鹊桥仙 A Love Poem about Qi Xi

Qixi Festival (七夕节), the seventh day of the 7th month on the Chinese lunar calendar,  falls on August 20 this year. It celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd(牛郎) and weaver girl(织女) in Chinese mythology, so it is sometimes called the Chinese Valentine's Day.

The legend has been handed down for nearly 2 millennia. It says that on the evening, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu will meet on a bridge of magpies across the Milky Way. Chinese grannies will remind children that they would not be able to see any magpies on that evening because all the magpies have left to form a bridge in the heavens with their wings.

鹊桥仙 què qiáo xiān

 ----A Love Poem about Qi Xi

xiān yún nòng qiǎo
纤云弄巧，

fēi xīng chuán hèn
飞星传恨，

yín hàn tiáo tiáo àn dù
银汉迢迢暗度。

jīn fēng yù lù yì xiāng féng
金风玉露一相逢，

biàn shèng què rén jiān wú shù
便胜却人间无数。

róu qíng sì shuǐ
柔情似水，

jiā qī rú mèng
佳期如梦，

rěn gù què qiáo guī lù
忍顾鹊桥归路！

liǎng qíng ruò shì jiǔ cháng shí 
两情若是久长时，

yòu qǐ zài zhāo zhāo mù mù
又岂在朝朝暮暮！

English translation:

Clouds float like works of art；

Stars shoot with grief at heart.

Across the Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid

When Autumn’s Golden wind embraces Dew of Jades，

All the love scenes on earth，however many， fade

Their tender love flows like a stream；

This happy date seems but a dream.

Can they bear a separate homeward way?

If love between both sides can last for aye，

Why need they stay together night and day?

 (许渊冲 译)
about the poem:

The poem praises the famous love between Niu Lang and Zhi Nv who is the seventh daughter of the heaven’s King. Their story is the origin of Chinese Valentine’s Day. They were separated by the galaxy and they can meet each other only once every year. The famous sentence 两情若是久长时，又岂在朝朝暮暮 shows the true meaning of love and it means that the two needn’t be physically together as long as they love each other deeply. Chinese people usually use it to describe a deep affection between separated lovers.