Chinese Story: Cowherd and Weaving Girl

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Cowherd and Weaving Girl

Long ago, there was a boy, clever, diligent and honest. Orphaned at an early age, he was very poor. However, he adopted an abandoned old buffalo, which proved to be very loyal and relieved him a lot from the hard labor in the fields. The two enjoyed a very good relationship, being seen together all the time. Villagers from far and near came to know him by the name of the Cowherd.

At the same time, the youngest of the seven celestial princesses had grown tired of the privileged but secluded life in the heavenly palace. She longed for a mundane life she often saw down beneath her. That was a very pervert idea to cherish in heaven. Yet, determined to pursue what she deemed to be her own happiness, she sneaked out and descended onto the earth and to the sudden happiness of the Cowherd with whom she had secretly fallen in love all along in heaven.

They married and had a lovely boy and a girl. While the Cowherd worked in the fields with his old pal the buffalo, the heavenly princess weaved at home to help support the family. Villagers all admired her excellent weaving skill and started learning from her. She was now well-known as the Weaving Girl.

The family lived moderately but peacefully and happily until the girl‘s celestial royal family found her missing and traced her to the village. By the way, it is popularly believed that a day in heaven accounts for years on the earth. The years she had spent with the Cowherd was but a day or so by the celestial calendar.

The Celestial Empress was in such a wrath that she gave her daughter only two choices: to go back home or see her husband and children destroyed. She had no choice but to leave.

The old buffalo suddenly began to speak to the bereaved and now astonished young man, saying that he was dying in no time and asking him to use his hide as a vehicle to catch up with his wife. And off he sailed to heaven taking his young son and daughter in two baskets carried by a shoulder pole.

Fearing that the young man would catch up, the empress took out her hair spin and drew a big river across the sky, known to the Chinese as the Silvery River (the Milky Way in the West). She wanted to separate the family forever.

However, all the magpies in the world, deeply touched by the story, came to their rescue. Each year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, they would flock together to form a bridge so that the family may enjoy a brief reunion.

 

牛郎和织女 (niú láng hé zhī nǚ)

很久很久以前,有一个聪明、勤奋、诚实的男孩。他从小就是孤儿,生活很贫苦。但是他养了一头老水牛,这头水牛也是被人抛弃的,他对男孩非常忠诚,每天尽力的帮他干农活。他们相依为命,形影不离。因此人们都把这个男孩子叫做”牛郎”。

(hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐ qián ,yǒu yī gè cōng míng 、qín fèn 、chéng shí de nán hái 。tā cóng xiǎo jiù shì gū ér ,shēng huó hěn pín kǔ 。dàn shì tā yǎng le yī tóu lǎo shuǐ niú ,zhè tóu shuǐ niú yě shì bèi rén pāo qì de ,tā duì nán hái fēi cháng zhōng chéng ,měi tiān jìn lì de bāng tā gàn nóng huó 。tā men xiāng yī wéi mìng ,xíng yǐng bù lí 。yīn cǐ rén men dōu bǎ zhè gè nán hái zi jiào zuò “niú láng “。)

那时,天庭中有七位公主。其中最小的一位厌倦了天庭中优越但是与世隔绝的生活,她常常从空中偷看人间,非常向往人间平凡的生活。尽管这种想法十分大逆不道,但是七仙女下定决心要追求自己的幸福,于是她私自下界来到人间。因为她在偷看人间的时候就偷偷爱上了牛郎,所以她到人间之后就嫁给了牛郎。

(nà shí ,tiān tíng zhōng yǒu qī wèi gōng zhǔ 。qí zhōng zuì xiǎo de yī wèi yàn juàn le tiān tíng zhōng yōu yuè dàn shì yǔ shì gé jué de shēng huó ,tā cháng cháng cóng kōng zhōng tōu kàn rén jiān ,fēi cháng xiàng wǎng rén jiān píng fán de shēng huó 。jìn guǎn zhè zhǒng xiǎng fǎ shí fēn dà nì bú dào ,dàn shì qī xiān nǚ xià dìng jué xīn yào zhuī qiú zì jǐ de xìng fú ,yú shì tā sī zì xià jiè lái dào rén jiān 。yīn wéi tā zài tōu kàn rén jiān de shí hòu jiù tōu tōu ài shàng le niú láng ,suǒ yǐ tā dào rén jiān zhī hòu jiù jià gěi le niú láng 。)

后来他们生了一对儿女,夫妇俩个男耕女织,生活过的十分美满。由于七仙女纺织的技艺非常精湛,村民们纷纷向他学习,于是人们就称她为织女。

(hòu lái tā men shēng le yī duì ér nǚ ,fū fù liǎng gè nán gēng nǚ zhī ,shēng huó guò de shí fēn měi mǎn 。yóu yú qī xiān nǚ fǎng zhī de jì yì fēi cháng jīng zhàn ,cūn mín men fēn fēn xiàng tā xué xí ,yú shì rén men jiù chēng tā wéi zhī nǚ 。)

但是天庭终于知道了织女私自下界的事情,并且很快就在一个小村庄里找到了牛郎和织女。但是,”天上一天,地上一年”,这时候织女已经和牛郎生活了一年多了。

(dàn shì tiān tíng zhōng yú zhī dào le zhī nǚ sī zì xià jiè de shì qíng ,bìng qiě hěn kuài jiù zài yī gè xiǎo cūn zhuāng lǐ zhǎo dào le niú láng hé zhī nǚ 。dàn shì ,”tiān shàng yī tiān ,dì shàng yī nián “,zhè shí hou zhī nǚ yǐ jīng hé niú láng shēng huó le yī nián duō le 。)

王母暴跳如雷,她给了织女两条路:离开人间或者眼看着丈夫和孩子被杀。织女无奈,只得选择离开。

(wáng mǔ bào tiào rú léi ,tā gěi le zhī nǚ liǎng tiáo lù :lí kāi rén jiān huò zhě yǎn kàn zhe zhàng fū hé hái zǐ bèi shā 。zhī nǚ wú nài ,zhī dé xuǎn zé lí kāi 。)

这是,老牛突然开口对悲痛欲绝的牛郎说话了,牛郎大吃一惊。老牛告诉牛郎说它马上就要死了,它死后牛郎可以剥下它的皮,然后踩着它去追织女。于是牛郎把一双儿女放在两个筐里,用一根扁担挑着去追妻子。

(zhè shì ,lǎo niú tū rán kāi kǒu duì bēi tòng yù jué de niú láng shuō huà le ,niú láng dà chī yī jīng 。lǎo niú gào sù niú láng shuō tā mǎ shàng jiù yào sǐ le ,tā sǐ hòu niú láng kě yǐ bāo xià tā de pí ,rán hòu cǎi zhe tā qù zhuī zhī nǚ 。yú shì niú láng bǎ yī shuāng ér nǚ fàng zài liǎng gè kuāng lǐ ,yòng yī gēn biǎn dān tiāo zhe qù zhuī qī zǐ 。)

王母害怕牛郎追上织女,于是就拔下头上的簪子,在天空中划出了一条大河,就是后来的银河,她想用这条河把牛郎一家永远拆散。

(wáng mǔ hài pà niú láng zhuī shàng zhī nǚ ,yú shì jiù bá xià tóu shàng de zān zǐ ,zài tiān kōng zhōng huá chū le yī tiáo dà hé ,jiù shì hòu lái de yín hé ,tā xiǎng yòng zhè tiáo hé bǎ niú láng yī jiā yǒng yuǎn chāi sàn 。)

牛郎织女的故事感动了人间的喜鹊,于是所有的喜鹊都赶来帮助这对夫妇。每年的七月初七,喜鹊们就会搭成一座桥,让牛郎织女一家人在桥上团聚。

(niú láng zhī nǚ de gù shì gǎn dòng le rén jiān de xǐ què ,yú shì suǒ yǒu de xǐ què dōu gǎn lái bāng zhù zhè duì fū fù 。měi nián de qī yuè chū qī ,xǐ què men jiù huì dā chéng yī zuò qiáo ,ràng niú láng zhī nǚ yī jiā rén zài qiáo shàng tuán jù 。)

 

KEY WORDS:

牛郎  (niú láng)     Cowherd

织女  (zhī nǚ)         Weaving Girl

水牛  (shuǐ niú)      buffalo  

王母  (wáng mǔ)    The Celestial Empress

银河  (yín hé)          the Silvery River (the Milky Way in the West)

喜鹊  (xǐ què)          magpie

 

 

 

 

 

Editor:WY