The butterfly lovers story !.... The composition (1959) itself was based on the Opera "Butterfly Lovers" which is very traditional Chinese. This melody comes from a Chinese folk song of the yellow river, and tells the story of Zhu Yingtai's childhood. Zhu Yingtai is a beautiful and intelligent young woman, the ninth child and only daughter of the wealthy noble Zhu family of Shangyu, Zhejiang.