On the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, the summer heat begins to ease, and if you look up you may see a pale band of the Milky Way across the sky. On either bank shines a bright star: Vega, the Weaver Girl, and Altair, the Cowherd. For more than two thousand years, Chinese people have told a story about the space between them.
From stars to legend
The Cowherd and the Weaver first appear as star names in the Classic of Poetry. By the Han dynasty the two stars had taken on human feeling. One of the Nineteen Old Poems begins:
迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉女。
— Nineteen Old Poems
("Far, far away, the Cowherd star; bright, bright, the maiden of the River of Heaven.")
A clear, shallow river separates two people gazing at each other. The legend grew richer over time: the Weaver Girl, a heavenly maiden, married Niulang, a mortal cowherd, but they were forced apart and may meet only once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, on a bridge formed by magpies 1.
Qixi thus became a festival of love and longing. Traditionally, young women would thread needles by moonlight and set out melons and fruit, praying to the Weaver Girl for skilful hands, so Qixi is also called the "Festival of Begging for Skill". In 2006, Qixi was included in China's first national list of intangible cultural heritage 2.
Qixi in poetry
The most beloved Qixi poem is probably Qin Guan's "Immortals at the Magpie Bridge" from the Northern Song. Instead of lamenting the separation, he says that one meeting a year outshines countless ordinary days together, and ends:
两情若是久长时，又岂在朝朝暮暮。
— Qin Guan, "Immortals at the Magpie Bridge"
("If love between two hearts is to last forever, what need is there to be together every morning and night?")
Bai Juyi, in his "Song of Everlasting Sorrow", also recalls whispered vows on the seventh night of the seventh month. The romance of Qixi has never been about noise; it lies in quiet companionship.
Two small cups, one gesture
Today many couples mark Qixi with flowers, gifts and dinner. For a more Chinese touch, after dinner sit with the one you love on a balcony or in a courtyard, switch off the extra lights, watch the sky for a while, pour two small cups and talk.
On this night, the wine is about meaning, not quantity. Qifu's Bainian Qifu · 8 is a five-grain strong-aroma baijiu at 52% vol, with a smooth entry, lingering sweetness and a nutty, caramel-like finish. Its red bottle and red gift box with gold calligraphy already look festive, and as a Qixi gift it carries a story: Qifu means "blessings, all together", and two people together is a blessing in itself.
It suits an older couple or two long-time companions just as well. Qixi is not only about first love but about years of being there for each other.
Wine is there to warm the mood and the conversation. On Qixi there is no need to drink deeply: one small cup each, sipped slowly, so that by the time the talking is done, so is the wine. The Milky Way is still overhead, and that once-a-year meeting may simply be a reminder to treasure the person beside you, and the moment you are in.
