A single thread across a thousand li:
There is no doubt that of all the kinds of fate. it is the fate that governs marriage which is most able to touch and soften people's hearts. "Those whom fate binds together will find each other though separated by a thousand li; those whom fate does not bind will not know each other though standing face to face"; "A single thread draws those fated to marry together across a thousand li"; "Marriages are made in heaven," and so on are all heartfelt words of congratulation for lovers able to have the good fortune to meet, the heart to understand each other, the feelings to love each other and finally the destiny to spend their lives together.
According to legend, the fate which governs marriage is controlled by the book of marriage fate in the hands of the Old Man Under the Moon, who uses the red silken thread in his pocket to firmly link the feet of boys and girls destined to become husband and wife, so that they may one day meet. This further adds a sense of beauty to the fate governing marriage.
Professor Yang Kuo-shu observes that there is no clear biological process which can explain the mutual attraction or rejection between marriage partners or friends of opposite sexes, and so fate becomes the most satisfactory explanation for those mysterious states of the soul.
"Perhaps it is the indistinct nature of the concept of fate which makes it so applicable to people's everyday lives, which drift around the edges of the nets and structures of norms, without the severity and precision of Western civilization. Thus many life experiences, whether joyful or tragic, become acceptable when explained as fate. The people involved get an immediate spiritual release, and can face life once again." This is how Professor Yeh Chi-cheng of Taiwan University's Sociology Department analyzes the way "fate", plays a "consoling" role in the lives of ordinary Chinese. And for this process to take effect, "one does not need empirical evidence, one need only believe."
Everything is determined by fate:
Chinese people apply the concept of fate not only to love, but to all relationships between people, including the blood fate which binds one to parents and relatives, the marriage fate between husband and wife, the fate of friendship which ties friends together, and even the "Buddha fate" and the bonds of fate between the living and the dead which link humans to the world beyond. In other words, for the Chinese, fate is a kind of pre-allotted or predetermined human relationship.
Professor Li Pei-liang of Hong Kong Chinese University's Sociology Department has said: "In the minds of many Hong Kong Chinese, the concept of fate is a completely natural one, which they apply in understanding the relationships between all things and events."
Apart from the bonds of fate between people, the concept of fate may also be applied to things or events. When applied to things, it refers to the relationships between people and physical objects such as antiques, household furniture, small animals like cats and dogs, and so on. When applied to events or activities, it refers to the relationship between people and events, such as investment in stocks, employment and so forth.
In a nutshell, the concept of fate in Chinese people's everyday lives provides a simple reason which can explain the meeting and parting, joining and separation, attraction or rejection between all things.
This attitude of ascribing everything to fate could be described as "pan-fatalism." If somebody loves to read books, we say they have "book fate"; if somebody loves watching theater or is good at acting we say they have "theater fate"; a person who collects teapots we say has "teapot fate"; and if somebody is particularly photogenic we say they have "lens fate" ....
Professor Yang Kuo-shu observes that using fate to explain the harmonious relationships between people and things and events of all kinds is simply a way of describing an ineffable state of congeniality. "It is as if things which one could not explain in a whole day, if one just calls them fate, it is enough to reach a common intuitive understanding."
Professor Yeh Chi-cheng of Taiwan University's Sociology Department believes that for Chinese people, fate is a system for explaining human beings' relationship with the universe, and allows one to glimpse a special facet of Chinese culture: humanity's position is one of co-existence with and tolerance of nature, and not of one-sided subjugation and possession.
Better no fate than ill fate:
Of course, fate as understood by the Chinese is not confined to harmonious and happy interactions, but also includes relationships of conflict and suffering. Long term, permanent bonds of fate between relatives such as father and son, or the fleeting, chance relation ships of brief encounters with strangers may all be governed by a satisfying, kindly fate or equally by tragic ill fortune. Miss Chen, who works at the Taipei Life Insurance Association, feels that there is no bond of fate between her and her mother, because her mother constantly enumerates her faults in front of friends and family. She says that "for me the feeling that 'mother and daughter's hearts are linked' is something unattainable."
The Chinese have a saying that "It takes 10 years [of cultivation in past lives] to [create the bonds of fate to] cross a river in the same boat with someone, and 100 years to share the same pillow for life." But though fate may destine people to meet or even to marry this does not guarantee that it is a good or kind fate. When devoted sweethearts whom love's marathon has brought to the altar make their vows among the good wishes of friends and relations, this does not mean that henceforth they will live happily ever after like a prince and princess in a fairy tale. In fact there are many seemingly well-matched couples who do not pass life's rough test, and whose marriages become unhappy ones.
Seen in this way, from the process of meeting and separation one can only say whether or not fate links two people together. But to know whether the fate which links them is good or bad, one must see whether their final relationship is harmonious. Thus the concept of fate only governs people's meetings with things and events, but whether the relationship that develops after such a meeting brings fulfillment or disappointment all depends on a person's own efforts. This is the meaning of the expression "the teacher can point the way, but the path each person follows is his own."
Fate as an "attributional process":
Why is fate so important in Chinese society?
In his Fate and its Role in Modern life, Professor Yang Kuo-shu points out that since ancient times, China has been a country based on agriculture, and that the agrarian lifestyle requires large amounts of time and manpower and a stable social structure; this prompted the development of Chinese-style collectivism centered on the family clan. Within the clan, individuals strive to maintain solidarity and harmony among its members, and they care about others' opinions about themselves. And fate plays an effective role in maintaining harmonious human relationships.
Looked at from the standpoint of social psychology, ascribing the existence or absence and the quality of human relationships to an external factor--fate, with its connotations of predetermination--is nothing other than a process of attribution, in which responsibility for all meetings and partings between people is laid at fate's door. This attributional process not only has the effect of protecting oneself and others, but also enables people to better tolerate existing circumstances, and maintains the stability of the clan and of human relationships. This was essential in enabling the members of agricultural society to accept its rigid social structure without complaint.
In other words, when human relationships succeed or fail, invoking fate is an effective method of protecting oneself and society. Traditionally, the Chinese prefer to attribute harmony in their relationships to good fate rather than to good character or actions. For instance, by ascribing a happy marriage, paternal benevolence or filial piety to fate, one may avoid arousing self-reproach or envy in unhappily married couples or unfilial children, which might destroy harmony; by doing so one can also display modesty and thus earn social approval.
A lucky doctor treats you when you're getting well:
How does this apparently fuzzy concept of "fate," which nevertheless is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, affect people's actions? Under the influence of fate, do individuals feel that their own position is completely passive?
In his Social Science and Local Consciousness, as Evidenced by the Role of Fate in Medicine, Professor Li Pei-liang analyzes how belief in fate in regard to medicine affects how people seek treatment.
His research shows that belief in the role of fate in medicine increases patients' propensity to switch doctors. Many people believe that doctors and patients must by linked by bonds of predestiny for treatment to be effective. Thus when patients seek treatment, apart from considering the level of a doctor's skill, they will also consider whether they and the doctor are linked by fate. Swift recovery shows that such links exist; a slow recovery shows that no link of fate exists, and the patient will seek another doctor. For those who believe in fate in medicine, changing doctors is a rational act which assists treatment and recovery.
Thus Hong Kong Chinese have a saying that "a lucky doctor treats patients who are getting well." This saying reflects how widespread the practice of changing doctors is.
"Going with the flow" brings contentment:
Whether or not there is really a pair of invisible hands controlling our relationships, people still place their hope in the action of fate. Someone has said: "Fate cannot work without desire. and only when one cherishes fate will it bring fulfillment." Through the joys and sorrows, partings and reunions which life brings, and which one can neither predict nor control, perhaps to cherish them is the best footnote one can give to each period of life fate brings.
Faced with each of the joys and tribulations of human existence, and the inexplicable pattern of life, by simply sighing, "It must be fate!" one can pick up the pieces of one's own emotions and be ready to face the next day. It seems that deep in their souls, Chinese people have forged inextricable links with fate. After all, by accepting fate one can remain contented whatever it brings.
[Picture Caption]
p.27
Though fate has waited long to bring these lovers together, they will not let their destiny pass them by.
p.28
I don't know who owes whom the greater debt from our past lives, but sitting on your shoulders I can see the broad sky and the wide ocean.
p.31
These scars will mark the end of her secular destiny and bind her life t o the Buddha. (photo by Vincent Chang)
p.32
Although we are fated to cross in the same boat, if there is no spark between us when we meet, then once we reach the other shore you will go your way and I mine.