What are the constellations that thread the needle?

Brief introduction of cowherd and weaver star

The brightest star we see in autumn night is Vega. In early autumn, around 9 pm, she passed over our heads; Autumn is getting deeper and deeper, and the time for her to cross our heads is getting earlier and earlier. Vega is connected with several nearby stars to form Lyra, which we call Lyra. This is an introduction to the location of Vega, the shape of Lyra and the origin of its name.

Altair

To the east of Vega, it is as white as a cloud, and it crosses the sky intermittently from north to south. This is the Milky Way, also known as Tianhe. There are three stars in a straight line in the southeast of Tianhe East. The middle is very bright, and the light on both sides is very weak, so it looks exactly the same as the middle distance. Connect these three stars with a straight line, just like a lever with two equal arms. These three stars are called Libra, also called Shoudan. One of the biggest and brightest is Altair, also known as Altair. His brilliance is a little yellow, not as bright as Vega, but none of the other stars are as bright as him. This is an introduction to the position, brightness and shape of Libra.

Vega, Altair and the sun are all stars. The brightness of Vega is 50 times that of the sun, and the brightness of Altair is more than 10 times that of the sun. Just because it is too far away from us, it looks like two bigger stars. Vega and Altair are both stars and their brilliance.

Vega is 26 light years away from the earth, and Altair is 16 light years away from the earth. It takes only 8 minutes 18 seconds for sunlight to reach the earth from the sun, while it takes 26 years for Vega's light to reach the earth. Introduce the distance between Vega and Altair and the earth. Vega is approaching the sun at a speed of 14 km per second, and Altair is also moving, approaching the sun at a speed of 33 km per second, which is similar to the revolution speed of the earth-29 km per second. Their movement is not facing the sun, and the direction of movement is gradually changing. So, no

In the early autumn evening, near your head, you can see a bright white star, Vega, which is located on the west bank of the Milky Way. Across the Milky Way from Vega to the southeast, you can see three stars, roughly evenly arranged in a line, and the middle one is also very bright. It is the Altair, also known as Altair, located on the east bank of the Milky Way, and the two stars face each other across the river. Altair, scientific name Alpha Eagle, is one of the brightest 2 1 stars in the whole day. Astronomical volume? Ranked twelfth in the brightest directory. Vega, whose scientific name is Alpha Lyra, is also one of the brightest 2 1 stars in the whole day. Astronomical volume? Ranked fifth in the brightest catalogue. They belong to two constellations and should have been introduced separately. However, the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is the most gripping story spread among the people in China for thousands of years, and it is one of the four myths and legends in China. Cowherd and Weaver Girl on both sides of the Milky Way are familiar to everyone. So it is more convenient to introduce these two most famous stars together.

The origin of the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl

The names of Weaver Girl and Cowherd Star appeared much earlier than the story. They appeared in the Book of Songs written in the Spring and Autumn Period. The Book of Songs? Xiaoya? There is a saying in Dadong: "There is Han, and there is light in the mirror." Weaver girl, seven times a day. Even if the weaver girl is busy, she can't knit a stripe well. He is holding a cow, not a suitcase. "It means that the Milky Way in the sky is like a mirror, which can simply reflect light. This star is called the Weaver Girl, and she can't weave a brocade after working for seven hours a day. That star is called Petunia, but it can't pull a motor car. From these complaints, it seems that there is no shadow of the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

It was not until the Han Dynasty that the outline of the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl was gradually formed. One of the nineteen ancient poems wrote: "The Cowherd and the Star are far away, and the Jiao Jiao River is a girl from China. Skillful hands, make a loom. There is no chapter all day, and tears are pouring down. What's the difference between a clear river and a shallow one? Ying Ying is easy to water, and his pulse is silent. " This elegy is obviously enlightening to the creation of the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl in later generations.

Later, Emperor Cao Pi of Wei Wendi wrote a seven-character ancient poem called "Ge Yanxing", which also mentioned the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl: "The moon shines on my bed, and the stars and the Han Dynasty are still young at night; Morning glory and Weaver Girl face each other far away, and you are alone in the river beam. " This is a work at the beginning of the third century, which contrasts the desolation of the world with the sadness of the cowherd and the weaver girl.

Later, the story became richer and richer. During the Six Dynasties, the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl was relatively complete. According to the generalization of the monthly order? "July Order" quoted Liang Yinyun's novel in the Southern Dynasties as saying: "To the east of the Tianhe River, there is a weaver girl, the son of the Emperor of Heaven. Every year, the loom works and weaves a brocade skirt, which looks too messy. The emperor pitied him for being alone and promised to marry a cowherd in Hexi. After getting married, he gave up sewing. The Emperor was furious and ordered to return to Hedong, but they met once a year. "

Wu Jun (469 ~ 520), who was also in A Liang during the Southern Dynasties, recorded such a story in his Continued Harmony: "Guiyang became Wuding, had a fairy road, and lived in the world. Suddenly he called his brother and said,' On July 7th, the weaver girl crossed the river, and the immortal learned to return to the palace. I was summoned, so I can't stop to say goodbye to you. "My brother asked,' Why did the Weaver Girl cross the river? "What should I bring back when I leave?" A:' The Weaver Girl takes care of the cows temporarily, and I will pay them back after three years.' Wu Ding was lost in the Ming Dynasty, so far Yun inv has married Petunia. "

There are similar records in other earlier classics, such as Bai Tie, Sui Li and Er Ya Yi. In later generations, literati even took this story as an allusion for lovers or lovers to meet. Later, after word of mouth, you supplemented me, gradually formed, and finally was put on the stage, even the screen.

Outline of the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl

Legend has it that the cowherd is poor and has only one cow; Suddenly one day, the old cow said to the cowherd that the fairy girl in the sky came down to take a bath and let the cowherd steal the feather fan clothes of the seven fairies; Cowherd did as he said, and the Seven Fairys married Cowherd because they had no feather fan clothes and could not fly back to the sky. The young couple loved each other and gave birth to a pair of children; The Queen Mother took the seven fairies and violated the dogma, and sent heavenly soldiers to take the seven fairies back to heaven. When the old cow died, she told the cowherd to make clothes from his skin and ascend to heaven. Cowherd carried a pair of children and chased them to heaven. The queen mother paddled in the sky with a hairpin, and it became a choppy Tianhe, separating the cowherd from the weaver girl. Only on the seventh day of July every year can he meet each other on the magpie bridge. On other days, people can only see the Altair and Vega on both sides of the Milky Way, that is, the Altair and Vega who are looking forward to reunion.

poetic masterpiece through the ages

This interesting story reflects the young men and women's desire for love life, freedom and happiness under feudal oppression, which aroused great sympathy. There are countless poems about the love between the cowherd and the weaver girl by poets of past dynasties, such as the poem Autumn Evening written by Du Mu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, which is so beautiful that it makes people feel sad: "A silver candle paints a cold screen, and a small fan dances lightly on the firefly. Day and night are as cool as water, lying and watching morning glory and weaving stars. "

Among the wonderful flowers in Ci Garden, Qin Shaoyou in Song Dynasty is the most worthy of appreciation. He wrote a poem "Queqiao Fairy": "Clouds are scattered and clever, flying stars spread grievances, and silver and Han are all dark. On the seventh day of autumn dew and autumn, it is time to meet, mostly those who are together in the world, but the appearance of husband and wife. Tender as water, like a dream, reluctant to go home? If you are in love for a long time, it will be sooner or later. " After all, what the poet writes is different from the secularity in his heart. His idea of the binary star in silver is that "there is no time to strive for the future", rather than the attitude of seizing the day, being together all day and never parting for a moment. This word has overwhelmed all previous dynasties and become the eternal swan song.

The story of Qixi Qiaoqi Festival

Related to July 7th, there is also a story about Qixi Qiaoqi Festival. Because the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is deeply rooted in people's hearts, the Weaver Girl is regarded as the representative of intelligent women among the gods, and women hope to make themselves handy by worshipping the Weaver Girl. If you choose a festival, the most suitable day is of course the seventh day of July, so soon after the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl was formed, the seventh day of July became the "Begging for Cleverness Festival", which has spread to all parts of the Tang Dynasty and reached its peak.

According to the "Tianbao Legacy of Kaiyuan", Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty built a Qiaoqi Building in the palace, on which fruits and wine pulp were displayed, and a banquet was held to worship Petunia and Weaver Girl. Give the concubines in the palace a seven-hole needle with five-color thread, which passes through in the moonlight. It's very clever. The book also records that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and his concubine held a banquet in Huaqing Palace on a sunny night. After the banquet, let the ladies-in-waiting each catch a spider and put it in a jewelry box to see if they weave a net the next day, and judge whether it is clever by the density and shape of the net. This is called "no bridge".

According to Dong Liu's "Scenery of the Imperial Capital" in the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the clever use of needles, the game of "throwing needles skillfully" was more popular. The method is to take a basin of water on the morning of the seventh day of July and expose it to the sun. After the water surface condenses into a film, put the sewing needle or embroidery needle into the basin and the needle will float on the water surface. A woman who has lost a needle will focus on the shadow of the needle at the bottom of the water. If it becomes the shadow of a cloud flower, or as thin as a needle, it is "clever begging." Because these shadows show that the weaver girl gave her a clever embroidery needle, which can embroider beautiful patterns; If the shadow of the needle at the bottom of the water is as thick as a hammer, or the needle is not shaped, it means that the woman who lost the needle is a "stupid woman" because the weaver girl gave her a stone pestle. Some girls in the north also use pine needles instead of embroidery needles, which are called "flower throwing needles" on Tanabata.

The Qixi star rising in the eastern sky should find Vega and Altair in the night sky of Qixi. We can stand facing the east and look for three bright stars such as 1. Hanging at the highest place, shining with blue-green brilliance is Alpha Lyra, namely Vega; Located in the lower right corner of the Milky Way, the shining white star is Altair. The white on the left of the Milky Way is Tianjin IV in Cygnus.

"Morning glory picture" is selected from the Eastern Han Dynasty stone relief picture "Cow and Girl Fight" in Baitan, Nanyang.

In the rubbings of the sarcophagus of the Eastern Han Tomb in Pixian County, Sichuan Province, the cowherd is leading the cow to chase the Weaver Girl, and the cow is running in the air on all fours, which is lifelike; The weaver girl stared down with the shuttle, showing the pain of being separated from each other by the river. It can be seen that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was already the outline of the love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

As a neighboring country separated only by a strip of water from China, Japan is deeply influenced by the traditional culture of China. It also introduced the Tanabata myth into China in Nara Dynasty (7 15~784), leaving a large number of works of art about this myth. Here is the work of Yuegang Fangnian.

Cowherd accompanies the bull day and night.

Mutu's poem "Autumn Night" means that the night is as cool as water in the daytime sequence, and he lies looking at the morning glory and Vega.

Cowherd and Weaver Girl Series Painting: Weaver Girl Begging for Clothes

Cowherd and Weaver Girl Series Painting: Weaver Girl Returning to Heaven

Cowherd and Weaver Girl Series Paintings: The River Painted by the Queen Mother

Cowherd and Weaver Girl Series Paintings: Tanabata Meeting

Qin Guan (1049 ~110) was born in Gaoyou (now Jiangsu). Poets in Northern Song Dynasty. Prose is appreciated by Su Shi and is one of the "Four Bachelor of Su Men". Gong's poems. Most of the lyrics are about love between men and women, and there are also quite sentimental life stories. The style is euphemistic and subtle, beautiful and elegant. The style of poetry is similar to that of words. There are long and short sentences in Huaihai Ji and Huaihai Jushi.

Qin Guan's "Queqiao Fairy" is intended to meet with the golden wind and win countless people.

Mutu's poem "Autumn Night" means that the night is as cool as water in the daytime sequence, and he lies looking at the morning glory and Vega.

Look at those clever clouds.

Cui Hao (704? ~ 754)' s "Chinese Valentine's Day" poem says: "The moon in Chang 'an is like practice, and everyone is holding a needle and thread at this time. Fairy Yu Pei knows that there is no meeting between heaven and earth. "It vividly describes the Valentine's Day in China and the needle-piercing custom in Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty. I hope I can get the inspiration of Weaver Girl, get rid of my stupidity, make my eyes shine, and knit and sew with ease.

Flower throwing needle