Cinderella, the hero of the story, is a beautiful girl of 19 years old. She has a vicious stepmother and two cruel sisters. She was often bullied by her stepmother and two sisters, forced to do heavy work and often covered in dust, so she was nicknamed "Cinderella".
One day, the prince in the city held a ball and invited all the girls in the city to attend, but Cinderella was not allowed to attend by her stepmother and two sisters, and she was asked to do a lot of work, which made her very disappointed and sad. At this moment, a fairy appeared, helping her to turn into a noble girl, a mouse into a groom, a pumpkin into a carriage, and a beautiful suit and a pair of crystal (glass) shoes for Cinderella to wear. Cinderella was very happy and hurried to the palace to attend the dance.
Before she left, the fairy reminded her not to stay until midnight, after which the magic would be lifted automatically. Cinderella agreed, and she attended the dance. As soon as the prince saw her, he was fascinated by her and immediately invited her to dance. The happy time passed quickly, and it was almost midnight. Cinderella had to leave at once, leaving a glass slipper in a hurry.
The prince was very sad, so he sent a minister to travel all over the country to find a girl who could wear this glass slipper. Despite the efforts of her stepmother and sister, the priest succeeded in finding Cinderella. The prince was very happy, so he proposed to Cinderella, and Cinderella agreed. They lived happily ever after.
Most scholars believe that Cinderella's story originated in China:
Specifically, it originated from the Zhuang nationality in the south of China. An article by library journal, an American school, once said, "China's Xian Ye story is the basis of the famous Cinderella story in Europe. Westerners know this story at least later than China 1000 years. " (Duan Heng: Page 8)
Due to the prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road, this story spread from China to all parts of the world, and it also changed in the process of communication. For example, Xian Ye's "golden shoes" became Cinderella's "crystal shoes".
The Maritime Silk Road, "formed in the Qin and Han Dynasties, developed in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and culminated in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with Zheng He, the eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, going to the West as the last glory" (Duan Heng: page 6), is not only a link between Chinese and Western economies, but also a bridge between Chinese and Western cultures.