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Legend of the Cowherder and the Weaving Maiden

Gai Qi

Artwork Details

Legend of the Cowherder and the Weaving Maiden
1774-1829
Gai Qi
hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
46 1/2 x 12 3/8 in. (118.1 x 31.4 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund
1994/2.37

On Display

Not currently on display

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Description

The legend on which this painting is based tells of a beautiful celestial maiden who was a deft weaver. Later, she fell in love with a cowherd. Their love was so intense that they ignored their daily dutes. God disapproved of such behavior and punished them by putting them on opposite sides of the Milky Way. The isolated couple was permitted to meet only once a year on the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

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