The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are characters found in
Chinese mythology who appear eponymously in a romantic
Chinese folk tale. The story tells of the romance between
Zhinü (
traditional Chinese: 織女;
simplified Chinese: 织女;
pinyin:
Zhīnǚ) the
weaver girl, symbolized by the star
Vega, and
Niulang(
Chinese: 牛郎;
pinyin:
Niúláng) the
cowherd, symbolized by the star
Altair.
[1] Despite their love for each other, their romance was forbidden, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the
heavenly river(symbolizing the
Milky Way).
[1][2] Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh
lunar month, a flock of
magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day. Though there are many variations of the story,
[1] the earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to a poem from the
Classic of Poetry from over 2600 years ago.
[3]