Qixi Festival, also known as the Qiqiao Festival

Qixi Festival is the day when Niulang (the Cowherd) is said to meet Zhinu (the Weaver Girl) in legend. It is said that on this day, there are no magpies to be seen on earth because they all fly up to the sky to form a "Magpie Bridge", allowing Niulang and Zhinu, who are separated on both sides of the Milky Way, to meet.

There is a legend that Zhinu is the daughter of the Queen Mother of the West, but in many texts, she is also called "Tiansun" (Granddaughter of Heaven). This makes her seniority a bit confusing. Regardless of whether she calls the Jade Emperor father or grandfather, what we know is that she is intelligent, skillful, and good at weaving. She married Niulang, a hardworking and honest man on earth, and they had two children. However, the Queen Mother of the West forcibly separated them and drew a Milky Way, making the couple look at each other across the river. They can only meet on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year. Later, someone proposed to designate the seventh day of the seventh lunar month as China's Valentine's Day. In my opinion, this idea is not very good, probably based on family planning considerations.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the Girls' Festival, also known as the Qiqiao Festival (Festival of Praying for Skills). Because in traditional Chinese concepts, "being intelligent and skillful with one's hands" is a necessary condition for a good girl. Therefore, when Zhang Wuke in the opera "Flower as Matchmaker" heard Wang Junqing say that she was "not intelligent, not skillful with her hands, and not slender in figure", she was very angry. How can a girl become intelligent and skillful? It is said that she can pray to Zhinu in the sky. Thus, there came the worship of Zhinu - worshipping Zhinu on Qixi Festival and "praying for skills" from her, which is the origin of the Qiqiao Festival. During the period of the Yuan Dynasty's capital Dadu, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year, in the imperial palace, as well as in the homes of officials, scholars, and common people, "pictures of Niulang and Zhinu on Qixi Festival were hung, and melons, fruits, wine cakes, vegetables, and dried meat were displayed in abundance. Relatives, young ladies, and women were invited to hold a Qiqiao Festival gathering".

"Beijing Chronicles of Seasons" records that "the imperial palace attaches the greatest importance to Qixi Festival". Every household holds a feast, and girls worship towards the Milky Way at night. Praying for skills is an important part of the festival for girls. How to pray for skills? The earliest way of praying for skills can be found in "Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital" by a person from the Eastern Jin Dynasty: "In the Han Dynasty, the colorfully dressed maidens often threaded seven-hole needles on the Kaijin Tower on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and people all followed this practice." "Records of Jingchu's Annual Festivals" states: "The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the night when Niulang and Zhinu meet. On this night, the women in families set up colorful towers and thread seven-hole needles." "Records of the Yuan Imperial Harem" by Tao Zongyi records that there was a Nine-Invitation Platform built in the imperial palace of the Yuan Dynasty as a place for praying for skills. On Qixi Festival, the palace maids climbed the Nine-Invitation Platform, "threaded nine-hole needles with five-colored silk threads. Those who finished first obtained skills, while those who finished late were said to have lost skills. Each person contributed money to give to those who obtained skills", which already had the nature of a competition.

The seven-hole needles used by the palace maids for threading were specially made by the eunuchs of the Imperial Workshop. I have never seen what they specifically looked like.

How to pray for skills? "A Brief Account of Scenic Spots in the Imperial Capital" describes it in more detail: At noon, each girl praying for skills places a bowl of water in the sun to expose it. After a while, a layer of film will form on the water surface. At this time, put an embroidery needle into the bowl, and the needle will float on the water. Because it is in the sun, the shadow of the embroidery needle will appear at the bottom of the bowl. If this shadow is like a cloud, a flower, a bird or beast, or like a shoe or a pair of scissors, it means that the girl has prayed for skills. If the shadow of the needle is as thick as a wooden mallet, as thin as a thread, or as straight as an axle or a candle, it means that she has not prayed for skills but has prayed for "clumsiness". The girl who fails to pray for skills will be unhappy and may even cry.

Nowadays, girls no longer need to do needlework, so there is no need for them to pray for skills.