《孔雀向東南飛》傳說是中國文學歴史上最早的長篇敍述古詩。原題為 《古詩為焦仲卿妻作》，講述了一對恩愛夫妻被殘忍地拆散的故事。

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全詩以第三人稱敘述，以「孔雀東南飛，五里一徘徊。」作引子，帶出一段發生在東漢的故事。劉蘭芝嫁了給焦仲卿，她是一位顧家及勤力的人妻，但她卻被冷漠的焦母厭惡；並經常趁其夫君不在時對蘭芝百般刁難。直到一天，焦母不能忍受蘭芝的存在，於是她棒打鴛鴦，逼迫他們離婚。

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被趕離其夫君的家後，劉便返回娘家，卻受到其兄長因見她拒絕其他提親請求而對她施加的壓力。在沒有其他選擇下，她答應了其中一位富有官員的提親要求。在婚禮前，焦仲卿到達其家後得知事情發展，就與她以淚道別。因為蘭芝仍然對她與前夫的愛情忠心，她就在再嫁前投湖溺死。

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焦仲卿得知劉自殺的消息後，亦在家中後院的樹上吊死自己，以示對劉的愛意。連續的慘劇後，焦劉兩家應仲卿要求把他們倆合葬，並在墓邊種了兩種不同的樹。之後，兩棵樹的枝幹互相交錯，而上面亦住了一對鴛鴦。每當夜晚降臨，它們以叫聲總引起途人及寡婦的注意，並告誡世人不要忘記過去的悲劇。

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這篇長篇詩歌與《木蘭辭》同為樂府體裁的代表作，兩者皆被列入國家級非物質文化遺產。有研究指出這事件真正發生在東漢時代，而敍事詩創作時間大概在東漢至南北朝期間，並在宋朝時被收錄在郭茂倩的《樂府詩集》。作者不詳。根據開端引言，現實中焦仲卿與劉蘭芝皆真有其人。經過考察後，他們的家鄉僅有一河之隔，而安徽省的孔雀墓亦是焦劉兩人的安息處。

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現今，《孔雀向東南飛》傳說已經被改編成不同民間雜劇，並為一些音樂及影視作品提供靈感。

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The Legend of the Peacock Flies Southeast is the earliest long narrative Gushi (古詩), or Classical Chinese poem. Alternatively titled An Old Poetry Dedicated for Jiao Zhongqing’s Wife, the poem, which dates to the Eastern Han period, depicts a tragic romance of a married couple that is forcefully separated due to cruel orders.

 

Set in third person narrative, the poem begins with the line “the Peacock flies Southeast, it lingers every five miles,” to open the story, hence giving the poem its name. The peacock is used to emphasize the emotions of the lovers. Liu Lanzhi (劉蘭芝) was a maiden married to Jiao Zhongqing (焦仲卿). Despite being a caring and hardworking wife, she was despised by her harsh mother-in-law, who always complained about her, while the husband was working far away from home. Until one day, the mother-in-law could not stand Liu anymore, and forcefully separated the couple by having them divorce.

 

Driven out of her husband’s home, Liu returned to her home, only to face pressure from her brother, because she rejected proposals of marriage from several other men. Without any choice, she agreed to the marriage proposal of another rich official. Before the wedding, Jiao arrived and learned of the news, and they bid a tearful farewell. Liu still remained loyal to her love of her ex-husband, so she jumped into a pond and drowned herself to death before the marriage.

 

When Jiao later heard of her death, he hung himself on a tree in the backyard of his home, to express his love towards Liu. After the consecutive tragedies, Liu and Jiao’s families followed the wishes of Jiao and buried both bodies together, planting two different kinds of trees on both sides of the grave. As the trees grew, their branches wrapped around each other, and there nested a pair of birds known as Mandarin Ducks (鴛鴦) that would call out every night and remind “the passers-by and widows” not to forget the tragedy.

 

Together with the Ballad of Mulan, this long poem is declared as one of the best Yuefu (樂府), a Chinese style of lyric poetry, and both have been inscribed onto the National lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The story was composed in the Eastern Han dynasty, and in the Northern and Southern dynasties it was included in a compilation of literature called Yutai Sin Yung (玉台新詠) by Xu Ling (徐陵), before being featured again in the Yuefu Shi ji (樂府詩集) by Guo Maoqian (郭茂倩) during the Song Dynasty. The exact author of the original poem is unknown. Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi seem to have really existed in history.  It is alleged that the lovers lived on different sides of the riverbank, and that the Peacock Tomb in Anhui province is the site where the couple is entombed.

 

The Peacock Flies Southeast Legend has been adapted into different local and national opera works, and has also been the inspiration for music and film.