The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl
The last love story with a tragic ending in this list is an old tale that is rooted deeply in Asian culture, especially East-Asian countries. Go by the name "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl", the story is believed to be originally a romantic Chinese folk tale, as the characters of the story are found in Chinese mythology. Moreover, the story was selected as one of China's Four Great Folktales by the "Folklore Movement" in the 1920s.
The story tells of the romance between Zhinü, the weaver girl, symbolizing the star Vega, and Niulang, the cowherd, symbolizing the star Altair. Since she is a fairy, and he is just a normal person, their love was not allowed. However, they still fall in love, have offspring and live a short but happy life together. What is to come must come, and they are eventually separated by the Gods, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day.
"The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" originated from people’s worship of natural celestial phenomena, and later developed into the Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty. It has also been celebrated as the Tanabata festival in Japan, the Chilseok festival in Korea, and "Thất Tịch" in Vietnam. In ancient times, women would make wishes to the stars of Vega and Altair in the sky during the festival, hoping to have a wise mind, dexterous hand (in embroidery and other household tasks), and good marriage.
