Yueqin was a celestial musician who played the lute before the Jade Emperor. Her melodies could summon birds to sing and dance in harmony.
On the fifteenth of every month, Yueqin would descend to the mortal world to bathe in the Celestial Pool, a natural hot spring. After bathing, she would sit in the nearby osmanthus forest and play her lute.
There was a woodcutter named Chen Ting. One day, while chopping wood in the mountains, he faintly heard the sound of a lute. Enchanted, he stopped in his tracks, mesmerized. Such music could only belong to the heavens, he thought. He sat down to listen intently, forgetting even the wood he had come to gather.
Curious about who could play such divine music, he followed the sound and discovered a woman of breathtaking beauty—it was Yueqin. Chen Ting stood there, utterly spellbound.
From then on, he came to the osmanthus forest on the fifteenth of every month, quietly listening to Yueqin’s performance.
Yueqin soon noticed someone was secretly listening. When she saw that it was a young, handsome woodcutter, she thought, Though he is just a commoner, the way he listens so intently… he truly understands my music.
They both knew of each other’s presence, yet neither approached or spoke. Each believed the other unaware of their existence.
One day, Chen Ting heard no music. Disappointed and a little worried, he ventured into the osmanthus forest. As he suspected, there was no one there. Feeling something was amiss, he walked further and, as if guided by fate, arrived at the Celestial Pool—where he saw Yueqin bathing.
Embarrassed, Chen Ting blushed and quickly turned to leave. But then he noticed a group of men hiding behind a large rock, leering at Yueqin and slowly approaching her.
Realizing their intent, Chen Ting shouted, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
His voice startled Yueqin. She turned and saw the men with wicked intentions. With a flick of her wrist, her clothes flew from the shore and enveloped her like a veil. As she rose from the water, her clothes dressed her midair.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard screams.
The men, angry that Chen Ting had ruined their plans, turned on him. They pinned him down and began beating him.
Yueqin shook her head. Pointing at them, she cast a spell that made them turn on one another, fighting amongst themselves.
She grabbed Chen Ting’s hand, and together they fled to the osmanthus forest.
Blushing, Chen Ting said, “Miss, please don’t misunderstand—I’m not like them. I didn’t mean to see you bathing. I was just worried when I didn’t hear your music today, so I came to find you. I didn’t expect…”
Yueqin smiled gently. “I know. You’ve been listening to my music for months. If you were like them, you’d have acted long ago. I was late today due to some matters. Thankfully you were there, or the consequences would’ve been unimaginable.”
Only then did Chen Ting realize Yueqin had known of his presence all along.
After that day, he no longer had to listen from afar. Yueqin played for him directly.
Gradually, their feelings for each other deepened. But Chen Ting never dared express them.
One day, Yueqin couldn’t hold it in any longer and said, “I like you. Don’t you feel even a little something for me?”
Her frank confession left Chen Ting blushing and his heart racing. He couldn’t meet her gaze.
“I’m just a poor woodcutter, unworthy of love. Even mortal women look down on my poverty—how could I ever be worthy of a fairy like you?”
Yueqin chuckled softly.
“So that’s what’s been bothering you? You may be a woodcutter, rough and simple, but you understand my music. As the saying goes, it’s rare to find a true soulmate… rarer still, a kindred spirit.”
Moved, Chen Ting finally accepted her love. Yueqin descended to the mortal world more often, and the two were deeply in love.
But the Jade Emperor soon discovered the affair—and was furious.
“A fairy consorting with a mortal? Outrageous!”
He sent the God of Thunder to capture Yueqin. Chen Ting, trying to protect her, was struck by heavenly lightning and his soul was shattered.
Devastated, Yueqin knelt outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, refusing food or water, begging the Jade Emperor to let her see Chen Ting one last time.
At last, the Jade Emperor relented. He allowed Yueqin to descend to the mortal world once a year, on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, to reunite with Chen Ting.
And so, every Mid-Autumn Festival, the osmanthus forest echoes with the soft strains of a lute. People say it’s Yueqin and Chen Ting meeting once again.
Young lovers often visit the forest to make wishes, hoping for a love as deep, soulful, and eternal as theirs.