There’s an old story in Chinese folklore about a magical connection between two people that are destined to be soul mates, called ‘the red string of fate’.
It’s not the kind of connection we’re used to thinking of, where you fall in love with your soul mate and feel an intense connection to them.
In Chinese folklore the red string of fate is an actual object… a string that’s red (are you surprised lol) but also invisible at the same time. It’s tied to a pinky finger of every person on earth and stretches all the way out to the pinky finger of their soulmate wherever that is, regardless of time and space. Legend says that the string can get very tangled up but it will never break.
The red string of fate is tied by a being called the Old Man Under The Moon and once he has bound you to your soul mate your destiny is set, no matter what you think:
RED STRING OF FATE STORY
A boy was walking home one night and was startled to see an old man leaning up against a fence beneath the moonlight. The old man was standing next to a giant bag and flipping through a book.
‘What are you reading?’ said the boy.
‘This is the book of marriages,’ said the old man, ‘I need only use one of the red strings in this bag to tie two people together and they will become destined to be married.’
The boy didn’t believe it so the old man took him into the village and pointed out the young girl that was destined to be his wife.
The boy became angry as he was really young and did not plan on ever getting married. He picked up a rock and threw it at the girl and ran away from the whole scene as fast as he could.
Many years later the boy’s parents arranged a marriage for him and on the night of the wedding the boy (well, actually a man now) nervously lifted the veil covering his new wife’s face.
He was happy to see that she was one of the most beautiful women in the village. But he also noticed that she wore an unusual decoration on her eyebrow and asked her about it out of curiosity.
Flustered, she removed the decoration to reveal a scar. She explained that when she was very young someone had thrown a rock at her and it had hit her in the face right above the eye…
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Awkward! The question now is does he tell her he was the one who threw the rock and scarred her for life (I say yes)? And if so at what point does he bring it up, now or later?
I like this question at the end! I try to put myself in his shoes and think: Should I tell her? Ok I sould! Oh no…! wait! maybe not! — hmmmm nah! Yes I´ll tell her it was me!
But wait! What will she earn by knowing this? In other hand,… Honesty is the fundation for a marriage I guess. So she told me and showed me her scar, how can I tell her that I made that scar when I was younger and rebel? Will she believe me?
Oh My Headache is back!
I threw a rock to the love of my life, right back when we were kinds.
Anita, do you remember the movie called WHAT DREAMS MAY COME (1998)? Robin Williams who plays the leader character goes through the loss of his children and himself, beyond death, He finds his family again, his wife who has lost in darkness. He explained during all the time that the destiny had made them to be together again and again, after death and life.
So at the end He remembered something: “When I was young, I met this beautiful girl at a lake”
In the jungly of daily life, hundred of ppl, millions in the city, different perspectives, life styles, traffic, noises,..etc. They found each other when adult.
So if that happened once, they could do it all over again because there was this string bounding each other.
Hi Nairim,
What Dreams May Come ah yeah I’ve seen that movie, it’s a good one …gets me right in the heart every time I see it lol. It’s definitely one of those movies that keeps me thinking about many of the scenes long after I watch it.
I’m so glad you brought What Dreams May Come up in relation to The Red String Of Fate story, I had never made the connection before and it brings a whole new perspective to the movie!
paaah!!! what a story and i always like your blog
Thanks Thanishka, happy that you liked the Red String Of Fate story!
Love it , love it, love it I adore your blog so much.
Hi Crystal,
Aw thanks X). It really does mean a lot to me that you like the stories here.
i love your blog and i think this story is absolutely amazing as well as real. i just hope we all find our soul mates. =] <3
Hi America,
Glad you enjoyed the stories here and especially the Red String Of Fate story! For me it’s really nice to think about how the story originated many centuries ago and has been passed down from generation to generation ever since until it got to us. There must be some kind of fate in that X).
I am very drawn to the red string legend and want to believe in it <3