小雅 · 大东

《诗经 - 小雅 · 大东》

维天有汉，监亦有光。

跂彼织女，终日七襄，

虽则七襄，不成报章。

睆彼牵牛，不以服箱。

明天七月初七，是中国的情人节。大家请多看看天上的七月巧云。

迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉女；
纤纤擢素手，札札弄机杼。
终日不成章，泣涕零如雨；
河汉清且浅，相去复几许？
盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语。

我从喂鸡 上找来这个爱情故事，准备向洋人朋友介绍一下。

The general tale is about a love story between Zhinü (the weaver girl, symbolizing Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, symbolizing Altair). Their love was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver River (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for one day.  There are many variations of the story. 

A young cowherd, hence Niulang ( "cowherd"), came across a beautiful girl—Zhinü (; "weavergirl"), the Goddess's seventh daughter, who had just escaped from boring heaven to look for fun. Zhinü soon fell in love with Niulang, and they got married without the knowledge of the Goddess. Zhinü proved to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang to be a good hus band. They lived happily and had two children. But the Goddess of Heaven (or in some versions, Zhinü's mother) found out that Zhinü, a fairy girl, had married a mere mortal. The Goddess was furious and ordered Zhinü to return to heaven. (Alternatively, the Goddess forced the fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds, a task she neglected while living on earth with a mortal.)

On Earth, Niulang was very upset that his wife had disappeared. Suddenly, his ox began to talk, telling him that if he killed it and put on its hide, he would be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. Crying bitterly, he killed the ox, put on the skin, and carried his two beloved children off to Heaven to find Zhinü. The Goddess discovered this and was very angry. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever, thus forming the Milky Way between Altair and Vega. Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar while taking care of their two children (his flanking stars β and γ Aquilae or by their Chinese names Hè Gu 1 and Hè Gu 3). But once a year all the magpies in the world would take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge ( "the bridge of magpies") over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, which is the seventh night of the seventh moon. However, sometimes in the year, there is no stars regarding to the mythology appearing in the sky.