迢迢牵牛星

迢迢牽牛星

tiáo tiáo qiān niú xīng

quotation

Meanings

1 far, far away the Cowherd star
2 the Altair star across the Milky Way — opening of the classic Cowherd-and-Weaving-Maid poem

Characters

to pull; (in 牵牛 Cowherd)

Examples

七夕夜抬头看星空，脑海里蹦出那句迢迢牵牛星。

Qīxī yè táitóu kàn xīngkōng, nǎohǎi lǐ bèng chū nà jù tiáotiáo qiānniúxīng.

Looking up at the stars on Qixi night, the line 'far, far away the Cowherd star' leapt into my head.

语文课本选了迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉女。

Yǔwén kèběn xuǎn le tiáotiáo qiānniúxīng, jiǎojiǎohéhànnǚ.

The textbook includes 'far, far the Cowherd star; bright, bright the Maid of the Milky Way.'

Tips

history

Opening line of an anonymous 《古诗十九首》 (Nineteen Old Poems, Han dynasty). Continues: 迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉女 — 'far away the Cowherd star, brightly the Maid of the Milky Way.' The source of the Qixi (Chinese Valentine's) folklore of the separated lovers.

usage

牵牛星 = Altair (the Cowherd); 织女星 = Vega (the Weaving Maid). The reduplication 迢迢...皎皎 is a hallmark of Han-era folk song style. Almost always quoted together with 皎皎河汉女.

Stroke Order

迢 tiáo

牵 qiān

牛 niú

星 xīng