Culture Insider: Qixi - the Chinese Valentine’s Day
Michelle
Sunny Glassware
2018-08-29 10:09:28
Most Chinese remember being told this romantic tragedy when they were children on Qixi, or the Seventh Night Festival, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is usually in early August. This year it falls on Tuesday, August 9.
Folklore Story
Once there was a cowherd, Niulang, who lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. But she disliked and abused him, and the boy was forced to leave home with only an old cow for company.
The cow, however, was a former god who had violated imperial rules and was sent to earth in bovine form.
One day the cow led Niulang to a lake where fairies took a bath on earth. Among them was Zhinu, the most beautiful fairy and a skilled seamstress.
The two fell in love at first sight and were soon married. They had a son and daughter.
Yet in the eyes of the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Deity in Taoism, marriage between a mortal and fairy was strictly forbidden. He ordered the heaven troop to catch Zhinu back.
Niulang grew desperate when he discovered Zhinu had been taken back to heaven. Driven by Niulang’s misery, the cow told him to turn its hide into a pair of shoes after it died.
The magic shoes whisked Niulang off on a chase after the empress.
The pursuit enraged the empress, who took her hairpin and slashed it across the sky creating the Milky Way which separated husband from wife.
But magpies, moved by their love, formed a bridge across the Milky Way to reunite the family.
Even the Jade Emperor was touched, and allowed Niulang and Zhinu to meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month.
This is how Qixi came to be. The festival can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).
Customs
In bygone days, Qixi was not only a special day for lovers, but also for girls. It is also known as the "Begging for Skills Festival" or "Daughters’ Festival."
In this day, girls will throw a sewing needle into a bowl full of water on the night of Qixi as a test of embroidery skills. If the needle floats on top of the water instead of sinking, it proves the girl is a skilled embroiders.
Single women also pray for finding a good husband in the future. And the newly married women pray to become pregnant quickly.
Tradition transformed
The love story of Niulang and Zhinu, and the Qixi Festival have been handed down for generations. Yet these ancient traditions and customs are slowly dying out.
Many modern Chinese, particularly youngsters, seem to know more about St Valentine’s Day on February 14.
Even Qixi is nowadays referred to as the "Chinese Valentine’s Day." More and more young Chinese people begin to celebrate this day in a very similar way as that in western countries.
Few young women will mark the festival with their boyfriends, or take part in traditional activities to pray for cleverness.