The Weaver Maiden and the Herdsman
"The Weaver Maiden and the Herdsman" is a poignant myth originating from East Asian cultures, particularly reflected in Korean folklore. The story centers around Chih Nü, the weaver maiden, who diligently creates beautiful fabrics in the heavens, and her husband Niu Lang, the herdsman, who tends to his cattle on Earth. Their love flourishes but disrupts their respective duties, prompting her father, the Sun, to separate them across the River of Heaven. They are allowed to reunite once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, when they are helped by crows and magpies that form a bridge over the river. This annual meeting symbolizes the stars Vega and Altair, which are prominently visible in the night sky during this time. The myth is culturally significant, inspiring the Chilseok festival in Korea, which coincides with the monsoon season and celebrates themes of love, duty, and agricultural prosperity. Moreover, the narrative reflects Confucian values within Korean society, particularly the importance of filial piety. The myth's themes of separation and reunion resonate with contemporary issues, including the division of Korea, making it a lasting cultural touchstone across nations, including similar tales in Chinese and Japanese traditions.
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The Weaver Maiden and the Herdsman
Author: Traditional
Time Period: 999 BCE–1 BCE
Country or Culture: Korea
Genre: Myth
PLOT SUMMARY
A beautiful princess named Chih Nü, known as the weaver maiden, lives in the heavens and weaves diligently on her loom every day, producing fabrics that are both beautiful and strong. Her father, the Sun, is pleased with her attention to her work, but he is also worried that she spends too much time toiling at her loom.
One day he realizes that she has grown into a woman of marriageable age. The Sun is pleased and is certain that marriage will help his daughter regulate her time at the loom. Together with his advisers, he arranges a marriage for Chih Nü with a young man known as Niu Lang, the herdsman. Niu Lang spends every day herding cows as diligently as Chih Nü weaves cloth, and Niu Lang’s father is delighted to find a woman whose hard work is equal to his son’s.
The two are married, and they are so happy together that they begin to neglect their duties. Chih Nü stops weaving, and Niu Lang’s cows wander loose into the palace gardens. They spend every day with each other rather than doing their work.
The Sun becomes very upset, and he scolds Chih Nü and Niu Lang and forbids them to see each other. He forces Chih Nü to live in the west and Niu Lang to live in the east, with the River of Heaven separating them. The husband and wife are so upset that they beg the Sun to change his mind, and each promises to attend faithfully to his or her duties. Finally the Sun relents and tells them that as long as they never neglect their duties again, they can meet each other once each year, on the seventh day of the seventh month.
When a year has passed and the time comes for the couple to meet, they stand on opposite banks of the River of Heaven, but the river is so wide that they cannot cross to see each other. No bridges span the river, and there are no boats, so the two begin to weep at their misfortune. Because they live in the heavens, their tears become rain that waters the earth below. Their ceaseless weeping causes floods, and the animals become worried. After much discussion, the crows and magpies decide to fly to the heavens and form a bridge that Chih Nü and Niu Lang can cross to see each other. The birds spread their wings, and the two lovers are able to step across from bird to bird. They rejoice in seeing each other, and when the dawn of the next day breaks, they part, promising to meet again on the same day every year.
SIGNIFICANCE
The myth of the weaver maiden and the herdsman helped early Koreans explain a natural phenomenon. The River of Heaven in this myth is the Milky Way, and the weaver maiden and the herdsman represent the stars Vega and Altair respectively. Once each year, these two stars are especially visible on each side of the Milky Way, and on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunisolar calendar, Koreans celebrate this event during the Chilseok festival. This festival occurs at the start of the monsoon season, and the impending rain is considered to be the tears of the lovers: either tears of joy upon meeting on the day before Chilseok or tears of parting the day after Chilseok. Festivities include dancing and singing, and traditionally women pray to the weaver maiden for help with needlework. Men consider it a time when the god of agriculture comes to check on the harvest and decide his share. Koreans traditionally eat wheat-based foods such as noodles and wheat cake during Chilseok, since it is perceived to be one of the last chances to enjoy such foods before the cold winds of the season arrive.
The prevalence of Confucian thought in Korea is also evident in this myth, indicating that the myth evolved as Chinese influence spread throughout the region. Under Confucianism, the family consisted of a cohesive unit with a central male authority. The family as a group was considered more important than any one individual, and the family’s most important job was to preserve the household according to the traditional Confucian system. Within this system, the most important relationship was the relationship between parent and child. Children were expected to obey their parents even over their spouses; this was one of the central Confucian tenets, known as filial piety. In the myth, Chih Nü disobeys her father by abandoning her work for her new husband, thereby neglecting her filial duty. In doing so, she disrupts the order of the Confucian family, and so her father must separate the couple and reestablish the family order.
In modern times, traditional mythology and folklore have been used as a way for Koreans living outside of Korea to reconnect with their heritage. In addition, the myth of the weaver maiden and the herdsman has been used to represent the divide between North Korea and South Korea. South Koreans who believe in reunification have equated the two countries with the two lovers who have been forced apart. In this metaphor, the reunification of the two nations would represent the reunification of the family.
This myth also calls attention to the shared cultural heritage of China, Korea, and Japan. A remarkably similar story can be found in Chinese mythology, and this myth inspired a Japanese version and a related festival. The Japanese Tanabata festival celebrates the reunion of the lovers Orihime, the weaver maiden, and Hikoboshi, the herdsman. These similarities are evidence of the exchange of ideas and culture between the three countries.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Chilseok.” Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture. National Folk Museum of Korea, n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
Colum, Pádraic. “Weaver Maiden and the Herdsman.” Orpheus: Myths of the World. New York: Macmillan, 1930. 239–41. Print.
Han, Suzanne Crowder. Korean Folk and Fairy Tales. Elizabeth: Hollym, 1991. Print.
Jager, Sheila Miyoshi. “Women, Resistance and the Divided Nation: The Romantic Rhetoric of Korean Reunification.” Journal of Asian Studies 55.1 (1996): 3–21. Print.
Sakata, Shane. “Tanabata—Festival of Star Crossed Lovers.” Nihon Sun. Nihon Sun, n.d. Web. 15 May 2013.
Stephens, John. “Korean Tales.” The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales. Ed. Donald Haase. Vol. 2. Westport: Greenwood, 2008. 546–48. Print.
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