|
LIFE> Newsmaker
![]() |
|
Birds of a feather
By Lin Qi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-26 09:17
Office worker Lin Xianhui is happily married to a woman who, like him, comes from the countryside but now lives in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. But he feels sorry for one of his college friends, who is having marital problems with a woman born in the city. His depressed friend is being counseled because of his failing marriage, what many people call "phoenix man marrying a peacock woman". The term "phoenix man" comes from an old saying that "a phoenix soars out of a chicken coop" and refers to men who grow up in the countryside, make it to university and land good jobs in the city. "Peacock women" are born and bred in the city. The idea of a phoenix marrying a peacock reminds many Chinese of the fairytale "niu lang zhi nu", or the "cowherd and weaving girl", which is the basis for Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentines' Day, which falls today. The story follows an orphaned cowboy who falls in love with a beautiful weaver, who is also the youngest daughter of the Empress of Heaven. They secretly marry but the angry empress separates the couple by drawing a line between them, which becomes the Milky Way. The couple can only get together on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar, hence Qixi Festival. Today, there is also a "Milky Way" separating couples from different cultural backgrounds, quite different from the way things used to be. |
濉溪县| 陕西省| 福安市| 宜春市| 贵溪市| 土默特右旗| 岳阳市| 景德镇市| 七台河市| 特克斯县| 色达县| 开封市| 长春市| 白水县| 仙桃市| 任丘市| 平塘县| 望奎县| 万山特区| 巢湖市| 镇原县| 龙岩市| 迭部县| 开化县| 富宁县| 牙克石市| 宜章县| 万荣县| 高青县| 当雄县| 友谊县| 封开县| 泾源县| 陈巴尔虎旗| 武功县| 滦平县| 诸暨市| 辰溪县| 威信县| 喀什市| 怀仁县|