牛郎织女：跨越星河的爱情传说
牛郎织女是中国民间流传甚广且极具浪漫色彩的爱情神话故事，它承载了人们对美好爱情的向往与憧憬。
传说，在很久以前，有一个勤劳善良的孤儿叫牛郎。他依靠哥嫂过活，然而哥嫂待他十分刻薄，只分给牛郎一头老牛，便将他赶出家门。牛郎与老牛相依为命，他每日辛勤耕种，虽然生活清苦，但心地善良的他依然乐观面对。
有一天，老牛突然开口说话，它告诉牛郎，在不远处的碧莲池，仙女们会在特定时间下凡来此沐浴，只要牛郎藏起其中一位仙女的衣裳，那位仙女便无法返回天庭，就可以成为他的妻子。牛郎依言而行，在仙女们下凡沐浴时，他藏起了织女的衣裳。织女发现衣裳不见后，牛郎现身归还衣裳，并向她表达了自己的爱慕之情。织女被牛郎的真诚和善良所打动，于是便留在人间，与牛郎结为夫妻。
婚后，牛郎和织女男耕女织，相亲相爱，过上了幸福美满的生活。他们还育有一儿一女，家庭生活其乐融融。但好景不长，王母娘娘得知织女下凡与凡人成婚，大为震怒，她亲自下凡，强行将织女带回天庭。牛郎心急如焚，披上老牛死后留下的牛皮，用扁担挑着一双儿女，追向天庭。眼看就要追上织女时，王母娘娘拔下头上的金簪，在天空中划出了一条波涛汹涌的银河，将牛郎和织女分隔在银河两岸，从此他们只能隔河相望，难以相见。
牛郎织女的爱情故事深深打动了世间万物，喜鹊们被他们的真情所感染，于是每年农历七月初七，无数喜鹊会飞来搭成鹊桥，横跨银河。牛郎和织女便在鹊桥上相会，互诉衷肠。这一天也被称为七夕节，成为了象征爱情的节日，在这一天，世间的情侣们都会相互陪伴，共同祈愿爱情的长久与美好。
牛郎织女的传说，以其浪漫而凄美的情节，传颂千年。它不仅展现了爱情的坚贞与伟大，也反映了古代劳动人民对自由爱情的追求以及对封建礼教的反抗精神。这个故事在诗词、戏曲、绘画等众多艺术形式中不断被演绎，成为了中国文化宝库中一颗璀璨的明珠，让人们在感受爱情魅力的同时，也对传统文化有了更深的理解与传承。
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl: A Love Legend Across the Starry River
The story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is a widely circulated and highly romantic love myth in Chinese folklore. It embodies people’s yearning and longing for beautiful love.
According to the legend, a long time ago, there was a hardworking and kind-hearted orphan named the Cowherd. He lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law, but they treated him very harshly. They only gave him an old ox and drove him out of the house. The Cowherd and the old ox depended on each other. He toiled in the fields every day. Although his life was poor, he still faced it optimistically with his kind heart.
One day, the old ox suddenly spoke. It told the Cowherd that at the nearby Green Lotus Pond, fairy maidens would descend to bathe at a specific time. As long as the Cowherd hid the clothes of one of the fairy maidens, that maiden would not be able to return to heaven and could become his wife. The Cowherd did as he was told. When the fairy maidens came down to bathe, he hid the clothes of the Weaver Girl. When the Weaver Girl found her clothes missing, the Cowherd showed up, returned the clothes, and expressed his love for her. The Weaver Girl was touched by the Cowherd’s sincerity and kindness, so she stayed in the mortal world and married the Cowherd.
After marriage, the Cowherd tilled the land and the Weaver Girl wove. They loved each other and lived a happy and contented life. They also had a son and a daughter, and the family life was full of joy. But this happy time did not last long. The Queen Mother of the West learned that the Weaver Girl had descended to marry a mortal and was extremely angry. She herself descended to the mortal world and forcibly took the Weaver Girl back to heaven. The Cowherd was extremely worried. He put on the cowhide left by the old ox after its death, carried a pole with a son and a daughter on both ends, and chased after the Queen Mother to heaven. Just when he was about to catch up with the Weaver Girl, the Queen Mother pulled out the golden hairpin on her head and drew a surging Milky Way in the sky, separating the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on both sides of the Milky Way. From then on, they could only look at each other across the river and it was difficult to meet.
The love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl deeply moved all things in the world. The magpies were infected by their true feelings. So every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, countless magpies would fly over to form a magpie bridge across the Milky Way. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl would meet on the magpie bridge and pour out their hearts to each other. This day is also known as the Qixi Festival, a festival symbolizing love. On this day, lovers in the world would accompany each other and jointly pray for the long-term and beautiful love.
The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, with its romantic and poignant plot, has been passed down for thousands of years. It not only shows the constancy and greatness of love but also reflects the ancient working people’s pursuit of free love and their spirit of resistance against feudal ethics. This story has been continuously interpreted in many art forms such as poetry, opera, and painting, becoming a bright pearl in the treasure house of Chinese culture. It allows people to feel the charm of love and at the same time have a deeper understanding and inheritance of traditional culture.