Tanabata Festival: Relive the story of the cowherd and the weaver girl
In ancient times, there was an orphan named Niu Lang, his parents died since childhood, he relied on his brother-in-law to live, the sister-in-law was mean, often abused him, he was forced to separate the family, relying on an old cow to cultivate himself.
This old cow is very psychic, one day, the weaver girl and the fairies played in the river, bathing in the river, the old cow persuaded the cowherd to meet each other, and told the cowherd that if the fairies could not go back before dawn, they could only stay in the mortal world, the cowherd then stayed by the river to see the seven fairies, he found that the youngest of them was very beautiful, and he immediately loved it, remembering the words of the old cow, so the cowherd quietly took away the little fairy's clothes, and the fairies took a bath and prepared to return to the heavenly court, and the little fairy found that the clothes were missing and could only stay.
Niu Lang then had an encounter with the little fairy Weaver Girl, and Niu Lang returned the fairy's clothes. Later, they talked very well, understood their difficulties, and the weaver girl became the wife of the cowherd.
After marriage, they cultivated women and weaved, gave birth to a son and a daughter, and lived a very happy life.
Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Emperor found out about this matter and ordered the Queen Mother Niangniang to escort the Weaver Girl back to the Heavenly Court for trial.
The old cow could not bear to let their wives and children be separated, so he broke the horn on his head and turned into a small boat, and let the cowherd carry his children to chase them by boat. Seeing that she was about to catch up with the Weaver Girl, the Queen Mother suddenly pulled off the golden noodle on her head and drew a rolling milky way in the sky.
The cowherd could not cross the river, and could only cry with the weaver girl by the river. Their strong love touched the magpies, and countless magpies flew in and used their bodies to build a colorful bridge across the Tianhe River, so that the cowherd weaver girl met on the Tianhe River.
The Emperor of Heaven had no choice but to allow the cowherd weaver girl to meet once a year on July 7 on the Queqiao Bridge, and the magpie would also be around. From then on, every year on the seventh day of July, the cowherd weaver girl would meet.
(The clumsy word recognized by the best friend is exaggerated anyway, and the feeling of the soldier walking as a confidant)
There are also legends that on the seventh day of July, the top of the magpie's head will become bald, because it was trampled on when the magpie bridge was built.
This is an ancient legend that describes love, and also reflects the yearning and pursuit of beautiful love among Chinese people. It is also the best embodiment of the ancients' steadfastness and unswerving commitment to love, even if there are difficulties and obstacles, they must overcome to find their favorite people. Compared with Western Valentine's Day, I focus more on the traditional Chinese Valentine's Day, which is the Qixi Festival. The Qixi Festival is not only an integral part of traditional Chinese folk culture, but also Chinese interpretation of the romantic understanding of love - ruthlessly split by the Queen Mother, Niu Lang carrying a flat burden, taking a pair of children to find a wife!
This picture is more prominent Chinese bones, especially the responsibility of Chinese men, this scene makes us extremely familiar, think that Niu Lang is the character around him, and every Chinese male is the embodiment of Niu Lang. And every girl is the embodiment of the Weaver Girl, they are all fairies in the heavens, who come to the human world to combine with the cowherd, have children, and fall in love with ordinary people in the world. Therefore, between every couple, the female spouse who cares for her must be treated like a fairy in the sky, so as to be worthy of the great fate of meeting in this life.
This Tanabata, if you are a pair, please give your best wishes to each other. There is no need to pay attention to the preciousness of gifts exchanged, and companionship is the longest confession of affection. And if you are a single dog like Xiaobian, don't panic, the reason why you haven't met each other is that the opportunity has not arrived. Your weaver girl may still be working in heaven, your cowherd may be herding cattle, and maybe they will meet tomorrow.
In today's traditional oriental love festival, I wish everyone a lover to become a family.
It's good to be together, it's good not to be together, or it's not easy, it's all good,
Better than anything!
Hou Xiaobin (Saturday, August 14, 2021, 11:55 a.m. next to Gaomidian South Subway, Daxing District, Beijing, Greenland Colorful City)