Falling on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is August 7 this year, Qixi Festival is considered China’s version of Valentine’s Day. You may wonder why there are so many Valentine’s Days in China… other than the fake holiday “520” promoted by companies like Taobao, there are actually three – Lantern Festival, Shangsi Festival, and the most famous one, Qixi Festival! Here are some words and phrases to help you understand more about this holiday, its history, traditions, and food.

Story

Originally known as Qiqiao Festival in the Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), Qixi Festival was actually a significant festival for young women, who prayed for skillful hands for sewing, so they would be prepared for marriage. Later, people related it to the tale of star-crossed lovers separated in the night sky by the Milky Way– Zhinu (the weaver girl), a fairy from heaven, and Niulang (a cowherd), an ordinary farm boy. (Visit here to learn more about the tale.)

Valentine’s Day 情人节 Qíngrén Jié

Qixi festival 七夕节 Qīxī Jié

Folk tale 传说 Chuánshuō

Milky Way 银河 Yínhé

Weaver girl 织女 Zhīnǚ

Cowherd 牛郎  Niúláng

Romance 恋爱 Liàn’ài

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is Qixi Festival.
Nónglì de qīyuè qīrì shì qīxījié. 农历的七月七日是七夕节。

Zhinu fell in love with Niulang.
Zhīnǚ hé Niúláng xiāngài le. 织女和牛郎相爱了。

Traditions

As sewing is considered one of the most important domestic skills for marriage, traditionally girls would pray to be skillful at needlework on this day. Handmade scarves and hats are popular gifts for Qixi Festival. In addition to this, people will often plan their special dates around locations where it’s easy to gaze at the stars in the night sky.

Sewing skills 编织技巧 Biānzhī jìqiǎo

Send roses 送玫瑰 Sòng méiguī

Give chocolate 送巧克力 Sòng qiǎokélì

Spot the stars 观星 Guānxīng

Romantic 浪漫的 Làngmàn de

They have good sewing skills.
Tāmén yǒu hěnhǎo de biānzhī jìqiǎo. 她们有很好的编织技巧。

Men will send roses and chocolate to women.
Nánshēng huì sòng méiguì hé qiǎokélì gěi nǚshēng. 男生会送玫瑰和巧克力给女生。

Food

Different regions in China have different food to celebrate Qixi Festival. Most commonly people eat sweet food during Qixi Festival in the hope of ingenuity, a sweet romance, and a good marriage.

Dumplings 饺子 Jiǎozi

Nuts 坚果 Jiānguǒ

Noodles 面条 Miàntiáo

Chicken 鸡肉 Jīròu

Qiaoguo (Fried Thin Pastry) 巧果 Qiǎoguǒ

Photo:  pexels

This Friday is Chinese Valentine’s Day, we are told. My first reaction to this was sceptical: another fake corporate greedfest dreamed up by vendors of chocolate and roses, another excuse to pile the guilt on busy and preoccupied partners. (“You mean you haven’t got me a present for Qixi?” “I didn’t even know it existed till I started writing about it for beijingkids.” And so on.)

However it is in origin an ancient festival dating back to the Han dynasty, and the story which lies behind it is one of China’s Four Great Folktales. It has the blend of oddity and charm characteristic of Chinese folklore.

Zhinu, whose name means Weaver Girl, was the seventh daughter of the Goddess, and lived in heaven, where it was her job to weave the clouds. However she found this a boring task, and one day she escaped from heaven and fled to earth.

While she was sitting by a river, she was discovered by a young cowherd, whose name was Niulang (which means cowherd- the Chinese are great believers in nominative determinism.) The two, of course, fell in love. They married and had two children.

Meanwhile heaven was in an uproar as everyone searched for the missing weaver girl. When her mother found her living with a mortal, she was furious, and dragged her back to heaven.

Niulang was naturally devastated at the loss of his beloved wife. Then, one night, his ox began to talk to him, and told him that if he wanted to ascend to heaven, he needed to kill the ox and put on its skin. (What the ox’s motivation was here, is not recorded.)

Niulang took his two children and set off for heaven clad in the magic oxhide. The Goddess saw him coming though, and scratched a river in the sky with her hairpin to keep the lovers apart.

And they can all be seen in the night sky to this day: Zhinu as the star Vega, Niulang and his children as Altair and two smaller stars either side of it. The river in heaven separating them is the Milky Way.

However the story has a happy ending of sorts. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, all the magpies in the world fly up to heaven and form a bridge so that they can meet. There, didn’t see that coming, did you?

The Qixi (Seven Sunset) festival is celebrated not only in China, but also in Japan and Korea. Traditional merrymaking includes girls competing to thread needles in low light (how the long summer evenings must have flown by…)

Now of course, it’s all about roses and chocolates and piling guilt on busy and preoccupied partners. We say, enough of this commercialism, let’s return to the true meaning of the festival. Come on, ladies! Needles out…

Photo: Shizhao, via Wikimedia Commons

Tomorrow sees the arrival of the Year of the Rooster. The Chinese zodiac sign is usually called “Rooster” in English, although the word in Mandarin (鸡, jī) is the same word used for chicken. The Rooster is associated with punctuality because it greets the dawn every day. As anyone who’s ever lived near one will know, real roosters also crow all day long. However recent research has established that they do indeed have an internal body clock which triggers them to crow at sunrise, even if they can’t actually see the sun.

Roosters are also considered to be brave, with their call popularly believed to banish ghosts. Children were once taught to imitate a cockcrow if they encountered a ghost at night. It’s also interesting to note that in the west, vampires were also believed to fear the sound of a rooster. Again, this association has a basis in reality. Cocks are naturally aggressive, and will fight for hours, often to the death. Cockfighting as a bloodsport is banned in most parts of the world, but a city in Xinjiang controversially announced last year that it was building its tourism strategy around the tradition.

Understandably, for an animal historically so important as a food source, there are many Chinese folktales about the Rooster. One tells of how the bird was originally considered too lowly and was left out of the zodiac. However, he demonstrated his worth by waking all the animals at dawn, and was rewarded for his hard work by being included in the pantheon. (Industriousness is another quality associated with the sign.)

According to another source, the Rooster once had a fine pair of horns. The Dragon, then an undistinguished beast, asked to borrow them. The Rooster was initially reluctant, as he didn’t know the Dragon, but the Dragon’s cousin Centipede promised his relative would return them. Once the Dragon had the horns though he flew away rejoicing, and has kept them ever since. The Rooster was furious with the Centipede, and to this day can be seen scratching in the earth and trying to catch him. If you want to buy or sell roosters here https://www.shoppok.com/buy-and-sell-cg/game-roosters-sp you can check the options.

Sometimes the Rooster is responsible for his own downfall. Another story concerns King Rooster, who tried to lead all his flock away from the farmyard into the wilderness in search of better food. Only his secretary would accompany him, and when the secretary caught a beetle the Rooster insisted it was handed over to him, so the secretary went home in dudgeon. When the King returned to the farm, he was furious with his flock for not following him, and began attacking them. The farmer tried to make peace, but the Rooster flew up into a tree crying “I don’t care about you! I don’t care about you!” – and then was carried off by an eagle who’d been attracted by the noise.

The moral of this story, as recounted by Mary Hayes Davis and Chow Leung in the 1908 book Chinese Fables and Folk Stories, is that “No position in life is so high that it gives the right to be proud and quarrelsome.” Following the unpredictable year of the mischievous Monkey, which brought a spate of deaths of much-loved celebrities and tumultuous political events in the US and the UK, we can only hope this is a lesson our leaders have learned.

Image: inkdancechinesepaintings.com

I wrote about Chaonei 81 (short for 81 Chaoyangmen Neidajie) in my October 2015 article, but I didn’t actually get to explore the famous haunted house until my boyfriend and I noticed that the gates to the compound were open on Halloween.

At first glance, access to the house seemed closed off but we found a large, open window at the back to climb through. Though I put on a poker face, I’m glad someone else was there because I got the serious heebie jeebies on the first floor.

According to a New York Times article from 2013 (VPN needed), legend goes that Chaonei 81 was once occupied by a Kuomintang officer. When the Nationalists defeated the KMT in 1949, the officer left his wife or concubine behind as he fled to Taiwan. In her grief, she hung herself from the rafters of the French Baroque-style house and has haunted the place ever since.

The property’s current owner, the Beijing Catholic Diocese, contends there was never a KMT official. The NY Times article reports that a representative from the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (the organization that oversees the Beijing Catholic Diocese) told a local newspaper in 2009 that the mansion was originally built as a language training center for foreign missionaries in 1910. In 1930, it was renamed the California College and also started teaching diplomats, businessmen, and scholars.

However, some historians dispute this claim and say Chaonei 81 originally served as the private residence of the French manager of a railway construction company. On the eve of the Communists’ arrival in 1949, they say the house was controlled by the Irish Presbyterian Mission – hence Chaonei 81’s current connection to the Beijing Catholic Diocese.

Any attempts at historical accuracy were overshadowed by the 2014 release of The House that Never Dies, a 3D horror blockbuster based on the legend of Chaonei 81 that drew throngs of thrillseekers to the house (VPN needed).

Soon after, the management barred access to the house out of concern that the dilapidated floors couldn’t support the weight of so many new visitors.

Chaonei 81’s inclusion on a historic preservation list means it can only be renovated, not torn down. But despite the house’s central location, no one has undertaken what would surely be a very costly – and perhaps still taboo – restoration project.

When we got around to the back of the house, there was an open window giving into a room with graffiti on the walls:

We heaved ourselves over the frame and entered the doorway leading off to the right of the room.

The first floor was very dark. The floorboards creaked under our feet; we were very careful about where we stepped. The creepiest bit was the pitch black staircase leading down to the basement, but I refused to go any further out of "safety concerns."

The atmosphere on the second floor was noticeably different; climbing the old wooden stairs was like emerging from a fog. We took our time admiring the graffiti and examining details of different rooms.

From an architectural standpoint, the third floor was the most interesting. The centerpiece was a light-filled loft with high ceilings, a brick wall, and wooden rafters. The room directly faced the southern portion of the Nanmencang residential compound, a standard xiaoqu that many of my friends have lived in; the two types of housing couldn’t be more different.

The high ceilings and wooden beams continued through the rest of the floor, where we encountered – perhaps unsurprisingly – a quote from Twin Peaks.

As we climbed out of the window at the end of our tour, we encountered two young Chinese women. "Is it scary in there?" they asked. My boyfriend and I looked at each other. I nodded solemnly. "Yes, it’s a bit scary," I said. They spoke to each other in hushed voices and huddled closer. They didn’t go in.

A Word on Safety
Not only would Chaonei 8 absolutely scare the tar out of young children, it’s inaccessible to strollers (or indeed, anything without two strong legs and arms to climb over a window frame).

If you decide to visit with older kids or teens, keep in mind you’re exploring at your own risk. Several hand-painted signs advise people against going inside the house. We stepped very lightly and slowly over the floorboards, but some parts (especially on the first floor) still felt very precarious.

Sijia Chen is a contributing editor at beijingkids and a freelance writer who has covered travel, tech, culture, parenting, and the environment. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, The Independent, the Beijinger, Midnight Poutine, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @sijiawrites or email her at sijiachen@beijing-kids.com.

Ghost stories, legends and tales of the supernatural abound in China – here are is a rundown of some of the more interesting ones as All Hallow’s Eve draws near:

The Painted Skin
Part of a collection of supernatural tales from Qing dynasty author Pu Songling’s (1640-1715) book Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi), this creepy and gruesome tale is one of the the main prototypes for a ghostly meme found throughout Asia – the vengeful female spirit (most recently depicted in the Japanese horror classics The Ring and The Grudge). In this tale a scholar takes in a mysterious young girl in his home and lets her stay in his studio, only to discover a terrible secret about her all too late. Illuminatedlantern.com has an excellent translation of this classic Chinese ghost story here.

Gan Bao: In Search of the Supernatural
Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD) historian Gan Bao is best known for his anthology In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record (Sou-shen Chi) – a collection of supernatural stories and legends of the era that went onto inspire Pu Songling’s book (see above). Legend has it that "Gan Bao became interested in these matters after a member of his family survived more than ten years sealed inside a tomb with the help of a ghost which brought her food."

Find out more here.

This post first appeared on beijingkids on October 29, 2011.

Growing up in Anhui province, Mid-Autumn Day has always been a big festival for my family. When I was a child we liked sitting on the balcony of our apartment at night to enjoy the full moon while eating moon cakes and pomegranates. After a night of chewing and spitting red seeds that stained my hands, my mouth would go numb. Somehow the moon doesn’t appear so clear to me now, but the tradition of eating on this day remains.

The story behind Mid-Autumn Day takes place in ancient times and is centered around Houyi (后羿). There are many versions of the story, but one of the more popular ones goes like this. Houyi saved people the world from violent weather by shooting down nine out of ten suns. As a reward, he was given two pills that granted eternal life which he wanted to share with his beautiful wife Chang’e (嫦娥). But Pengmeng (蓬蒙), one of Houyi’s many apprentice archers, wanted the pills. So Chang’e swallowed both pills of immortality, became a god, and flew off to the moon.

Now, every year, to honor and remember his wife Chang’e, Houyi asks people to prepare food and gaze at the moon on the same day every year. And while you’re biting into a delicious moon cake, think of your loved ones, wherever they are.

This post first appeared here on September 12, 2011.

Photo: stephen.h2010 (flickr)

Monday is a public holiday- and a much needed break from the insane traffic- as the country marks the Mid-Autumn festival. There’s been abundance of mooncakes in the supermarkets aisle and special offers. The presence of mooncakes might be easily explained by learning some background on the festival itself. The Chinese have three stories that they use to explain to younger children the origins of  中秋节 Zhongqiu Jie (Mid-Autumn Festival), which are Chang’e and Hou Yi, The Jade Rabbit and Wu Gang and the Cherry Bay.

Chang’e and Hou Yi is the most common story about a local archer and his wife’s ultimate sacrifice. The Jade Rabbit is a continuation of the Chang’e and Hou Yi folklore which gives a background look at the afterlife of the couple. Wu Chang and the Cherry Bay is totally a different story and does try to explain the festival in a different light.

Chang’e and Hou Yi
It is said that long ago there used to be 10 suns in the sky. Each day, one of the suns would travel around the sky on a carriage driven by Xihe, the mother of the suns. One day, unexpectedly, all 10 suns simultaneously appeared in the sky, which instantly dried the crops and caused disaster to the people on earth.

Hou Yi, a local archer, felt a great sympathy for the people’s sufferings from the blistering weather and decided to help them. Hou Yi climbed up to the summit of Kunlun Mountains and shot down the suns leaving only one to be used to benefit the people. After he shot down the sun, Hou Yi became a hero who was revered by local people.

Later, Hou Yi married a beautiful girl—Chang’e. The young couple lived a happy and sweet life.

Hou Yi was so famous for his perfect archery skills that he had a lot of apprentices, including the unrighteous Peng Meng. One day when Hou Yi was on his way to visit his friend, the Queen Mother of the West gave him an elixir of immortality as a reward for his heroic undertaking. Although, she warned Hou Yi “Do not take this elixir before preparing yourself with prayer and fasting for a year”. Hou Yi gave the elixir to Chang’e for safekeeping, which she took as a treasure and hid it in her jewelry box. Unfortunately, Peng Meng found this secret and made a plan to steal it.

Several days later, when Hou Yi and other apprentices went out hunting, Peng pretended to fall ill and stayed at home. After they left, Peng forced Chang’e to give him the elixir. Chang’e, knowing that she could not defeat Peng, swallowed the elixir herself, and immediately she felt herself begin to float up to the sky. With deep love for her husband, Chang’e chose to be an immortal on the moon, closest to the earth; this way she could see her husband every day.

In the late afternoon, Hou Yi came back and was told what had happened. Heart-stricken, Hou Yi went to the back garden and called his wife’s name ceaselessly. Surprisingly, he found that the moon was extremely clean and bright that night; and that there was a moving figure that resembled Chang’e on the moon. Hou Yi desperately tried to catch up with the moon, but he could not do it.

Hou Yi then asked servants to set a table in his back garden with his wife’s favorite snacks and fruits on it. Within a short time, more and more people heard about the news that Chang’e had become an immortal, and they also put tables under the moon to pray to Chang’e for good fortune and safety. From then on, the custom of worshipping the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival began to spread in China.

The Jade Rabbit
This legend is considered to be an extension of Chang’e Flying to the Moon. It tells about three sages who transformed themselves into pitiful old men. One day they met a fox, a monkey and a rabbit, and they begged for food. The fox and the monkey shared their food with the old men; but the rabbit, with nothing to share, jumped into a blazing fire to offer his own flesh instead. The sages were so touched by the rabbit’s kindness that they sent it to live in the Moon Palace, where it became the Jade Rabbit. Chang’e, who lived alone after arriving in the moon, liked the Jade Rabbit at the first sight, and therefore kept it company. As time went on by, Chang’e and Jade Rabbit became inseparable friends.

Hearing about the story of Chang’e and Hou Yi, the Jade Rabbit felt sympathetic to them and decided to make a special heavenly medicine, which could help Chang’e return to Earth. Unfortunately, the Jade Rabbit has still not been able to make it even though he has worked hard for thousands of years. Observing the moon on the Mid-Autumn Day carefully, we can still see the Jade Rabbit making his heavenly medicine.

Wu Gang and the Cherry Bay
Wu Gang was a woodchopper. He always wanted to become an immortal, but he never tried his best to learn the necessary theurgy. The Jade Emperor got angry with him because of his attitude. In order to punish him, the Jade Emperor planted a huge cherry bay, which was 1665 meters (5460 ft) high, on the moon and ordered Wu Gang to chop it down, then Wu Gang could become an immortal.

This time, Wu Gang was very serious, but he could never finish his work. The cherry bay healed every time that Wu Gang chopped it. Wu Gang wouldn’t give up. He tried time and time again.

On unclouded nights people can see some obvious shadows on the moon. They are made by the huge cherry bay.

A version of this post appeared on September 21, 2013 on here.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons

 

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia commons