The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are characters from Chinese mythology who appear in a romantic folk tale. The story describes the love between Zhinü, the Weaver Girl, who is represented by the star Vega, and Niulang, the Cowherd, who is represented by the star Altair. Their love was forbidden, so they were separated by the heavenly river, which symbolizes the Milky Way. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, magpies form a bridge to let the couple reunite for one day. The earliest known mention of this story comes from a poem in the Classic of Poetry over 2,600 years ago.

The tale began as a way to honor natural celestial events and later became the Qiqiao (or Qixi) Festival during the Han dynasty. It is also known as the Tanabata festival in Japan and the Chilseok festival in Korea. During the festival, people made wishes to the stars Vega and Altair, hoping for wisdom, skilled hands for tasks like embroidery, and good marriages.

The story was chosen as one of China’s Four Great Folktales in the 1920s by a movement that studied folktales. The other tales are The Legend of the White Snake, Lady Meng Jiang, and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Idema (2012) notes that this term may overlook the many different versions of the story, as one version was considered the true one.

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl remain popular in Asia and other regions, with different areas sharing variations of the tale. Similar stories from other cultures have also been noticed. The tale appears in many books, movies, and other cultural works.

Earliest known reference

The Classic of Poetry, Lesser Court Hymns, Poem 203 (…) In the heavens, there is the Milky Way, which shines brightly. The Weaving Lady tilts in the sky and moves seven times during the day. Even though she moves seven times, she does not create a woven pattern. The Draught Ox shines brightly, but it is not used to pull a carriage (…).

Later literature

The story has been mentioned in many written works. Du Fu (杜甫; 712–770), a poet from the Tang dynasty, wrote a poem titled The Heavenly River:

天河 常時任顯晦， 秋至輒分明。 縱被微雲掩， 終能永夜清。 含星動雙闕， 伴月落邊城。 牛女年年渡， 何曾風浪生。

The Heavenly River
Most of the time, it may be hidden or fully visible, but when autumn comes, it becomes clearly bright. Even if clouds cover it, it remains clear throughout the night. It shines with stars, moving near palace gates, and travels with the moon to a distant city. The Cowherd and Weaver Girl cross it every year, and there are never storms on it.

One of the most famous poems inspired by this story was written by Qin Guan (秦观; 1049–1100) during the Song dynasty:

鵲橋仙 纖雲弄巧， 飛星傳恨， 銀漢迢迢暗渡。 金風玉露一相逢， 便勝卻人間無數。 柔情似水， 佳期如夢， 忍顧鵲橋歸路。 兩情若是久長時， 又豈在朝朝暮暮。

Meeting across the Milky Way
Through delicate clouds and shooting stars that carry sorrow, the Cowherd and Weaver Girl quietly cross the Milky Way. Their meeting, under the golden autumn wind and dew that sparkles like jade, is more meaningful than countless meetings in the world. Their feelings are soft as water, and their reunion feels like a dream. How can they bear to leave the bridge made of magpies? If two hearts are truly united, why must two people stay together every day and every night?

Analysis

The story of the cowherd and weaver girl has been shared across Asia, with different versions appearing in many languages and regions over time. In Southeast Asia, the tale was combined into a Jataka story about Manohara, the youngest daughter of a Kinnara King who lives on Mount Kailash and falls in love with Prince Sudhana.

In Korea, the story centers on Jiknyeo, a weaver girl who loves Gyeonwoo, a herder. In Japan, it describes the romance between the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi. In Vietnam, the story is known as Ngưu Lang Chức Nữ and Ông Ngâu Bà Ngâu, focusing on Chức Nữ, the weaver, and Ngưu Lang, a buffalo herder. This version is also called The Weaver Fairy and the Buffalo Boy.

In the first catalog of Chinese folktales (created in 1937), Wolfram Eberhard grouped a Chinese story type as number 34, called The Swan Maiden. This tale involves a poor young man who finds a place where supernatural women bathe, guided by a cow or deer. The women may be swan maidens, celestial weavers, one of the Pleiades, one of the "9 Celestial Maidens," or a fairy. He steals one of their garments, forcing her to marry him. When she finds her clothes, she returns to Heaven. The young man follows her and meets her in the Heavenly realm. The Heavenly king rules that the couple may meet only once a year. Based on available versions, Eberhard dated the story to the 5th century, though it likely originated earlier, as it appears in the Huainanzi (2nd century BC). Eberhard also believed the fairy tale came before the astral myth.

Chinese folklorist Ting Nai-tung classified the Cowherd and Weaver Girl story under the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index tale type ATU 400, "The Quest for the Lost Wife." The tale also shares similarities with widely known stories about swan maidens (bird maidens or bird princesses).

Cultural references

• In the 1976 Taiwanese movie Monkey King with 72 Magic (新孫悟空72變), Sun Wukong changes into the Cowherd to tease the Weaver Girl.
• The story was mentioned by Carl Sagan in his book Contact.
• Episode 63 of the 1981–1986 Japanese anime Dr. Slump – Arale-chan, based on Akira Toriyama’s manga Dr. Slump, uses the tale humorously.
• In the film The Karate Kid, Meiying shared the story with Dre Parker during the Qi Xi Festival.
• The tale and Tanabata festival inspired the Sailor Moon side story "Chibiusa's Picture Diary – Beware the Tanabata!" where Vega and Altair appear.
• The post-hardcore band La Dispute named their first album Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair after the story.
• The JRPG Bravely Second: End Layer uses Vega and Altair as names for characters who once had a romantic relationship, with Deneb as their friend.
• The K-pop group Red Velvet’s song "One of These Nights" from their 2016 EP The Velvet mentions the story of the two lovers.
• J-pop band Supercell’s song "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" references the tale.
• The novel Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart focuses on the story, while including other Chinese folk tales.
• Korean group Dreamcatcher’s song "July 7th" from their EP Alone in the City is based on the tale.
• The South Korean TV series Vincenzo includes a reference to the lovers’ story, with Vincenzo confusing the names from the Korean version.
• In the twelfth Magic Tree House book, Day of the Dragon King, Jack and Annie rescue the story from Emperor Qin’s book burning and use it to escape the emperor’s tomb.
• In The Big Bang Theory (S07E19 "The Indecision Amalgamation"), Raj tells Penny about the story as a romantic folk tale.
• The K-pop group Treasure’s song "Bling Like This" from their album The First Step: Chapter Two is based on the tale.
• The book Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin is inspired by the story, with characters Buffalo Boy and the Goddess of Weaving.
• The Japanese rock group Alice Nine’s song "Heisei Jyuushichinen Shichigatsu Nanoka" from their 2005 EP Alice in Wonderland is based on the tale.
• The story is mentioned several times in When Life Gives You Tangerines.

Similar to the Chang'e space program, named after the Chinese moon goddess, the Queqiao and Queqiao-2 relay satellites are named after the "bridge of magpies" from the tale of the cowherd and weaver girl. The Chang'e 4 landing site is called Statio Tianhe, meaning "heavenly river" from the story. Nearby lunar craters Zhinyu and Hegu are named after constellations linked to the weaver girl and cowherd in the tale.

In Japan, the Engineering Test Satellite VII mission tested a docking of two satellites nicknamed "Orihime" and "Hikoboshi."

Gallery

• Zhinü holding a shuttle, painted by Zhang Ling during the Ming dynasty
• Zhinü crossing the River of Heaven, painted by Gai Qi in 1799
• Zhinü depicted on the ceiling of Muxuyuan Station in Nanjing
• Zhinü and Niulang, painted by Japanese artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
• The creation of the River of Heaven (Milky Way), painted by Guo Xu during the Ming dynasty
• Scene of a meeting in the Milky Way
• Niulang and Zhinü in the book Vân tiên cổ tích truyện from the Nguyễn dynasty, created by Lê Đức Trạch