The Chinese tale of the butterfly lovers - Lijun Zhang episode artwork

EPISODE · May 20, 2026 · 6 MIN

The Chinese tale of the butterfly lovers - Lijun Zhang

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into the Chinese myth of Zhu Yingtai, who disguises herself as a boy in order to attend school, and her love Liang Shanbo.--Although only boys were allowed at the Confucius Academy, what Zhu Yingtai wanted was to go to school. She begged her parents to let her attend dressed as a boy and, seeing her determination and clever disguises, they finally agreed— as long as she kept her identity a secret and later returned to the traditional path they’d set for her. Lijun Zhang shares the Chinese myth of the butterfly lovers.Lesson by Lijun Zhang, directed by Amir Houshang Moein.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShopTED-Ed 的免费教育动画现有中文版! http://bit.ly/3izGgpo----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-chinese-legend-of-the-butterfly-lovers-lijun-zhangDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-chinese-legend-of-the-butterfly-lovers-lijun-zhang#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://vimeo.com/amirhoushangmoein----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jonathan Bates JBZ, Aria Smith, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Camehira, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Jayson Gasper Ayson, Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, Aravind C V, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, LvL042, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski, AJ Lyon, Anandha Krishnan, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Christopher McVay, Carlo Solaroli, Javier Aldavaz, Ivan Yeung and Brian Elieson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into the Chinese myth of Zhu Yingtai, who disguises herself as a boy in order to attend school, and her love Liang Shanbo.--Although only boys were allowed at the Confucius Academy, what Zhu Yingtai wanted was to go to school. She begged her parents to let her attend dressed as a boy and, seeing her determination and clever disguises, they finally agreed— as long as she kept her identity a secret and later returned to the traditional path they’d set for her. Lijun Zhang shares the Chinese myth of the butterfly lovers.Lesson by Lijun Zhang, directed by Amir Houshang Moein.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShopTED-Ed 的免费教育动画现有中文版! http://bit.ly/3izGgpo----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-chinese-legend-of-the-butterfly-lovers-lijun-zhangDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-chinese-legend-of-the-butterfly-lovers-lijun-zhang#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://vimeo.com/amirhoushangmoein----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jonathan Bates JBZ, Aria Smith, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Camehira, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Jayson Gasper Ayson, Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, Aravind C V, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, LvL042, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski, AJ Lyon, Anandha Krishnan, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Christopher McVay, Carlo Solaroli, Javier Aldavaz, Ivan Yeung and Brian Elieson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Chinese tale of the butterfly lovers - Lijun Zhang

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This episode was published on May 20, 2026.

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Dig into the Chinese myth of Zhu Yingtai, who disguises herself as a boy in order to attend school, and her love Liang Shanbo.--Although only boys were allowed at the Confucius Academy, what Zhu Yingtai wanted was to go to school. She begged her...

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