The Legend of Tanabata, English

Looking up at the starry sky on August 7th, you will find something romantic happening in the sky. Valentine's Day in China is on July 7th of the lunar calendar, and this year is on August 7th. On Thursday night, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl will meet on the Magpie Bridge across the Milky Way. Grandma in China will remind children that they can't. I didn't see any magpies that night, because all the magpies left and built a bridge in the sky with their wings. The romantic legend has been circulating for nearly two thousand years. This story was recorded as early as the Jin Dynasty (AD 256-420). There are poems about love stories in the poems, and many China operas also tell this story. People in China think that Vega. In the constellation Aquila, east of the Milky Way, the cowherd is waiting for his wife. It is said that the Weaver Girl is the youngest of the seven daughters of Tianhou. She and her sisters worked hard to weave beautiful clouds in the sky, and Cowherd was a poor orphan Cowherd who was driven out of the house by his brother and cruel wife. Cowherd lamented his lonely and poor life with Lao Niu, his only friend and companion. The magical cow kindly told him a way to find a beautiful and kind woman as his life partner. Under the guidance of the cow, the cowherd came to the river one evening, and the seven fairies slipped out of their heavenly palace to take a bath. He took a beautiful silk dress left by fairies on the shore. When the fairies left the water, the youngest couldn't find her clothes and had to watch her sisters fly back to heaven alone. Then the cowherd came out with a dress and asked the youngest fairy Zhinu to stay with him. A few years have passed, on earth, this is just a few days in heaven. Before Tianhou found out that Weaver Girl was not around, Cowherd and Weaver Girl lived happily together and had two children. She was very angry and took the Weaver Girl back to heaven. Seeing his beloved wife flying in the sky, the cowherd is honored. He saw cowhide hanging on the wall. The magical cow told him before he died of old age: "Keep the cowhide. In case of emergency. " He put on cowhide and took two children to chase after his wife. With the help of cowhide, the cowherd was able to follow the Weaver Girl into heaven. He was about to find his wife when the queen appeared. She pulled out her hairpin and drew a line between them. This line becomes the Milky Way in the sky, or the Milky Way. The Weaver Maid returned to Tiangongfang and continued to weave clouds. But she is so sad and misses her husband across the galaxy so much that the clouds she weaves seem to be sad, too. Finally, the queen was merciful and allowed the couple to meet on the Milky Way once a year. The most famous poem about legend was written by Qin Guan in Song Dynasty. The fairy of Magpie Bridge is in the beautiful clouds, across the Tianhe River and through the Weaver Girl. A date night, across the autumn sky. Beyond the joy of the world. Gentle love and dream moment, so sad to leave the magpie bridge. The eternal love between us can stand the test of time. (Translated by Kylie Hsu) Queqiao Song Xian Qin Guan Yun Zhi Qiao Fei Xing preaches that Han Yin Tuo will win when they meet in the dark land, but there are countless tender feelings in the world, so they have to endure Gu's return. If the two love each other for a long time, sooner or later. The story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl doesn't seem so intense or passionate. Love won't kill or break the barriers between them. They just waited patiently on the riverbank, believing that their love could bear the time of their separation. In this story and many other China folk love stories, the emphasis is on faith and emotional connection, rather than physical attraction and desire. In a few folk love stories in China, descriptions of the appearance of the hero and heroine can be found. In butterfly lovers, the heroine goes to school dressed as a boy and falls in love with a classmate. When they lived together as classmates for many years, the hero had no idea that his best friend was actually a girl! The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the only festival about love in the China lunar calendar. Unlike Valentine's Day in western countries, people don't pay much attention to giving chocolates, flowers and kisses. On the contrary, China girls prepare fruits, melons and incense as sacrifices to the Weaver Girl, practice to acquire superb embroidery skills, and hope to find a satisfactory husband. At night, people sit outdoors and watch the stars. China's grandmother will say that if you stand under the vine, you may overhear what the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd are talking about.