有yǒu緣yuán千qiān里lǐ來lái相xiāng會huì，無wú緣yuán對duì面miàn不bù相xiāng逢féng

What does 有緣千里來相會，無緣對面不相逢 (yǒu yuán qiān lǐ lái xiāng huì wú yuán duì miàn bù xiāng féng) mean?

有緣千里來相會，無緣對面不相逢 (yǒu yuán qiān lǐ lái xiāng huì wú yuán duì miàn bù xiāng féng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "with fate, a thousand li come to meet; without fate, face to face and still no meeting." In use it means: Those with a destined connection will find each other across any distance; those without will miss each other even standing side by side. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rabbit.

Literally: "with fate, a thousand li come to meet; without fate, face to face and still no meeting."

The reading

The thousand li are not the difficulty; they are just the background across which fate moves two people toward each other. The more remarkable thing is the second half: people standing close enough to touch who do not truly meet because the moment has not been prepared. Distance is not the variable. The connection is the variable, and when it is present, distance dissolves into logistics.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element木 Wood
• Zodiac tie兔 Year of the Rabbit

Source Traditional Chinese proverb (appears in various forms in Ming and Qing literature)

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Home, Family & Roots, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.