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Information about Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets, pronounced as chūn lián, are also called "spring stickers" and "couplets". It depicts the Spring Festival with neat, antithetical, concise and exquisite words and expresses good wishes. It is a unique literary form in China. Spring Festival couplets originated in Fu Tao (rectangular red boards were hung on both sides of the gate in the Zhou Dynasty). According to the Book of Rites, the peach symbol is six inches long and three inches wide, and the words "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu" are written on the mahogany board. "On the first day of the first month, I made a peach symbol for this family and named it Xianmu. All ghosts are afraid of it." Therefore, the Qing Dynasty's "Yanjing Shi Sui Ji" said: "Spring Festival couplets, that is, Fu Tao." During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, in the court, some people wrote couplets on peach symbols. According to the Records of Shu Family in the History of Song Dynasty, Meng Changjun, the master of the later Shu Dynasty, ordered Zhang Xun, a bachelor, to write a poem on the mahogany board, "Because he is not working, he pretended to say,' Spring Festival, Changqing Festival'". This is China's first Spring Festival couplets. Until the Song Dynasty, Spring Festival couplets were still called "Fu Tao". There is a saying in Wang Anshi's poem that "thousands of households always exchange new peaches for old ones." In the Song Dynasty, the peach symbol was changed from mahogany board to paper, which was called "Spring Sticker". The earliest Spring Festival couplets in the world recorded in world record association, China are: "Three Yang begins to spread, and four orders begin to open." This Spring Festival couplets is recorded on the Dunhuang suicide note (volume number Stein 06 10) unearthed in the Tibetan Sutra Cave in Mogao Grottoes. This suicide note recorded twelve pairs of Spring Festival couplets, written at the beginning of the year, the day of beginning of spring. This couplet is the first couplet, written by Liu in Tang Dynasty. The book was written in the 11th year of Kaiyuan (723), 240 years earlier than the inscription of Meng Chang, the king of Shu. "Sanyang cloth;" "The Four Orders First Open" broke the world record of "Spring Festival in Qing Yu, Spring Festival in Changchun" and was selected as the earliest Spring Festival couplets in world record association, China. The folk custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets began in the Song Dynasty and prevailed in the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, loved couplets. In reality, all kinds of Spring Festival couplets (14) are written by himself, and he often encourages courtiers to write them. Zhu Yuanzhang strongly advocated posting couplets. After establishing the capital of Jinling (now Nanjing), he ordered ministers, officials and ordinary people to write a couplet and put it on the door before New Year's Eve. He wore casual clothes and went door to door to watch the excitement. Scholars at that time also regarded couplets as elegant enjoyment, and writing Spring Festival couplets became a social fashion. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju's monograph Poetry of Spring Festival couplets discusses the origin of Spring Festival couplets and the characteristics of various works. Spring Festival couplets had become a literary and artistic form at that time. There are many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, which can be divided into door heart, frame pair, horizontal batch, Spring Festival couplets and bucket couplets according to the place of use. The "door core" is attached to the center of the upper end of the door panel; The "frame pair" is installed on the left and right door frames, and the "horizontal batch" is attached to the crossbar of the door; "Spring Festival couplets" are posted in corresponding places according to different contents; Dou Jin, also called "door leaf", is a square diamond, which is often attached to furniture and screen walls. At the same time, every household should put the word "Fu" on the door, wall and lintel. Sticking the word "Fu" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in China. According to Dream of Liang Lu, "When I was young, I would visit department stores, draw a door god peach symbol and celebrate the Spring Festival ..."; " Scholars, large and small, sweep the gate, clean the family, change the door gods, hang Zhong Kui, nail peaches, stick spring cards and worship ancestors. "The" spring card "in this article is the word" Fu "written on red paper. The word "fu" is now interpreted as "happiness", but in the past it meant "good luck" and "good luck". No matter now or in the past, the word "Fu" posted in the Spring Festival has pinned people's yearning for a happy life and wishes for a better future. In order to fully reflect this yearning and wish, the people simply turn the word "Fu" upside down to mean "Fu has arrived" and "Fu has arrived". There is also a legend that the word "fu" is posted upside down among the people. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, took the word "fu" as a secret memory and prepared to kill people. In order to eliminate this disaster, kind Ma Huanghou asked all the families in the city to put "Fu" on their doors before dawn. Naturally, no one dares to go against Ma Huanghou's will, so the word "Fu" is posted on every door. If one of the families can't read, turn the word "fu" upside down. The next day, the emperor sent people to the streets to check and found that every family had posted the word "Fu", and another family had posted the word "Fu" upside down. When the emperor heard the news, he was furious and immediately ordered the body guard to cut down the house. When Ma Huanghou saw that things were not good, he quickly said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "The family knew that you were visiting today, and deliberately turned the word" Fu "upside down. Isn't this the meaning of' blessed way'? "As soon as the emperor heard the truth, he ordered the release, and a catastrophe was finally eliminated. Since then, people have turned the word "Fu" upside down for good luck and in memory of Ma Huanghou. Others elaborate the word "Fu" into various patterns, such as longevity, longevity peach, carp yue longmen, abundant grains, dragons and phoenixes, and so on. In the past, there was a folk saying that "on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, every family wrote big characters". The word "fu" used to be handwritten, but now it is sold in markets and shops.

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It is said that Meng Changjun, the monarch of Shu after the Five Dynasties, was a monarch who liked to be unconventional. On New Year's Eve at the end of 964, he had a whim to let a bachelor named Xin write two sentences on the mahogany board and hang them on the door frame of his living room as peach symbols. These two sentences are "Qing Yu in the New Year, Changchun in the Festival". Enjoy the legacy of the previous generation in the new year. The second sentence is to the effect that festivals show that spring is always there. Since then, the form and content of Fu Tao have changed, not only by replacing "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu" with parallel couplets, but also by expanding the connotation of Fu Tao, not only to ward off evil spirits and disasters, but also by adding the content of praying and wishing. This became the earliest Spring Festival couplets in China. In the Song Dynasty, it was quite common to write couplets on mahogany boards. Wang Anshi wrote in his poem "January Day" that "firecrackers are one year old, and the spring breeze sends warmth into Tu Su. Thousands of families always exchange new peaches for old ones, which reflects the grand occasion of hanging peach symbols on New Year's Eve every year. At the same time, with the appearance of the door god and the peach symbol symbolizing happiness and auspiciousness written on red paper, the mission of exorcising evil spirits and avoiding disasters shouldered by the previous peach symbol has gradually shifted to the door god, and the content of the peach symbol has also evolved into expressing people's good wishes for good luck and good harvest in the coming year. The word "Spring Festival couplets" appeared in the early Ming Dynasty. When Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was emperor, he liked ostentation and extravagance, and he also liked the peach symbols posted by the big family on New Year's Eve every year, so he wanted to promote them. One year before New Year's Eve, he issued an imperial edict requiring every household in Jinling to stick Spring Festival couplets written in red paper on their doorframes to welcome the Spring Festival. On the morning of New Year's Day, Zhu Yuanzhang made a tour incognito and went door to door to check the Spring Festival couplets. Whenever he sees a well-written Spring Festival couplets, he is very happy and full of praise. Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry when he saw that the family did not post Spring Festival couplets. He asked why. The attendant replied: this is a master who is engaged in killing pigs and cutting pigs. He is very busy during the New Year, and he hasn't had time to find someone to write. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered people to bring pen and ink, and wrote a pair of Spring Festival couplets for this family: "Split the road of life and death with both hands, and cut off the root of right and wrong with one knife. "After writing, I will continue to patrol. After a period of time, Zhu Yuanzhang passed by here again when he returned to the palace. He saw that the butcher's house had not posted his Spring Festival couplets, so he asked what was going on. The host respectfully replied, "This pair of Spring Festival couplets was written by the emperor himself. We hang high in nave and burn incense every day. " Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy, so he ordered his entourage to give the family thirty taels of silver. It can be seen that the naming and promotion of "Spring Festival couplets" was promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang in every household by means of administrative orders and imperial edicts.

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Legend 1

Tangram _ GUID _1357005909209 In ancient China mythology, it is said that there is a ghost world, in which there is a mountain, a big peach tree covering 3,000 miles, and a golden rooster at the top of the tree. Whenever the golden rooster crows in the morning, the ghost who travels at night will rush back to the ghost domain. The Gate of Ghost Domain is located in the northeast of Taoshu District, and there are two gods standing by the door, namely shentu and Lei Yu. If the ghost does something unnatural at night, Shencha and Lei Yu will immediately find it, catch it, tie it with a rope made of Miscanthus, and give it to the tiger. So ghosts all over the world are afraid of tea and stagnation. So people carved them into peach trees and put them at their doorsteps to ward off evil spirits and prevent harm. Later, people simply carved the names of Shencha and Lei Yu on the mahogany board, thinking that this could also eliminate disasters. This kind of red board was later called "Fu Tao". In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on mahogany boards, one for killing evil spirits, the other for expressing good wishes, and the third for decorating the portal for beauty. They also write couplets on red paper symbolizing happiness and auspiciousness, and stick them on both sides of doors and windows during the Spring Festival to express people's good wishes for good luck in the coming year.

Legend 2

So why can mahogany avoid evil and exorcise evil spirits? According to China's ancient myth "Shan Hai Jing", there was a mountain in ancient times that was a ghost world, called the ghost domain. At the gate of this ghost town, there is a big peach tree whose crown can cover the sky for three thousand miles. There is a golden rooster living in the tree, which is responsible for the dawn every day. Whenever the golden rooster crows in the morning, the ghost who travels at night must return to the ghost domain. On both sides of the gate of the ghost domain stood two gods. Their names were Shen Tu and Lei Yu. If ghosts do unnatural things at night, Shen Tu and Lei Yu will immediately catch them, tie them up with ropes and send them to the tiger, so all ghosts are afraid of Shen Tu and Lei Yu. In this way, Shen Tu, Lei Yu and Taomu were used to exorcise evil spirits and avoid disasters. They carved the shapes of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on mahogany, or carved their names on mahogany boards and hung them at the door to ward off evil spirits and prevent harm. This kind of red board is called "peach symbol".

form

The Spring Festival is the "first of a hundred festivals" of the Chinese nation. In the historical civilization of China, there are many customs to celebrate the Spring Festival. Up to now, among the people, especially in rural areas, the most widely preserved customs are posting Spring Festival couplets and posting doors. paste up Spring Festival couplets

Putting up Spring Festival couplets is the first thing people do to celebrate the Spring Festival. Whenever the Spring Festival approaches, every household will put brand-new Spring Festival couplets on both sides of the gate, with black characters on a red background, which is steady and bright. Express the family's best wishes for the new year, such as "six animals are prosperous and the grain is abundant". Some Spring Festival couplets also focus on reflecting different "happiness views" of different industries and families. Therefore, it is undoubtedly a meaningful way to observe folk customs to carefully study the Spring Festival couplets posted by people during the Spring Festival. When did the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets begin? So far, there is no accurate material research. But it probably started in the post-Shu period more than 1000 years ago, which can be confirmed in historical records. Besides, according to Wang Zhu's Collection and Sui Ji of Yanjing, the original form of Spring Festival couplets is what people call "Fu Tao".

meaning

As early as the Warring States period more than two thousand years ago, the Central Plains region hung "peach stalks" on the Spring Festival, also known as "peach symbols". Fu Cha Dunchong's Yanjing Spring Festival couplets in Qing Dynasty recorded: "Spring Festival couplets are also Fu Tao. Since entering the customs, some scholars have written Spring Festival couplets under the eaves of the city in order to moisten their pens. After the sacrifice, it gradually tilted up and thousands of families took on a new look. " Pop away from the traditional Spring Festival couplets; The relationship between Spring Festival couplets and peach symbols can also be seen in Wang Anshi's poem "On the narrowest day of every family, always change new peaches for old ones" in the Song Dynasty. What is a peach symbol? According to Huainanzi, this "peach symbol" is made of peach wood one inch wide and seven or eight inches long. Write the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on the mahogany board and hang them on both sides of the door. Or draw these two gods-left and right. The ancients used Fu Tao's calligraphy and painting Er Shen to suppress evil spirits. This is also known as the "door god" among the people. Fang Meng, the queen of Shu, wrote in the Five Dynasties more than 700 years ago: "Qing Yu in the New Year is a promise. Changchun. " It is the earliest Spring Festival couplets in China. Since Meng Chang wrote Fu Tao, scholars have followed suit and regarded Spring Festival couplets as elegant things. The wind of writing Spring Festival couplets has gradually spread. paste up Spring Festival couplets

However, in the Song Dynasty, Spring Festival couplets were still called "Fu Tao". Couplets are not only carved on peach symbols, but also pushed on pillars, which are later called "couplets". After the Song Dynasty, Yichun Post Station used couplets to write powder notes. Some people collect the ancient sayings of The Book of Songs, while others collect Tang and Song poems. According to legend, there is Wang Li's Spring Festival couplets: "The northern country is vast, and thousands of doors are fresh." This is the Spring Festival couplets hanging on people's teeth and cheeks. Fu Tao is really called Spring Festival couplets. That was in the Ming Dynasty. According to Ming Dynasty scholar Chen, "Spring Festival couplets began in". Jinling, the imperial capital, can't send a letter before New Year's Eve. Officials are at home and add a pair of Spring Festival couplets at the door, so the emperor can go out and watch. "Zhu Yuanzhang not only traveled incognito personally, watched the laughter, but also personally presented the Spring Festival couplets to Bachelor Tao An and others. The emperor's advocacy made the Spring Festival couplets increasingly prosperous, and finally formed an enduring fashion. Couplets are called couplets, commonly known as couplets. Concise and profound, neat and balanced, with one word and one sound, is a unique art form of Chinese language. It can be said that couplet art is a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation. The types of couplets can be divided into Spring Festival couplets, wedding couplets, birthday couplets, elegiac couplets, decorative couplets, industry couplets, communication couplets and miscellaneous couplets (including humorous couplets).