MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Qixi Festival

A magpie bridge for the lovers; needles threaded for skill

Introduction

The seventh night of the seventh month, when the Herd Boy meets the Weaver Girl and women beg for skill

The Qixi Festival falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and grew from the veneration of the Herd Boy and Weaver Girl stars; the Weaver star already appears in the Shijing ode 'Da dong'. Cui Shi's Simin yueling of the Eastern Han records airing books and clothes on the seventh of the seventh month, and Ying Shao's Fengsu tong tells of the Weaver crossing the River of Heaven that night on a bridge of magpies, making the lovers' legend the heart of the festival. The Liang dynasty's Jingchu suishi ji describes women tying coloured threads, threading seven-eyed needles and setting out melons and fruit to beg for skill, and Northern Song Kaifeng added skill-begging towers and mohele clay dolls. Today Qixi is known for skill-begging and for its theme of love.

Timeline

Eastern Han to present
160 · OriginCui Shi's Simin yueling (mid-2nd century) records airing books and clothes on the seventh of the seventh month, an early reliable record of the day as a seasonal festival.195 · EvolutionYing Shao's Fengsu tong (late 2nd century) says the Weaver crosses the River of Heaven on the seventh night on a bridge of magpies, joining the lovers' legend to the festival.550 · EvolutionThe Jingchu suishi ji calls the seventh of the seventh month the night the Herd Boy and Weaver Girl meet, when women tie coloured threads, thread seven-eyed needles and lay out fruit in the courtyard to beg for skill.2006 · ImpactIn 2006 Qixi entered the first national intangible heritage batch (X-4).
  1. 160OriginCui Shi's Simin yueling (mid-2nd century) records airing books and clothes on the seventh of the seventh month, an early reliable record of the day as a seasonal festival.Literature › Monthly Ordinances for the Four Classes
  2. 195EvolutionYing Shao's Fengsu tong (late 2nd century) says the Weaver crosses the River of Heaven on the seventh night on a bridge of magpies, joining the lovers' legend to the festival.Literature › Comprehensive Meaning of Customs
  3. 550EvolutionThe Jingchu suishi ji calls the seventh of the seventh month the night the Herd Boy and Weaver Girl meet, when women tie coloured threads, thread seven-eyed needles and lay out fruit in the courtyard to beg for skill.Literature › Annual Customs of Jing-Chu
  4. 2006ImpactIn 2006 Qixi entered the first national intangible heritage batch (X-4).

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · X-4 Qixi Festival · no. 452 · nominated by the Ministry of Culture
  2. 2008National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage, extension itemX-4 Qixi Festival: Xihe · Gansu