From childhood I was fascinated by the Willow pattern plates which seemed to be in every British household. The design was made by Wedgwood but copied by other china makers. When I went to Shanghai as an adult and looked for the bridge I had trouble describing the story which nobody could recognize. Next time I go to China I shall print out a colour copy of the Willow pattern plate. You will find them in the china departments of department stores in the UK, on eBay, in charity shops, all over the place in the UK. Apparently the Japanese are also keen collectors of British china.
A Facebook contact mentioned a chinese story which he said was the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day. It is one of the four great classic Chinese stories.
Interestingly the Willow pattern plate shows the dead lovers ascending through the sky reincarnated as two birds. The other myth, of the weaver girl and the cowherd, features a flock of magpies and a bridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weaver_Girl_and_the_Cowherd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_pattern
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
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