Story

A very long time ago, there lived a young man who was called 牛郎 (Niúláng, or Cowherd). When 牛郎 was little, both of his parents passed away, and he had to live with his older brother and his wife. Unfortunately, his brother's wife treated him cruelly. She constantly gave him work to do, from taking their cows out to graze to chopping firewood. Instead of getting angry, though, 牛郎 always did as she said.

One day, his brother's wife ordered him to take the cows to the mountain to graze, adding that if he didn't have all ten cows on the way back, he might as well not return at all. 牛郎 knew this was his sister-in-law's way of getting rid of him for a while -- their herd only had nine cows, not ten. Still, he did as she said and brought the nine animals up to the mountainside for grazing.

When he arrived at the mountain, he found a nice river and brought his cows to its shore. He lay by the waterside and let the animals eat while he gazed at the clouds in the sky. Then, suddenly, he saw something in the sky. Before his eyes, a handful of female immortals descended from the heavens and started swimming in the river. One of these immortals was the beautiful 织女 (Zhīnǚ, or Weaving Maid), and 牛郎 gathered his courage and went over to introduce himself to her.

牛郎's first conversation with the immortal went well -- so well that she stayed behind in the mortal realm when her fellow immortals left so that she could stay with 牛郎. It wasn't long before the two fell in love, got married, and started a life together. After a few years, they even had a son and a daughter.

Unfortunately, their happiness could not last. The Mother of the Heavens discovered their relationship and sent servants to go drag 织女 back to the heavens. 牛郎 witnessed the entire kidnapping, but was unable to offer any resistance against the immortal beings. As he watched the immortals carry his wife away, he knew that he had to find a way to bring his wife back, but he had no idea how to do so. Just then, though, one of his cows came up to him and said, "I will die soon. When I die, use my skin to make leather boots, and they will let you go to the heavens."

When the cow passed shortly after, 牛郎 did as instructed, gathered his children, and went with them to the heavens to find his wife. The moment he found 织女, though, the Mother of the Heavens discovered him. Furious, she reached into her hair, withdrew a hairpin, and waved it around. Instantly, the Milky Way sprang into being, and 牛郎 and 织女 found themselves on opposite sides and unable to close the distance. Realizing they were truly separated forever, they wept inconsolably.

These acts of love and devotion caught the attention of flocks of magpies. Together, millions of magpies beat their wings and rose to the heavens, and they carried the two lovers over to each other.

At this, even the Mother of the Heavens was moved. She grudgingly decided that the couple would be allowed to see each other once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.

With this concession granted, 牛郎 and 织女 saw each other every single year until their deaths. After they died, they transformed into two constellations in the night sky, separated by the Milky Way just like they had been in life.