Couplets and their variants

Couplets are a unique phenomenon in China culture. Also known as "couplets", "couplets" and "couplets", they are antithetical sentences. Couplets refer to two sentences composed of words with the same number of words and neat antithesis, which are related in meaning and written on other practical objects. One sentence is the upper couplet and the other is the lower couplet.

Generally, it is ingenious in conception and diverse in forms. It can be lyrical and freehand, can be described by painting scenes, can be inscribed or inscribed on pavilions, pavilions, temples and monuments, and can also be used in living rooms and study rooms. Couplet is a popular literary form in China, and it is a comprehensive art integrating calligraphy and literature.

The antithetical couplets have distinct class nature and times, and their contents are often highly targeted. When to use what kind of couplets is basically certain. At the same time, because the couplets themselves contain beautiful attributes, people can also appreciate and aftertaste them as works of art.

China's couplets have a long history and are traditional and practical. From ancient times to now, individuals, families and institutions have the habit of writing couplets on festive days or major festivals. Ancestral temples, famous mountains and rivers, and tourist attractions are also carved beams and painted buildings, and many couplets have been posted.

According to the time and occasion of use, couplets can be divided into two categories: application couplets and decoration couplets.

(1) Applied couplets refer to highly targeted couplets. Applied couplets can be further divided into Spring Festival couplets dedicated to celebrating the Spring Festival, and couplets for a specific matter, such as elegiac couplets, birthday couplets, wedding couplets, business couplets and so on. It can also be divided into communicative associations that people use in various interactions.

(2) Decorate couplets. Decorative couplets are generally philosophical and memorable, and are used to beautify the environment. Generally used to decorate pavilions, towers, places of interest, study, bedroom, famous paintings, etc. Poetry couplets on bridges

(2) According to the writing method and the relationship between the upper and lower parts.

According to the relationship between the upper and lower couplets, couplets can be divided into three types: positive, negative and flowing.

1. Great

It means that the contents of the upper and lower couplets are related or similar, and the same truth is expounded from different angles. For example:

The reeds on the wall are top-heavy and shallow; Bamboo shoots in the mountains have a thick mouth and an empty stomach.

There are three rivers: peach, plum and plum.

A big belly can hold things that are difficult to hold in the world; Laugh when you open your mouth, and laugh at the ridiculous people in the world.

Husband and wife compose labor songs, and men and women make money together.

2. Objection

Couplets refer to the opposite content and sharp contrast. This kind of couplet often explains the same problem from two sides, and highlights the expression effect in comparison. For example:

Castle peak is fortunate to bury loyal bones, while white iron is unfortunate to cast courtiers.

Don't forget that it was hard to start a business in those days, but today, bloom is warm in spring, and life is sweet.

Another example is:

Fierce-browed, I coolly defy a thousand pointing fingers, Head-bowed, like a willing ox I serve the children.

Extravagance and waste harm the family and the country, and frugality makes a mickle.

3. flowing water pair

Also called string pair, it means that a meaning is divided into two sentences, and the two sentences are combined into a whole, and the upper and lower relations are hypothetical, progressive, causal and conditional. For example:

Rivers are endless and become the sea.

Without saying anything, peaches and plums went their separate ways.

Another example is:

But it makes people love.

There is a romantic poem.

(C) from the form of words.

According to the number of words in couplets, couplets can be divided into four-character couplets, five-character couplets, six-character couplets, seven-character couplets, eight-character couplets, nine-character couplets, several-cross couplets and hundred-word long couplets. For example:

Stay up all night; Heaven and earth flow together. —— Taiyuan Fanci Difficult Laoquan Trade Union

The steep stones stand again and the vines open. -Wutai Mountain Wanghaixia Alliance

When did it get cold in spring and where did the peak come from? -Hangzhou Feilaifeng, Dong Qichang United.

Lijiang's wine is green and cold.

Always offer poems and enjoy the rain. -"Yuan Chang Shi Qing Appreciation Office" in Diecai Mountain, Guilin

Li Tao Zenghua sits on the account without cranes;

There are turtles on the bed.

-Ma Yinchu was imprisoned by the Kuomintang in Xifeng concentration camp in Guizhou, wishing Ma Yinchu his 60th birthday.

Red flowers are more beautiful than Chaoyang;

Yan Zi flies together and sings for Haoyu. Marriage alliance

Don't you see that a hundred-year-old man won't die;

It's hard to go parallel for a while. -elegiac couplet Qin Huang' an is in zai, and the Great Wall of Wan Li builds resentment;

Miss Jiang is not dead. Qian Qiu's essay Shi Mingzhen. -Tian Wen detailed title Meng Jiangnv Temple Alliance

I don't have any hatred for Yin Gan's cool publication and Song Yue's killing in vain, and you are no better. When you are Zheng Xue's teacher, I want to ask whether Wang An is here.

The partisan strife in the Han Dynasty and the talk of the Jin Dynasty revived the past without thinking, and it is fierce today, just like Xu's son, hanging in the clear sky and watching the long-distance bus fly.

-Kang Youwei killed all the kings with the Reform Movement of 1898.

The ancients used couplets as tools (phonological enlightenment)

Five hundred miles of Dianchi Lake, running to the fundus, draped on the shore, happy with endless emptiness. The east sees God, the west sees spirit, the north sees collaterals and the south sees mourning. It is better to choose the winner than to board the board. Ride the crab island Luozhou, combing the package in the wind and fog; It is even more beautiful, with some jade feathers and Danxia embellished. Live up to fragrant rice, clear sand, September hibiscus and March willow.

A thousand years of past events, noted in my heart, make the wine empty, sigh who is the hero? I want to learn from China Ship, Tang Biao Iron Column, Song yu fu and Yuan Dynasty Leather Bag. Wei Lie played an important role in moving mountains and rivers. Draw a bead curtain building, which can't be rolled up like dusk rain; Then I broke the wreckage and gave it all to the pale smoke. I only won for a few minutes, half a river fishing, two rows of autumn geese, and a pillow of light frost.

-Qing Sun Zui wrote couplets of Daguanlou in Dianchi Lake, Kunming.

Type:

1 can be divided into short couplet and long couplet according to the number of words.

There is a comparison between the length and the length, so we must find a moderate scale to distinguish the length. Considering the writing and posting of the most widely used couplets, the number and size of words should be appropriate to the length and width ratio of couplets, and the arrangement should be symmetrical. Straight books should not be changed, so that they are beautiful and generous. It seems that 7 words to 1 1 is more appropriate. Therefore, couplets with less than 7 words can be called short couplets, and couplets with more than 1 1 words are long couplets. The shortest short link can be as short as 1 word, such as "ink/link"; Long couplets can be as long as a dozen words, dozens of crosses, hundreds of words, hundreds of words or even thousands of words. For a long time, people think that the 180 couplet in Daguanlou, Kunming is the longest couplet. Later, some people specially collected more than 300 couplets, among which Linjiang Tower in Jiangjin, Sichuan has the most couplets, which are as long as 16 12, written by Zhong Zubang in prison. This "the best couplet in the world" is also "I wonder if it can be tested."

According to the scope of use, it can be divided into industry associations and general associations.

Industry couplets are specially used for a certain industry, which has the characteristics of the industry and can use the jargon of the industry. Universal couplets are couplets that can be used by thousands of families in all walks of life.

According to the time of use, it can be divided into seasonal couplets and Spring Festival couplets.

Festival couplets are couplets posted during festivals and celebrations. Including the couplets used in Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival, and the couplets used in New Year's Day, Women's Day on March 8th, Labor Day, May 4th Youth Day, Children's Day on June 1st, the anniversary of the founding of the Party on July 1st, the Army Day on August 1st and the National Day on November 11th. It also includes the anniversary of the unit, such as the couplets used for the celebration of schools and factories, and the couplets used for some festivals, such as Weifang Kite Festival, Daxing Watermelon Festival, Zhuhai Aviation Festival and Chengdu Food Festival. The Spring Festival is also a festival, but it is the oldest festival of the Chinese nation and the most grand festival. Every household has to post Spring Festival couplets, so it is listed separately.

According to the hanging position, it can be divided into door couplet and hall couplet.

Couplets posted on both sides of the door are called door couplets, and couplets posted, hung or placed indoors are called hall couplets.

There are all kinds of doors, big houses have big doors and small doors, front and rear doors, middle side doors, study doors, bedroom doors, kitchen doors, window doors and cupboard doors; Farmers also have grinding doors, wooden shed doors, toilet doors, pigsty doors and chicken cages. In the past, during the Spring Festival in rural areas, couplets were put on all the doors at home. Doors are divided into single and double doors. The gate is a double door, and the door couplet of the gate also includes the door god and the good start. Door-keeper is a color printed New Year picture with portraits of Zhang Fei and Guan Gong printed on it, replacing "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu". You can also paste couplets of the same size, which are almost square and can be transcribed. Instead of writing, the right one goes from right to left, and the left one goes from left to right. It is symmetrical to stick it on two door panels. A good start is a short banner with four auspicious words: "Open the door", "Open the door", "Open the door" and "Open the door". It is attached to the middle of the right door panel near the middle seam and used to pull the latch to open the door.

Tang Lian, also known as indoor couplets. In the hall, there is a cabinet facing the door against the wall. There is an ancestral spirit tablet in the cupboard. Above the tablet, there is the main hall, which is the teacher of heaven and earth. On both sides of the main hall, couplets should be posted or hung. There are four screens hanging on the inner wall of the gables, usually four sentences: "Everything is forgiven, everything goes well, the population is clean, and peace lasts forever." Couplets should be posted at the door of the study, and handicrafts engraved with couplets should be placed on the book case.

According to its fixed place, it can be divided into scenic spots couplets, hall couplets and stage couplets.

Sticking couplets is not permanent, but temporary. Only carved couplets can last. According to its fixed place, it can be divided into scenic spot association, guild hall association and stage association. Landscape couplets are couplets engraved on places of interest, hall couplets are couplets engraved on hall doors, and stage couplets are couplets hung on or engraved on both sides of the stage. Although the theater on the stage is also a hall, it is the place where the audience gather to watch the play, and the content of the couplet on the stage is closely related to the opera, which is special compared with other halls, so it is listed separately.

According to the direction of creation, it can be divided into self-title couplet and title couplet.

Self-titled couplets are couplets made by creators for themselves. Stick it on the lintel or study, engrave it on the pen container, on the edge of the inkstone and on the paperweight. It is soliloquy, self-encouragement, self-encouragement, self-restraint and self-mockery, all of which belong to "soliloquy" and have no other meaning. If you write self-titled couplets to others, you can ask * * * to encourage couplets to encourage and spur each other. * * * Lian Mian is mainly used between friends and colleagues. Inscription couplets are written to others to express gratitude, admiration, encouragement, comfort, advice and warning. Self-titled couplets and inscribed couplets are not ordinary entertainment and appropriate works, but are carefully conceived and deliberately managed. They are full of the author's understanding of society and life, and are the crystallization of thoughts, among which there are many aphorisms, which are instructive and instructive to the public and future generations. There are many aphorisms, epigrams, games and humorous couplets in self-titled couplets and topic couplets.

According to the expression of emotion, it can be divided into festive couplets and sad couplets.

Festive couplets are couplets expressing congratulations on happy events, while elegiac couplets are couplets expressing condolences and regrets for the deceased.

For every happy event, such as a man marrying a woman, building a house, moving, starting a business, getting promoted, entering a higher school, joining the army and so on. My family should put up couplets, and my relatives and friends should come to congratulate, congratulate and celebrate and send festive couplets. Celebration couplets don't have to be written as banners and posted on the door, but they can also be recorded or possessed. It is a good thing for the elderly to live a long and healthy life, and birthdays are celebrations. Make birthday couplets to congratulate you. Sixty refers to sixty, seventy refers to seventy, eighty or ninety refers to eighty or ninety, and one hundred refers to one. In addition to integers, there are several special ages, that is, seventy-seven refers to longevity (the cursive script of nouns is seventy-seven), eighty-eight refers to longevity (rice characters can be divided into eighty-eight), ninety-nine refers to longevity (longevity can be seen for a hundred years), and one hundred and eight refers to tea longevity (tea characters can be divided into twenty and eighty-eight, totaling one hundred and eight), all of which should be specially celebrated. There must be many congratulatory couplets.

After a person dies, family and relatives will do elegiac couplet. The elegiac couplet is attached to the mourning hall, hung on both sides of the wreath, or written on the handle. The elegiac couplets carved in the cemetery are also called tomb couplets or couplets.

Festive couplets must be written in red paper. In order to render the festive atmosphere, it is useful to write with yellow pigments and yellow pigments, and it is also useful to write with glue and then apply gold powder. The elegiac couplet must be written in black on a white background, regular script and solemn. It is taboo to write elegiac couplets in cursive script and lines.

According to aesthetic taste, it can be divided into vulgar association and elegant association.

In the old society, couplets made by rural farmers and street businessmen were often called vulgar couplets, which were mostly oral and easy to understand. The couplets made by bureaucrats and literati are called elegant couplets, which are brilliant in literary talent, elegant and luxurious, and often need to be written, mounted and handed down for a long time. However, elegance and vulgarity are not black and white and diametrically opposed. There is elegance in vulgarity, elegance in vulgarity, elegance in vulgarity, elegance in extreme vulgarity and elegance in great vulgarity. There are also works full of life philosophy or humor in popular associations, which are quite appreciated by officials and scholars; The official scholar-officials also blurted out the vulgar works that were not exquisite, which caused the coachman and the peddler to laugh. Couplets are often recorded in couplets by officials, people, literati and villagers. In couplets, the temple is high and the rivers and lakes are far away, and there is no shortage of homophones, so communication is not difficult. There are many stories about appreciating the elegance and vulgarity of couplets.

According to the severity of the confrontation, it can be divided into work pair and wide pair.

Gongdui is a strict couplet. The upper couplet and the lower couplet are steady and steady, with the same language structure and one-to-one correspondence between levels and levels. Neither of the two words can be used repeatedly. Wide antithesis is a kind of loose antithesis couplet. The language structure is basically the same, balanced and generally coordinated, and fewer numbers are allowed to be reused. Such as the couplets of Lingyan Mountain Pavilion in Suzhou:

When the white crane returns, there are thousands of red apricots on the cliff;

Located in the depths of Lv Yun, it is the fifth most famous mountain in the world.

"Gui" is a verb-complement structure, while "Shen" is a radical structure: "Millennium" is a quantifier and "five" is an ordinal number; "Apricot" is a plant and "mountain" is a terrain; "Red" means color and "name" means degree. Because the intention is good, so let the confrontation be natural and lenient.

Between the working pair and the wide pair, there are borrowing pairs and adjacent pairs.

Borrowing duality is a couplet that uses another meaning of homophones or polysemous words to make it dual. For example:

Alcohol debt can be seen everywhere.

Since ancient times, humans rarely live to be 70 years old.

The word "ordinary" in the first part of the couplet is borrowed and divided into two words: "Qiu" and "Heng". In ancient times, one asked for eight feet, and the other for one constant, as opposed to the number "seventy". Zhang Zhidong has a pair of couplets, which is also borrowed:

The tree is half looking for an axe.

Really irrelevant.

The "fruit" in the second couplet borrows the "fruit" of fruit trees, which is opposite to the "tree" in the first couplet; "Ran" and "Ji" are function words; The word "Qiu" in the first couplet borrows from the ancient quantifier "Qiu", and "Ban Qiu" means "four feet", which is opposite to the word "one point" in the second couplet. The "dry" in the second couplet, borrowed from "dry", is a weapon, as opposed to the "axe" in the first couplet. It's clever to borrow a pair and work hard, and it's wonderful to get it occasionally.

Adjacent pairs are couplets made of nouns of adjacent categories or nouns of other parts of speech because some nouns in couplets can't find the same kind to match. Such as a couplet of Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan:

Perfume Zhuo Yungen, strange stones used to carry inkstone guests;

The gallery is hung on the moon, and the flowers have taken care of the yarn washer.

"Perfume" and "gallery" are both radical phrases with the same structure, but "gallery" is a human landscape, "water" is a natural landscape, "painting" appeals to vision, and "fragrance" appeals to smell. Neighbors treat cousins as brothers, just like only children without brothers.

According to the logical relationship, 10 can be divided into forward pair and reverse pair.

Shun is the son of heaven, also known as Zheng is the son of heaven; Contrary to the right, also known as opposition. This is divided according to the logical relationship between up and down links. The antithetical couplet "Shun Dui Shang Dui" means parallel, "different things agree", and the two set off each other and complement each other, just like the confluence of two sources, such as:

Silkworms in spring will weave until they die.

The candle burns out and glows.

The first part says that spring silkworms spin silk, and the second part says that wax torches turn into ashes, which are completely different, but they all show the spirit of persistence and dedication.

The antithesis of the upper couplet and the lower couplet means the coexistence of opposites, and "it is interesting to reason for differences". These two contradictions are unified and complementary, just like the two peaks confrontation, such as:

I looked at the blame coldly.

I bow my head and be a willing ox.

The upper and lower links show two completely different attitudes towards the enemy and the people, that is, cruel to the enemy, peaceful to oneself, and clear about love and hate.

It emphasizes the similarity of up and down links, and opposes the exclusiveness of up and down links. Chen Yinque said that good couplets have three stages: positive, negative and combined, such as:

Anti-aggression

Safeguard peace

Obviously, "aggression" and "peace" are mutually exclusive, but the upper and lower parts can be combined: only by opposing aggression can peace be defended; In order to maintain peace, aggression must be opposed.

Neither right nor wrong can go to extremes. The extreme of alignment is the tautology of upper and lower couplet, which is incorrect, such as:

Every family cleans.

Family hygiene

The upper and lower couplets have the same meaning, and there is no change and development, just repetition. This incorrect couplet is called crossing one's hands. If the couplet is changed to:

Every family cleans.

Every household keeps healthy.

Avoid tautology and become a straight pair. Because "keeping healthy" requires not only cleanliness, but also rich nutrition, moderate exercise, good mood and so on.

The extreme of duality is that the upper and lower parts are not connected, that is, they are not connected, such as:

Sunwalker

Chungchi Tsu

Although the antithesis is neat, the characters in the novel are inconsistent with the scientists in history and cannot be linked together. Another example is:

Le Sureiting Park

Zhangzhidong

The confrontation is clever and steady, but the building has nothing to do with officials, just a joke. This kind of opposition, which is not connected, is called unfeeling.

1 1 antithesis techniques can be divided into split pairs, top-truth pairs, conjunction pairs, pun pairs, set-name pairs, solar term pairs, zodiac pairs, stem-branch pairs, numeral pairs, and so on.

The opposite of kit kat can produce the absoluteness of kit kat, and there are many names, just to name a few.

On-off pairs, Chinese characters are divided or combined, or divided first and then combined, or divided again after combined, which is called on-off pairs, such as:

Hongwei riverside bird

Silkworm is a world worm.

This wood comes from Chaishan.

There is a lot of smoke at night because of the fire.

Monks such as the bamboo temple return, and they worship the four-dimensional arhat.

Wooden doors are guest-free, with two peaks, big and small.

The first couplet is to divide red into rivers and birds, and silkworm into fields and insects. The second couplet is to combine "this wood" and "mountain" into "firewood", "fire" and "sunset" into "smoke" and "abundance"; In the third part, the characters Zhu and Si are combined into equal, hand into worship, four into traditional Luo, wood into leisure and mountain into Chu.

True or false, it is to use the last word of the previous sentence as the first word of the next sentence, so as to make couplets. For example:

Jinliu on the Jinshui River, Jinliu wears goldfish mouth;

Hosta flowers are outside the jade railing and inserted on the jade head.

Serial couplets are couplets in which some words appear repeatedly and produce continuous reciprocating effect. For example:

Wuxi Xishan Wuxi

Pinghu shuiping lake

Qingcaotang Qingcaoyu eats Qingcaohu.

Honghuaxi safflower girl wears safflower.

Nantong Zhou Bei Zhou Tongnan Zhou Tong Zhou Tong Tongnan Zhou Tong Tongnan.

East pawnbroker, west pawnbroker, east pawnbroker and west pawnbroker as things.

Pun pair is a kind of antithetical couplet, in which some words can be explained by pun. For example:

Lotus root is due to lotus.

There are apricots but no plums.

It means that because lotus leaves can grow lotus roots, plums are not needed when there are apricots. Among them, "lotus", "lotus root", "apricot" and "plum" are homophonic puns, which can be deciphered as a pair of couplets with homophones and different meanings:

Why do you have a chance?

Fortunately, I don't need media.

What I want to say is, what am I looking for a spouse for? I was lucky enough to meet a beautiful woman, so I didn't need anyone to be my matchmaker when I fell in love at first sight.

Another example is a couplet written by Hua:

Top three Wei

Chapter 9 Pythagoras strings

Literally, the "top three" are the great powers of Korea, Zhao and Wei San in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the "Nine Chapters" are the "Nine Chapters Arithmetic" about "Hook, Strand and String", but they are all puns. "Top Three" refers to physicist Qian Sanqiang and "Nine Chapters" refers to indexist Zhao Jiuzhang. This kind of pun is rare. I am bent on making puns, but I can't think of it if I want to break my head. Occasionally I can touch a little with my fingertips.

Set name pair, also known as name pair, name pair and name pair. Confucius taught students to "know more about the names of plants, plants, insects and fish". The ancients loved to talk about names, "it must be justified." "If the name is not formal, it is impossible." It is a great pleasure to select the names of all kinds of people, events and phenomena and make couplets, so the name pairs are produced. The set name pair is subdivided into person name pair, place name pair, medicine name pair, flower name pair and drama name equivalence.

Name pairs, for example:

Liusanbian

Zhang Jiucheng

Lin Xiangru and Sima Xiangru are not worthy of the name;

Wei Wuji, Sun Chang mowgli, why mowgli this mowgli.

Place name pairs, such as couplets composed of ten place names in Chongqing:

Xixia Lindong and Beibei Nanquan Middle Ferry;

Huangshan Aoki, Hongyan Blackstone, Baishatuo.

The name of the drug is right, such as:

Sea dragons and seahorses lead to the sea.

Safflower, red vine and rhododendron

Xiang Xiang mu Xiang Xiang fu man branch

Yellow medicine Baiyao yam is complete

The flower name is right, such as:

white jade

Chinese milk vetch

Imperial women are shy, daffodils are smiling;

Morning glory against the car, kingfisher flying.

The title of the play is correct, such as:

After the banquet in Qionglin, thousands of bells rang, and the female champion was recruited, and the chief was monopolized by the white jade belt;

On the Wanli of Fenhe Bay, the adopted son gave a double notice, and the city wall immediately arrived in Huang Jintai.

Up and down the couplets are Qionglin Banquet, Qianzhong Road, Xiangfu Daughter-in-law, Champion, Oil Merchant Monopoly Flower Head, Baiyudai, Fenhe Bay, Wanlili, Sanniang Jiaozi, Shuanghan, Shangqiang and Mounting.

Solar terms That's right. There are 24 solar terms in the lunar calendar year, namely beginning of spring, Rain, Creeping, Equinox, Qingming, Grain Rain, Long Summer, Xiaoman, Mang, Summer Solstice, Slight Summer, Great Summer, beginning of autumn, Early Summer, White Dew, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, Early Frost, beginning of winter, Light Snow, Heavy Snow, Winter Solstice, Slight Cold and Severe Cold. These solar terms are embedded in couplets, or couplets created by linking solar terms with farming, family affairs and state affairs are called solar term pairs. For example:

Qingming ancestor worship, remember the old-timers;

Transplanting rice in Grain Rain to cultivate young people.

Zodiac killer. Yes Zodiac refers to the year when a person was born. The year is represented by the twelve zodiac signs (twelve genera) of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog and pig, such as Year of the Ox and Year of the Horse. Put the zodiac in couplets, or connect the zodiac with people's fate and life situation to make couplets. For example:

Taurus is brave in opening a splendid future.

Adding wings to a tiger will be a storm.

Dry-branch pair. In ancient China, the chronology of cadres and branches was used. Branches and branches are the general names of heavenly stems and earthly branches, and there are ten days: A, B, C, D, E, G, Xin, Ren and Gui; Twelve earthly branches: Zi, Ugly, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai. Branches are arranged and combined into 60 branch names, such as Jiazi and Yechou, to form a cycle called Jiazi, which is used for date, year, month, day and time. For example, 1988 is Chen Wunian, and 1988 is the first day of the fifth lunar month. "Historical Records" divides a day and night into twelve days, each day is two hours, represented by twelve earthly branches, midnight is midnight, and noon is noon. Embedding the names of branches in couplets, or connecting branches with society and life to make couplets, is called antithesis. For example:

Only drink jiazi harvest wine

Promote ugliness and forge ahead.

There are other paired collection names, such as Jin Mu's five elements of fire, water and soil, four seasons in pairs, southeast, northwest, inside, outside, up, down, left and right directions in pairs, tree names, grass names, book names, journal names, song names, epigraph names in pairs and so on.

A number pair is a couplet embedded with numbers. Numbers are not only one two three four five six seven eight nine ten, but also half, times, hundreds, thousands, millions, trillions, such as:

Two trees, two plum blossoms and a pool of water.

Four hours of misty rain and mid-level clouds

Sometimes homophones are used instead of numbers, such as "things" for "four", "odd" for "seven", "long" for "nine", "real" for "ten" and "memory" for "100 million". If people are old, they can also use "Li" instead of "30", "no doubt" instead of "40", "destiny" instead of "50", "60" and "70" instead of "ancient", and so on.

The characteristics and practices of homophone pairs, homophone pairs, disyllabic pairs, rhyme pairs, palindrome pairs and flowing couplets have been mentioned in my book "General and Special Laws of Couplets, Compilation Methods and Training Creation of Couplets" (see Journal of Beijing Institute of Printing, No.3 and No.4, 2002), and I won't repeat them here.

12 couplets are used for the creation of lyrics and songs, which are divided into combination pairs, tripod pairs, couplet pairs, couplet pairs, flow pairs, separation pairs, couple duets and riddle pairs.

The combination pair is two sentences relative, the tripod pair is three sentences relative, the couplet pair is four sentences relative, the couplet pair is many sentences relative, the interval pair is long and short sentences relative, and the couple and singer pair are head-to-tail relative.

Tripod is widely used in Sanqu, such as:

Pick yellow flowers with dew

Frosted boiled purple crab

Shao JIU Shao hong ye

Zaza ant steak

There are many bees making honey.

Screaming flies fight for blood.

Ms Yu lives on the bank of Wujiang River.

The war also burned the Chibi warship.

General Ban Chao died in Yumenguan in vain.

A series of overlapping sentences in Yuan Zaju "The West Chamber" have the following couplets:

Wrath of horses and chariots.

Flowers are charming.

Sleeping in a daze with a pillow.

A crack in the sleeve of a shirt

The letter of this book was sent in a sad and fearful way.

Couplets in which the upper part is opposite to multiple lower parts are also called wall pairs and bead pairs. For example, the upper part of Su Dongpo has multiple lower parts, such as:

Sanguang riyuexing

Ode to elegance in four poems

Six-pulse inch ruler

Eight Banners Man-Han Banquet

A riddle with couplets as its riddle is called a riddle couplet. For example:

White pythons cross the river, and the bright moon is in the sky;

Oolong hangs on the wall and wears a golden star.

The answer to the first part is oil lamp, and the answer to the second part is balance beam. Another example is:

Two hammers at the waist of Taoist priest

The monk has a tendon under his rib.

This is a crossword puzzle and the answers are "Ping" and "Chang".

Finally, I'd like to talk about poetry couplets, which are both a regular poem and a collection of couplets. Three or four sentences and five or six sentences of the Five Laws and Seven Laws are antithetical sentences, while the Poetry Association requires that one or two sentences and seven or eight sentences are also antithetical sentences. As for five sentences and seven sentences, there is no dual requirement. Poetry couplets require that one or two or three or four sentences are couplets, such as Du Fu's seven sentences:

Two orioles sing green willows,

A line of egrets rose into the sky.

The window contains autumn snow in Xiling,

Mambo Wu Dong Wan Li Ship.