-An
invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet. regardless of
time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will
never break.
The
ancients in China believed in “fatalism,” that amidst the unknown
everything in life is predetermined. Hence, it was thought that one
should rarely force the issue in matters for fear of creating karma. The
Chinese idioms "The Old Man in the Moonlight" and "The Red String that
Binds the Predestined People" both come from an ancient parable that
illustrates how important events like marriages are predetermined.
According
to the parable, Wei Gu of Dulin lost his parents when he was little. He
wanted to get married early. However, all his marriage proposals were
unsuccessful. In the second year of Zhenguan during Emperor Tang
Taizong's reign, on a sightseeing trip to Chinghe, he stayed at a hotel
in the southern region of Song City. A traveler brought a prospect with
him, the daughter of Pan Fang, a former Chinghe government official. He
was invited to meet with the Pan family in front of Longxing Temple,
west of the hotel, the next morning.
Very early next morning, Wei
Gu, being eager to get married, rushed to the temple. The moon was
still lingering high above in the sky when he arrived. There was an old
man sitting on the steps, leaning on a bag and reading a book in the
moonlight. Wei Gu glanced at the book, but could not recognize the
writing. So, he asked the old man, "What kind of book are you reading,
sir? Ever since my youth, I've studied many different writings, even
Sanskrit. But I've never come across what’s written in this book. What’s
it all about?"
The old man smiled and said, "This isn't a book
from the human world. How could you have seen it?" Wei Gu asked, "Where
does the book come from?" The old man said, "It comes from the
netherworld." Then Wei Gu asked, "How can someone from the netherworld
appear here?" The old man replied, "It's not that I should not be here,
but that you have arrived too early. All officers of the netherworld
have jurisdiction over and administer matters in the human world. How
can we not be here?"
Wei Gu asked, "Tell me, please, What are you
responsible for?" The old man replied, "Marriages in the human world."
Wei Gu was elated and said, "My parents died when I was little. I want
to get married early to ensure the family name is passed on
uninterrupted. However, all my marriage proposals during the last
10-plus years were rejected. Somebody told me about official Pan's
daughter. That’s why I am here today. Do you think this marriage will
consummate?"
The old man responded, "No. The woman you'll marry
has just turned three. She'll be your wife when she turns 17." Wei Gu
asked, "What's in your bag?" The old man said, "Red strings used to tie
together the feet of couples. Once they are destined to marry each
other, I’ll tie their feet together with this red string. Whether these
two are foes, polarized by extreme disparity of wealth or poverty, or
separated by vast distances, as long as the red string is tied, they
will be together. When your feet are tied to hers, why search for
another?"
Wei Gu asked, "Who is my wife? Where does she live?"
The old man answered, "The girl was born into a family that sells
vegetables, north of the hotel." Wei Gu asked, "May I see her?" The old
man said, "She is always with the old woman who sells vegetables. Come
with me and I'll point her out to you." They waited until sunrise, but
the people Wei Gu was supposed to meet at the temple didn't show up that
morning. The old man closed the book and picked up the bag. Wei Gu
followed the old man to the market.
There they saw an old woman
with one eye blind who held a three-year-old girl. Both looked very
dirty and ugly. The old man pointed to the girl and said to Wei Gu,
"That's your wife." Wei Gu angrily asked, "Can I kill her?" The old man
responded, "This girl is destined to be very wealthy and enjoy life’s
blessings together with you. How can you kill her?" Then the old man
disappeared.
Wei Gu sharpened a knife after he went back home. He
gave the knife to his servant and told him, "You've always handled
matters well. If you can kill this girl for me, I'll reward you with
10,000 coins." The servant promised to carry out Wei Gu's wish. He went
to the market hiding the knife in his sleeve. He waited for a chaotic
moment when there were lots of people jostling around. He stabbed the
girl and hurried away.
After the servant returned, Wei Gu asked,
"Did you stab her?" The servant replied, "I tried to stab her heart, but
missed the target, and stabbed her between the eyebrows instead."
Wei
Gu continued proposing marriages with no success. Another 14 years went
by when, owing to his late father's contacts, he was offered a job
working for Wang Tai, a defense officer at Xiangzhou. Wei Gu was put in
charge of interrogating prisoners. Wang Tai gave him his daughter's hand
in marriage because he found Wei Gu to be quite capable. Wei Gu's wife
was between 16 and 17 years old and beautiful. Wei Gu was very pleased.
However, he found his wife always put a small artificial flower between
her eyebrows and would never remove it, even when taking a bath.
At
the end of the year, he asked his wife why she always wore an
artificial flower between her eyebrows. She told him in tears, "I'm
actually Wang Tai's niece, not his daughter. My father was the head of a
county and died in office. I was a baby at the time. My mother and
brother died soon after. The only property my parents left me was a
house south of the city of Song. I lived there with my nanny, Chen. We
survived by selling vegetables. Chen felt sorry for me and always took
care of me. When I was three, Chen took me to the market where a crazy
man stabbed me between my eyebrows leaving a scar, which I cover up with
an artificial flower. About 7 or 8 years later, my uncle came to Lulong
to take up a position. He adopted me as his daughter and I moved in
with him and subsequently married you."
Wei Gu asked, "Did nanny
Chen have one blind eye?" His wife said, "Yes, how did you know?" Wei Gu
confessed, "That crazy man was actually sent by me." Then he told his
wife the whole story.
Thereafter, the couple became even more
respectful of each other. Later they had a son, named Wei Kun, who
became the governor of Yanmen. His mother also received high honors from
the throne because of him.
Destiny cannot be changed by man.
When the mayor of Song City learned about this incident, he named that
hotel west of Longxing Temple the "Engagement Hotel."
Ever since then, nuptial intermediaries are referred to as "The Old Man in the Moonlight."
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