The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl and the Qixi Festival

This story retells the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, who are separated by the Milky Way but meet once a year on Qixi. It also explains how Qixi became a festival about skill, family, longing, and love.

HSK 2–3

Illustration inspired by The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl and the Qixi Festival.

Story preview

  1. 很久很久以前，天上有一个美丽的女孩，名字叫织女。

    hen3 jiu3 hen3 jiu3 yi3 qian2 tian1 shang4 you3 yi1 ge4 mei3 li4 de5 nv3 hai2 ming2 zi5 jiao4 zhi1 nv3

    Long, long ago, there was a beautiful girl in the heavens. Her name was the Weaver Girl.

  2. 织女住在天上。

    zhi1 nv3 zhu4 zai4 tian1 shang4

    The Weaver Girl lived in the heavens.

  3. 她很会织布。

    ta1 hen3 hui4 zhi1 bu4

    She was very good at weaving cloth.