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When the Queen Mother of the West discovered that her granddaughter, the Weaver Girl Zhinü, had married a mortal cowherd named Niulang, she intervened to maintain the cosmic order. As Niulang pursued his wife into the heavens, the Queen Mother drew her golden hairpin and slashed a line across the sky, creating the celestial Silver River, or Milky Way, to separate the two lovers forever.
Every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a bridge of magpies forms across the Silver River to reunite two separated lovers. Zhinü, the celestial Weaver Girl, and Niulang, a mortal cowherd, fell in love but were torn apart by the gods who forbade their union. Their enduring devotion moved the birds of the world to help them meet once a year, giving rise to the Qixi Festival.
The story tells of Niulang, a poor cowherd who, guided by a magical ox, marries Zhinü, the heavenly Weaver Girl. Their mortal happiness is cut short when the Queen Mother of the West forces Zhinü back to the sky, creating the Milky Way to separate the lovers. Touched by their devotion, the heavens allow them to reunite once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month via a bridge of...
Zhinü, the celestial weaver and daughter of the Jade Emperor, descends from the heavens to find respite from her eternal labors. In the lush landscape of Yiyuan, she and her sisters discover a magical spring where they bathe, momentarily setting aside their divine duties. This pivotal moment marks the transition from her life of celestial solitude to her fated encounter with the mortal world.