Yuanfen
Encyclopedia
Yuan or Yuanfen ' onMouseout='HidePop("4772")' href="/topics/Vietnamese_language">Vietnamese
: duyên phận) is a Buddhist-related Chinese
concept that means the predetermined
principle that dictates a person's relationships and encounters such as the affinity among friend
s or lovers. In common usage the term can be defined as the "binding force" that links two persons together in any relationship. The concept of synchronicity
from the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung
can be seen as similar to yuánfèn, which Chinese people also believe to be a universal force governing the happening of things to some people at some places. Yuánfèn belongs to the family of concept
s known in theology
as determinism
.
Some believe that the driving forces and causes behind yuánfèn are the actions done in the previous rebirth
s. Therefore, it can be understood as the relational- as opposed to the physical- aspect of karma
in Buddhism
. However, while karma often refers to the consequences of an individual's actions on him- or herself, yuán is always used in conjunction with two persons.
The proverb yǒu yuán wú fèn (有緣無份), "Have fate without destiny," is sometimes used to describe couples who meet, but who do not for whatever reason stay together.
Unlike other Chinese social relations
, which describe abstract, but easily noticeable, connections between people, nowadays, the Chinese almost never use this word in a serious business or legal situation.
The proverb: 百世修来同船渡，千载修得共枕眠 (pinyin
: bǎi shì xiū lái tóng chuán dù, qiān zǎi xiū dé gòng zhěn mián)
The French writer Émile Deschamps claims in his memoirs that in 1805, he was treated to some plum pudding by a stranger named Monsieur de Fontgibu. Ten years later, the writer encountered plum pudding on the menu of a Paris restaurant and wanted to order some, but the waiter told him that the last dish had already been served to another customer, who turned out to be de Fontgibu. Many years later, in 1832, Deschamps was at a dinner and once again ordered plum pudding. He recalled the earlier incident and told his friends that only de Fontgibu was missing to make the setting complete—and in the same instant, the now senile de Fontgibu entered the room.
Often yuánfèn is said to be the equivalent of "fate" (as is with the title of a 1984 movie
, given the western name Behind the Yellow Line, starring Leslie Cheung
) or "destiny". However, these words do not have the element of the past playing a role in deciding the outcome of the uncertain future. The most common Chinese term for "fate" or "destiny" is mìngyùn (命運), literally "the turn of events in life".
"Providence" and "predestination
" are also not exact translations, because these words imply that the things happen by the will of God
or god
s, whereas yuánfèn does not necessarily involve divine intervention.
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
: duyên phận) is a Buddhist-related Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
concept that means the predetermined
Predeterminism
Predeterminism is the idea that every event is caused, not simply by the immediately prior events, but by a causal chain of events that goes back well before recent events...
principle that dictates a person's relationships and encounters such as the affinity among friend
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
s or lovers. In common usage the term can be defined as the "binding force" that links two persons together in any relationship. The concept of synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner...
from the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
can be seen as similar to yuánfèn, which Chinese people also believe to be a universal force governing the happening of things to some people at some places. Yuánfèn belongs to the family of concept
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
s known in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
as determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
.
Some believe that the driving forces and causes behind yuánfèn are the actions done in the previous rebirth
Rebirth (Buddhism)
Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the evolving consciousness or stream of consciousness upon death , becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new aggregation...
s. Therefore, it can be understood as the relational- as opposed to the physical- aspect of karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
in Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. However, while karma often refers to the consequences of an individual's actions on him- or herself, yuán is always used in conjunction with two persons.
The proverb yǒu yuán wú fèn (有緣無份), "Have fate without destiny," is sometimes used to describe couples who meet, but who do not for whatever reason stay together.
Unlike other Chinese social relations
Chinese social relations
Chinese social relations are social relations typified by a reciprocal social network. Often social obligations within the network are characterized in familial terms. The individual link within the social network is known by guanxi and the feeling within the link is known by the term ganqing...
, which describe abstract, but easily noticeable, connections between people, nowadays, the Chinese almost never use this word in a serious business or legal situation.
Usage
- The proverbial saying "Have fate without destinyDestinyDestiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
" refers to couples who were fated to come together, but not destined to stay together, and as such is sometimes used as a break-up line. - Upon meeting a person (of either gender) who is hard to find, one might aptly exclaim: "It is yuánfèn that has brought us together!"
- When one encounters another repeatedly in various locations such that it seems to be more than coincidence, one can refer to yuánfèn.
- As a counter-example, when two people know each other, e.g. as penpals, but never have the opportunity to meet face-to-face, it can be said that their yuánfèn is too superficial or thin.
The proverb: 百世修来同船渡，千载修得共枕眠 (pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: bǎi shì xiū lái tóng chuán dù, qiān zǎi xiū dé gòng zhěn mián)
- Literally: It takes hundreds of rebirths to bring two persons to ride in the same boat; it takes a thousand eons to bring two persons to share the same pillow. This goes to show just how precious yuánfèn is.
- An alternative of this proverb is: 十年修得同船渡，百年修得共枕眠 (pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: shí nián xiū dé tóng chuán dù, bǎi nián xiū dé gòng zhěn mián),which means literally: ten years of meditation (or good deeds) bring two people to cross a river in the same ferry, and a hundred years of meditationMeditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
(or good deeds) bring two people to rest their heads on the same pillow. It conveys the same message.
- It is important to note that although yuanfen is often used in the context of lovers' relationships, the concept itself is much broader and can refer to any relationship between people under any circumstance. For example, yuanfen can be thought of as the mechanism by which family members have been "placed" in each others lives. On the other hand, even two strangers sitting next to each other on a short-haul plane ride are also thought to have a certain amount of yuanfen. The line of reasoning follows roughly as such: out of the six billion or so people living on this planet, the odds of two specific persons riding in an airplane together are astronomically small. Thus, two specific persons riding together on a plane have beaten out all odds to end up in those specific seats. If, in addition to their chance encounter, they happen to strike up an engaging conversation and find that they have common interests--perhaps in cinema, music, and/or photography--it makes their meeting all the more precious, and the depth of their yuanfen all the more noteworthy.
Translations
The concept of "synchronicity" from the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung is the closest English translation of Yuanfen.The French writer Émile Deschamps claims in his memoirs that in 1805, he was treated to some plum pudding by a stranger named Monsieur de Fontgibu. Ten years later, the writer encountered plum pudding on the menu of a Paris restaurant and wanted to order some, but the waiter told him that the last dish had already been served to another customer, who turned out to be de Fontgibu. Many years later, in 1832, Deschamps was at a dinner and once again ordered plum pudding. He recalled the earlier incident and told his friends that only de Fontgibu was missing to make the setting complete—and in the same instant, the now senile de Fontgibu entered the room.
Often yuánfèn is said to be the equivalent of "fate" (as is with the title of a 1984 movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, given the western name Behind the Yellow Line, starring Leslie Cheung
Leslie Cheung
Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing , nicknamed elder brother , was a film actor and musician from Hong Kong. Cheung was considered as "one of the founding fathers of Cantopop", and "combining a hugely successful film and music career".In 2000, Cheung was named Asian Biggest Superstar by China Central...
) or "destiny". However, these words do not have the element of the past playing a role in deciding the outcome of the uncertain future. The most common Chinese term for "fate" or "destiny" is mìngyùn (命運), literally "the turn of events in life".
"Providence" and "predestination
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
" are also not exact translations, because these words imply that the things happen by the will of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
or god
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
s, whereas yuánfèn does not necessarily involve divine intervention.