When Love is Lasting, Does It Need to Be Day and Night?

Golden wind is the autumn wind, and jade dew is the White Dew. When do they meet? Li Shangyin’s poem Xinwei Qixi makes it clear in its final line: “From the heavenly realm beside the Milky Way, only at the meeting of golden wind and jade dew.” This plainly tells us that on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, golden wind and jade dew finally come together. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet only once a year, yet they remain in each other’s hearts. They spend one day together but long for each other for the other 364 days—and isn’t that what love is? Indeed, their bond surpasses countless mortal pairings. What are those mortals like? Just ordinary couples in the mundane world: though they see each other every day, they may never once think of one another.