How many versions are there of Cowherd and Weaver Girl?

Several versions of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl:

1. Funiu Mountain District, Nanyang City, Henan Province

The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in Nanyang is the oldest and most historically valuable legend. .

Baotianman Funiu Mountain District in Nanyang City, Henan Province is a place full of outstanding people. Here, there are towering ancient trees, flocks of birds and beasts, the southern foot of Shiren Mountain is full of beautiful peaks and greenery, and the West Gorge Longtangou Waterfalls are surrounded by water and rocks. The scenery is unique and beautiful. It is a famous tourist attraction. According to legend, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl met and fell in love here because of the guidance of the thousand-year-old cow. From then on, they lived a harmonious and sweet life. After they gave birth to two children, the Queen Mother was furious when she found out that Weaver Girl had descended to earth, and sent soldiers from heaven to capture Weaver Girl. Cowherd burst into tears. However, the old cow asked the cowherd to put on his own psychic cowhide and chase him. The cowherd reluctantly did as he was told, and then went to the sky to find the Weaver Girl. In order to commemorate this thousand-year-old cow who was knowledgeable about human nature, the mountain where the cowherd once lived was called Funiu Mountain.

In Lihe Township, Wancheng District, 20 miles south of Nanyang City, there is a natural village called Niulangzhuang, which is consistent with many records about the birthplace of the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. People in the village also said that the legendary Cowherd was a young man named Sun Ruyi from their village. The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl originated from here.

The "Sacred Cow Tomb" stone tablet was excavated in Niulangzhuang, and then a statue of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl was built in the village. On the seventh day of July, the place is full of incense.

The Niu Family House in Niulang Village, which has been passed down from ancestors, is said to be the former residence of Niulang.

The cow-drinking pit passed down from ancestors in Niulangzhuang is said to be the place where Niulang used to let his cows drink water. Regardless of whether there are drought or flood years here, the pit has always remained in this state.

This is the location of the legendary Magpie Bridge. It is said that the bridge used to be a stone bridge. It was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution" and a monument was subsequently built to commemorate it.

Because after the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl were separated, Shiwa Village, the legendary birthplace of the Weaver Girl, still retained the custom of not intermarrying with the Cowherd Village.

As for the character prototypes, relevant people pointed out that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are actually mortals and are authentic Nanyang people. Niulang is from Sangzhuang, twenty miles west of Nanyang City, and Weaver Girl is from Shiwa Village (commonly known as Weaver Girl Village), twenty miles south of the city. Zhi Nu eloped and married Cowherd. When Zhi Nu's family found out, they broke up. Niulang looked for his wife and came to live near Shiwa Village, and then the current Niulang Village was formed.

Nowadays, on the seventh day of July every year, Niulangzhuang not only inherits the customs of "exploding clever fruits", "begging for clever things", and "sacrifice", but also on this morning, the old man has to kill the rooster, fearing that It announces the dawn in advance and shortens the time when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet.

Every year around the seventh day of July, villagers in Niulangzhuang and its surroundings on the east bank of Baihe River go to Niulangzhuang to burn incense and offer sacrifices and pray for children.

The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl originated from the star worship of the ancients. It was the result of people deifying and personifying the stars in the sky. There is also physical evidence for this in Nanyang. In the 1970s, a Han Dynasty stone portrait of the "Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" was excavated from the Baitan Han Tomb on the west bank of the Baihe River in Nanyang. The cowherd on the right is holding a whip. Judging from the body, expression and walking, it is undoubtedly a domesticated farm animal. Ox - Nanyang cattle; the sitting posture of the Weaver Girl in the lower left corner is also the working posture of women in the Han Dynasty weaving machines.

The article "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl Originates from Nanyang" has attracted the attention of many celebrities and scholars in the cultural circles of Nanyang and other places. Among them, Professor Chen Jiangfeng, deputy dean of Zhengzhou Institute of Light Industry and folklore expert, Du Hanhua, a scholar from a university in Xiangfan City, Hubei Province, Bai Wanxian, a member of the Henan Historical Society, Du Quanshan, vice president of the Nanyang Philatelic Association, the famous writer Yue Erhe, and the Chinese Folklore Society Chief Liu Kuili and Nanyang-born military writer Xia Tingxian showed great enthusiasm for the "Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl". Liu Kuilite wrote the inscription for the postcard "Nanyang, the Origin of Chinese Valentine's Day": "Traditional folk festivals are beautiful flowers in people's lives." The famous writer Yue Erhe believes: "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are the Chinese God of Love, the Chinese God of Beauty, and the Spirit of Chinese Humanity." Nanyang should actively declare its birthplace, explore the connotation of modern life of "Qixi Festival", and revitalize the ancient traditional festival. .

In January this year, on the occasion of the release of the postcard "The Origin of the Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in Nanyang", Er Erhe wrote in his own hand: "Research the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to build a harmonious society."

In October 2012, the Nanyang Municipal Cultural Bureau implemented the application process of "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl originated in Nanyang" and finally succeeded. This culturally recognized the statement that "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl originated in Nanyang".

2. Yiyuan County, Shandong Province

The Milky Way in the sky and the Yi River on the ground. The source of Yihe River, Yiyuan Sanyuan: the source of life, the source of Yishui River, and the source of love.

Yiyuan County is located in the central part of Shandong Province. It belongs to: the original Linyi area, now Zibo City. The longest inland river in Shandong Province, the Yi River, originates here, hence the name Yiyuan. Yiyuan County is the birthplace of ancient humans in Shandong, the ecological highland on the roof of Shandong, the hometown of karst caves in northern China, and the hometown of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Weaver Girl Cave and Cowherd Temple are the only ancient architectural sites in China based on the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl begins with the records of "The Book of Songs: Dadong": "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" and "The Cowherd and the Cowherd". "Nineteen Ancient Poems: Far Far Away from the Altair" already calls the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl husband and wife. Ying Shao's "Customs of Customs" has an article: "The Weaver Girl will cross the river on the Chinese Valentine's Day, using magpies as a bridge. It is said that the magpie heads will be flat on seven days for no reason, because the beam is used to cross the Weaver Girl."

According to the research of relevant experts, in the "Book of Songs" The geographical location described by "Dadong" in the Zhou Dynasty spans Linzi and Qufu in present-day Shandong Province. Yiyuan County, located in the upper reaches of the Yi River, is between Linzi and Qufu. Geographically, it is the core of "Dadong" area. Today, the Weaver Girl Cave on Daxian Mountain in Yanya Township, Yiyuan County and the Cowherd Temple across the river are places that are most consistent with the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Its initial construction date can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty in China. It is currently the only ancient architectural site in China based on the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. It has a monopoly among similar resources in the country.

The story of "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" has spread all over the world and is a household name. Where it originated, few people know. After extensive research by experts and scholars, it was discovered that the story of "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" originally originated in Yanya Township, Yiyuan County, Shandong Province.

First of all, there are real scenes locally. Yanya Township, Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, has the only rare landscape in China where legends correspond to real scenes and there are ancient architectural ruins - the Zhinu Cave and Cowherd built in the Tang Dynasty. Langmiao. The two face each other from east to west across the Yi River. The landscape pattern on both sides of the river echoes the "Altair-Galaxy-Vega" in the sky, forming a unique and magical landscape of the unity of heaven and man. Lang Temple was originally a two-story attic-style building. After many renovations, it began to take shape. It has three main halls with green bricks and green tiles, and painted brackets. The main hall of the temple has a magnificent statue of the Cowherd and his children. There is a statue of a golden bull lying next to it. There are towering ancient cypresses in the courtyard, which is quiet and unique. Among them, "Yihe" is a perfect homonym for "Yinhe".

Secondly, there are people living in the village next to it. Most of the people in the village of Niulang Guanzhuang have the surname "Sun", which happens to be the same surname as Niulang (Sun Shouyi). This village has been around since the Ming Dynasty. The people in the village regard themselves as descendants of the Cowherd and have passed down the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl from generation to generation. The culture of raising the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl has been passed down to this day. During the Qixi Festival, the women of Niulang Guanzhuang will happily fold gold ingots out of paper and offer them to the Weaver Girl Cave.

Thirdly, There are records in the literature. The earliest records in the Xiaoya Dadong Chapter of the Book of Songs in the Western Zhou Dynasty include: "Zi (qi) the Weaver Girl" and "睆 (huan) the Morning Bull". According to the investigation, the location of Dadong is east of Mount Tai. Linzi and Qufu areas, and the core location of Dadong is Yiyuan.

Fourth, there are many stone steles in the entire Daxian Mountain in Yanya Township, Yiyuan County, just because they were destroyed before. , there are only a few intact ones, but the contents engraved on all the stone tablets are more or less related to the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. One of them has a beautiful and clear record of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. This stone tablet is from Jiaqing. Erected 20 years ago, the two poems engraved on the stone tablet are called Climbing the Weaver Girl Platform. The author is Wang Songting. The third and fourth lines of the poem are "as if the stars are falling in the blue, and the cow girl is vaguely descending to the world", which is a very vivid description of Tiancheng. There is also a stone tablet "Zhonglou Ji in Zhinu Cave" which was erected in the seventh year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1579).

The inscription records: "People from the Tang Dynasty in Zhiyun passed through the valley and heard the sound of the Zaza machine in the cave, so they named the Weaver Girl." This tells the origin of the Weaver Girl. It means that in the Tang Dynasty, someone passed by and heard the sound of the Zaza machine in the cave. He thought the Weaver Girl was weaving cloth, so he built the Weaver Girl Fairy Cave. The second sentence of the inscription - "The Cow Palace was built on the other side of the river, so what formed an image in the sky took shape on the earth...".

Furthermore, according to research, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl scenic spot also has natural and geological wonders such as the Weaver Girl Spring, the Weaver Girl Terrace (Tiensuntai), the rare leaf-seed ginkgo, and the angular unconformity surface, all of which are related to the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. , with strong cultural color. Ginkgo biloba is unique to China and very rare in the world. The fruits of leaf-seed ginkgo grow on the leaves. The strange thing is that not all the fruits on this tree grow on the leaves. Only the fruits on this branch are leaf-seed ginkgo, which is a beautifully curved branch above the Wusheng Hall near the Weaver Girl Cave. These fruits It occupies about 20% of this tree, and this branch happens to be in the direction of Weaver Girl's Cave. Maybe this is a testimony of the love of Cowherd and Weaver Girl by the old tree. There is also a clear spring here, which is said to be the tears left by the Queen Mother, which is talked about by people. The bright red cherries here are also given a romantic name, called love fruit.

3. Heshun County, Shanxi Province

Shanxi Heshun is a small mountainous county located at the top of the Taihang Mountains. It has long occupied a place in the hearts of the Chinese people because of a beautiful folk legend. . Previously, Heshun County was named the "Hometown of China's Cowherd and Weaver Girl Culture" by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and was later officially announced by the State Council as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage. This spring, it was once again named as "the first batch of national traditional festival (Qixi Festival) demonstration protected areas in Shanxi Province" by the Shanxi cultural department.

In the countryside of Heshun, many ancient place names and scenery names related to the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl have been passed down. Place names such as Niulang Cave, Jinniu Cave, Magpie Mountain, Nantianmen, Tianhe Pond, etc. correspond to the protagonists of the story, and beautiful stories are recited by the local people.

The legend and culture of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in Heshun County is a rare and valuable humanistic resource with high cultural and economic value. Smart Heshun people are relying on the unique cultural resources to build a cultural brand, enhance the overall image of the place, and enhance the comprehensive economic and social competitiveness.

Heshun County speeds up the rescue, development and utilization of traditional cultural resources and sings the cultural brand of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl". A new Shanxi opera "The Magpie Bridge Club" starring famous Shanxi opera masters from the provincial capital begins tonight at the Shanxi Provincial Performing Arts Center. In Heshun urban and rural areas, "Folk Paper-cut Works Exhibition", "Folk Fabric and Velvet Painting Chinese Medicine Painting Exhibition", "Folk Handicraft Exhibition", etc. were held one after another, including the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Chinese Madonna, Fengtai Opera, Five Grain Paintings, Paper-cutting, Embroidery, etc. Humanities, history, allusions, legends and folk art are revealed by local skilled craftsmen.

"Qixi" comes from the mythical story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and the origin of this story is Shanxi, Heshun County in Jinzhong District, Shanxi Province. This is an important area where the romantic love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl occurred and developed ( Not to say it is the only region), it is an important region with typical significance for the inheritance and development of Chinese Valentine's Day customs. In the area of ??less than 10 square kilometers of Nantianchi and Niulangyu in Heshun County, there are still 20 natural and cultural landscapes and scenery related to the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Judging from the place names, Tianheliang, Niulangyu, and Nantianchi Yumoziyu (簪yu) is a place name or village name that has been recorded in local annals for a long time. The other place names and related scenery names have been popular among the people for a long time. Today you can see Niulanggou, Niulangdong, Tianhe Pond, Niulang Lake, etc. Lang Temple, Weaver Girl Temple, Nantianmen, Jinniu Cave, Lao Niukou, Niutoushan, Xiangsibei, Magpie Mountain, Eight Immortals Cave, Nezha Pagoda, Donkey Rolling, etc., as well as the Queen Mother Temple, Li Tower of Heavenly King, grinding stone, etc. The villagers have passed down the vivid story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl and the Chinese Valentine's Day customs from generation to generation. The overall environment is very harmonious with the plot of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

After many on-site inspections by relevant experts, on December 13, 2006, the China Folk Literature and Art Association officially named Heshun as the "Hometown of Chinese Cowherd and Weaver Girl Culture." The county's "Love Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" was listed in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Due to this story, Shanxi folk customarily call the Qixi Festival "Tianhe Pei". According to historical records, at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Shanxi folk still retained the custom of tying up statues to celebrate the festival. People used branches and other objects to tie up a pair of young man and woman statues in the streets and alleys to represent the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. They offered melons, fruits, peaches and plums in front of the statues. Congratulations.

During the Qixi Festival, it is a popular folk activity for girls and daughters-in-law to ask the Weaver Girl for advice on craftsmanship, which is called "begging for skill". It is customary for folk in southern Shanxi to weave the new wheat straw of that year into a bridge, and place the accessories on the desk in the form of Cowherd, Weaver Girl, Lao Niu, boy and girl, magpie, etc.; After praying, hold seven embroidery needles in your hands and put a colored thread through the needle holes. Those who successfully pass through seven needle holes at one time are considered to be lucky. It is popular in Quwo County for boys and girls to throw star grass into the water to beg for luck. Folks in northern Shanxi are accustomed to drying a basin of water in the courtyard during the day and letting the dust fall. At night, a thin film forms on the surface of the basin. The girl and her daughter-in-law oil the embroidery needle and place it gently on the water. Those who can make the needle float on the surface are considered worthy of begging. skillful. In some places in northwest Shanxi, people place bean sprouts in basins of water. After being refracted by the water in the sun, the reflections on the bottom of the water will show various shapes, such as centipedes or water snakes, pigs, dogs, chickens and ducks. The richer and lifelike the reflections, the more begging for tricks. Girls in Changzhi area will catch a spider spinning silk in a box the day before the Chinese Valentine's Day, and observe the density of its web the next day. The denser the web, the more begging for tricks.

In Shanxi, boys also ask the Cowherd for advice on farming skills during the Chinese Valentine's Day. In some places in southern Shanxi, young men cover wooden boards or stone slabs with soil during the Chinese Valentine's Day to build a small scene of a thatched house. They plant millet seedlings in the fields next to the house, which is called "grain board". It is popular in central and northern Shanxi to soak wheat or beans in water to sprout sprouts, and during the Chinese Valentine's Day, colorful threads are used to wrap the sprouts around them, which is called "seeding sprouts". The shepherd boys in northwest Shanxi will weave garlands for the cattle, which is called "celebrating the birthday of the old cattle".

There is a lot of rainfall around the Chinese Valentine's Day in Shanxi. Folks regard the Chinese Valentine's Day as a "rainy day", and say that the Weaver Girl crosses the river to meet the Cowherd. She feels sad and happy at the same time. She can't help but burst into tears. Tears falling down the world are rainwater. Therefore, there is a saying that "if you don't go out for seven or seven years, you will be caught in the rain". On this day, girls have the custom of pounding impatiens flowers to dye their nails red. It is said that old people will have clear eyes and clear minds after seeing it. In the old days of Shanxi Province, people used to look at the Tianhe River on Chinese Valentine's Day to predict rice prices. When the Tianhe River is dim on Chinese Valentine's Day, the price of rice will rise, and when the Tianhe River is bright, the price of rice will be low. There is a folk saying that "the price of rice is high when the Tianhe River is in sight, and when Taiyi shines, it will be healthy." Shanxi folk are no longer so particular about the modern Chinese Valentine's Day, but some begging activities are still popular among girls and daughters-in-law. Many places still retain the habit of making "crafty food", which is made of white flour or cake noodles with sugar and oil. Various foods; in some places, everyone eats watermelon and carves patterns on the watermelon, which is called "flower melon". These habits are the remnants of the Chinese Valentine's Day customs.

The hometown of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in China---South Pier, Taicang City, Jiangsu Province, you can still witness all this in the Weaver Girl Temple.

4. Yunxi County, Hubei Province

In the middle of Yunxi County, Hubei Province, there is a meandering river from north to south called Tianhe. Tianhe is the third largest river in Yunxi and the only river in the world called Tianhe. It has the exclusive name of "Tianhe" on the world map. There is a beautiful legend flowing in the Tianhe in Yunxi. The ancient Tianhe is in the west of Yunxi, and the legend of the Chinese Valentine's Day originated from the Tianhe. The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is a very beautiful love story that has been passed down through the ages. It is also one of the four major folk legends in China. This legend has always been connected with the Chinese Valentine's Day. It is a folk custom to sit and watch Altair and Vega on Chinese Valentine's Day. According to legend, on this night every year, the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd meet at the Magpie Bridge over the Tianhe River. This is the most romantic festival among traditional Chinese festivals. The Tianhe River originates from Zhaochuan, Shaanxi Province, southeast of the Qinling Mountains, with a total length of 69 kilometers. It is one of the important tributaries of the Han River and flows through 62.7 kilometers of Yunxi. To the east of the Tianhe River are the Yangjia River and the Guixian River, and to the west are the Beauty River and the Xianhe River, which are exactly opposite to the celestial phenomena.