The Cow Herder and the Weaver Girl (Chinese Reader, Level 1): A 500-Character Graded Story with Vocabulary Notes

About This Book

The Cow Herder and the Weaver Girl is a Level 1 title in the “学汉语分级读物” series, published by Beijing Language and Culture University Press. It belongs to the 民间故事 strand, designed for learners who know roughly 500 of the most common Chinese characters. The book is part of a 50-title series spanning three levels—folktales (Level 1), literary stories (Level 2), and historical stories (Level 3)—each level calibrated to a specific character count: 500, 800, and 1200 respectively.-2

The Story

Niulang, a cow herder, loses his parents early and is mistreated by his sister-in-law until he leaves home with only an old cow for company. One day, Zhinü, a weaver girl from heaven, comes down to the human world to play and meets him by chance. They fall in love, marry, and have a son and a daughter. But the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother learn of this and take Zhinü back to heaven. Niulang carries their two children in baskets and chases after her, but the Milky Way blocks his way. They can only gaze at each other from opposite sides. In the end, the Jade Emperor allows them to meet once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month—the origin of the Qixi Festival. Today, they are stars in the sky.-9

What’s Inside

• Graded Chinese text: simplified language, controlled character count and sentence difficulty, written for the 500-character level.

• Word definitions on every page: new words are glossed at the bottom of the page, with illustrations or text, so you can keep reading without stopping to look things up.-2

• Classical-style illustrations: artwork that echoes the story, helping you follow the plot and adjusting the reading rhythm.

• Cultural content woven into the story: Chinese history, customs, and folklore are folded into the narrative, so you learn about the Qixi Festival and its origins while you read.