The seven fairies are the general name of the seven goddesses in ancient China mythology. The earliest myth about Yong Dong did not explain who the parents of the seven fairies were. Later, they became the seven daughters of the Jade Emperor, from which many beautiful legends and stories were derived.
The legendary stories of the seven fairies are mostly recorded in immortal books such as Descent from Heaven, The Journey to the West and operas in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The seven goddesses in the myths and legends of the seven fairies. The legend of the Seven Immortals began in the Han Dynasty. The Seven Immortals are the image of a feathered man on the stone carving of "Kissing by Yong Dong". In the Han Dynasty, there were many murals showing people in feathered clothes surrounding the Queen Mother of the West and Dong Wang Gong. The seven fairies are suspected to belong to the gods of the Queen Mother and the princes. In later folklore, it was said that the seven immortals were the daughters of the Queen Mother.
The names of the seven fairies in Journey to the West are: Red Fairy, Tsing Yi Fairy, Blue Fairy, Orange Fairy, Purple Fairy, Yellow Fairy and Green Fairy.
Legend has it that the Seven Fairys, the youngest in Seven Sisters, are from Jiangsu. She is the cleverest and kindest. One day, the Seven Immortals learned that there was a young man named Dong Mingyong in Danyang (now Yang Xiaodan Town). Because his family was poor and had no money to bury his dead father, he had to sell himself as a slave. Seven sisters were deeply moved. Privately, Tiandao and Yong Dong got married for a hundred years and got married under the big pagoda tree.
Unfortunately, the matchmaker, Sophora japonica, was happy for a while, and described "a hundred years of harmony" as "a hundred days of harmony", which led to the fate that Yong Dong's seven sisters only had a hundred days of harmony. Seventh Sister skillfully weaves 10 brocade, redeems Yong Dong, prepares to renovate her home, and loves their old leader. Unexpectedly, the jade emperor was very angry when he learned about it, and called Qimei back to the palace, so Qimei had to fly away reluctantly.
Her knitting became a flying stone, and the loom remained on earth. People can still hear the sound of the loom "click, click" in the dead of night. On the fifteenth night of the first month of every year, girls dressed in costumes gather by the flying shuttle stone, holding sewing boxes to please Qi Mei and singing begging songs. After singing Qiao Qi's songs, you should also ask about your quality of life, good luck, whether you can get married and so on.
Today, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province is known as the hometown of the seven fairies on earth.
There is also a legend that the Queen Mother has seven special peaches, and these seven fairies are the incarnations of these seven peaches, and they are all personal handmaids of the Queen Mother, but they are not said to be the daughters of the Queen Mother.
The Journey to the West, a novel in the Ming Dynasty, also mentioned the specific names of the Seven Immortals: "Red Immortal, Tsing Yi Immortal, plain clothes Immortal, Soap Immortal, Purple Immortal, Huang Xian and Green Immortal". It seems that the Seven Immortals are wearing seven colors, which are related to seven colors. Song and Yuan operas combined with folklore of past dynasties formed a more complete drama like a fairy couple in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The myth of the Seven Immortals originated from the people. Legends about Yong Dong are spread all over the country, not local myths produced in a certain area.
Compare countless oral legends around the world. This legend can be seen in some parts of Shui Bo. Seven fairies sang and danced, bathed or washed clothes in Shui Bo (washing colorful clothes in the water may be related to the story of the rainbow sucking water). Their morphology often changes between waterfowl and human form. In mythology, water is mostly related to the sad legend of the goddess.
Seven Sisters's combined image, Dong Qi's marriage and other elements often appear in cultural customs. For example, on the fifteenth night of the first month of every year, girls dressed in costumes gather near the flying shuttle stone, holding sewing boxes and asking for advice from Qi Mei, singing begging songs. After singing Qiao Qi's songs, you should also ask about your quality of life, good luck, whether you can get married and so on.
There are temples with the elements of the Seven Immortals everywhere among the people. Seven Sisters sometimes worships together, sometimes separately, and both the Lord and his companions worship.