Chinese legend · 声匠改编 · 4:20
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl
A kind cowherd marries the Weaver Girl from heaven, until the Queen Mother draws a river of stars between them. Then thousands of magpies build a bridge.
Narrator
Niulang, the Cowherd
The Weaver Girl
The Old Ox
The Queen Mother of the West
The Two ChildrenOther languages · 2 languages
About this story
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is one of China's Four Great Folktales and the story behind the Qixi Festival. It grew out of two star names: the Book of Songs, more than 2,500 years old, already mentions the Weaver Girl and the Herd Ox in the sky, a poem among the Han-dynasty Nineteen Old Poems shows them gazing at each other across the Milky Way, and by the 5th and 6th centuries the tale of a marriage punished with one meeting a year had taken shape. This version follows the best-loved folk telling, with the talking ox, the Queen Mother's river of stars and the magpie bridge.
What it teaches
Kindness and hard work are worth treasuring, and a loving family keeps reaching for each other, even across a river of stars. That is why Qixi is often called Chinese Valentine's Day, though its older name is the Begging for Skills Festival.
Suits
Ages 5–12
Tips for telling it
- Tell it around Qixi, then look for Vega and Altair on either side of the Milky Way on a clear summer night.
- Pause after the Queen Mother draws the river and let your child guess what happens next.
- Share an old Qixi custom: girls once tried to thread needles by moonlight and asked the Weaver Girl for clever hands.
Questions people ask
- What is the Qixi Festival story?
- Qixi, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, celebrates the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. The Queen Mother separated the couple with the Milky Way, but they are allowed to meet once a year on a bridge of magpies, on that very night.
- Which stars are the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?
- The Weaver Girl is Vega, in the constellation Lyra, and the Cowherd is Altair, in Aquila, across the Milky Way. The two fainter stars on either side of Altair are said to be their children in the baskets.
- Why is Qixi called Chinese Valentine's Day?
- Because it celebrates the yearly meeting of two people in love. Traditionally it was also the Begging for Skills Festival, when girls prayed to the Weaver Girl for skill at weaving and needlework.
More Chinese folk legends
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