Love in Long-life Hall

On seventh day of seventh moon when none was near,

At midnight in Long-life Hall he whispered in her ear:

“On high we would be two birds flying wing to wing;

On earth two trees with branches twined from spring to spring.”


Such is the love story of Emperor Xuan Zong of the TangDynasty and his favorite Lady Yang,Such is also the theme of the tragedy of Lovein Long-life Hall written by Hong Sheng of Qing dynasty. The emperor’s love for his Lady which ends in the army’s revolt and in her tragic death is considered as a turning point of Tang dynasty’s decline and fall.