Today is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The Qixi Festival began in ancient times, became popular in the Western Han Dynasty, and flourished in the Song Dynasty. In 2006, it was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. It is a traditional folk festival in my country.
Originally, Qixi Festival was a festival for girls to pray for wisdom. Later, it was gradually given the myth and legend of the "Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" and became a festival full of expectations…Tonight, Chinese Valentine's Day!
Qixi·Origin
Tonight
Chinese Valentine's Day
Regarding the Chinese Valentine's Day, there is a widely circulated folk legend about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. On the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day, all the magpies on the ground fly to the Milky Way in the sky to build a "magpie bridge", so that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can reunite on the magpie bridge. It is said that in the dead of night, if you hold your breath and listen under the grape trellis, you can hear the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl talking.
The connotation of the traditional Chinese Valentine's Day is not simply related to love, but a festival for girls. "Xia Xiaozheng" has a saying: "At first dusk, the Weaver Girl is facing eastward", and the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are facing each other across the Milky Way. On this day, girls often worship the Seventh Sister with their "best friends", pray for blessings and wishes, beg for skills, sit and watch Altair and Vega, pray for marriage, store Qixi water… the activities are very colorful!
Begging for cleverness is one of the most important activities of Qixi Festival. On this day, women in ancient times would pray to God to grant them superb needlework skills, so it is also called Qijie's Day, Girls' Day, Qiaoqiao Festival, Qiaoxi, etc., which means begging for women's skill and wisdom. "Threading a needle and begging for skills" is the earliest way of begging for skills, especially in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The woman holds five-color silk thread and a continuously arranged nine-hole needle (or five-hole needle, or seven-hole needle) and threads the needle and thread continuously under the moonlight. Those who pass all the threads quickly are called "getting Qiao", and those who finish it late are called "losing skill". Later, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Qixi Festival activities such as "throwing a needle to test one's skills" were developed.
Chinese Valentine's Day·Classic
Tonight
Chinese Valentine's Day
Far Altair
Han Dynasty·Anonymous
The distant Altair, the bright river, the Han girl. The slender hands are used to make tricks. I can't make up my mind all day long, and my tears are like rain. The river is clear and shallow. How far has it gone? There is a room full of water, and the pulse is speechless.
Appreciation
This poem tells the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl being separated by the Milky Way and unable to see each other. The Milky Way looks clear and shallow. How far is it between the two banks? Although they were only separated by a Milky Way, they could only look at each other affectionately and speechlessly.
Xinwei Chinese Valentine's Day
Tang·Li Shangyin
I'm afraid it's a good time to part with the immortal family, so I'll teach you a good time. The origin of the blue sky beside the Milky Way is when the golden wind and jade dew come. The clear leaks gradually moved away and we looked at each other for a long time, but the faint clouds were not too late to catch up. How can I not intend to reward the crow and magpie, but beg for clever silk with the spider?
Appreciation
This poem originates from the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. From a superficial point of view, the poet is writing about the scene of the "Qixi Festival" festival, but he expresses his emotions in real time and skillfully combines the legends and customs about the festival with the poet's situation, thoughts and feelings.
autumn evening
Tang Du Mu
The autumn light of the silver candle paints the screen coldly, and the light fan flutters at the flowing fireflies. The sky is as cold as water at night, and I lie down to watch Altair and Vega.
Appreciation
The candlelight of the silver candle reflected the deserted painting screen, and the hand held a small silk fan to beat the fireflies. The stone steps are as cool as cold water at night, and you can sit quietly and gaze at the stars Altair and Vega on both sides of the Milky Way. This poem is cleverly conceived and quite representative of Du Mu's five unique artistic achievements.
Magpie Bridge Immortal·Xianyun Nongqiao
Song Qin Guan
Thin clouds make tricks, flying stars spread hatred, and silver men are far away in darkness.
Once the golden wind and jade dew meet, they will win over countless others in the world.
Tenderness is like water, good times are like dreams, and I can't help but look at the Magpie Bridge on the way home.
If the love lasts for a long time, how can it last day and night?
Appreciation
The story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl has been used since ancient times to express the joys and sorrows of the world. Although the words and sentences are different, they all have a sad and sad style. In contrast, Qin Guan's words can be said to be unique and witty, with lofty intentions. Love must withstand the test of long-term separation and love each other sincerely. Even if we are far apart, we can still be in love with each other.
Chinese Valentine's Day·Know
Tonight
Chinese Valentine's Day
What is the earliest classic recording of the Cowherd and the Vega?
As early as in the "Book of Songs: Dadong", the star names of the Morning Bull and the Weaver Girl were recorded: "There is a Han in the sky, and there is light in the prison. The Weaver Girl has seven pillows all day long. Although there are seven Xiangxiangs, it is not a newspaper. The Morning Bull cannot be kept in a box." It was confirmed that it was one of the earliest stars recognized by the Chinese and recorded in classics. Han refers to the Milky Way, Weaver Girl is the name of a constellation composed of three stars, which is triangular in shape, and is located on the north side of the Milky Way; Altair is the name of a constellation composed of three stars, also known as the River Drum Star, and the common name is Altair, located on the south side of the Milky Way.
Altair and Vega, have you seen it?
At this time, if you raise your head and look up at the brilliant galaxy, the three brightest stars in the sky are connected together, which is what everyone often calls the "Summer Triangle", which is composed of Alpha stars in three different constellations. Among these three stars, the brightest is Vega, also known as Vega, which is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra; the one slightly dimmer than it is Vega, also known as Altair, Altair, etc., which is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila, located at the southern end of the Grand Triangle.
The "Summer Triangle" across the Milky Way is composed of Vega (Vega) in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus, and Altair (Altair) in Aquila.
Vega in Lyra forms a triangle with two nearby faint stars, much like a weaving shuttle; Altair in Aquila forms a "one" shape with the two faint stars, much like a cowherd carrying two children on a pole. The direction of the Milky Way is perpendicular to the line connecting Altair and Vega, just like dividing them on both sides of the "river". Think again about the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Were our ancients very imaginative? At around 22:00 on a summer night, Vega will hang high in the center of the sky. Have you seen it?
Will Altair and Vega really meet?
Although Altair and Vega appear to be not far apart in many photos, they are actually 16 light years apart. This means that for a light as fast as its speed, it would take 16 years to travel from Altair to Vega. If the two stars were really inhabited by Altair and Weaver, even if Weaver called Altair, it would take 32 years for the signal to come back and forth.
What are Altair and Vega like?
Altair and Vega are two stars like the sun that can emit and heat themselves. Although they look like just two small points of light, they are planets larger than the sun. Vega's volume is 33 times that of the sun, its mass is 2.1 times that of the sun, its surface temperature is as high as 9600°C, and the energy it releases per second is equivalent to 37 times that of the sun. Like Vega, Altair's mass is 1.7 times that of the sun, and its surface temperature is as high as 7000°C. With such a high temperature, it would be difficult for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to live there~
