Faculty of Design

Material Art & Design

Jenny Su

The Cowherd and The Weaver - The Star-crossed Lovers

"Moving the Heavens with the strength of their love, the Cowherd and the Weaver are permitted to meet once every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar new month, crossing the Milky Way and reuniting on a magnificent bridge of magpies."

“Seven fairy sisters from Heaven descend to earth one day to explore the mortal world after gaining permission from the Queen Mother of Heaven. They were bathing in a lake when a cowherd passes by with his ox and catches a glimpse of the weaver fairy. Love at first sight, his ox encourages him to steal her clothes and wait for her next actions. Upon his approach, the sisters see him and quickly fly back to Heaven leaving their sister behind. Surprised by the cowherd but recognizing his kind character, the weaver fairy stays on earth and falls in love with him. As time flies, they build a family with two children and an aging ox. Before it passes away, the ox requests the family to keep its hide which has magical properties. Back in Heaven, the Queen Mother notices the weaver fairy is missing and searches for her whereabouts on earth. Learning that she married a human, she becomes enraged and orders the weaver to be brought back. As the weaver fairy is taken away, the cowherd tries to catch up to her by wearing the ox’s hide allowing him to fly, but the Queen Mother takes out a hairpin and splits the sky, creating the Milky Way to keep them apart forever. Year after year, they could only gaze across the Milky Way, hoping to reunite as they missed each other. Eventually, moved by the strength of their love, they are permitted to meet once every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar new month with the help of magpies forming a bridge across the Milky Way. The long-awaited moment of their reunion is represented as two figures made of wispy cloud about to embrace, surrounded by numerous magpies supporting their love. ”