The ox also encouraged Niulang to visit a nearby pond A beautiful weaver named Zhinu often visited it to bathe When Niulang arrived she was there As soon as the pair met they fell in love When Niulang asked Zhinu to marry him she agreed Shortly after their marriage Zhinu gave birth to twins a boy and a girl They named the twins Brother Gold and Sister Jade As time went on the beloved ox died The couple lived on happily together in the small cottage with their children But Zhinu was no ordinary woman She was the granddaughter of the Jade Emperor an important god and FOLK SONGS Not all myths are told in prose or story form Many Chinese myths are told through poems and songs People sing these songs at events such as weddings and funerals Often the songs consist of several myths combined she was a goddess in her own right She was in charge of weaving clouds for the sky When the Emperor Figures of the Jade Emperor can still be seen in shrines today
found out about the marriage everything changed He was angry that Zhinu had married a mortal He sent his wife to retrieve their granddaughter Niulang came home one day to find his children all alone They told him that a woman had kidnapped their mother Suddenly Niulang realized who his wife really was Luckily he had done as the ox instructed upon his death Niulang grabbed the magical hide and headed for the heavens with his children When the Empress saw them she created a large river in the heavens She wanted to use it to keep the couple apart for eternity But then the Empress saw Niulang and his children crying She felt sad for them She told them that they could meet with Zhinu one day each year On this day she said magpies would form a magical bridge over the rough waters She then turned them all into stars and the river became the Milky Way People now celebrate this magical day called Qixi in China similar to the way people in the West celebrate
STORIES IN THE STARS According to Chinese mythology the star called Altair was once the cowherd Niulang Zhinu became Vega Between Altair and Vega is the Milky Way Altair and Vega are also two of the stars included in the Western constellation known as the Summer Triangle The third star of this triangle is called Deneb How does the Milky Way resemble the river that separates Zhinu from her husband and children VEGA ZHINU DENEB MILKY WAY ALTAIR NIULANG
