The Trials of Liang Yingtai

The story of Liang Yingtai and Li Tang is one of the Foundation Tales - stories which make up the key foundation for the religion of the Trinity Cult and detail the most famous incidents of mortals interacting with the Gods.

Summary

Liang Yingtai and Li Tang were lovers from Akanowa. Their love was said to be so strong it could literally be felt from all across the island and even make others fall in love. But one day Li Tang was killed in a sudden and ruthless bandit attack when an arrow pierced her heart. Distraught, Liang vowed to climb Mount Strega, where it is said the Gods resided. He climbed for two months without rest in an attempt to seek an audience with Mithani, in the hopes he would restore Li Tang to life. As he climbed he met Floree, the beautiful goddess of peace, who transformed into Li Tang just for him so that he would end his impossible quest and return to his town. However, he knew that Floree was not Tang and he resolved to keep climbing. Ram saw Liang with Floree and he felt that he must have seduced Floree against her will. He hunted Liang down, but the determined lover evaded his attempts by hiding in the nocks of the mountain.
At last, after 6 months of climbing he reached the top. He glimpsed the palace of the gods, but that glimpse left him dumbstruck and the poor youth fell from the mountain. Floree, distraught that nothing could be done to have stopped the tragedy turned Liang into an eagle. This eagle is still believed to live and is said to protect lovers from sudden tragedy.

Historical Basis

Like all the legends, the historical basis is disputed. Historians doubt the veracity of such a story but accept that a animal may well have tried to climb Mount Strega, to their doom. The reasons for why someone would attempt such a foolish act is suggested as the historical basis for this story, though no identifiable person can be attributed to that act.

In Literature

The two lovers form the bedrock of romantic literature - they are often referenced in stories, such as Aka Jiang's "Romance of Five Cities" and Tete Bu's "Desert Love". In his eagle guise Liang occasionally appears to offer protection and encouragement to would-be lovers, per his role as a protector of love.

In Art

Naturally their story often forms the subject of paintings and poems. Generally they tend to focus either on the beginning of the tale, depicting the idyllic lives of Liang and Li in the lands of Akanowa, or the final moments of Liang, as he began to fall from the mountain. Each invites rich depiction of the gods or pastoral backgrounds for the artist to explore.

Date of First Recording

c. 97 BF

Date of Setting

Akanowa and Ardhi