A talented young woman from
Zhejiang province in
China during the
Six Dynasties period. She refused to marry, saying she'd rather study and
see the world first. Her father let her go,
disguised as a young man, to school. She fell in
love with a fellow student named
Liang Shangbo, but did not tell him she loved him or that she was really a
woman. She told him to come see her, that they were
kindred spirits and he should marry her "
sister." He agreed.
For whatever reason, it was years before he finally visited. He or perhaps she was already
engaged to someone else by this point. He died of a
broken heart when he found out the truth. She threw herself into his
grave, which closed over them both.
It is said that they were turned into a pair of yellow and black
butterflies, which remains a symbol of
true love and
red thread destined love.
Definitely one of
history's
Uppity Women, despite her then-
politically correct tragic end.