What Chinese Do on Qi Xi Festival

　　Today marks the Qixi Festival in China, which is otherwise known as Chinese Valentines.

 

　　CRI's Li Dong on how the 7th day of the 7th lunar month on the Chinese calendar is viewed today.

 

　　Today, August 13, is Qixi Festival.

 

　　According to a Chinese folk love story, the Qixi Festival is the day when Niulang, a cowherd, and Zhinv, a beautiful weaver¹ girl, meet annually². But in a modern society, celebrating the Qixi Festival may mean little more than spending money.

 

　　Retailers⁴ and shop owners have been ready for days, stocking up on flowers and offering tempting⁵ discounts on chocolate bars, shoes, jewellery and other romantic gifts. On Taobao.com, China's biggest online retail³ site, more than 550 thousand results return from a search for "Qi Xi Gift".

 

　　Whilst, to attract more visitors, the Beijing Garden Expo Park will tonight distribute 50 thousand roses to lovers who choose to visit the park.

 

　　Many young people say they accept Qi Xi as just another excuse to spend money and are not particularly concerned about the cultural meaning of the festival.

 

　　"It's nothing special. The festival is commercialized. Just some businessmen want to make more money."

 

　　Another interviewee says that the Western St Valentine's Day is more meaningful.

 

　　"Many movies give me the impression that the lovers' day in the west is more romantic."

 

　　The 2,000-year-old Qixi festival originated from a folk tale that a fairy called Zhi Nv married a mortal called Niu Lang.

 

　　Shortly after the Goddess of Heaven, who opposed their marriage, sent the couple to heaven as two stars, separating them by the vast Milky⁶ Way.

 

　　According to the story, magpies⁷ feel sympathy for the lovers and so they fly up to heaven every year to form a bridge. It is across this bridge that the lovers can reunite for a single night.

 

　　Couples who are separated by work or study, celebrate their love on the date of the lovers' annual reunion.

 

　　Qi Xi was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by China's State Council in 2006.

 

　　Xiao Fang⁸, professor of Folklore⁹ Research Institute of Beijing Normal University says that Qixi is primarily about courting with expensive gifts.

 

　　"Qi Xi is not lovers' day. In the past, Qi Xi was an occasion to show someone…your skill, like sewing and making clothes. Nowadays, these are skills not in common usage. But you can make…a personalized gift."

 

　　Meanwhile, many who oppose a commercialized Qixi also confess a paradox¹⁰; without commercial interest, the festival may well be forgotten and become a mere¹¹ relic¹² of the past.

 

　　For CRI, this is Li Dong.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

5 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

6 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

7 magpies   

喜鹊（magpie的复数形式）

参考例句：

• They set forth chattering like magpies. 他们叽叽喳喳地出发了。
• James: besides, we can take some pied magpies home, for BBQ. 此外，我们还可以打些喜鹊回家，用来烧烤。

8 fang   

n.尖牙，犬牙

参考例句：

• Look how the bone sticks out of the flesh like a dog's fang.瞧瞧,这根骨头从肉里露出来，象一只犬牙似的。
• The green fairy's fang thrusting between his lips.绿妖精的尖牙从他的嘴唇里龇出来。

9 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

10 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

11 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

12 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。