and television, of which the movie-edition Huangmei Opera The Heavenly Match is extensively influential. The legend of Dong Yong has been, during a long spreading time of over 2000 years, continuously combined with people's life in various regions and has evolved to be legends of distinctive regional features. Accordingly, customs in this regard have been formed and relics have come into existence, such as cultural relics, steles, villages and toponym which are related to Dong Yong's life experience. For instance, there is Dongjia Village and Dong Yong grave in Boxing County, Shandong Province, a stele written with "Dong Yong's Native Place" and "Consensual marriage cloth" in Xiaohuai Village in Wanrong County, Shanxi Province, and ceremonious worship of the dutiful son in temple fairs held on the third day of the second lunar month and the tenth day of the eleventh lunar month annually in Wuzhi County, Henan Province. Historical and literary material contained in the legend of Dong Yong is valuable to the research on the society, economy, politics and culture, in particular on the literature and art of every dynasty of China.
History and Significant Figures
Background Binzhou is blessed with a long and interesting history as it has witnessed the rise and fall of several dynasties in ancient China. It is one of the origins where the Yellow River and the Qi culture were founded and flourished. The kingdom Pugu was founded in Binzhou during the Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1050 BCE), and since then, many administrative divisions including counties, shires and prefectures have been established. The city “Binzhou” was officially named and established during the Five Dynasties Period (907 to 960), and in Chinese, the meaning of the city’s name takes after the city’s close proximity to the Bohai Sea. With a rich history, Binzhou is the hometown of many influential figures in Chinese history, including Sun Tzu, Fan Zhongyan and Dong Yong. These three great historical figures, along with others, were born in Binzhou or have spent a good amount of their life in Binzhou. Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War Sun Tzu (544BC to 496BC) was a Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient China. He is the author of The Art of War, an extremely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. Sun Tzu has had a significant impact on Chinese and Asian history and culture, both as the author of The Art of War and as a legendary historical figure. The Art of War has been praised and employed throughout China since its composition. In the twentieth century, The Art of War grew in popularity in Western society and was adapted for practical use by non-Chinese strategists as well. The book continues to grow its influence in many competitive endeavors across the world, including culture, politics, business, sports as well as modern warfare. As one of the greatest strategists the world has ever known, Sun Tzu’s former residence in Binzhou, the Old Graden of Sun Tzu, is a popular tourist attraction. Locals and visitors flock to the residence to have a better understanding of this historical figure and any trip to Shandong would be considered in vain without taking a stroll in the garden to enjoy its scenery and tranquility. Fan Zhongyan Fan Zhongyan (989 to 1052) was a prominent politician and literary figure in Song dynasty China. He was also a strategist and educator. After serving the central government of the state for many years he finally rose to the seat of Vice chancellor over the whole of the Chinese empire. Fan Zhongyan endured many hardships while grew up in poverty, and in spite of the harsh living conditions, Fan guarded his personal development with great vigilance. Fan was able to carry out and encouraged others to carry out the philosophy of “Be the first to care about the nation’s fate, the last to enjoy its comforts.” After retiring from serving his nation, Fan acquired a large tract of farmland with his own savings and run the land as a charitable farm, providing many jobs for local people. The farming profits were used to provide education for young students from poor families, and to provide care for the elderly. After Fan passed away, his descendants continued the charity deed and kept the charity farm running for generations. Dong Yong Dong Yong was a figure in one of the most influential Chinese folk tales originated in the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD). Dong was a young man from the Dong’s Village in the Guangyao County, which is the Chenhu town in Boxing County of the Shandong province today. The legend of Dong Yong and the seventh fairy is one of the best well-known folklores in China. In the legend, Dong was a dutiful young man who took care of his old father and a farm everyday. When his father passed away, Dong borrowed a lot of money to give his father a decent burial. Dong’s kindness and perseverance have deeply touched the heart of the seventh fairy in Heaven. The seventh fairy then descended from Heaven to earth to help Dong pay off his debt by weaving yards and yards of beautiful silk. This story is much beloved by many Chinese and it was enlisted on the List of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritages.
Knowledge Graph
Examples
1 Tian Xian Pei, sometimes translated as Fairy Couple, is a Chinese legend, which existed as oral traditions before any written compilation. It has since become a major subject of several Chinese opera, films and TV series.
2 The theme of these works is all about "Dongyong and the seventh fairy maiden".In addition,broad masses of people show their filial love and behaviour in the daily life.
3 The painting tells the legend of Dong Yong and the beautiful Seventh Fairy Maiden's love story, as the place is the hometown of Dong Yong.