The Story of the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day)
The Chinese Qixi festival is often called Chinese Valentines Day. There is also a similar festival in Japan, originating from the Chinese festival, called Tanabata, and in Korea called Chilseok.
The story of this festival has been passed down through multiple generations and is based on ancient Chinese mythology.
As told through Chinese folklore, there was once a herder of cows known as Niulang. One night, he was told by his cow that there would be fairies bathing in a nearby spring, and if took their clothes they would not be able to return to heaven in the morning. Niulang curiously snuck over to the spring, where he found many fairies bathing. Niulang was struck by the beauty of the fairies. He instantly fell in love with one of them and quickly took her clothes, thus making her an ordinary woman, and preventing her from returning to heaven. Her name was Zhinü, the Goddess of Weaving, and the youngest daughter of The Emperor of Heaven and the Goddess of Heaven. They soon fell madly in love, married, and had children together.
However, this was not the story’s happy ending. The Emperor of Heaven, the Jade Emperor, found out about his daughter choosing to live on Earth with a mere mortal and became furious. The Emperor sent his minions down to Earth to retrieve Zhinü and forcefully return her to heaven.
Niulang was heartbroken when his beloved Zhinü was escorted away from him, back to heaven. It was then that his trusty cow spoke once again. The cow offered his own skin so that Niulang could make a flying coat in order to chase after them. Before he could, the Goddess of Heaven drew a Silver River (the Milky Way) to block his way and prevent him from going after his love.
However, Niulang and Zhinü’s love was so great that it moved the magpies across the land, and the birds formed a bridge over the Milky Way for the two to meet in the middle. Even the Emperor and Goddess of Heaven were moved by their love for each other and decided to allow the couple to meet once a year on the Magpie Bridge on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
On this day, the Chinese gaze up at the sky to look for the constellations Vega (Zhinü’s star) and Altair (Niulang’s star) shining in the Milky Way, hoping to ensure success in their romantic relationships.
Sources:
The Legend Behind the Qixi Festival
Video: Qixi Festival & the Story Behind Chinese Valentine's Day
