Yuanfen

Yuán(traditional Chinese:Duyên;simplified Chinese:Duyên;pinyin:yuán;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:iân) orYuanfen(traditional Chinese:Duyên phận;simplified Chinese:Duyên phận;pinyin:yuánfèn;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:iân-hūn), "fateful coincidence," is a concept in Chinese society describing good and bad chances and potential relationships.It can also be translated as "destiny, luck as conditioned by one's past", or "natural affinity among friends."It is comparable to the concept ofkarmainBuddhism,butyuanfenis interactive rather than individual. The driving forces and causes behindyuánfènare said to be actions done in previousincarnations.

ScholarsYang Kuo-shuand David Ho have analysed the psychological advantages of this belief: by assigning causality of negative events toyuanfenbeyond personal control, people tend to maintain good relationships, avoid conflict, and promote social harmony; likewise, when positive events are seen as a result ofyuanfen,personal credit is not directly assigned, which reduces pride on one side of the relationship and envy and resentment on the other.

Role in society

Yang Kuo-shuand David Ho trace the origins of the term to traditional Buddhism and observe thatyuanoryuanfenare important concepts. Yang and Ho's research found that these concepts are still very much alive in Chinese social life and culture among university students. The concepts ofyuanandyuanfenand beliefs in predestination and fatalism have waned, and belief in yuan has waned as well, but continuity with past conceptions is still strong.

Marc Moscowitz, an anthropologist, finds thatyuanfenappears frequently incontemporary popular music.Hereyuanfenrefers to a “karmic relationship” with someone who was known in a previous life and is used to explain the end of a relationship that was not destined to work out.

Popular usage

• The proverbial saying "have fate without destiny" ( có duyên không phận ) refers to couples who were fated tocometogether, but not destined tostaytogether, and as such is sometimes used as a break-up line.
• Upon meeting a person (of any gender) who is hard to find, one might aptly exclaim: "It isyuánfènthat has brought us together! "
• When one encounters another repeatedly in various locations such that it seems to be more than coincidence, one can refer toyuánfèn.
• As a counter-example, when two people know each other, e.g. aspenpals,but never have the opportunity to meet face-to-face, it can be said that theiryuánfènis too superficial or thin (Muôn đời đã tu luyện cùng thuyền độ, ngàn tái tu đến cộng gối miên;Muôn đời đã tu luyện cùng thuyền độ, ngàn tái tu đến cộng gối miên;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 preciousyuánfènis.
• An alternative of this proverb is:Tu mười năm mới ngồi chung thuyền, tu trăm năm mới cùng chăn gối(pinyin: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 ofmeditation(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 althoughyuanfenis 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,yuanfencan be thought of as the mechanism by which family members have been "placed" in each other's 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 ofyuanfen.The line of reasoning follows roughly as such: out of the seven 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

"Affinity occasion" could be a good translation ofyuánfèn,asyuánfèndepends on the probability, or chance, of meeting (or seeing) someone in the real world at any given time and place, and involves both persons feeling as if they have already known each other for a very long time, even though in reality, they haven't.

The concept of "synchronicity",first introduced by the Swiss psychologistCarl Jung,is a good English translation ofyuanfen.The French writerÉmile Deschampsclaims in his memoirs that in 1805, he was treated to someplum puddingby 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.

Oftenyuánfènis said to be the equivalent of "fate" (as in the title of a 1984 film, duyên phận, given the Western nameBehind the Yellow Line,also known asFate,starringLeslie Cheung), or "destiny". "Fateful affinity" is the term used to describeyuánfènby a leading character inHao Jingfang's novelJumpnautsinKen Liu's 2024 translation.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" ismìngyùn(Vận mệnh;Vận mệnh,literally "the turn of events in life" ).

"Providence"and"predestination"are not exact translations, because these words imply that things happen by the will of God orgods,whereasyuánfèndoes not necessarily involve divine intervention.

See also

• Chinese social relations
• Serendipity
• Wu
• Bao ying
• Ming yun

Sources

• Fan, Lizhu, and Chen Na (2013)The Revival of Indigenous Religion in China.Fudan University.
• Moskowitz, Marc L. (2010).Cries of Joy, Songs of Sorrow: Chinese Pop Music and Its Cultural Connotations.Honolulu: University of Hawai*i Press.ISBN9780824833695.[1]
• Yang, K.S.; Ho, David Y. F (1988)."The Role ofYuanin Chinese Social Life: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis "(PDF).Asian Contributions to Psychology, Edited by Paranjpe, Ho & Rieber, New York: Praeger Publishers:263–281..
• Deschamps, Émile (1873).Lemerre, Alphonse(ed.)."Œuvres complètes de Émile Deschamps: III: Prose: Première partie"[The Complete Works of Émile Deschamps] (in French). Paris:Alphonse Lemerre.pp. 262–265.Retrieved14 March2024– via Internet Archive. p. 265:Trois fois du plum-pudding dans ma vie, et trois fois M. de Fontgibu! Pourquoi cela? – Une quatrième fois, et je suis capable de tout, ou je ne suis plus capable de rien.
• Hao Jingfang(2024) [2021].Jumpnauts: A Novel.Translated byLiu, Ken.New York: Saga Press. p. 43.ISBN9781534422117– via Google Books.Surely you know that what matters the most in relationships is yuanfen. It's that kind of fateful affinity that brings about unbreakable bonds.