Life in Mainland China
Qixi: a Chinese conversation with pinyin and English
Qixi, the Double Seventh: 7th day of the 7th lunar month. Qiaoguo, small fried pastries.
The conversation
Speakers: Xiaoyu and Haoran.
- Xiaoyu
你买花干啥去？给谁买的呀？
Where are you off to with those flowers? Who are they for?
- Haoran
今天是七夕呀。还能给谁，当然是给我媳妇儿。
It's Qixi today. Who else, my wife of course.
- Xiaoyu
你居然能记住？没靠App提醒吧？
You actually remembered? Did you use an app reminder?
- Haoran
手机有提醒啊。
My phone sent a notification.
- Xiaoyu
那你知道织女和牛郎被啥给隔开了吗？
Well, do you know what separates the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd?
- 银河 The Milky Way
- 黄河 The Yellow River
- 万里长城 The Great Wall
Answer
银河 The Milky Way
- Haoran
银河呗。她是织女星，他是牛郎星。
The Milky Way, obviously. She's Vega and he's Altair.
- Xiaoyu
每年七夕喜鹊都要搭个鹊桥，他俩才能见一面。
Every Qixi, magpies form a bridge so the two of them can meet once a year.
- Haoran
一年只能见一次，这异地恋也太难了。
Only meeting once a year? That's a brutal long-distance relationship.
- Xiaoyu
以前的女孩还要做巧果这种小炸点心，向她乞求针线活的手艺呢。
Back in the day, girls used to make small fried pastries called qiaoguo and pray for clever hands in needlework.
- Haoran
现在呢？
And now?
- Xiaoyu
现在流行送花、买巧克力、吃二人烛光晚餐呗。
Now it's all about sending flowers, buying chocolates, and having a romantic candlelit dinner for two.
- Haoran
喜鹊用一晚上搭出来的跨银河大桥，这工程难度绝对秒杀我经手的所有项目。
A trans-Milky Way bridge built by magpies overnight? That engineering challenge blows every project I have ever worked on out of the water.
- Xiaoyu
你手里那束花挺贵的吧。快回家吧，告诉她是你和喜鹊一块儿挑的。
That bouquet looks expensive. Hurry home and tell her you and the magpies picked it out together.
Words in the conversation
Notes
- When
- 7th day of the 7th lunar month
- On the table
- Qiaoguo, small fried pastries
- Public holiday in mainland China
- No
Girls once made qiaoguo, small fried pastries pressed into shapes, and prayed to the Weaver Girl for skill with the needle. Now it is a day for couples, with flowers, chocolates and dinners for two.
The story
The Weaver Girl, a goddess, married a cowherd and was taken back to heaven. The two became the stars Vega and Altair, on either side of the Milky Way, and once a year magpies form a bridge so they can meet.