A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER TWENTY
On the Matter of Yue Lao — 月老 — the Old Man Under the Moon
His name is Yue Lao — 月老.
Yue — 月 — means moon.
Lao — 老 — means old. Elder.
Together — 月老 — the Old Moon. The Moon Elder.
His full name is Yue Xia Lao Ren — 月下老人.
Yue Xia — 月下 — means under the moon.
Lao Ren — 老人 — means old man.
Together — 月下老人 — the Old Man Under the Moon.
He is also called Yue Lao Xingjun — 月老星君 — Old Moon and Ruler of Stars.
He is also called Yue Lao Ye — 月老爺 — Grandfather Old Moon.
He is the god of love and marriage — 愛情與婚姻之神 — aiqing yu hunyin zhi shen.
He is the divine matchmaker.
He decides who marries whom.
He decided this before they were born.
He ties the decision into place with a red thread.
The thread cannot be undone.
Not by distance. Not by enmity. Not by difference in social rank. Not by difference in wealth. Not by death.
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On the oldest record.
The oldest verified recording of Yue Lao is found in the Xu Xuan Guai Lu — 續玄怪錄 — the Sequel to the Collection of Mysteries.
This is a collection of supernatural tales compiled during the late Tang dynasty — 唐朝 — Tang Chao — by the writer Li Fuyan — 李復言.
The Tang dynasty ruled from 618 to 907 of the common era.
The specific story is set during the second year of the Yuanhe era — 元和二年 — approximately 807 to 810 of the common era.
The story is called The Old Man Under the Moon — 月下老人 — Yue Xia Lao Ren.
It is also called The Inn of Marriage Engagement — 定婚店 — Ding Hun Dian.
This is the source. Everything recorded about Yue Lao traces back to this single Tang dynasty text.
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On his appearance.
He is depicted as a kind and smiling old man — 和藹可親的老人 — he'ai keqin de laoren.
He has a long white beard — 長白鬍鬚 — chang bai huxu.
He wears yellow imperial robes — 黃色皇袍 — huangse huangpao.
His expression is benevolent — 慈祥 — cixiang.
In his right hand he carries a walking stick — 手杖 — shouzhan.
In his left hand he holds a thick book — 厚書 — hou shu — filled with the names of couples who are destined to be together.
In his pouch — 布袋 — budai — he carries balls of red silk thread — 紅絲線 — hong si xian — invisible to mortal eyes.
He appears under moonlight — 月光 — yueguang.
He appears at night.
He is rarely seen in daylight.
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On the Book of Marriages — 婚姻簿 — Hunyin Bu.
The book he carries records all marriages — 婚姻 — hunyin — that will occur among all mortals.
It records the names of future husbands and wives.
It records the dates of their unions.
The records were set before they were born.
They cannot be altered.
In some accounts, Yue Lao receives reports from the Heavenly Court — 天庭 — Tian Ting — about individuals who have come of age.
He reviews the records.
He determines the match.
He begins to bind them together.
In other accounts the matches are already recorded in the book and Yue Lao simply executes what is already written.
Both versions are recorded here.
Neither version grants the mortal any choice in the matter.
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On the red thread of fate — 姻緣紅線 — Yinyuan Hong Xian.
Hong Xian — 紅線 — means red thread.
Hong — 紅 — means red. The color of good fortune — 福 — fu. The color of marriage — 婚 — hun.
Xian — 線 — means thread. String. Cord.
The full term is Yinyuan Hong Xian — 姻緣紅線 — the Red Thread of Fate that Binds Marriages.
Yue Lao ties this thread to the ankles — 腳踝 — jiaohui — of couples destined to be together.
In the original text the thread is tied to the ankles.
In Japanese and Korean traditions the thread moved to the pinky finger.
In contemporary depictions the thread is most often tied to the pinkies.
The original Chinese text specifies the ankles.
This distinction is noted.
The thread is invisible to mortal eyes.
The couple does not know it is there.
They are drawn toward each other by forces they cannot name.
Yue Lao knows it is there.
He put it there himself.
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On the story of Wei Gu — 韋固.
Wei Gu — 韋固 — was a young man of the Tang dynasty.
His parents died when he was still a child.
He had no social connections.
He struggled to find a wife.
No officials were willing to give their daughters to a man of no status.
He failed in his attempts many times.
One year he traveled to Song City — 宋城 — Song Cheng.
A friend at the inn offered to arrange an introduction.
He would introduce Wei Gu to the daughter of the deputy mayor of Qing He County — 清河縣 — Qinghe Xian.
They agreed to meet at Longxing Temple — 龍興寺 — Longxing Si — at dawn the next morning.
Wei Gu arrived before dawn.
It was still dark.
He saw an old man sitting on the ground in the moonlight.
The old man leaned against a large cloth sack — 布袋 — budai.
He was reading a thick book.
Wei Gu approached.
He looked at the book.
He could not read the script.
He asked the old man what he was reading.
The old man replied: the book of marriages for all under heaven.
Wei Gu asked: then who is my wife?
The old man replied: your turn has not yet come. Your future wife is only three years old. She will be your wife when she is seventeen.
Wei Gu did not believe this.
He asked: what is in your sack?
The old man replied: red threads. These threads are used to tie the feet of husbands and wives. No matter whether they are enemies. No matter how far apart they live. No matter whether they are poor or rich. No matter whether they are from different countries. Once I tie these threads to their feet they will become husband and wife. Your feet are already tied. There is no use searching further.
Wei Gu did not believe this either.
The old man stood up.
He walked toward the market.
Wei Gu followed.
They passed a stall where a half-blind old woman — 半盲老婦 — ban mang laofu — sat selling vegetables.
The woman carried a small girl — about three years old — in her arms.
Both the woman and the girl were dressed in rags.
The old man pointed to the girl.
He said: she is the one who will be your wife.
Wei Gu was furious.
He was a nobleman's son.
He refused to believe he was destined to marry the child of a blind vegetable seller.
He asked: can I not change this fate?
The old man said: I am afraid not. It is a fate match. No one can change it.
Wei Gu said: what if I kill her?
The old man did not answer.
He vanished.
Wei Gu returned to the inn.
He sharpened a knife.
He gave the knife to his servant.
He said: if you kill that girl I will give you ten thousand guan — 貫 — ancient Chinese coins.
The next day the servant went to the market.
He stabbed the child between the eyebrows.
The marketplace erupted into chaos.
The servant ran.
He reported to Wei Gu: I intended to stab her in the heart. I only managed to wound her forehead between the eyebrows.
Wei Gu paid the servant.
He gave up his plan and continued his search.
He failed in his attempts year after year.
Fourteen years passed.
Wei Gu became a government official at Xiangzhou — 相州 — Xiangzhou.
He served the governor Wang Tai — 王泰 — with distinction.
Wang Tai offered him his daughter in marriage as a reward.
The daughter was beautiful and educated.
But she could not find any suitors.
No one had wanted her.
Wei Gu did not understand why.
On their wedding night his wife wore a decorative headband — 頭飾 — toushi — that covered her forehead.
She wore it at all times.
Wei Gu asked her why she never removed it.
She told him the truth.
She said: I am not actually the governor's daughter. I am his niece. My parents both died when I was very young. A half-blind old nurse raised me. One day a strange man entered the market and stabbed me between the eyebrows for no reason. The wound healed but left a scar. I have covered it ever since.
Wei Gu felt the shock move through him.
He recognized the story.
He recognized the scar.
He recognized his wife.
He told her everything.
She forgave him.
The city of Song City later named an inn after this event.
The inn was called the Inn of Marriage Engagement — 定婚店 — Ding Hun Dian.
The name recorded the story.
People passed through the city and heard the story.
The story spread across all of China.
Yue Lao's name became known everywhere.
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On the proverb.
There is a proverb that came from this story.
It says: Qian li yin yuan yi xian qian — 千里姻緣一線牽.
It means: A marriage of a thousand li bound by a single thread.
The distance does not matter.
The thread is already tied.
The two will find each other.
This proverb is still used today.
It is used when two people meet unexpectedly and feel an immediate connection.
It is used when an unlikely couple somehow ends up together.
It is used when distance was overcome.
It is used when all odds were against the union.
And the union happened anyway.
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On his residence.
He is said to live in the moon — 月亮 — yueliang — in some accounts.
He is said to live in the obscure regions — 幽冥 — you ming — in other accounts.
He lives on the boundary between the light world and the dark world.
He sees what is coming for people from either side.
He ties the thread regardless of where either person stands.
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On the worship ritual.
Temples dedicated to Yue Lao receive visitors who wish to find a husband or wife.
The worshipper burns incense — 香 — xiang.
The worshipper speaks their wish.
If they have identified a specific person they wish to be with, they provide that person's details as well.
If they have not yet found anyone, they simply express the wish for a match.
After prayer the worshipper receives a red thread — 紅線 — hong xian — from the temple.
The custom is to take only a single thread.
Taking multiple threads is said to entangle the person in multiple complicated relationships simultaneously.
One thread. One match. One fate.
The thread is worn around the wrist as a token of the wish.
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On his birthday.
His birthday is the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month — 八月十五 — ba yue shi wu.
This is the same day as the Mid-Autumn Festival — 中秋節 — Zhongqiu Jie.
The moon is fullest on this night.
He is most powerful on this night.
Worshippers seeking love visit his temples on this night above all others.
Some traditions also observe his birthday on Valentine's Day — 情人節 — Qingren Jie — in the Western calendar.
This is a modern addition.
The original birthday is the fifteenth of the eighth month.
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On his presence in classical literature.
He is referenced in the Dream of the Red Chamber — 紅樓夢 — Honglou Meng.
He is referenced in the Water Margin — 水滸傳 — Shuihu Zhuan.
In classical Chinese opera — 戲曲 — xiqu — he appears in comedic and touching roles.
He brings together couples who would never have met without his intervention.
He brings together couples who actively resisted meeting.
The opera audience always knows the outcome before the characters do.
The red thread is already tied.
The audience can see it even when the characters cannot.
This is the pleasure of watching Yue Lao's story unfold.
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On what he represents.
He represents the Chinese belief in yuan — 緣 — fate. Predestined connection.
Yuan — 緣 — means fate. Connection. The invisible thread that links two beings.
The word yuan appears in many Chinese compound words related to relationships.
Yuan fen — 緣分 — means the fate that connects people.
It is used for any meaningful connection: friendship, marriage, meeting.
It carries the sense of something that was already written.
The concept of yuan fen predates Yue Lao.
Yue Lao gave yuan fen a face.
He gave it a book.
He gave it a thread.
He made it visible.
He is the mechanism behind what was always already true: some connections are not accidental.
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY