One year, on the seventh day of July, that is, the day when the cowherd and the weaver girl met in heaven, the bronze cow suddenly came to life. It left its original position, walked into the lake step by step, and swam to the Weaver Girl Pavilion. But Kunming Lake was too big, and the bronze cow sank in the middle of swimming. People quickly reported to Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi began to disbelieve and went to the Seventeen-hole Bridge to see that the bronze cow was gone. What shall we do? Tianhe can't live without the cowherd! So he ordered to make a bronze cow and put it in its original place. In case it gets away again, chain it.
On July 7th of the following year, Tongniu moved again. Seeing that the chain could not be tied, Cixi quickly sent a strong man with several bodyguards to hold it. Several strong men tried their best to pull the cow's tail, but the tail snapped because of too much force. Fortunately, someone brought a thicker chain at this moment, and too many cooks finally locked the bronze cow.
Since then, a copper cow with a broken tail has been left by Kunming Lake.