Legend of Meng Jiangnu

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Legend of Meng Jiangnu

Applicant: Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province

Item No.: 8

Project No.: I-8

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Folk Literature

Region: Hebei Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province

Protected by: Shanhaiguan District Cultural Center, Qinhuangdao City

The legend of Meng Jiangnu

Applicant: Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province

The legend of Meng Jiangnu came into being in the Warring States period. It has been popular since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a common theme in local operas, libretto and other popular literature works. It mainly exposes the heavy corvee and exploitation in feudal society, and praises the loyal love.

The legend of mengjiangnu in Hebei originated from the story of Qi Liang's wife in the book of rites. By the Tang Dynasty, the plot and theme of the story were very close to that of Meng Jiangnu, but the time of the story changed from the spring and Autumn period to the Qin Dynasty, the location changed from "Qi Great Wall" to "Qin Great Wall", and the characters changed from Qi Liang and his wife to Yan Renqi Liang and his wife Meng. In the Ming Dynasty, the plot of "forced marriage by the first emperor of Qin Dynasty" was added, and the story was completely finalized. The story of Meng Jiangnu has spread from Songjiang mansion in the south of the Yangtze River to Shanhaiguan in the north. There is a zhennu temple on Fenghuang Mountain in the east of Shanhaiguan, which is now called Meng Jiangnu temple.

The legend of Meng Jiangnu in Jiashan is a folk love story mainly spread in the Lishui River Valley of Northwest Hunan. There are many literary and artistic works based on the legend of Meng Jiangnu in Jiashan, such as ballads, operas, folk stories and so on. At present, there are more than 100 ancient poems by Meng Jiangnu, a scholar since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Contemporary artistic creations such as opera "Meng Jiangnu in Jiashan", song "Meng Jiangnu" and song and dance drama "the moon of Qin Dynasty" also emerge in an endless stream. The legend of Meng Jiangnu in Jiashan is also integrated with the local folk customs, forming a unique Nuo culture of Meng Jiangnu in the northwest of Hunan Province with the Lishui River Basin as the center.

The legend of Meng Jiangnu has a wide range of mass and folk heritage, clear historical evolution clues, rich ideological connotation, tortuous and moving plot, strong artistic appeal, and has certain value in historical research and literature and art. Unfortunately, young people are losing their enthusiasm for traditional folk literature due to the influence of fashion and entertainment culture. Few of them know the story of Meng Jiangnu crying for the Great Wall. Some folk artists who can tell the story of Meng Jiangnu crying for the great wall and sing folk songs are getting old. The inheritance of Meng Jiangnu's legend is facing the situation of no successor. There are few cultural relics and architectural sites existing among the people, and some of them have been or are being seriously damaged, so it is urgent to invest a lot of money to protect and repair them.