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皎皎河汉女

皎皎河漢女
jiǎojiǎo Héhàn nǚ
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 bright and shining, the Milky Way maid
  2. 2 (fig.) the Weaving Maid star, gleaming across the river of heaven, the Weaver half of the Weaver-and-Cowherd myth
  3. 3 (lit.) bright-bright Han-River maid

Examples

HSK 7-9
七夕夜晚仰望星空，令人想起皎皎河汉女。
Qīxī yèwǎn yǎngwàng xīngkōng, lìngrén xiǎngqǐ jiǎojiǎohéhànnǚ.
Looking up at the stars on Qixi night, one thinks of 'the bright, shining maid of the Milky Way.'
HSK 7-9
诗人把织女比作皎皎河汉女，美而遥远。
Shīrén bǎ Zhī nǚ bǐzuò jiǎojiǎohéhànnǚ, měi ér yáoyuǎn.
The poet compares the Weaving Maid to 'the bright maid of the Milky Way', beautiful and distant.

Tips

history
From 《古诗十九首·迢迢牵牛星》 (one of the Nineteen Old Poems, Han era, collected in 《文选》): 迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉女 (Far-far the Cowherd star; bright-bright the maid of the Milky Way). A foundation text of the 牛郎织女 (Cowherd and Weaver) legend, celebrated every Qixi Festival.
usage
河汉 = the Han River = the Milky Way in classical astronomy. 女 = maid, here specifically 织女 (the Weaving Maid star, Vega). Almost always quoted paired with the first line 迢迢牵牛星. Reduplicated 皎皎 / 迢迢 is the poem's signature rhythmic device.

In Pop Culture

七夕节 Qīxījié
Qixi Festival
Chinese 'Valentine's Day' on 7th day of 7th lunar month, when the Cowherd and Weaver reunite across the Milky Way

Stroke Order

皎 jiǎo
河 hé
汉 hàn
女 nǚ