Constellations Lyra & Aquila Myth

Ancient Chinese Mythology of Herd-Boy and Weaver-Girl

Aug 24, 2007

The ancient Chinese myth of the Herd-Boy and Weaver-Girl is an interesting legend about the constellations Aquila and Lyra.

Summer Triangle

At mid-northern latitudes the summer triangle is nearly overhead during late summer evenings. Vega, the northwest point of the triangle, is the brightest star in Lyra. The northeast corner of the triangle is Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus. The southern point is Altair in Aquila.

Altair and Vega figure prominently in the ancient Chinese legend of the Herd-Boy and Weaver-Girl. This story is at least as old as the 6th century BC, when it appeared in an anthology called Book of Songs, Shih Ching, possibly compiled by Confucius. This work was ordered destroyed a few hundred years later by the emperor, Shih Huang Ti, who was remembered for burning books rather than building the great wall as he had hoped.

Herd-Boy and Weaver-Girl

The orphaned Herd-Boy is tending his water buffalo (or ox in some versions of the story) by the banks of an earthly stream when seven maidens descend from heaven to bathe in the stream. These maidens are celestial weaving girls whose job it is to weave the clothing worn by the gods in heaven.

The Herd-Boy is particularly smitten by the youngest, Weaver-Girl. Hiding in the reeds, he snatches her robe so that she can not return to heaven with the others. She must marry him after he sees her unclothed, as was the local quaint custom of the time. By snatching her robe the Herd-Boy gains a beautiful bride and shares her immortality.

After three years of wedded bliss and two children, the Weaver-Girl's grandmother, a queen of heaven, summons only the Weaver-Girl to return to her weaving. Trying to reunite his family, the Herd-Boy, carrying their two children sneaks into heaven by draping himself in the hide of his water buffalo just after it died.

Their happy reunion in heaven reduces Weaver-Girl's productivity so that the Queen responds by drawing a line between the pair in heaven allowing the heavenly river to flow deeply and treacherously between the again separated couple.

In the sky, Altair is the Herd-Boy and Vega the Weaver-Girl. The Milky Way is the heavenly river separating the lovers. The summer Milky Way being much more extensive than the winter Milky Way, they cannot swim this river.

Depending on the version of the story, either the two stars on either side of Altair or the stars in Lyra near Vega represent their children, Other nearby stars are messages the lovers have sent to each other.

The rest of heaven takes pity on the lovers when their young daughter tries to drain the river with a ladle. By heavenly decree they may reunite on the seventh night of the seventh month, which by the Chinese lunar calendar corresponds to August in the western calendar. However they may only reunite if the weather is good enough that the birds can form a bridge over the celestial river. If it storms they must wait another year for their brief reunion. The rain is the Weaver-Girl's tears if they can not reunite.

Alternate Version

In another version of this myth Weaver Girl's father, the Sun-god encouraged her to marry the herd boy who was already a neighbor herding on the banks of the celestial river. The father originally encouraged this marriage because she spent too much time working at her loom. The plan however worked too well. He then separated the happy couple with the celestial river (Milky Way), so that she would do some of her work. The Sun-god did however have enough compassion for his daughter to allow her to see her husband once a year when the birds could bridge the celestial river.