I haf thus decided to put up some kind of guide to the characters in the show, so that you would get to understand them better. :-)
This segment is split into 4 parts:
1) Info on Cowherd and Weaving Girl
2) Info on Chang E, Pigsy and Wu Gang
3) Info on the Jade Emperor, Queen Mother and Erlang Shen
4) Info on the 8 Immortals
PART 1: The real story on Cowherd and Weaver Girl
In late summer, the stars Altair and Vega are high in the night sky, and the Chinese tell the following love story, of which there are many variations:
A young cowherd named Niulang ( 牛郎; the star Altair) happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhinü ( 织女; the star Vega) to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang sees her naked she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang a good husband, and they are very happy together.
A young cowherd named Niulang ( 牛郎; the star Altair) happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhinü ( 织女; the star Vega) to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang sees her naked she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang a good husband, and they are very happy together.
Versions of the separations:
1) The Goddess of Heaven (in some versions Zhinü's mother) finds out that a mere mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. The Goddess then forced the weaver fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds in the sky because she could not do her job while married to the mortal. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a wide river in the sky with it to separate the two lovers forever (thus forming the Milky Way, which separates Altair and Vega).
2) When the Jade Emperor heard of this matter, he was furious but unable to intercede, since in the meantime his daughter had fallen in love and married the cowherd. As time passed, Zhinu grew homesick and began to miss her father. One day, she came across a box containing her magic robe which her husband had hidden. She decided to visit her father back in Heaven, but once she returned, the Jade Emperor summoned a river to flow across the sky (the Milky Way), which Chih'nü was unable to cross to return to her husband.
Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar and takes care of their two children (his flanking stars β and γ Aquilae).But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge (鵲橋, "the bridge of magpies", Que Qiao) over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh month.
Variations of the Story
It was also said that the Goddess of Heaven out of pity decided to let them unite once on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. She was moved by their love for each other.
It is the Jade Emperor of Heaven, Zhinu's father, who keeps the lovers separate and he does so in order that they focus on their work instead of romance (the 'Maoist work-ethic' version)
The star Deneb is a fairy who acts as a chaperone when the lovers meet on the magpie bridge.
Rather than once a year, there was another version where the lovers were allowed once a month.
It is the Jade Emperor of Heaven, Zhinu's father, who keeps the lovers separate and he does so in order that they focus on their work instead of romance (the 'Maoist work-ethic' version)
The star Deneb is a fairy who acts as a chaperone when the lovers meet on the magpie bridge.
Rather than once a year, there was another version where the lovers were allowed once a month.
The 'sequel' to the story!!
Time flew by and it is now 2000 years later, in the year 1981. One day, the magpies, which create the bridge for their annual date, propose a plan for them to elope. The magpies say that if Cowherd and Weaving Girl run away together, they would never have to be apart again.
So the lovers decide to elope. Unfortunately, they are captured by the Heavenly Guards and banished to Earth as human beings. Cowherd and Weaving Girl are both born on the 7th of the 7th month, but are destined to walk separate paths in their lives. However, they do meet up on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month every year by mere coincidence without actually realising it. They only start to acknowledge each other's existence when they are in their mid 20s.
Weaving Maiden Wang Tianqin was born into a small but happy family. However, her parents died in an accident when she was five years old, thus leaving her an orphan. She was soon adopted by a wealthy but mysterious lady known as Madam Wang. From then on, Tianqin began to lead an exceptionally comfortable life, eventually becoming a well-known fashion designer. 
Cowherd Yang Tianying was not as lucky. When he was born, his birth mother abandoned him in a rubbish dump. He was sent to an orphanage, and was subsequently raised by a mysterious man named Yang Jian. Tianying's childhood was fraught with much hardship from then onwards. He likes all things that are associated with cows, hence his profession as a milk salesman.
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