This November, my students learned the legend of the blue willow
Short version: A rich Manderin has this beautiful daughter Koong-Se,
and they live in a beautiful house.
He wants her to marry this powerful duke, but she's in love with her dad's accountant (Chang),
which makes her dad angry.
and they live in a beautiful house.
He wants her to marry this powerful duke, but she's in love with her dad's accountant (Chang),
which makes her dad angry.
Dad builds a fence around their house, to keep Chang and Koong-Se apart.
On the day Koong-Se is supposed to marry the duke
(the day the last blossom falls form the willow tree) she and Chang sneak off,
steal the duke's boat and sail away to an island.
(the day the last blossom falls form the willow tree) she and Chang sneak off,
steal the duke's boat and sail away to an island.
Eventually, the duke finds them - and his soldiers kill Koong-Se and Chang.
The gods honor them by turning them into doves.
TOGETHER FOREVER.
The gods honor them by turning them into doves.
TOGETHER FOREVER.
We identified the visual symbols in the story:
the fence built around it