Qi Xi: A Legend of Star-Crossed Lovers
September 3, 2020
This post was written by Vivian Chen. In the field of finance and accounting, Vivian is filled with enthusiasm to create positive social impact through business. She is, among other things, a believer in the power of being civically engaged and informed
Every year, Chinese couples look forward to celebrating their love through three main occasions:
Valentine’s Day, on February 14th,
520 Festival, on May 20th, and
Qi Xi, typically in August.
Having been recently celebrated on August 25th, 2020, let’s talk about Qi Xi’s origins.
What Is Qi Xi?
Qi Xi is written as 七夕 in Chinese, with 七 meaning “seven” and 夕 meaning “night.” Together, the name of the festival signals when it is being celebrated: on the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The Qi Xi Festival was born from a legend about a lover only being allowed to meet on this night.
The story revolves around a poor orphaned boy, Niu Lang (the Cowherd), and the seventh daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, Zhi Nü (the Weaving Maid). Raised by an abusive and uncaring family, the Cowherd was one day tasked with herding nine cattle. However, he was asked to return with ten; if he could not accomplish that task, he would not be allowed home.
The Cowherd could not find an extra animal to bring home. Frustrated, he sat alone to cry in the woods and was approached by an old man. Upon learning about his unfortunate circumstances, the old man instructed the Cowherd to take care of a sick and injured old ox, who turned out to be a spirit from heaven punished for breaking the rules. The Cowherd worked incredibly hard to help the ox, who eventually recovered and was brought back home by the Cowherd.
Even after completing this challenging task, the Cowherd was still abused at home. Eventually, he was disowned and, upon his departure, all he took with him was the Old Ox.
One day, the Emperor’s seven daughters, including his youngest daughter, the Weaving Maid, descended to the earth to play.
With the help of the old ox, the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid fell in love with each other. The two then happily married each other and had two children. However, the Emperor found out about their union and brought the Weaving Maid back to heaven, separating the couple.
Nearing the end of its life, the old ox instructed the Cowherd to make shoes from its hide after its death; explaining that wearing the oxhide shoes would allow the Cowherd to enter heaven. Heeding the old ox’s request,the Cowherd wore these shoes to pursue his wife in heaven alongside his two children. However, heaven still chose to separate them, this time by creating the “Heaven Stream” between them. As each of the lovers wept on either side of the Heaven Stream, heaven finally relented and allowed them to meet through a bridge formed by magpies one day each year — on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.
The legend originated from the star Altair (the Cowherd Star in Chinese) and the star Vega (the Weaving Maid Star in Chinese), with the Milky Way separating the two, only to reunite once a year on the night of Qi Xi.
How is Qi Xi Celebrated Now?
Because Qi Xi is based on the lunar calendar, its Gregorian calendar date changes each year. This year, it occurred on August 25th, 2020.
The Chinese celebrate Qi Xi through a wide variety of traditions, often varying from one region to another. A few examples include:
Dou Qiao (斗巧), a needle threading contests between girls,
Girls wishing for a happy marriage,
Making a dessert called Qiao Guo (巧果), and
Stargazing at Vega and Altair in the Milky Way.
Presently, though these traditions are not as diligently followed by couples, the legend of these star-crossed lovers is still told to youngsters year after year, inspiring love through generations.
What does Qi Xi mean for other cultures?
Tanabata Festivals are held across Japan from July to August each year. One tradition to celebrate Tanabata is through writing wishes on a piece of paper and hanging them from a bamboo tree.
Koreans traditionally celebrate Chilseok through “taking baths for good health and eating wheat-flour noodles and grilled wheat cake,” though these traditions also have not been followed as closely in modern times.
Primarily celebrated by Chinese residing in Vietnam, people often visit temples to make wishes using a variety of pastries.
