Chapter 50: The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl — 牛郎織女 — Niulang and Zhinü
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A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER FIFTY
On the Matter of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl — 牛郎織女 — Niulang and Zhinü
Their names are Niulang — 牛郎 — and Zhinü — 織女.
Niu — 牛 — means cow. Ox. The animal that plows the field.
Lang — 郎 — means young man. Youth. The one who works with the cow.
Together — 牛郎 — the Cowherd. The Young Man with the Ox. The one who tends the cattle. The one who works the land.
Zhi — 織 — means to weave. To spin. To make cloth from thread.
Nü — 女 — means woman. Maiden. The one who works with thread.
Together — 織女 — the Weaver Girl. The Maiden Who Weaves. The one who makes cloth for the gods.
They are the lovers separated by the Milky Way — 銀河 — Yin He — the Silver River. They meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month — 七夕 — Qi Xi — when magpies form a bridge across the stars.
Their story is one of the four great folktales of China — 中國四大民間傳說 — Zhongguo Si Da Minjian Chuanshuo. It is the story of love across distance. It is the story of the river of stars. It is the story of the one night when the bridge forms and the lovers meet.
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On the oldest records of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
The names Niulang and Zhinü appear in the earliest Chinese texts.
The Shijing — 詩經 — the Classic of Poetry — compiled during the Western Zhou dynasty — 西周 — Xi Zhou — approximately 1000 before the common era — contains the oldest reference.
It states: The Weaver Girl weaves. She weaves the cloth of heaven. The Cowherd tends his cattle. He tends the cattle of the sky.
The poem does not tell their story. It names them. It describes their work. It places them in the sky. They are stars. They are constellations. They are not yet lovers.
The constellations are recorded in the astronomical texts. The Weaver Girl is the star Vega — 織女星 — Zhinü Xing — in the constellation Lyra. The Cowherd is the star Altair — 牛郎星 — Niulang Xing — in the constellation Aquila. They are on opposite sides of the Milky Way. They are separated by the river of stars.
The Shiji — 史記 — Records of the Grand Historian — by Sima Qian — 司馬遷 — written approximately 100 before the common era — records these stars. It states: The Weaver Girl is in the east. The Cowherd is in the west. They are separated by the Milky Way. They cannot cross.
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On the second record. The Yutai Xinyong — 玉台新詠 — New Songs from the Jade Terrace.
The Yutai Xinyong — 玉台新詠 — an anthology of poetry compiled during the Southern Dynasties — 南朝 — Nan Chao — approximately 550 of the common era — contains the first complete version of the story.
It states: The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl were lovers. They married. They neglected their duties. The Weaver Girl stopped weaving. The Cowherd stopped tending his cattle. The heavens were disordered. The Jade Emperor — 玉皇大帝 — Yu Huang Dadi — separated them. He placed them on opposite sides of the Milky Way. He allowed them to meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month.
The story is brief. It is poetic. It is the source of the later versions. The lovers are punished. They are separated. They meet once a year. The magpies form a bridge. The lovers cross. They meet. They part. The cycle repeats.
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On the third record. The full folktale version.
The full folktale version developed over centuries. It is recorded in many forms. The details differ across regions. The core is the same.
The Cowherd was an orphan. He lived with his older brother. His brother was cruel. His brother treated him badly. His brother gave him only an old ox. He sent him away. The Cowherd lived alone with his ox. He tended the fields. He cared for the ox. He was poor. He was lonely.
The ox was not an ordinary ox. The ox was a celestial being. The ox had been banished from heaven. The ox had magical powers. The ox could speak. The ox could see the future. The ox could help the Cowherd.
One day, the ox told the Cowherd: go to the river. The Weaver Girl and her sisters will come down from heaven to bathe. Take the Weaver Girl's clothes. Hide them. She will not be able to return to heaven. She will become your wife.
The Cowherd went to the river. He hid behind the reeds. The Weaver Girl and her sisters came down. They bathed in the river. The Cowherd took her clothes. He hid them. The Weaver Girl could not return. She became his wife.
They married. They were happy. They had two children. A son. A daughter. They lived in a small house. They tended the fields. They raised the children. They were poor. They were happy.
The Weaver Girl was a weaver. She wove cloth for the gods. She wove the clouds. She wove the sky. She wove the patterns of heaven. When she married the Cowherd, she stopped weaving. The clouds disappeared. The sky was empty. The gods were angry.
The Jade Emperor discovered what had happened. He was furious. He sent the Queen Mother of the West — 西王母 — Xiwangmu — to bring the Weaver Girl back.
The Queen Mother descended from heaven. She took the Weaver Girl. She carried her back to the sky. The Cowherd saw what was happening. He ran after her. He carried his children. He chased the Queen Mother.
He almost caught them. The Queen Mother was at the edge of the sky. She took a hairpin. She drew it across the sky. She created the Milky Way — the Silver River — the river of stars.
The Cowherd could not cross. He stood on one side. The Weaver Girl stood on the other. The river was between them. They could not reach each other. They could not touch. They could not speak. They could only see.
The Cowherd cried. The Weaver Girl cried. Their children cried. The gods heard their cries. They were moved. They asked the Jade Emperor to show mercy.
The Jade Emperor allowed them to meet once a year. On the seventh night of the seventh month — 七夕 — Qi Xi — they could cross the river. The magpies — 喜鵲 — xi que — would form a bridge across the Milky Way. The Cowherd would cross. He would meet the Weaver Girl. They would embrace. They would be together. For one night.
The magpies form the bridge every year. They give their feathers. They give their bodies. They carry the lovers across the river. The magpies are tired. The magpies are worn. They lose their feathers. They lose their strength. They are honored. They are thanked. They are remembered.
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On the stars — Vega and Altair — the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd.
The stars are in the sky. They are visible on summer nights.
The Weaver Girl — Vega — is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. It is the fifth brightest star in the night sky. It is blue-white. It is beautiful. It is the star of the weaver.
The Cowherd — Altair — is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila. It is the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. It is white. It is steady. It is the star of the cowherd.
Between them is the Milky Way. The Milky Way is the river of stars. It is the river that separates them. It is the river that the magpies bridge once a year.
Near the Cowherd are two smaller stars. They are the Cowherd's children. They are the stars Beta Aquilae and Gamma Aquilae. They are the children who followed their father. They are the children who cannot reach their mother.
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On the magpie bridge — 鵲橋 — Que Qiao.
The magpies form the bridge. They fly to the Milky Way. They gather on the seventh night of the seventh month. They spread their wings. They link their bodies. They form a bridge across the river.
The magpies are small. The river is vast. The bridge is fragile. But the magpies hold. They hold all night. They hold until the Cowherd crosses. They hold until the Weaver Girl crosses. They hold until the lovers meet. They hold until the morning.
In the morning, the magpies fly away. They are tired. They are worn. Their feathers are thin. Their heads are bare. The feathers they used for the bridge do not grow back until the next year. They spend the year regrowing their feathers. They spend the year preparing for the next bridge. They are ready every year. They have been ready for thousands of years.
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On the seventh night of the seventh month — 七夕 — Qi Xi.
The seventh night of the seventh month is the festival of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. It is called Qi Xi — 七夕 — the Seventh Night.
On this night, the magpies form the bridge. The lovers meet. The clouds part. The stars shine. The Milky Way is bright.
On earth, people celebrate the festival. Young women pray for skill in weaving. They pray for skill in sewing. They pray for skill in crafts. They pray for good husbands. They pray for happy marriages.
They make offerings. They offer fruit. They offer flowers. They offer thread. They offer needles. They pray to the Weaver Girl. They ask her to bless their work. They ask her to bless their love.
They write wishes on strips of paper. They hang them on bamboo. They float them on water. They send them to the sky. They send them to the Weaver Girl. They hope she will read them. They hope she will answer.
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On the rain — the tears of the lovers.
Sometimes it rains on the seventh night. The rain is the tears of the lovers. They cry when they meet. They cry when they part. Their tears fall to earth. Their tears become rain.
If it rains on Qi Xi, the magpies cannot form the bridge. The lovers cannot meet. They wait another year. They wait for clear skies. They wait for the magpies to fly. They wait for the bridge to form. They wait for the one night they can be together.
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On the meaning of the story.
The story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl represents the love that endures separation. It represents the love that crosses the river of stars. It represents the love that waits all year for one night.
The lovers are separated by the gods. They are separated by duty. They are separated by the vastness of heaven. But they do not forget each other. They do not give up. They wait. They wait for the seventh night. They wait for the magpies. They wait for the bridge. They meet. They hold each other. They part. They wait again.
The story also represents the value of work. The Weaver Girl is a weaver. She weaves the cloth of heaven. When she stops working, the heavens are disordered. She must return to her loom. She must weave. She must fulfill her duty.
The Cowherd is a farmer. He tends the cattle. He works the land. When he stops working, the fields are empty. He must return to his work. He must tend the cattle. He must plow the fields.
They are separated by their duties. They are reunited by their love. They work. They wait. They love. They are the models of devotion.
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On what they represent.
They represent the love that overcomes distance. They represent the love that waits. They represent the love that endures.
They are not gods. They are not heroes. They are a cowherd and a weaver. They are ordinary people. They are the people who work the land. They are the people who weave the cloth. They are the people who love. They are the people who wait.
They are separated by the Milky Way. They meet once a year. They meet on the seventh night. They meet when the magpies form the bridge. They meet for one night. They part. They wait. They love.
They are Niulang and Zhinü. They are the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. They are the stars in the sky. They are the lovers on the bridge. They are the ones we remember on the seventh night. They are the ones we honor with our wishes. They are the ones we see when we look at the summer sky. They are there. They are waiting. They are loving. They are the lovers of the Milky Way.
END OF CHAPTER FIFTY