Zhinu, the celestial Weaver Girl, is a daughter of the Jade Emperor and Xiwangmu, tasked with weaving the colorful clouds of heaven at her loom beside the Silver River of the Milky Way.
⚠ The pairing of the Jade Emperor with Xiwangmu as husband and wife is a late folk development; in earlier texts such as Shanhaijing, Xiwangmu is an independent deity. Zhinu is variously described as the Jade Emperor's daughter, seventh daughter, or granddaughter depending on the regional tradition.
Niulang, a poor cowherd, and Zhinu, the celestial Weaver Girl, fell in love and married in secret on earth, living together in bliss until heaven discovered their union and tore them apart across the Milky Way.
Zhinu, the Weaver Girl, is the youngest of the Seven Fairy Maidens — the one who descended to bathe in a mortal stream, married the cowherd Niulang, and was separated from him by her mother's river of stars.
When the Jade Emperor discovered Zhinu's secret marriage to the mortal cowherd Niulang, Xiwangmu tore her golden hairpin across the sky, carving the Silver River between the lovers and condemning them to opposite banks — save one night each year, when magpies build a bridge across the stars.
⚠ Some versions attribute the separation to the Jade Emperor as Zhinu's father; others to Xiwangmu as her grandmother or celestial mistress. The folk tradition most commonly credits Xiwangmu with the hairpin that carved the Milky Way.
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