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27-755: In modern times, the Seven Fairies are best known for their parts in the Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy legend. "The Bird Maidens" ( 毛衣女 ), a tale from the fourth-century collection In Search of the Supernatural (which contains a different tale for Dong Yong ), mentions a man in Xinyu (in Jiangxi Province) discovering "six or seven young maidens in a field, all wearing wonderful feather garments". He marries one of

54-424: A small silk fan to flap away dashing fireflies. 天階夜色涼如水， Above her hang celestial bodies as frigid as deep water, 坐看牽牛織女星。 She sat there watching Altair of Aquila and Vega of Lyra pining for each other in the sky. (Translated by Betty Tseng ) 纖雲弄巧， Clouds float like works of art, 飛星傳恨， Stars shoot with grief at heart. 銀漢迢迢暗渡。 Across

81-584: A year on the 七夕 (the 7th Evening) -- later known as the traditional Chinese Qixi Festival —by crossing the Milky Way . In memory of this story, ancient Chinese astrologers named two prominent stars that stand at a distance from each other 牛郎, "cowherd man," and 織女, "weaving girl." These are the stars Altair in the constellation Aquila and Vega in Lyra. The tale has also been subject matter of literary adaptations and retellings: This mythology -related article

108-446: Is Qiao Guo, which has a history of more than one thousand years since it became popular during the Song dynasty. The main ingredients are flour, oil. and honey, sometimes adding sesame, peanuts, kernels, roses, and other different ingredients. After mixing those ingredients, the people then deep-fry them. Beyond that, people would eat crunchy candy, refreshments, and fruits together, expressing

135-596: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between an orphaned Han-dynasty man named Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy , the youngest daughter of the Jade Emperor . The seven daughters of the Jade Emperor travel to the mortal world. The youngest of the seven fairy maidens

162-566: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Qixi Festival The Qixi Festival ( Chinese : 七夕 ; pinyin : Qīxī ; lit. 'Seventh Night [of the seventh month]'), also known as the Qiqiao Festival ( Chinese : 乞巧 ; pinyin : Qǐqiǎo ; lit. 'Beseeching craftsmanship'), is a Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of Zhinü and Niulang in Chinese mythology . The festival

189-471: Is a poor worker who had sold himself into servitude to pay for his father's funeral. With help of the other fairies, the seventh fairy managed to weave ten pieces of brocade for Dong Yong to pay off his debt, shortening his indenture to 100 days. Before the couple can begin their life together, the Jade Emperor orders his daughters to return home. However, he is kind enough to allow the couple to reunite once

216-598: Is also a protagonist in another old legend, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl . (There have also been attempts to present Dong Yong as an incarnation of the Cowherd.) Subsequently the other six fairies also became part of the plot: for example they present a magical incense to their youngest sister before her trip to the mortal world: If you, Seventh Sister, are in danger, just burn this incense, And we, your six sisters, will come down from heaven. This folklore -related article

243-459: Is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunisolar month on the Chinese lunisolar calendar . A celebration of romantic love, the festival is often described as the traditional Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day . During the Qixi Festival, couples usually take part in traditional activities, like making gifts, gazing at the stars, and praying for a long and happy love. The festival

270-559: Is derived from Chinese mythology: people celebrate the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were the weaver girl and the cowherd, respectively. The tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han dynasty . The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to more than 2,600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry . The festival has variously been called

297-634: The Double Seventh Festival , the Chinese Valentine's Day , the Night of Sevens , or the Magpie Festival . The popular tale is a love story between Zhinü ( 織女 , the weaver girl, symbolizing Vega ) and Niulang ( 牛郎 , the cowherd, symbolizing Altair ). Niulang was often abused by his sister-in-law. They eventually kicked him out of the house, and gave him nothing but an old cow. One day,

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324-709: The Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid. 金風玉露一相逢， When Autumn’s Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade, 便勝却人間無數。 All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade. 柔情似水， Their tender love flows like a stream; 佳期如夢， Their happy date seems but a dream. 忍顧鶴橋歸路。 How can they bear a separate homeward way? 兩情若是久長時， If love between both sides can last for aye, 又豈在朝朝暮暮。 Why need they stay together night and day? (Translated by Xu Yuanchong ) Interactive Google doodles have been launched since

351-403: The Milky Way, 相去復幾許？ They are not far apart! 盈盈一水間， But the stream brims always between 脈脈不得語。 And, gazing at each other, they cannot speak. (Translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang ) 銀燭秋光冷畫屏， A candle flame flickers against a dull painted screen on a cool autumn night, 輕羅小扇撲流螢。 She holds

378-562: The Milky Way, while Deneb , a third star, forms a symbolic bridge between the two stars. It was said that if it rains on this day, it was caused by a river sweeping away the magpie bridge or that the rain is the tears of the separated couple. Based on the legend of a flock of magpies forming a bridge to reunite the couple, a pair of magpies came to symbolize conjugal happiness and faithfulness. The eating customs of Qixi Festival vary from place to place, and are called eating Qiao food. The most famous traditional food people eat on Qixi Festival

405-458: The fairies accidentally awakens Sun Wukong ( Monkey King ), the "Great Sage, Equal of Heaven" now in charge of the garden. Sun Wukong asks them whether he is invited to the party. When they answer in the negative, a disappointed Sun Wukong casts a spell to transfix the fairies to the spot, before he heads straight for the Queen's palace. The well-known story of Heaven sending a celestial maiden to assist

432-427: The festival activities also included customs that the common people partook in. Girls take part in worshipping the celestials ( 拜仙 ) during rituals. They go to the local temple to pray to Zhinü for wisdom. Paper items are usually burned as offerings. Girls may recite traditional prayers for dexterity in needlework, which symbolizes the traditional talents of a good spouse. Divination could take place to determine

459-539: The festival. 迢迢牽牛星， Far, far away, the Cowherd, 皎皎河漢女。 Fair, fair, the Weaving Maid; 纖纖擢素手， Nimbly move her slender white fingers, 札札弄機杼。 Click-clack goes her spinning-loom. 終日不成章， All day she weaves, yet her web is still not done 泣涕零如雨。 And her tears fall like rain. 河漢清且淺， Clear and shallow

486-409: The filial son Dong Yong first appeared in writing in the third century. For more than a millennium after the fourth century this maiden — Dong Yong's wife-to-be — was identified as Weaver Girl (zhinü): after all she was to help him on the loom ! In late imperial times, however, the Weaver Girl was replaced in this legend by the Seventh Fairy, so as to avoid hints of infidelity because the Weaver Girl

513-534: The girls after stealing her feathered robe so that she can't fly off, but one day she finds her robe and flies away. She later returns and flies off with their three daughters. A similar record is found in Guo Pu 's Mythical Tales ( 玄中記 ) from the same period. This "quasi- Swan Maiden " story was possibly told to explain why some large birds carried off children. Today, Xinyu has a reservoir and tourist resort named Fairy Lake ( 仙女湖 ) which claims to be "the hometown of

540-606: The legend of the Seven Fairies of China". In Journey to the West , the Queen Mother of the West wants to host a peach party so she sends the Seven Fairies to the peach garden: [She] told the fairy maidens, Red Jacket, Blue Jacket, White Jacket, Black Jacket, Purple Jacket, Yellow Jacket and Green Jacket to take their baskets and pick peaches in the Peach Garden. (from Arthur Waley 's translation .) After plucking many peaches, one of

567-572: The magpie, and so they built a bridge of magpies over the Silver River for them to meet. The Emperor of Heaven was also moved by the sight, and allowed this couple to meet on the Magpie Bridge once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. That was the origin of the Qixi Festival. During the Han dynasty, the practices were conducted in accordance with formal ceremonial state rituals. Over time,

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594-655: The old cow suddenly spoke out, telling Niulang that there would be fairies bathing in the spring nearby that night. The fairy would stay there if she failed to go back to heaven before morning. In accordance with what the old cow said, Niulang saw those beautiful fairies in the spring, and fell in love with one of the beautiful fairies who was the heavenly weaver. In order to make her stay, he took her clothes that helped her to go back to heaven; this made her an ordinary earth woman without any power. They then got married and had two children. The Emperor of Heaven ( 玉皇大帝 , lit.   ' The Jade Emperor ' ) found out about this and

621-541: The people's pursuit of ingenuity, family health, and happy life wishes. Many pieces of literature, such as poems, songs, and operas, have been written for this festival and about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, dating back to the Zhou dynasty Classic of Poetry . Many describe the atmosphere of the festival or narrate related stories. This has left a valuable literary legacy which helps modern scholars better understand ancient Chinese customs, feelings, and opinions relating to

648-417: The possible dexterity in needlework. They make wishes for marrying someone who would be a good and loving husband. During the festival, girls make a display of their domestic skills. Traditionally, there would be contests amongst those who attempted to be the best in threading needles under low-light conditions, like the glow of an ember or of a half moon. Today, girls sometimes gather toiletries in honour of

675-451: The seven maidens. The festival also held an importance for newlywed couples. Traditionally, they would worship the celestial couple for the last time and bid farewell to them ( 辭仙 ). The celebration stood as a symbol for a happy marriage and showed that the married woman was treasured by her new family. On this day, the Chinese gaze up at the sky to look for Vega and Altair shining in

702-469: Was furious, so he sent minions to escort the heavenly weaver back to heaven. Niulang was heartbroken. The old cow suddenly spoke out again, telling Niulang he could take his skin to make it into a flying coat to chase after them; and Niulang did. However, the Queen Mother of the West drew a Silver River ( The Milky Way ) in the sky and blocked his way. Meanwhile, the love between Niulang and the weaver moved

729-403: Was in search of her lost weaving equipment and her "coat of feathers," without which she was unable to fly. Another version of the story states that the seventh fairy's feather coat was actually stolen by a mortal named Dong Yong, advised by one of his cattle who happened to be an exiled fairy as well and disguised as a normal, aged bull. During the stay, the maiden falls in love with Dong Yong. He

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