Basic knowledge of couplets
Basic knowledge of couplets
1. The origin and development of couplets
(1) Overview of couplets
Couplets are commonly known as "pairs". Abbreviated as "pair" and "couplet"; also known as "couplet", "couplet" and "coupled sentence"; commonly known as "couple", "couple post", "postie", "even sentence", "response", "pair" "Word" and so on, are dual sentences with independent meaning. Couplets have a long history, with a history of more than a thousand years, and are a traditional and practical style.
Just like the unit of poetry is called "head" and the unit of text is called "pian", the unit of couplet is called "vice", and the ancients used "piece".
Couplets are composed of two equal words and sentences. The first part is called the upper couplet, which is also called the upper branch, upper ratio, out sentence, or Dui Gong and Dui Shou. The latter part is called the second couplet, also called the lower branch, lower ratio, couplet, or opposite mother, and opposite tail. The upper and lower sentences together are called a couplet, and both are indispensable for the whole couplet. Couplets are traditional metrical literature, which are metrical and typical. Any work that does not meet the basic requirements of couplets should not be called couplets. The number of words in the couplet has a corresponding relationship with the "word". The number of words is the sum of the number of words in the upper and lower couplets, half of which is "word". For example, the traditional Spring Festival couplet "One yuan begins again; all things are renewed" is an eight-character four-character couplet; the bedroom couplet "Why should the room be elegant? The fragrance of flowers is not abundant" is a cross five-character couplet; "人" is a couplet of fourteen characters and seven characters.
The most closely related couplet is Hengpi, also called "Henglian" and "Banner". The horizontal batch is posted between the two couplets, usually with four characters. Its function is to summarize the central idea of the upper and lower lines, and has the function of summarizing and enlightening.
(2) The origin and formation of couplets
Couplets are closely related to other literary genres, languages, and literature including parallel fu, Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan opera, folk rhythmic literature, etc. The terminology not only has the nature of mutual tolerance, penetration, and support, but also has its own laws and rules.
1. The rhetorical technique of antithesis gave birth to the couplet
The most significant and basic feature of the couplet that distinguishes it from other literary styles is its upper and lower couplets, from the number of words, sentence structure, content, From level to level, rhythm, etc., all use duality. Therefore, to explore the origin and development of couplets, we must first involve duality.
Duality is one of the figures of speech in Chinese. Duality is the evolutionary synthesis of the two words "dual" and "parallel". Antithesis is a form of duality of sentences in poems, lyrics and couplets. "Confrontation" originated from the honor guard of the ancient palace guards. This kind of honor guard is arranged in pairs opposite each other, and its formation, number of people, costumes, flags, etc. are all arranged neatly and symmetrically, so it is called "dual war"; "parallel" in parallel refers to two horses running abreast, and "even" refers to two horses. Individuals bond together. The combination of "parallel couple" also means to be in pairs. There is a difference between "dual" and "du" in terms of density and severity, and there is a difference in "lenient" and "strict". It is taboo to emphasize the word "du" in "du", but not in "du".
The rhetorical technique of duality has been used by people for a long time in ancient Chinese poetry. It appeared in pre-Qin literary works more than 2,000 years ago. "Many will cause harm, modesty will benefit" ("Shang Shu·Dayu Mo"). "In the past, when I went there, the willows lingered; now when I come to think about it, it is raining and snowing" ("Xiaokan·Caiwei"). "Drinking magnolias in the morning are like dews, and eating autumn chrysanthemums in the evening are like falling flowers" (Qu Yuan's "Li Sao").
In the Han Dynasty, a half-poetry and half-text literary genre called "Fu" developed, and the rhetorical technique of antithesis was widely and consciously used. By the Wei and Jin dynasties, fu-style works gradually tended to be parallel-style, giving rise to "parallel-style prose". The development and maturity of the rhetorical method of antithesis not only played a positive role in enriching and developing the art of Chinese language and writing, but it can also be said that it was this artistic technique that gave birth to the two art forms of rhymed poetry in the Tang Dynasty and later couplets. Judging from the entire history of literature and art and the development laws of language and characters, the literary and artistic form of couplets is closely related to the entire Chinese language and art. It came into being with the emergence, development and improvement of the rhetorical technique of antithesis in the art of Chinese language and writing in my country. It is an independent and unique style of writing that emerged from the rhetorical technique of antithesis. It can be said that couplets are the product of maturation, typification and stylisticization of the rhetorical technique of duality.
2. The custom of Taofu directly produced couplets
The rhetorical technique of antithesis gave birth to couplets, but antithetical couplets do not equal couplets. To transform into a couplet, it must also have an external form. This external form that makes the couplets independent is a national custom in ancient my country - hanging "peach charms". Therefore, the couplets originated from the ancient "peach charms", that is, the couplets originated from the Spring Festival couplets, and the spring couplets originated from the peach charms. "Peach Talisman" is also called "Xianmu". As early as the Qin and Han Dynasties more than 2,000 years ago, when people in the Central Plains were bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new in the old calendar, they used two peach boards to write the names of the two gods "Shen Tu" and "Yulei" respectively, or drew the patterns of the two gods on paper. , hung, embedded or posted beside the door, with the purpose of driving away evil spirits and ghosts, praying for blessings and avoiding misfortunes. According to the mythical stories "Shan Hai Jing" and other books, it is said that there is a large peach tree in Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea that stretches for three thousand miles. Its branches stretch all the way to the ghost gate in the northeast, through which the ghosts and gods in the cave can enter and exit. There are two divine generals guarding under the peach tree, named Shen Tu and Yu Lei. Once they find evil spirits that are harmful to people, they tie them up with reed ropes and feed them to tigers, so that people can live and work in peace and contentment.
With the development of society and the progress of culture, this custom of hanging peach charms is also constantly changing.
From the beginning of writing the names of the two gods or depicting images, later on some people wrote auspicious words to ward off misfortune and pray for blessings on the peach board, and then developed to writing two pairs of poems. As a result, the so-called "Taofu poems", that is, "Yingtie", came into being. This kind of couplets with peach symbols is the prototype of couplets.
The earliest couplets, the Spring Festival couplets, appeared during the Five Dynasties period, according to historical records. "History of the Song Dynasty·The Meng Family of Western Shu" records: In 964 AD, Meng Chang (919-965) ordered the scholar Xin Yinxun to inscribe a peach charm. Since he was not a craftsman, he wrote the following inscription: "New Year's greetings; festival number Changchun". This couplet written by Meng Chang, Lord of Later Shu, is currently recognized as the first couplet. At this point, the rhetorical technique of antithesis gave birth to the independent literary style of Spring Festival couplets.
By the Song Dynasty, the creation of couplets had become a common practice. Celebrities such as Su Shi, Zhu Xi, and Huang Tingjian also have many couplets handed down to the world. The Northern Song Dynasty writer Wang Anshi (102 1-1086) described the scene of people posting Spring Festival couplets in the poem "Yuan Ri": the sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu. Thousands of households are always replacing old talismans with new peaches. During the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, couplets engraved on wooden pillars appeared in palaces, eunuchs, temples, and Buddhist gates, and later generations called them "couples." At the same time, the earliest birthday couplets, elegiac couplets, and gift couplets also began to appear. Zhu Xi (1120-1200), a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, also compiled "Lianyu", which shows that couplets have become popular.
In the Ming Dynasty, Spring Festival couplets were officially recognized and promoted as an independent cultural custom for celebrating new years. It is said that the term "Spring Couplets" was created by Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he began to use red paper to write Spring Festival couplets. In 1368 AD, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was Jinling (now Nanjing). In order to celebrate the founding of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang, known as the "Emperor of Couplets", "passed a decree on New Year's Eve: a couplet of Spring Festival couplets must be added to the doors of the houses of ministers, scholars and common people" (according to Qing Dynasty man Chen Yuantan's "Hairpin Cloud") "Lou Zahua" records). This custom of turning "inscribing peach charms" into posting Spring Festival couplets was spread from the wealthy palaces to the common people overnight. Not only did he give the order, but he also "traveled incognito" early the next morning (the first day of the Lunar New Year), strolling through the streets and alleys, admiring the Spring Festival couplets. When he found a pigger household at the gate of the city because he had no money to buy paper to post Spring Festival couplets, he ordered people to get paper and ink, and personally wrote a couplet for the household: "Hands split the road of life and death; one knife cuts right and wrong. root". From Meng Chang, the lord of Later Shu, who "inscribed peach charms" to Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's "Spring Festival couplets", more than 400 years have passed during which the couplets have gradually matured from the rudimentary form of peach charms. Moreover, in this process, couplets also began to develop from the only Spring Festival couplets to other types. In terms of content, it is also increasingly closely related to society's politics, economy, culture and people's various social activities. During the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the art of couplets reached its heyday.
3. Various literary styles have promoted and improved the couplets
(1) Couplets, Fu and Parallel Style
The emergence of couplets should first be attributed to Fu and Parallel Style The influence of literature. Judging from the characteristics of the couplet art itself, it has flexible sentence structure, flexible length, and no fixed length. It can range from a few words to a few crosses to hundreds to thousands of words. Although it is a "poetry", it does not emphasize rhyme; it pays attention to word modification and allusion, and is similar to fu and parallel prose. Therefore, it is obvious that it was influenced and promoted by Fu and parallel prose.
(2) Couplets and Rhymed Poetry
After the mid-Tang Dynasty, "registered poetry" called modern poetry in the history of literature was formed. Rhymed poetry not only puts forward strict requirements for the duality in poetry, but also forms a fixed position, which makes the duality in poetry more artistic, systematic and theoretical. At this point, the couplets came into being. Couplets are the evolution of rhythmic poetry. Compared with the middle two couplets in the verses, except for the different word count requirements (there are only five or seven words in the verses), the other forms and requirements of the couplets are generally the same.
(3) Couplets and Ci
Although the antithesis requirements of couplets are generally the same as those of regular verses, in some aspects, they break through the strict restrictions of antithesis in regular verses and are even more obvious. Freedom and flexibility. This is influenced by words. There are two most obvious aspects:
① The contrast in rhythmic poetry requires that flat tones should be used against oblique tones, and oblique tones should be used against flat tones. The couplet breaks through this point. In some sentences, it does not stick to the plain tone. For example: winter goes and everything in the sky revives; spring returns and the earth is full of life. Among them, the two characters "su" and "ji" at the end of the sentence are both in flat tone. Another example is the 53rd chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions", the couplet in Jia's ancestral hall: The liver and brain are wiped out, and the surname is due to the kindness of the nurse; The "En" in the sentence of the first couplet is in flat tone, while the "Sheng" in the sentence of the second couplet is in flat tone. This characteristic of couplets, which can sometimes be paired with flat, or oblique with oblique, or even with oblique sentences at the foot of the sentence, is precisely one of the duality characteristics of words.
② The antithesis of verses avoids the opposite of the same word; but the couplet uses the opposite of the same word as one of the techniques of rhetoric and word use. For example, Comrade Zhou Enlai sent a letter to Comrade Cai Yuanpei: From the anti-Manchurian movement to the Anti-Japanese War, his ambition was the national revolution; from the May Fourth Movement to the Human Rights League, his journey was for democracy and freedom. Among them, "from", "to", "sir", "zhi", and "zai" are all relative to the same word. This situation is allowed in the couplet, which is similar to the duality of some words. For example: Thousands of miles of ice; thousands of miles of snow. Among them, "Li" is the same character opposite (Mao Zedong's "Qinyuanchun·Snow").
(4) Couplets and Qu:
Couplets after the Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as humorous pairs, overlapping word pairs, compound word pairs, as well as spoken language, slang, idioms, etc. use couplets The number of situations in it is increasing day by day, indicating that it is obviously influenced by Yuan music. For example: The country is falling and the city is falling, the pear, pears, jujube and jujube are flowing in the west; the clouds are flowing and the rain is flowing, and the Wu'e of Chu is twilight and dynasty (Zhang Kejiu [Double Tune Gui Ling] "Gift to the Singer Xiuying"). The water, water, mountains and mountains are bright and beautiful everywhere; I am curious and curious all the time, sunny or rainy (Couplet of Kangzhou Zhongshan Park). From this we can say that couplets are the synthesis, evolution and variation of prose, fu, poetry, lyrics, music and other literary styles.
(3) Application and development of couplets
After the creation of couplets, its application scope gradually expanded. At first, the only type of couplets was the Spring Festival couplets. After the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, they were gradually used in people's decoration and communication activities. From the beginning, they were used in the literary world, officialdom, and the court, and then gradually became popular among the general public and the general public. The society has developed into places of interest, temples, temples, pavilions, study rooms, bedroom desks, shops, etc. Among the people, couplets are also posted on stages, shrines, lanterns, incense burners, boxes, grain stores, cart shafts, corrals, etc.
It was in modern times that couplets were truly enriched and developed in ideological content, truly closely connected with social real life and played their positive role. Specifically, it was after the Opium War in 1840 that the Chinese people began to awaken and the progressive ideas of the advanced class began to emerge. Especially after the Revolution of 1911 and the New Democratic Revolution, couplets quickly developed into an integral part of advanced literature and art.
In the new historical period, the prosperity and development of my country's economy and society will inevitably bring about the prosperity and development of couplet art. Since the reform and opening up in 1978, 30 years ago, the creation, application and research of couplets have become more active than ever. During the holidays, colorful couplets can be seen appearing in thousands of households. Couplets have become an indispensable carrier for expressing emotions during folk weddings and funerals, as well as company opening celebrations; many newspapers and publications also attach importance to publishing research articles on couplets; some monographs and historical materials on the study and collection of couplets have also been published one after another; some cultural departments and publishing units In order to promote the creation of couplets, activities such as soliciting couplets and seeking pairs were also carried out. "China Couplet News" has been published for more than 20 years and has made important contributions to the revival and development of the traditional culture of couplets. The promulgation of the "General Principles of Couplets" (for trial implementation on June 1, 2007) has pointed out the direction for the development of couplets as an independent literary style.
Study and practice
1. What are couplets?
2. Briefly describe the origin, formation and development of couplets.
3. Distinguish the similarities and differences between "antagonism", "duality" and "couplet".
4. Collect a few couplets around your home for everyone to enjoy.
5. Come up with sentences to challenge pairs: (1) Frequent writing of pairs is profitable;
(2) Wang Nai has thousands of flowers and trees in front of the mountain;
(3) Luodian No. 2 Middle School has beautiful scenery.
2. Types and functions of couplets
(1) Types of couplets
1. Spring couplets (including festival couplets)
Spring couplets Also called "Spring Tie", it is the earliest and most widely used type of couplet. From the appearance of the first Spring Festival couplets "inscribed with peach charms" by Meng Chang, the lord of Later Shu, to the widespread promotion of "Spring Festival couplets" by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, posting Spring Festival couplets during the "Spring Festival" in the old calendar has become a national custom in my country and has been passed down. to date. There are many people singing for joy; the flowers are beautiful to celebrate the New Year (Du Zhengyao's "Golden Pig Celebrates the New Year and Everyone Welcomes the Spring"). The spring scenery is beautiful in front of Wang Nai Mountain; the brocade lanterns are bright by the lotus stream (Luo Lei's "Golden Pig Happy New Year and Everyone Welcomes the Spring"). Good weather and good weather every year; good government and good people and peace everywhere (Tang Dingxing's "Golden Pig Celebrates the New Year and Everyone Welcomes the Spring"). The golden pig at the end bids farewell to the old year; the silver rat at the head celebrates the new year (Luo Fangyou's "China Couplet Daily" 2008, Issue 4, Total Issue 771). In short, the Spring Festival couplets should have the atmosphere of spring and should be named "Chun".
2. Door couplets (including industry associations)
Door couplets are also called "door stickers" and "door pairs". The custom of posting couplets on doors has been around since the Ming Dynasty. Which couplet should be used for which family? It cannot be confused or changed easily. For example, the couplet of the Confucius family: break up with the country, be prosperous and honor the public house; grow old together in the same sky, the family of a moral saint. Door couplets also play the role of "signs" and "covers" in the industry, such as tofu shop couplets: naturally smooth and polished; the essence and fragrance remain in the world (Luo Fangyou's "Golden Pig Celebrates the New Year and Everyone Welcomes the Spring"). School couplet: A three-foot podium is used to support the community; a clear garden is used to add wisdom and educate talents (Wu Zhongxiang's "Golden Pig Celebrates the New Year and Everyone Welcomes the Spring").
3. Marriage couplet
Wedding couplet, also called "happy couplet", is a special couplet for men and women when they get married. The most prominent feature of wedding couplets is the use of metaphorical rhetoric, such as using beautiful things such as flowers, birds, fish, moons, water, beads, etc., to describe the happy marriage and the love between a man and a woman. For example: the willows are dark and the flowers are in the middle of spring; the pearls and the jade are in pairs (spring wedding couplet). The bright moon depicts the shadows of twin swallows; the frost reflects the twin plum blossoms (winter wedding couplet). Change the customs and civilize the etiquette, and the two will get married happily (Lin Changhua's "Liancao Shiling"). The moonlight enters the curtain quietly; the beautiful face leans against the delicate leaves (Teacher Huang Lin wrote a wedding couplet for his friend).
4. Shou couplets
Shou couplets are couplets specially used to celebrate birthdays of the elderly.
Longevity couplets often use metaphors, using mountains, flowing water, green pines, green cypresses, expressions, cranes, etc. as metaphors to express the meaning of longevity. For example, the Luodian County Poetry Couplet Association wishes Mr. Meng Zemin his 80th birthday with a couplet: "In eighty years, thoughts will be nourishing; a couplet of poems with hundreds of flavors will jump into the folk customs." Qiao Song is proud of the snow and frost, Dan Crane lives forever in Kaishou City; Dade is connected with Tianbao, and the lucky star shines brightly on Mu Xichao ("Liancao Shiling" by Lin Changhua). Birthday couplets are divided into self-birth couplets: couplets that express one's own life feelings, self-encouragement, hopes, etc.; birthday couplets: couplets written by others for the longevity. There are various age expressions related to longevity couplets: ten years is called rank and ten years (seventh rank birthday is also called seventy birthdays), twenty is called twenty or two ten years, thirty is called thirty, and fifty is called half hundred. In addition, ten years old is called Yixue, twenty is called Weakguan, thirty is called Zhuang (also called Erli), forty is called Qiang (also called Buhuo), fifty is called Ai (also called Tianming), and sixty is called Qi (qí). (also called sixty), seventy is called old (also called ancient rare), eighty is called diē, eighty-eight is called rice, ninety is called máo, and ninety-nine is called white longevity (white plus "一" is Hundred, meaning "one hundred" less "one" means 99 years old), a hundred-year-old is called Qiyi, and a 108-year-old is called Chashou (the upper part of the word "tea" means twenty-eight, twenty-eight is 28, the lower part is wood, and the lower part is wood. Eighty, ***108 years old). For example: Don't stop at rice, look forward to tea; have the four transformations in your heart, and send your thoughts to three pines. This is a self-couplet, that is, in the first couplet, "hezhi" is paired with "xiangqi", "yu" is paired with "yi", and "mi" is paired with "tea", which is eighty-eight years old vs. one hundred and eight years old; in the second couplet, "心心" is paired with "Ideology" and "Four Modernizations" versus "Three Pines". The upper and lower lines are not relative.
5. Elegiac couplets:
Elegiac couplets, also called "mourning couplets" and "elegies", are couplets used exclusively by the living to mourn the dead, and during funerals and memorials. For example: Married and established a career in Qiandong, retired honorably in Qiandong, returned to his hometown to look for relatives and friends, divorced his wife and lost his son; lost his childhood in Luodian, unfortunately passed away in Luodian, thought about his past, dedicated himself to his duties, and was frugal and hard-working. Save (Lin Changhua's "Liancao Shiling"). Famous names and righteousness are preserved in heaven and earth; virtues and good conduct benefit descendants (general elegiac couplet). In addition, filial piety couplets are also funeral couplets. The first couplet expresses the concern and regret of the deceased, while the second couplet expresses the identity of the living and expresses grief.
6. Social couplet (also called gift-reply couplet)
Communicative couplet is mainly used for social celebrities, celebrities and scholars who have high cultural knowledge, literary quality and social experience. between people. It can be divided into written and oral forms. For example, on the evening of November 14, 2007, the poetry friends of the No. 2 Middle School gathered at the new residence of Bailong Village at the invitation of Teacher Huang Lin. The poetry friends sent poetry couplets to congratulate them, and old principal Yang Zhong also congratulated them on the spot: Home at Bailong Family With harmony and harmony, everything will be prosperous. Teacher Luo Lei pondered for a moment and then said: The name is the emperor, the clan is prosperous and the whole village is prosperous (where "hundred" is a homophone of "white", and "emperor" is a homophone of "yellow"). To conduct one's affairs, one must have an upright attitude; to perform one's duties impartially, there should be no selfishness at all (Huang Biguang's "Xinhua Yincao"). It is enough to have a close friend in life; this world should treat him with sympathy (Lu Xun presented a white couplet to Qu Qiu). When playing Go under the pine tree, the pine nuts fall with the chess pieces; when fishing by the willows, the willow threads are often hung with the fishing lines (Huang Tingjian and Su Shi's scene couplets, primary school Chinese textbook, volume 12).
7. Tang couplets
Tang couplets, also called decorative couplets, are couplets that people use to decorate and beautify indoor environments such as living rooms, bookstores, bedrooms, and desks. The sea accepts hundreds of rivers, and it is great if it has tolerance; if it stands thousands of feet high on the wall, it is strong if it has no desires (Lin Zexu's couplet). Spring has been as beautiful as vanilla for thousands of years; people are as clear as plum blossoms (Xu Xiake's self-titled couplet of "Plum Blossom Hall" in Xiaoxiangshan). On the seat, the sun and moon shine brightly; in front of the hall, the mist shines brightly (the second chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions" - Rongguo Mansion main hall couplet).
8. Couplets of places of interest and historical sites
Couplets of places of interest and historical sites can be divided into two parts. One part is couplets of landscapes and scenic spots; the other part is couplets of historical celebrities and historical relics. . With a petal of stick and heart fragrant, the sacred mausoleum moves slowly; singing about three lives of achievements, the response on Baozhu Mountain is loud (Zhou Jiyong inscribed the gate couplet of Luodian Martyrs Cemetery)
9. Couplets of literary and artistic works (including inscribed paintings)< /p>
In literary works (mainly novels) after the Ming and Qing Dynasties, authors often inserted some couplets to create couplets in literary and artistic works. For example, there are a large number of couplets in the four famous works "Journey to the West", "A Dream of Red Mansions", "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin". Indifference makes one's ambition clear; tranquility leads to far-reaching goals (Zhuge Liang's couplet in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms"). The jade is in the coffin for a good price; the hairpin is in the box waiting to fly (the first chapter of Jia Yucun's romantic couplet in "A Dream of Red Mansions"). The world is vast when you are drunk; the sun and moon are long in the pot (Water Margin, Chapter 29, Jiang Menshen Hotel Couple). Quietly secluded in the mountains, free from worldly worries; living in a fairy cave, happy and innocent ("Journey to the West" Chapter 17, Batu Caves).
l 0. Other miscellaneous couplets:
Other forms include promotional couplets, temple couplets, celebration couplets, wedding couplets, interesting couplets, stage couplets, lantern couplets, and utensil couplets , pen couplets, inkstone couplets, ruthless pairs, ink couplets, puzzle couplets, etc. For example, ruthless pairs: Gongmen peaches and plums competing for glory; France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. On the surface, the upper and lower couplets have nothing to do with each other, but if you look closely, "Gong" is opposite to "Law", "Men" is to "Guo", "Peach" is to "Holland", "Li" is to "Lan", and "Zheng" is to "Zheng". "Bi", "Rong" to "Li", "Day" to "Time", very neat. The tree has half rested and the ax has been lifted; indeed, it has nothing to do with it. "Tree" is opposite to "fruit", "ji" is to "ran", "banxun" is to "a point", "xiuzong" is to "buxiang", "axe" is to "qian", very neat. There are three mores besides the three mores: more virtues, more talents, more enlightenment; the first of the four beauties is the four beauties, a good reputation, a good life, and beautiful children and grandchildren. Among them, the "three mores" refer to "longer life, more blessings, and more children", and the "four beauties" refer to good mornings, beautiful scenery, pleasant things, and pleasant things.
Celebration couplets are also called happy event couplets, which are divided into self-titled couplets and congratulatory couplets. The self-titled couplet mostly contains the owner's thoughts, gratitude, joy, apology, etc. For example: The building is tall and the person is short, so he can be praised by all his relatives; Yu Jun feels at ease and wishes all his friends a happy life (Luo Lei wrote a couplet for his friend's new residence).
(2) Functions of couplets
1. Describe scenery and objects
Mainly describe scenery and imitate things, using concise and concise words to add the finishing touch. See through the charm of the landscape and discover the subtleties of things. The moon is bright and picturesque; the river flows with sound. The green water is originally worry-free, but its face is wrinkled by the wind; the green mountains are not old, but are white-headed by snow. The boat carries stones, and the stone-heavy boat carries the light weight; the stick measures the ground, and the ground is long and the stick is short to measure the length (Primary School Chinese Textbook Volume 12).
2. Narrating and chanting history
Recount the past to recall the past, and comment on the history to describe the present. Like copper and iron plates, the great river flows eastward; the moon and stars are sparse, and the black magpie flies south (Huangzhou Red Cliff Couplet). Acting is like watching a show; it's more difficult to get off the stage than to get on (Theatre Union).
3. Lyrical expressions
Directly express the author's thoughts and feelings, embody the author's mind and embrace, express the author's love and hate stance, and reflect the author's interests and ideals. For example, looking at the moon reflects the eternal events; climbing the tower aims at the clouds in the sky (Yan Dengrong inscribed the couplet of "Wang Yue Tower" in Luodian, Guizhou). You must be steady when climbing the stairs; don’t be greedy for glory in recent months (Teacher Luo Lei wrote a couplet on the Moon Tower).
4. Social rewards
Giving to people and friends to show friendship and encouragement or to congratulate some kind of success. Such as the good news of the victory in aiding Korea; Hua Yi's heroic resistance to the United States (Zhou Enlai inscribed the "Peony Picture" couplet painted by He Xiangning). We must fight for safety in the future; we must taste the joys and sorrows when they come (a gift from Sun Yat-sen to Huang Xing). Tea in a humble room brings shame to a dear friend; pearls are meant to encourage a wise and foolish heart (Teacher Sun Jun replied to a poetry friend to congratulate him on his move to a new house).
5. Inspirational warnings
Using words and reasoning such as self-cultivation, motivation, encouragement to learn, and awakening the world, or giving warnings, encouragement, or teaching methods of self-cultivation. , or describe the wonders of career skills. In ancient and modern times, we can see from books that men should be the wonders of the world. He is a low-key person with a beautiful attitude; he sincerely plans things and has strong feelings (Chen Banglu's "Golden Pig Celebrates the New Year and Everyone Welcomes the Spring"). Always read the letters about your family and country; do nothing that is not beneficial to your body and mind (Xu Teli presented the Youth League).
6. Publicity and education
Explain political opinions and purposes to others so that people believe and act accordingly. Such as inheriting traditional Chinese literature and art and revitalizing the world; building a civilized school with a beautiful appearance and elegance (Shen Lianfang established a title couplet for the Poetry Federation Branch of Luodian No. 2 Middle School). The officers and soldiers in the Red Army wore the same clothes and paid the same salary; the generals and lieutenants in the White Army had different diet and daily life (Commander-in-Chief Zhu De). Social harmony seeks development; scientific development promotes harmony. Education must be given priority; people's livelihood must be highly concerned. Raise the flag and set the direction; reform and innovate towards a well-off society (Luo Fangyou wrote a couplet for the spirit of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China).
7. Sarcastic criticism
If you say you can do it, you can do it, and if you don’t, you can do it; if you say you can’t do it, you can’t do it, and you can’t do it. Hengpi: Don’t accept it. Longevity without borders is celebrated by the whole world; the three armies are defeated and territories are ceded for peace (an irony of Cixi's "Longevity Festival").
8. Word games
The moon is full in the sky, half of the moon in the world, and half of the moon is on the full moon; tonight is the end of the year, tomorrow is the beginning of the year, and every year is the end of the year (the first day of the lunar month) Chinese textbook volume 1). When a buffalo goes into the water, the water-logged buffalo's nose "bends"; when a mountain dog goes up a mountain, its feet "keep" when it stumbles over the mountain. One point, two points, three points of ice-cold wine; hundreds, thousands, ten thousand lilacs. There are three rivers in Miaomiao, where are the three rivers? There are two mountains, and there are two mountains.
Research and practice
1. What are the commonly used couplets?
2. Give examples to illustrate the function of couplets.
3. During the Spring Festival, weddings and weddings, write a few couplets and post them on the door.
4. Come up with a sentence: (1) Spring is beautiful everywhere on the plateau;
(2) The spring tide surges in Shuangjiangkou;
(3) Poetry There is endless joy in learning about couplets;
3. Characteristics and requirements of couplets
(1) Artistic characteristics of couplets
1. National art
Couplets are the only art form in the Chinese language of the Chinese nation. The reason why the art of couplets can be produced and developed in our country among the ethnic groups that use the Chinese language, but cannot be spread to other countries and ethnic groups or introduced and imitated by other ethnic groups, lies in the uniqueness of the Chinese language and writing. Chinese characters are square characters and ideographic characters. After more than 6,000 years of changes, they developed from seven scripts: oracle bone inscriptions → bronze inscriptions → small seal script → official script → regular script → cursive and running script. feature. In addition, it also has folk characteristics, that is, it is both elegant literature and folk literature. For example: Appreciating the full moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon in the sky is full and the moon on the earth is missing; a wanderer misses his hometown, a foreign country is bitter but his own hometown is sweet (first grade Chinese textbook, Volume 1). One, two, three, four, five, six, seven; filial piety, loyalty, trust, etiquette, justice and integrity.
2. Practical Art
When people engage in certain life or social activities, they naturally apply certain couplets. Such as Spring Festival couplets, door couplets, hall couplets, reward couplets, congratulatory couplets, elegiac couplets, couplets of places of interest, etc. As a practical art, couplets are also a kind of text art that can be "standing". It is not only formed verbally and on paper, but most couplets can only be officially published and play their due role when they are posted and hung on specific occasions. Such as fires, floods, and rockslides, writing shocking stories; courage, perseverance, and skill, praising the contemporary foolish old man (Chen Zhizhong wrote about the burning of the track and field in Daguan Village, Luodian).
3. Word art
First, use words flexibly, neatly and gracefully. It ranges from one or two characters to a hundred or a thousand characters. The second is to use certain characteristics of Chinese characters themselves to form the art of couplets. Such as embedding words, splitting words, analyzing words, overlapping words, and numbers. When viewed from the front and backward, they are all words, and when read backwards, they become sentences. The third is to integrate with the art of calligraphy and enhance each other. For example, the three sources of a large well are hidden deep in the dark caves; on both sides of the long river, the bamboos are built to reflect the blue waves (Liu Chengde's "Dwelling Poetry Couplet Album"). There are lotus springs in wells and wells in lotuses; there are hidden caves in the beach and hidden beaches in the scenic caves (Wu Zhongxiang's "Bangengtan Poetry Couplet Album"). I look for poems and poems beside my inkstone to keep me company; I recite poems in my spare time and the moon is a lamp (Issue 7 of Wang Tianxue's "Xianyi Collection").
4. Rhythmic art
Since the couplets were influenced by poetry and music during their formation and development, they also formed their own artistic characteristics in terms of rhythm. First of all, the couplets pay attention to the smoothness of the words used. Secondly, in the creation, rhetorical techniques such as overlapping rhyme, double tone, and homophony are used to produce a certain rhythmic artistic effect. If you are great, you will have fewer worries; you will have more happy dreams about home and family (Xu Wenzhong's "Guizhou Couplets"). Wanli admires the reputation, and the most admirable thing is the moon in the sky in the lake; in the land and sea for thousands of years, you can see expensive ships coming to Guangdong (Chang Zhiguo, vice president of the Chinese Couplet Society, inscribed the Moon Tower in Luodian).
(2) Requirements for the creation of couplets
Couplet is an art and a branch of poetry. Some people call short couplets two-line poems, while long couplets are like a long poem or a parallel prose. The main requirements for writing a couplet should be to clarify its duality requirements. To sum up, there are mainly the following six aspects, namely, the "six-phase" elements such as the equality of words and sentences, the correspondence of parts of speech, the correspondence of structure, the harmony of rhythm, the correlation of semantics, and the relativeness of oblique and oblique words.
1. The number of words and sentences is equal
The number of words and sentences used in the upper and lower couplets is exactly the same, which is the first important condition for the couplet. Such as five-character versus five-character, seven-character versus seven-character, etc. For example, Luo Fangyou wrote a couplet about Luodian Thousand Island Lake: A dam stretches across the sky, and the skylight and cloud shadows gather on the lake (two sentences in the first couplet, 11 words); thousands of peaks stand tall, and the wood-colored mountains are shining in the deep valleys (two sentences in the second couplet, 11 words). The peach blossoms bloom with joy (five words in the first couplet); the love song of Liu Lang (five words in the second couplet). However, there are very few numbers that do not match, and they are mainly used for satire. Such as Yuan Shikai's Eternity (five words in the first couplet); Long Live the Republic of China (six words in the second couplet). Not only are the three characters "Yuan Shikai" not worthy of the four words "Republic of China", but also the words "eternity" and "Long Live" are evenly matched. It mainly satirizes Yuan Shikai, a thief who stole the country. Sorry for the Chinese people.
2. Parts of speech are equivalent
The corresponding positions of the syntactic structure of the upper and lower couplets, and the part-of-speech attributes of the words used in the couplets, the requirements for the words are the upper and lower couplets. Opposite words or phrases must be consistent in part of speech, which is the essence of couplets. The so-called parts of speech were introduced from abroad during the Qing Dynasty. In ancient China, parts of speech were not called word categories, such as nouns were called names, verbs were called verbs, and numbers were called verbs. Words are called numbers, etc. In modern Chinese, content words include nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, numbers and quantifiers; function words are divided into five categories: adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, particles and interjections. The equivalent parts of speech refer to nouns and verbs. For verbs, adverbs for adverbs, etc., that is, similar words for similar words, the smaller the category, the more precise the contrast. For example, Wang Xiaomao wrote about Qiandao Lake in Luodian: The fog locks Sanlong Lake, and the mist disperses fish like guests from the sky; the clouds seal the thousand-mile road. , the clouds are blooming and the birds are like daffodils in the water.
Huawaizi Guiyan City is cold
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
(noun) (locative word) (noun) (noun) (adjective)
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
Liubian Jingwei Zhejiang Chao
The "chao" is transformed into the adjective "moist" "Tide". Part-of-speech transformation: Open words + "了" become verbs, "red", "green". Adjectives + "地" become adverbs, "study carefully". Verbs + "的" become adjectives, "Broken, raw, such as broken bowls, uncooked rice" Common sense of word categories are as follows:
Nouns: Guizhou, cars, poems, Li Bai, etc.
Abstract nouns: thoughts. , literature, doctrine, emotion, etc.
Time nouns: morning, noon, today, late at night, etc.
Orientation nouns: up, down, front, back, left, right, etc.
Verbs action verbs: walk, see, speak, write, draw, curse, etc.
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