The forbidden love
separated by the Milky Way
Today I am gonna tell a-big-impact-quaranteed romantic story which you can tell while looking at the stars to double the impact.
Zhi Nü is a beautiful and very skillful lady who lives in heaven. She was so skillful that she used clouds to spin seamless robes of brocade for her father, the Jade Emperor. One day, she was sick to death of this “boring” life in heaven, landed on earth looking for an adventure. The heart wants what the heart wants, she fell in love with the Cowherd Niu Lang and they got married. Our heavenly lady forgot about heaven as well as her previous life there and lived happily ever after with her beloved husband and two kids on the earth. However, the Goddess of Heaven, who is the mother of Zhi Nü, didn’t like this situation. She said “You gotta be kidding me!” and sent her soldiers to bring her daughter back to heaven. Niu Lang was very upset when he found his wife was taken back to heaven but as a mere mortal, he could not do anything. Then his ox asked Niu Lang to kill him and put on his skin, so he would be able to go up to heaven to find his wife. Crying bitterly, he killed the ox, put on the skin to fly to heaven. As he flies towards his heavenly wife under the skin of the devoted ox, the Goddess learned what is going on, she took out her hairpin and created an endless river between these two lovers in one hit. Two lovers got separated forever. Their love moved all the magpies to take pity on them, and they flew up into heaven to form a Magpie bridge over the river, so Niu Lang and Zhi Nü could meet on the Magpie Bridge. The Goddess of Heaven was also moved by their love, so she allowed them to meet on the Magpie Bridge for one day every year. (Thanks a lot!)
Niu Lang with her children lives in the star Altair, and Zhi Nü is in the star Vega. The river created by the Goddess with a hairpin is the Milky Way. Every year these lovers meet on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and that day is celebrated in China as Qixi Festival which is also known as “Chinese Valentine’s Day”.
- The Qixi Festival Story, Qixi Festival
- Fun Facts About Chinese Valentine’s Day: Qixi, Cigna Cmb Health newsletter
- Zhi Nu, Britannica