The Magpie Bridge is on Earth

     There are countless poems about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl throughout history, but I particularly love Qin Guan's "The Magpie Bridge Fairy": "The clouds weave patterns, the stars convey sorrow, the Milky Way stretches vast and silent. A single meeting in the golden autumn breeze and jade dew surpasses countless encounters in the mortal world. Tender feelings flow like water, the auspicious day is like a dream, how can one bear to look back on the magpie bridge's return path? If two hearts are truly bound for eternity, why should they be together every morning and evening?" It is this poem that narrates the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl's reunion, giving them a veneer of destiny. I don't know if immortals still exist in this world. I don't know how to understand the word "immortal." In my mind, whether it's the story of Chen Xiang rescuing his mother on Mount Hua or the legend of the White Snake at the Broken Bridge of West Lake, they always leave us with wounds that cannot be healed. Therefore, after we developed standards of right and wrong, the worship of immortals gradually became a matter of respectful distance.

    Immortals are the defenders of righteousness in the human world; saving people from suffering is their inescapable responsibility. But this honor also brought them discipline and a life of hardship. Thus, while enjoying this privilege, they too began to be tempted by the allure of worldly pleasures. Immortals represent the pinnacle of human existence, yet the flaws of human nature remain. Those rigid rules and regulations swirling deep within their minds, lacking the nurturing embrace of love, became deviant and unorthodox.

    No one willingly dedicates their life to loving others without receiving love in return, not even immortals. The love between Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian, and between Niulang and Zhinu, was profound and unforgettable; even Chen Xiang's love stemmed from maternal love for the nurturing grace. Love is the foundation of harmony in all things. Because love can create many things, it can also destroy many things. Those lofty "Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues," because of their obliteration of humanity, were trampled upon and resisted by those who loved.

    In truth, the freedom of the soul is the moral principle that both immortals and humans pursue. Only those hypocrites who would rather be virtuous than true villains remain in their camp, cheering and clamoring for a somewhat pale and empty slogan. Thus, those who cannot yet gain the upper hand, those who trample and resist, are punished as a warning to others. The purpose of this punishment is not to clarify right and wrong, but to maintain a certain posture.

    Perhaps no one remembers which deity separated them, but the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on the Magpie Bridge has become the most unforgettable scene in people's hearts. Tonight, they still hold hands and gaze at each other on the Magpie Bridge, only tears streaming down their faces. It is because of this persistent resistance that they have silently won. Perhaps witnessing this victory will no longer be the aging punishers, but the generations of those who pass down their stories of compassion. Beneath the Magpie

    Bridge, the lights of homes still twinkle. The bridge is tonight's bridge, a bridge for a day in heaven, a bridge for a year on earth. The magpies are still there, but who knows how many generations have passed through. They continue to build a bridge of fulfillment, a bridge where those who are virtuous receive abundant help. This bridge seems to be in the heavens, yet it is on earth, for their kindness touches people, and they are touched by people in turn!

    Tonight is the day the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, and today is also the day the magpies gather. Our mortal eyes cannot see all this, but perhaps the grapevines, silent in the night, will lend us a pair of discerning eyes to witness this magnificent spectacle!

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