HISTORY · LITERATURE · FOLKLORE
Ancient Chinese
love stories.
Discover the lovers, poems, and legends of premodern China. Some lived. Some were imagined. All left a story.
Begin with a legend. Follow it back to its source.
Stories worth remembering
Qixi Festival: Love, Weaving, and the Wish for Skill
Often called Chinese Valentine’s Day, Qixi also carries a rich history of women’s crafts, offerings, friendship, and hopes for the future.
The Peony Pavilion: A Dream of Love and a Return to Life
Tang Xianzu’s play follows Du Liniang through a dream, death, and resurrection, testing the power of feeling against authority.
Qin Guan’s Que Qiao Xian: A Love Poem about Distance
A Song dynasty lyric turns the Cowherd and Weaver Girl’s brief reunion into a reflection on love that survives separation.
LegendThe Cowherd and the Weaver Girl: The Story behind Qixi
A river of stars separates Niulang and Zhinü, until a bridge of magpies grants the lovers one annual reunion.
When love endures, it need not be together every morning and evening.Inspired by Qin Guan’s Que Qiao Xian · Song dynasty
Explore by topic
There is more than one way to tell a love story.
Explore a world of devoted lovers, impossible choices, and words that travelled across centuries.
AboutThe collection
Continue your journey
Historical accountEmperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei: History and Everlasting Regret
A Tang emperor and his consort became the subjects of an enduring poem. Separate the historical crisis from its literary afterlife.
LegendThe Legend of the White Snake: Love across Two Worlds
Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian’s marriage joins the human and spirit worlds in a story with remarkably different endings.
LegendThe Butterfly Lovers: Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai
Two classmates, a marriage arranged elsewhere, and a pair of butterflies: discover the story behind China’s enduring love legend.