Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
The Seventh Fairy
天仙配
The Seventh Fairy (天仙配, Tiānxiān pèi) is a Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin as a 4-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 2 (Elementary).
Retold from the Han-dynasty legend of Dong Yong: a poor farmer, a talking locust tree, a fairy from heaven, ten bolts of silk in one night, and a hundred days that must end at noon.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — A warm storyteller who sets the scene.
- Dong Yong · 董永 — A poor, strong and kind young farmer who loves his late father.
- The Seventh Fairy · 七姐 — The Jade Emperor's seventh daughter, who comes down from heaven to help Dong Yong.
- The Old Locust Tree · 老槐树 — A thousand-year-old talking tree who plays matchmaker.
- Master Fu · 傅员外 — A greedy, boastful rich landlord.
- The Fairy Sisters · 仙女姐姐们 — Six bright fairy sisters who help weave the silk.
- Voice from Heaven · 天上的声音 — A deep, grand voice calling the fairy home.
4 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: Three Years for a Funeral
三年的工
Poor Dong Yong has no money to bury his father, so he sells three years of work to a greedy landlord. Then an old tree starts to talk.
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Tree Is the Matchmaker
老槐树做媒人
A fairy steps out of the light, an old tree plays matchmaker, and greedy Master Fu sets an impossible test: ten bolts of silk in one night.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 3: Ten Bolts in One Night
一夜十匹布
Behind a closed door, a glowing loom clacks all night. By morning Master Fu is speechless, but the fairy has a secret that will break Dong Yong's heart.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 4: Noon on the Hundredth Day
一百天以后
On the hundredth day, Dong Yong and the fairy beg the old tree for help. At noon the sky opens, and a love that heaven cannot take away is put to the test.
SayMei Stories
Key words in The Seventh Fairy
Behind the story
Dong Yong (董永) is one of the heroes of the Twenty-four Exemplars of Filial Piety (二十四孝), a famous collection of stories about devoted children. In the legend, he sells his labor to pay for his father's funeral, and heaven rewards his goodness by sending the Jade Emperor's seventh daughter to help him.
The tale has been retold for many centuries in storytelling, local operas and films under the title 天仙配, "The Fairy Match". In many stage versions an old locust tree speaks and plays matchmaker. This retelling uses new words of its own and keeps the heart of the legend: loyalty, love, and a promise that outlasts a goodbye.
Did you know?
- The city of Xiaogan (孝感) in Hubei has a name that means roughly "moved by filial piety", and local tradition connects it with Dong Yong.
- The Chinese title 天仙配 means a match between a heavenly fairy and a mortal man.
- Old locust trees have long been village landmarks in China, where people gather in their shade to rest and talk.