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Some believe that the driving forces and causes behind yuanfen are the actions done in the previous reincarnations. This aspect is therefore similar to karma of Buddhism. However, while karma often refers to the consequences of an individual's actions on him- or herself, "yuan" is always used in conjunction with two persons.

Unlike other Chinese social relations, which describe abstract, but easily noticeable, connections between people, nowadays, Chinese merely use this word poetically or to emphasize a meant-to-be relationship, and almost never in a serious business or legal situation.

1 Usage

• When one meets a person (of either gender) who is hard to find, one can exclaim: "It is yuanfen that has brought us together!"
• When one encounters another repeatedly in various locations that it seems to be beyond coincidence, one can refer to yuanfen.
• On the contrary, when two persons who know each other (maybe as penpals) but never get a chance to meet face-to-face, it can be said that their yuanfen is too superficial or thin.

The Mandarin proverb: 百世修来同船渡，千载修得共枕眠 ( pinyin: bai3 shi4 xiu1 lai2 tong2 chuan2 du4, qian1 zai4 xiu1 de2 gong4 zheng3 mian2)

• Literally: It takes hundreds of reincarnations to bring two persons to ride on the same boat; it takes a thousand eons to bring two persons to share the same pillow.

2 Translations

Often yuanfen is said to be the equivalent of "fate" (as is with the title of a 1984 movie starring Leslie CheungLeslie Cheung Kwok Wing ( Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhng Guorong, WG: Chang Kuo-jung) ( September 12, 1956 April 1, 2003) was a Cantopop singer and the star of several Hong Kong movies. His fans passionately called him Gor-gor () or "destiny". 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" is mingyun (命運 ming4 yun4), literally "the turn of events in life".

"Providence" and " predestinationPredestination is a religious idea, under which the relationship between the beginning of things and the destiny of things is discussed. Its religious nature distinguishes it from other ideas concerning determinism and free will, and related concepts." are also not exact translations, because these words imply that the things happen by the will of GodThis article focuses on the concept of singular, monotheistic God . See deity, gods, or goddesses for details on divine entities in specific religions and mythologies. God is a term referring to the supreme being generally believed to be ruler or creator or godChinese mythology is the mythology of Chinese civilization. Many of the legends of Chinese mythology take place during the period of Sanhuangwudi. Important mythologies and deities Nuwa : Nuwa seals the broken sky using stones of seven different colours ts, whereas yuanfen does not necessarily involve divine intervention.

See also: Chinese social relations