Mandarin ducks and these animals name a popular genre of early 20th-century Chinese entertainment fiction. “Judge Bao Thrice Investigates” an event regarding one of these animals in the title of a Guān Hànqīng play. A man is nicknamed for this animal after sending a letter that says, “I have already given you my shame.” These animals’ association with romance derives from a story in which a woman throws herself into her lover’s grave on her wedding day and their spirits emerge in the form of these animals. A play titled for one of these animals ends with the protagonist killing himself in his prison cell while dressed in his lover’s wig and kimono. In a play titled for one of these animals, René Gallimard falls in love with the opera singer Song Liling, who is revealed to be a man. For 10 points, name this animal that titles a David Henry Hwang play that was inspired by a Giacomo Puccini opera. ■END■
ANSWER: butterflies [or butterfly; accept Madame Butterfly or Madama Butterfly; accept M. Butterfly; accept Butterfly Lovers; accept Butterfly Dream or Judge Bao Thrice Investigates the Butterfly Dream or Bāo Dài Zhì Sān Kān Húdié Mèng; accept Yuānyāng Húdié; prompt on insects or arthropods; prompt on lepidopterans; reject “caterpillars”]
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