Milky Way in mythology
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There are many myths and legends about the origin of the Milky Way, the crowd of stars that makes a distinctive bright streak across the night sky.
The Galactic Center as seen from Earth's night sky.
"The creation of the River of Heaven".
Zhinü crossing the River of Heaven, as painted by Gai Qi, 1799.
Jacopo Tintoretto's The Origin of the Milky Way (c. 1575-1580).
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are characters found in Chinese mythology who appear eponymously in a romantic Chinese folk tale. The story tells of the romance between Zhinü the weaver girl, symboliz
Milky Way in mythology
…yínhé; Korean: 은하; RR: eunha; Vietnamese: ngân hà; Japanese: 銀河, romanized: ginga). The Silvery River of Heaven is part of a romantic Chinese folk tale, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, of the romance between Zhinü, the weaver girl, symbolizing the star Vega, and Niulang, the cowherd, symbolizing the star Altair. Their love was not…
The reunion of the couple on the bridge of magpies. Artwork in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace, Beijing
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meeting on the magpie bridge.
View of the night sky: Vega (Zhinü the weaver-girl) is at top left, Altair (Niulang the cowherd) at lower centre. The heavenly river (Milky Way) separates them.
Zhinü with a shuttle in her hand, painted by Zhang Ling, Ming dynasty