QīXì: Chinese Valentine’s Day

文/宋婕羽 學習中文13年

February 14th in America constitutes for an extremely special day in which lovers are able to express their love for each other because it is Valentine’s Day. While Chinese people celebrate the Western Valentine’s Day, every year on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, they also celebrate Chinese Valentine’s Day (QīXì), which translated literally, means The Night of Sevens.

QīXì originates from the famous, romantic Chinese legend, "The Cowboy and the Weaving Maiden." According to the legend, the Cowboy one day hears his old ox speaking to him, saying that he should go to a nearby brook. There, the Cowboy spies a group of seven fairies descended from the Heavens bathing and playing in the water, and amidst them he glimpses the beautiful Weaving Maiden. He decides to steal the Weaving Maiden’s clothes so when the rest of the fairies dress and fly back up, the Weaving Maiden is unable to. The Cowboy appears in front of the Weaving Maiden to propose marriage to her, and she accepts. They marry, have two children and live a happy, fulfilling life, until one day when the Jade Emperor of the Heavens discovers that the Weaving Maiden has been living in the mortal world. He sends the heavenly troops and generals down to earth to bring her back. When the Cowboy discovers that his wife has been taken away, he follows in pursuit all the way up to the Heavens. The heavenly Queen Mother of the West is furious when she spots the Cowboy, and using her silver hairpin, she draws a silver river between the two lovers, eternally separating them. This silver river became what is known today as the Milky Way. However, the magpies were moved by the Cowboy and Weaving Maiden’s love, and from that day on, once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, all the magpies flock together to form a magpie bridge for the two lovers to cross and meet.

The story of, "The Cowboy and the Weaving Maiden," as well as the celebration of QīXì, date back to the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and is one of the first legends in Chinese history to incorporate astrology. Chinese astrologers named the two stars separated by the Milky Way, scientifically known as Altair and Vega, the "Cowboy Star" and the "Weaving Maiden Star," respectively. It is said that on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, magpies are especially rare to sight because they are all busy building the magpie bridge for the Cowboy and Weaving Maiden; it is also believed that the rain that falls on that day are the tears from the two lovers’ meeting and separation for another year.

Personally, I have heard of the renowned folktale of, "The Cowboy and the Weaving Maiden," from both dancing Chinese Folk Dance and attending Chinese School. My dance troupe once even performed the legend, and although it was several years ago, I will always remember the final dance of that show-"The Bridge of the Magpies." The two dancers of this number not only performed gracefully, filled with emotions, but they also allowed the entire audience to witness a somber, though nonetheless beautiful, true love. Although the celebration of QīXì is slowly being forgotten by today’s Chinese generation, the moving story of, "The Cowboy and the Weaving Maiden," brings proof to not only the Chinese, but also people around the world, that thousands of years ago, when elders and matchmakers arranged marriages, true love was still possible.

七夕: 中國人的情人節

在美國，二月十四號這特別的一天是讓男女朋友能表達他們彼此相愛的心意，這是西方的情人節。中國人也有自己的情人節，在每年的農曆七月七日，他們也會慶祝的中國的情人節，又名七夕。
七夕的由來是著名的民間浪漫故事，「牛郎織女」。傳說中，有一天牛郎忽然聽到他養的老牛說話，要他去一條小溪邊。在那裡，牛郎看到了從天上來的七位仙女在洗澡玩水，其中就有漂亮的織女。牛郎偷了織女的衣裳，所以織女就沒有辦法飛回天上。後來織女就答應嫁給英俊的牛郎。 結婚後，他們生了兩個小孩，生活的很幸福美滿。直到有一天，天上的玉皇大帝發現織女在人間，他就派天兵天將去把她抓回天上。牛郎發現織女被帶走，也跟著追到天上。王母娘娘看到牛郎到了天界，就用她頭上的銀簪在牛郎和織女的中間畫了一條銀河。這條銀河就是今天的“Milky Way”。天上的喜鵲鳥被牛郎織女的愛情感動，從此每年農曆七月七日飛過銀河創造一座「鵲橋」讓兩位情侶相遇。
「牛郎織女」這個故事及七夕這個節日是中國漢朝 (前206年-220年) 流傳下來的節慶，也是中國歷史中第一個用到星相的故事。中國占星家把天上銀河分界河鼓二(Altair)，俗稱「牛郎星」， 和織女一 (Vega)，也叫「織女星」。中國人傳說，在農曆七月七日這一天，很難找到喜鵲鳥，因為牠們都忙著在蓋鵲橋；七夕下的雨是牛郎織女相遇和離別流的眼淚。
從中國民族舞蹈和中文學校的過程中，我曾數次聽過「牛郎織女」的故事。我還在舞蹈團表演過這個傳說。雖然那是幾年前的事，我卻永遠記得那場演出的最後一支舞–「鵲橋會」。這支舞蹈的兩位演員不只跳得非常優美和感人，同時還讓全體觀眾親眼目睹一場淒美的愛情傳說。七夕已經開始被現代的華人慢慢的遺忘，但是「牛郎織女」這個唯美的傳說不只帶給所有中國人，也同時向全世界証明了幾千年以前，雖然許多中國傳統婚姻都是被父母長輩安排的，但是自由戀愛還是有可能發生的 。