[1] The song tells of a rebellious woman named Lan Huahua who, forced into an arranged marriage, chooses to break with convention and runs away with her lover.
[3] Another suggestion is that the song comes from the Republic of China era – Lan Huahua is said to be real person who fell in love with a member of the Red Army that had moved into Yan'an.
This version was collected from various places in Shaaxi including Gulin, Yan'an, and Suide, and has 20 stanzas arranged into 3 sections.
The first section tells of the birth of Lan Huahua, how she was the best of all the girls in 13 provinces, and her marriage into the Zhou family.
Five grains sprout in the fields, the tallest of them is the sorghum, All the girls in 13 provinces, the best of them is Lan Huahua.
Lan Huahua stepped down from the sedan chair, looking right and viewing left, Gazing upon the monkey-faced old man, looking like a grave.
In my hand I hold lamb meat, grasping in arm a cake, I risk my life to run to my beloved's home.
[6][7] The story has also been adapted into an opera Lan Huahua by composer Zhang Qianyi and librettist Zhao Daming for the National Centre for the Performing Arts, which premiered in 2017.