This very famous story of star-crossed lovers is the tale behind the Chinese Qixi Festival, sometimes called Chinese Valentine’s Day. In this story, a young mortal man ends up married to a goddess, but is prevented from being with her due to the machinations of heaven.
很久很久以前,有一个年轻人叫牛郎。他没有爸爸妈妈,只有一头老牛和他住在一起。牛郎每天工作,生活很辛苦,但是他很善良。
有一天,老牛对牛郎说:”明天,有几个仙女会来河边洗澡。你去拿走那件红色的衣服。”牛郎觉得很奇怪,但是他听了老牛的话。
第二天,牛郎去了河边。他看到几个非常漂亮的仙女在河里玩水。他悄悄地拿走了一件红色的衣服。仙女们要回天上去的时候,其中一个仙女找不到自己的衣服。她叫织女,是天上最会织布的仙女。
织女很着急,不知道怎么办。这时候,牛郎走出来,把衣服还给了她。织女看到牛郎,觉得他很善良,也很喜欢他。织女决定不回天上了,她要和牛郎住在一起。
牛郎和织女结婚了,生活很幸福。牛郎每天工作,织女每天织布。
但是,天上的王母娘娘知道了这件事。她非常生气,因为织女是仙女,不可以嫁给人间的人。王母娘娘派人下来,把织女带回了天上。
牛郎看到妻子被带走了,非常伤心。这时候,老牛说:”我死了以后,你用我的皮做鞋子,穿上就可以飞到天上去。”不久,老牛死了。牛郎很伤心,但是他记住了老牛的话。
牛郎用老牛的皮做了鞋子,穿上以后,他飞上了天。他越飞越快,马上就要追上织女了。但是,王母娘娘看到了,她拔下头上的发簪,在天上画了一条长长的河。这条河叫银河,又宽又深。
牛郎站在银河的一边,织女站在另一边。他们只能看着对方,不能在一起。织女哭了,牛郎也哭了。
后来,天上所有的喜鹊都很同情他们。每年七月七日,喜鹊们飞到银河上,用身体搭成一座桥。牛郎和织女可以走过这座桥,见面一次。
所以,每年七月七日,中国人叫这一天”七夕“。这是中国的情人节。人们说,这一天如果下雨,那是因为牛郎和织女又要分开了,他们在哭泣。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 牛郎 | niúláng | cowherd |
| 织女 | zhīnǚ | weaver girl |
| 仙女 | xiānnǚ | fairy maiden |
| 善良 | shànliáng | kind, kindhearted |
| 织布 | zhībù | to weave cloth |
| 王母娘娘 | wángmǔniángniáng | Queen Mother of Heaven |
| 银河 | yínhé | Milky Way |
| 喜鹊 | xǐquè | magpie |
| 七夕 | qīxī | Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day) |
| 发簪 | fàzān | hairpin |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 久 | jǐu | (of a period of time) long |
| 以前 | yǐ qián | before; formerly; previous; ago |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 年轻人 | nián qīng rén | young people; youngster |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 爸爸 | bà ba | (coll.) father; dad; CL:位[wei4] |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 牛 | Níu | surname Niu |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate; job; work; task; CL:個|个[ge4],份[fen4],項|项[xiang4] |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 辛 | Xīn | surname Xin |
| 苦 | kǔ | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 明天 | míng tiān | tomorrow |
| 几个 | jǐ ge | a few; several; how many |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 河边 | hé biān | river bank |
| 洗澡 | xǐ zǎo | to bathe; to take a shower |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 拿走 | ná zǒu | to take away |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 件 | jiàn | item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 红色 | hóng sè | red (color); revolutionary |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 奇 | jī | odd (number) |
| 怪 | guǎi | odd; strange; uncanny; to find strange; to regard as odd; (coll.) somewhat; rather |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 的话 | de huà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 第 | dì | (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed; (old) residence of a high… |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 漂 | piāo | to float; to drift |
| 亮 | liàng | bright; light; to shine; to flash; loud and clear; to show (one's passport etc); to make public (one's views etc) |
| 河 | hé | river (CL:條|条[tiao2],道[dao4]); (bound form) the Yellow River; (bound form) the Milky Way; (bound form) (on restaurant menus) rice noodles 河粉[he2 fen3] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 玩 | wán | to play; to have fun; to trifle with; toy; sth used for amusement; curio or antique (Taiwan pr. [wan4]); to keep sth for entertainment; variant of 玩[wan2]; Taiwan pr. [wan4] |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 悄 | qiao | used in 悄悄[qiao1 qiao1] |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 回天 | huí tiān | to reverse a desperate situation |
| 上去 | shàng qù | to go up |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 其中 | qí zhōng | among; in; included among these |
| 找不到 | zhǎo bu dào | can't find |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 天上 | tiān shàng | the sky; the heavens |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 着急 | zháo jí | to worry; to feel anxious; to feel a sense of urgency; to be in a hurry; Taiwan pr. [zhao1ji2] |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 这时 | zhè shí | at this time; at this moment |
| 走出 | zǒu chū | to leave (a room etc); to go out through (a door etc) |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huan | to like; to be fond of |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 结婚 | jié hūn | to marry; to get married |
| 幸福 | xìng fú | happiness; happy; blessed |
| 知道了 | zhī dào le | OK!; Got it! |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 生气 | shēng qì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 不可以 | bù kě yǐ | may not |
| 嫁 | ||
| 人间 | rén jiān | the human world; the earth |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 派 | pā | used in 派司[pa1 si5] |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 带回 | dài huí | to bring back; to take back with one |
| 妻子 | qī zǐ | wife and children |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 带走 | dài zǒu | to carry; to take away |
| 伤心 | shāng xīn | to grieve; to be broken-hearted; to feel deeply hurt |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid; extremely; damned |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 皮 | Pí | surname Pi |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 鞋子 | xié zi | shoe |
| 穿上 | chuān shang | to put on (clothes etc) |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 飞 | fēi | to fly |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 不久 | bù jǐu | not long (after); before too long; soon; soon after |
| 记 | jì | to record; to note; to memorize; to remember; mark; sign; classifier for blows, kicks, shots |
| 越飞 | Yuè fēi | Adolph Abramovich Joffe (1883-1927), Soviet and Comintern diplomat and spy in 1922-23 in Republican China |
| 越 | Yuè | generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods; abbr. for Vietnam 越南 |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force) |
| 就要 | jìu yào | will; shall; to be going to |
| 追 | zhui | to sculpt; musical instrument (old) |
| 拔 | bā | to pull up; to draw out by suction; to pick; to surpass |
| 画 | huà | to draw; to paint; picture; painting (CL:幅[fu2],張|张[zhang1]); to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); (calligraphy) horizonta… |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 宽 | Kuān | surname Kuan |
| 深 | shēn | old variant of 深[shen1]; (lit. and fig.) deep |
| 站 | zhàn | station; to stand; to halt; to stop; branch of a company or organization; website |
| 一边 | yī biān | one side; either side; on the one hand; on the other hand; doing while |
| 另 | lìng | other; another; separate; separately |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 对方 | duì fāng | the other person; the other side; the other party |
| 哭 | kū | to cry; to weep |
| 所有 | suǒ yǒu | all; to have; to possess; to own |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 同情 | tóng qíng | to sympathize with; sympathy |
| 每年 | měi nián | every year; each year; yearly |
| 七月 | Qī yuè | July; seventh month (of the lunar year) |
| 七 | qī | seven; 7 |
| 日 | rì | (bound form) sun; day; day of the month; (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Ri4 ben3]); (vulgar) to fuck; to have sex with |
| 身体 | shēn tǐ | the body; one's health |
| 搭 | da | to put up; to hang (clothes on a pole); to join; to match; to throw in (resources) |
| 成 | Chéng | surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1] |
| 座 | zuò | seat; base; stand; (bound form) constellation; (archaic) suffix used in a respectful form of address (e.g. 師座|师座[shi1 zuo4]); classifier for large immovable objects such as buildin… |
| 桥 | qiáo | bridge; CL:座[zuo4] |
| 走过 | zǒu guò | to walk past; to pass by |
| 见面 | jiàn miàn | to meet; to see each other; CL:次[ci4] |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 中国人 | Zhōng guó rén | Chinese person |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 情人节 | Qíng rén jié | Valentine's Day |
| 如 | rú | as; as if; such as |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 下雨 | xià yǔ | to rain |
| 那是 | nà shi | (coll.) of course; naturally; indeed |
| 分开 | fēn kāi | to separate; to part |
| 泣 | qǐ | to sob |
A long, long time ago, there was a young man called Niulang (the Cowherd). He had no father or mother, and only lived with an old ox. Niulang worked every day, and life was very hard, but he was very kind.
One day, the old ox said to Niulang: ‘Tomorrow, some fairy maidens will come to bathe by the river [and they will take off their clothes while bathing]. Go to the river and steal the red clothes.’ Niulang thought this was very strange, but he listened to the old ox’s words.
The next day, Niulang went to the riverside. He saw several very beautiful fairy maidens playing in the water. He quietly took a red garment [from the riverbank]. When the fairy maidens wanted to return to heaven, one of them couldn’t find her clothes. Her name was Zhinü (the Weaver Girl), and she was the best weaver among all the fairies in heaven.
Zhinü was very anxious and didn’t know what to do. At that moment, Niulang came out and returned the clothes to her. When Zhinü saw Niulang, she thought he was very kind, and she also liked him very much. Zhinü decided not to return to heaven – she wanted to live together with Niulang.
Niulang and Zhinü got married, and their life was very happy. Niulang worked every day, and Zhinü wove cloth every day.
However, the Queen Mother of Heaven found out about this. She was very angry, because Zhinü was a fairy maiden and was not allowed to marry a mortal. The Queen Mother sent someone down to bring Zhinü back to heaven.
When Niulang saw his wife being taken away, he was extremely sad. At that moment, the old ox said: ‘After I die, use my hide to make shoes. If you wear them, you can fly up to heaven.’ Soon after, the old ox died. Niulang was very sad, but he remembered the old ox’s words.
Niulang used the old ox’s hide to make shoes. After putting them on, he flew up to heaven. He flew faster and faster, and was about to catch up with Zhinü. But the Queen Mother saw this, and she pulled out the hairpin from her head and drew a long river across the sky. This river is called the Milky Way, and it is both wide and deep.
Niulang stood on one side of the Milky Way, and Zhinü stood on the other side. They could only look at each other but could not be together. Zhinü cried, and Niulang also cried.
Later, all the magpies in heaven felt great sympathy for them. Every year on the seventh day of the seventh month, the magpies fly to the Milky Way and use their bodies to form a bridge. Niulang and Zhinü can walk across this bridge and meet once, [only on this day].
Therefore, every year on the seventh day of the seventh month, Chinese people call this day ‘Qixi.’ This is China’s Valentine’s Day. People say that if it rains on this day, it is because Niulang and Zhinü know they must separate again, and they are weeping.