Chinese Valentine's Day: Qixi Festival

A touching love story from 2,000 years ago

6 Sep, 20246 min read

Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine's Day, is celebrated every year on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. Although the Valentine's Day is also very commonly celebrated in China, the Qixi Festival still has a profound place in Chinese culture.

Qixi Festival has been celebrated for over 2,000 years and is based on a touching love story from the Han Dynasty. It is a commemoration of the two lovers, Niulang (牛郎) and Zhinü (织女). And the story goes like this...

One day, there was a boy named Niulang. After his parents' death, he starts living with his brother and his sister-in-law who treats him awfully. One afternoon, she asks Niulang to take the oxen to graze. She only gives him 9 oxen and asks him to bring back 10, otherwise he won't be able to step into the house again. Confused, Niulang takes the oxen and goes out to the fields, finds a place, and sits there worried. He doesn't know how to find a new ox or when he can return home again.

While he sits there thoughtfully, an old man approaches. He asks Niulang why he is upset. After listening to him, the old man tells Niulang not to worry, and that there is an old and sick ox nearby that nobody wants. He tells Niulang to find some clean water and good grass and feed the ox until it gets better so that he can take it home. After a long walk, Niulang finds the old ox and starts taking care of it. One month goes by and the ox recovers. Niulang feels overjoyed to be able to take home the 10 oxen.

After he goes back home, the sister-in-law still treats him badly and she doesn't like the ox Niulang brought, saying that it is too old. Despite all his efforts, he is told to take the old ox and leave, and therefore Niulang gets kicked out again.

Although most times he cannot find anything to eat for himself, Niulang makes sure to find some good grass to feed the ox, pleased to see that the ox gets to eat.

One day, the old ox starts to talk and says: "Niulang, don't be scared. I can speak, and let me tell you something. I am not from the Earth. I come from the heavens. Because I did something wrong, the emperor of the heavens sent me here. I know that you are a good person. Right now, your life is hard. You should have a home, a family, a wife that helps you."

Niulang says: "A wife? I have no money, no home. I have nothing. Which girl would ever want to be my wife?"

The ox says: "Don't worry. Listen to me carefully. The emperor of the heavens has a beautiful daughter named Zhinü. She is a very good person. She often comes down to the Earth to swim. Where she swims every morning is right in front of us, it isn't far. Tomorrow, when she comes, go out and look for her. She might like you and be the best wife."

After listening to everything the ox says, Niulang has a hard time believing. However, the ox could talk and it was really weird! That's why, he believes it. Niulang goes to the swimming place on the second day, and there really is a beautiful girl swimming! Extremely beautiful, that girl turns out to be Zhinü.

Zhinü sees Niulang and thinks that he seems to be a good person with a good appearance. And she likes him a lot. Afterward, Zhinü becomes Niulang's wife. She helps him, and together they work really hard and quickly build a good home. Two years go by and they have 2 children, a boy and a girl, living happily all together.

However, the emperor learns about all these. He sends his wife, the queen, to Earth to bring Zhinü back, never to let her see Niulang again. Zhinü cries and cries, she doesn't want to back to the heavens. But the queen doesn't listen and takes her.

Now, Niulang, missing Zhinü, is left on the Earth with his children asking for their mother every day. They must find a way to reach the heavens and find Zhinü, but they don't know how. At that moment, the old ox says: "Wait for a while and don't worry. I am old and will pass away soon. After I die, use my skin to make yourself a pair of shoes and wear them, take your children with you, and reach to the heavens to find Zhinü."

Although Niulang loves the ox and doesn't want him to die, after a few days, it passes away. Niulang cries for a long time. After that, he does as the ox said. He uses its skin and makes the shoes. Wearing them, he takes his children and together they reach the heavens to find Zhinü.

Just when he is about to see Zhinü, the queen comes and says: "How come a mortal reaches the heavens!" She sees Niulang's children. Displeased, she scratches a big and wide river into the sky, separating the two lovers, and hindering them from reaching each other. And that river is what we see at night and call the Milky Way.

As he stands on the other side of the river, Niulang calls Zhinü's name, and the kids cry for their mother. However, they can't see her. Not long after, magpies of the heavens learn about the family's struggle. They think what the queen did isn't right. Niulang and Zhinü are in love with each other and they didn't do anything wrong. Niulang and the kids should be with Zhinü. The magpies decide to help them. They all will line up over the river like a bridge so that Niulang, the kids, and Zhinü can all meet on this bridge.

The queen hears about this and wants to catch Niulang and the kids. However, the magpies tell her that they did nothing wrong and ask her not to catch them. The queen thinks for a while and says: "Okay, this time I won't catch them. However, here is the heavens and it is different from the Earth. Niulang and Zhinü cannot be together every day. Today is the 7th of the 7th month, they can meet here every year, on the same day!"

Thus, every year on the 7th day of the 7th month, Niulang and Zhinü get to see each other. Every year, on that day, the number of magpies on Earth lessens as they all fly to the heavens to make the bridge for them. On that day, the weather is always bad, and it often rains. And that is because of the tears of Niulang and Zhinü as they get to meet again.

People can see the Milky Way, lying on both sides of the river with two very bright stars. And those two stars are Niulang and Zhinü. On both sides of Niulang's star are two little bright stars which are their precious children.