Lady Meng Jiang Wailed at the Great Wall is a traditional legend and also has been one of the four love Chinese Folktales. It has been widespread for thousands of years.

The folklore tells a tragic love story between Meng Jiang and her husband named Fan Xiliang. It goes that during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), the newlywed couple Fan and Meng were separated as the groom was forced to build the Great Wall. Meng missed him very much. After innumerable hardships, Meng finally arrived at the construction site. However, she was told that her husband had died of starvation and fatigue and his corpse was buried under the Great Wall. She went nearly mad with grief and cried for three days. It was said that she cried down 800 miles of the Great Wall. Due to the collapse of the Great Wall, she finally managed to find her husband’s skeletons. After that, she committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

According to the ancient documents, the earliest version of legend of Lady Meng Jiang was recorded in “Zuo Zhuan” (a historical book). It had various details at the very beginning for it had been transmitted by word of mouth. This legend has a variety of literary forms such as folk songs, poems, operas, etc. It has been one of the widely known legends since ancient times and is loved by the people throughout the world.