China 100 Classic Elements (57): Couplets.

Couplets are called couplets, commonly known as couplets. Concise and profound, neat and balanced, word for word, is a unique art form of Chinese language. It can be said that couplet art is a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation.

classify

The types of couplets can be divided into Spring Festival couplets, Happy Couplets, Shoulian couplets, elegiac couplets, decorative couplets, trade couplets, communicative couplets and miscellaneous couplets (including humorous couplets ...).

Couplets vary in length, only one or two words are short; It can be hundreds of words long. There are various forms of couplets, such as pairs, pairs, flowing pairs, couplets, set sentence pairs and so on. However, no matter what kind of couplets and forms are used, they must have the following characteristics:

format

First, the number of words should be equal and the sentences should be consistent. In addition to deliberately leaving a place for a word to achieve a certain effect, the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be the same, neither more nor less.

Second, it is necessary to be honest and have a harmonious tone. The traditional habit is to "pucker up and fall flat", that is, the end of the last sentence of the first couplet is puckered up and the end of the last sentence of the second couplet is flat.

Third, the parts of speech should be relative and the position should be consistent. It is generally called "virtual to virtual, real to real", which means that nouns to nouns, verbs to verbs, adjectives to adjectives, quantifiers to quantifiers, adverbs to adverbs and related words must be in the same position.

Fourth, the content should be related and run through from top to bottom. The meaning of up and down links must be interrelated, but they cannot be repeated.

In addition, the traditional practice of hanging couplets must be written straight and pasted vertically, from right to left and from top to bottom, and cannot be reversed.

The horizontal criticism closely related to couplets can be said to be the title and center of couplets. Good reviews can make the finishing point and complement each other in couplets.

taboo

1. Avoid simultaneous arrival.

This is in terms of the relationship between the footing of the upper and lower clauses. Strictly speaking, horseshoe rhyme can be used as a rule for arranging horizontal lines at the end of a couplet composed of multiple clauses. The so-called horseshoe rhyme refers to the sentence that the feet are flat and arranged like a horse stance, and the hind feet follow the footprints in front. The sharing format is: sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing, sharing and sharing. However, the author thinks that starting from the present situation and development trend of couplets, considering the characteristics of "couplets have no definite sentences and sentences have no definite words" and the complexity of couplets' sentence patterns, the metrical requirement for the feet of sentences to be parallel can also be "no simultaneous stop" as a rule. To be precise, this rule has two requirements: (1), two or three terms on each side, and all terms cannot be settled at the same time. (2) If there are more than four clauses on each side, it is required that each clause cannot have three consecutive sentences (unless the upper and lower clauses are connected together and the middle clause can be used) or three or more sentences can be settled at the same time. This rule is concise in theory and flexible in application, which not only embodies the combination of principle and theory, but also accommodates several main different opinions on the issue of horizontal footing. Take one-fifth of the long couplets on each side as an example. According to the law of "horseshoe rhyme", there are only two orthography methods, namely, occasionally flat, occasionally flat (in the middle clause), and there is another variant, * *. According to the law of "not staying at the same time", then it is flush, flush (middle section), flush and flush.

Step 2 avoid ending at the same time

This is based on the relationship between the upper joint foot and the lower joint foot. Accurately speaking, this rule also has two requirements: (1) No matter how long a couplet is and how many clauses there are, the last word of the couplet is required to be silent; The bottom line requires a flat tail. Generally, it can't end with a dull voice, but with a squeaky voice. (2) The upper and lower couplet cannot end at the same time, that is, the last word of the upper and lower couplet cannot be homophone or homophone.

3. Avoid three flat tails or three narrow tails.

It means that the last three words of a sentence should be avoided as much as possible. For example, "sitting on the lotus platform because of the deep", if you change "sitting" to "boarding", it will become a three-level tail. For example, "Only by practicing according to law can you enter the Tao". If you change "can" to "can", it will be three tails. There is no difference between the monotony of three flat tails or three flat tails. In order to reflect the consistency in theory, both should be taboo, not just three flat tails without three flat tails.

4. Avoid loneliness or loneliness

It means that in a five-word or six-word sentence, try to avoid having only one flat or vague phonetic word in the whole sentence. For example, "everything goes well", if it is changed to "everything goes well", it is loneliness; Another example is: "Bodhi is ripe now". If it is changed to "Bodhi is round now", it will be lonely. Here, the author will briefly discuss the problem of loneliness. In the author's view, the couplet method does not have to completely follow the traditional poetic method. From the perspective of couplet law, it is more concise and reasonable to define "if a sentence of five or six words has only one flat sound". Because: First, this definition is generally a bit loose in terms of standards, which is in line with the development trend of couplet law. Secondly, according to the traditional poetic method, the so-called solitude should be outside the foot of the sentence, but there is a big difference between couplets and modern poems, that is, the requirements for the flatness of the ending words (the foot of the sentence) are different, and no rhyme is required, so the ending words (the foot of the sentence) do not need to be drawn separately in couplets. Third, literally, loneliness is a kind of. If the literal meaning of loneliness is completely consistent with the actual meaning, it will be beneficial to understanding and operation. The isolation of traditional poetry rhythm is: in a sentence pattern with five characters on the same level and seven characters on the same level, if only one word in the sentence is a flat word except rhyme, it is a crime of "isolation". This definition has actually killed loneliness in one or two sentences (specifically, the five words "Ping Ping" have been changed to "Ping Ping" and the seven words have been changed to "Ping Ping". Therefore, the word "Gu Ping" must be supplemented with explanations so that people can actually understand and operate it. Fourthly, in the five-character couplet, if only "even flat" is flat, then let's look at "even flat" and compare these two formats. Judging from the rigidity and monotony of ping and ping, what is it? Fifth, modern poetry is mainly composed of five or seven words. Therefore, in the six-character couplet, the concept of loneliness in the rhythm of traditional poetry cannot be explained, and there may be loneliness in the six-character couplet.

In addition, being dull or lonely is no different from being dull and monotonous. In fact, the authors of ancient and modern poetry couplets, whether lonely or lonely, can be avoided if they can. Therefore, taking both as taboo not only reflects the consistency in theory, but also stems from reality. Incidentally, according to the author's above definition, the phenomenon of being flat or lonely actually exists only in five-character and six-character sentences, because in sentences with more than seven words, if the basic requirements of alternating flat and lonely are observed, there will be no flat or lonely.

5. Avoid homophones and ectopic homophones.

Overlapping or overlapping words are allowed in couplets, which is a common rhetorical device in couplets, but attention should be paid to keeping the upper and lower couplets consistent when overlapping. For example, "many things" is the opposite of "rolling", in which "many things" is the antonym of overlapping words; Another example is:

Practice is to cultivate the mind, and the emptiness of the heart is the other side of nirvana;

Seeing the cause is like seeing the fruit, and the fruit is bitter like hell.

Among them, "repair" is relative to "seeing", "reality" is relative to "ru", and "faith" is relative to "passing". However, homophones should be avoided as much as possible in couplets. Homonym means that the same word appears in the same position in the upper and lower parts, such as "dharma boundary" to "world" and "enlightenment" to "magic". However, some function words (such as "More importantly, more importantly, more importantly") are allowed, such as:

Fish that slip through the net sometimes exist in the world;

There are no birds in the sky.

Heterotopic words refer to the same word appearing in different positions in the upper and lower parts. For example:

Don't be greedy if the industry can't flow;

Don't hate people because of the same fate.

If the word "Mo" in the bottom line is changed to "No", it will be different from the word "No" in the top line.

Homonyms with different meanings are taboo in couplets. However, a special heterotopic reciprocal format is allowed, such as:

Without a full moon, there is no moon, it follows you;

Although flowers bloom and fall, you let them develop.

The "it" in couplets is "you", that is, heterotopia and mutual emphasis.

6. Avoid synonymous opposition

Synonymous opposition, also known as cross hands. The so-called taboo synonymous relative refers to the relative statements of upper couplet and lower couplet, and their meanings should be avoided as much as possible. For example, The Rising Sun is good for The Rising Sun, History is good for History, and China's Eternal Show is good for The Picture of Changchun in Chixian County. Of course, there are also some non-central words (especially function words) with their hands crossed, or the proportion of their hands crossed in couplets is very small and harmless. Some sentences with similar meanings are relative and good.

The origin and development of couplets

Couplets are one of the unique literary forms in China, and their wonderful combination with calligraphy has become a colorful artistic creation of the Chinese nation. Couplets are called "couplets", which are named after the pillars hanging in halls and houses in ancient times. As early as before the Qin and Han dynasties, there was a custom of hanging peach symbols in the New Year. The so-called Fu Tao refers to writing the names of the legendary gods "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu" on two mahogany boards and hanging them on the left and right doors to drive away ghosts and suppress evil spirits. This custom lasted for more than 1000 years, and it was not until the Five Dynasties that people began to paste couplets on mahogany boards. According to "Songshi Shu Family", Meng Chang, the master of Shu after the Five Dynasties, "in addition to the year after year, the bachelor's degree was inscribed with a peach symbol, and a bedroom door was set around. At the end of the year (AD 964), the bachelor was lucky enough to write a poem by Yin Xun. Because of his non-job, he pretended to write a poem: Qing Yu in the New Year, Jia Jienuo. Changchun. " This is the earliest Spring Festival couplets in China. After the Song Dynasty, it has become quite common for people to hang Spring Festival couplets in the New Year. In Wang Anshi's poems, the phrase "Thousands of households always change new peaches for old ones" is a true portrayal of the grand occasion at that time. Because the appearance of Spring Festival couplets is closely related to peach symbols, the ancients also called Spring Festival couplets "peach symbols".

It was not until the Ming Dynasty that people began to use red paper instead of red boards, which led to the Spring Festival couplets we see today. According to Miscellaneous Notes of Mao Yunlou, before the Lunar New Year's Eve, after Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of Ming Dynasty, made Jinling his capital, he ordered officials and literati to hang a pair of Spring Festival couplets at home, go out incognito in person, watch from house to house and have fun. From then on, all scholars think antithesis is an elegant thing. After entering the Qing Dynasty, couplets once flourished, and many famous couplets appeared.

With the development of cultural exchanges between countries, couplets have also been introduced to Vietnam, North Korea, Japan, Singapore and other countries. These countries still have the custom of pasting couplets.

Brief introduction of couplets

China's calligraphy is profound and charming. Seal script is cursive, or vigorous, or graceful and simple, or elegant and elegant, giving people a kind of elegant and smart aesthetic feeling. Couplets are concise, neat and rigorous, and the number of words in couplets ranges from four to eight. Five-character or seven-character poems and eight-character sentences are common and rich in content. A few poems, aphorisms, proverbs and even vernacular Chinese can be beautiful and beautiful. It's really a chapter that shines on people's eyes. Therefore, combining calligraphy with couplets, appreciating the poetic philosophy of beautiful words in calligraphy and appreciating the charm of beautiful books between words is indeed a perfect embodiment of humanistic art. Throughout the ages, book music has been rewarded by this, and literati like to hang this elegance on the wall as the charm of its beautiful book literature, which makes people love it endlessly.

develop

China Couplet Society is a national first-class society registered by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

With the appearance of the Internet, couplets have broken through the situation of local communication, and the forum of couplets website has made great progress from [website = http://dopic.org/BBS/25-23.htm] in 2004 to [website = http://dopic.org/BBS/25-58.htm] in 2005.

gather

In ancient times, someone posted a unique couplet at home:

Part I: 2233445

Downlink: 6677889

The horizontal batch is: two four seven three.

This is a special couplet, composed of numbers, which is a hidden couplet. The first part is short of "one" and the second part is short of "ten". The homophonic number is "lack of clothes and food", and the horizontal couplet is: "son (2) died (4) wife (7) scattered (3)".

It turns out that this family is telling people the darkness of society with digital couplets!

Appreciate two clever number couplets. First, "at the beginning of Luoshui, the yuan was expensive, and the number of yin was nine, the number of yang was nine, and the number was 9981. The number is connected with the Tao, and the Tao is in harmony with the original Buddha, which is a sincere feeling; Qishan Feng Dan is auspicious, with six male singers and six female singers, which is the sound of nature. Born as Emperor Jiajing, he will live forever. " This is a couplet written by Wei Yuan in a prison temple in the Ming Dynasty (see Wan Ye Li Supplement by Shen Ming Defu). There is another cloud in the World Temple Association: "Lingcao is written in a pen, and the number of days is five, the number of digits is five, and the number is born in the Tao. Tao is in harmony with this respect, and there is no respect; Cut bamboo tube coordinate method, the positive sound is six, the negative sound is six, six, six, thirty-six, and the sound is heard in the sky. Emperor Jiajing was born and the emperor ruled for ten thousand years. " This couplet is similar to the former couplet, and it is said that it was written by Xia Yan. ⑵

In August of the fifty-fifth year of Qing Qianlong (1790), Emperor Gaozong celebrated his eightieth birthday, and there was a long couplet in the altar, which was the most magnificent and widely known. It is said that it was written by Prime Minister Peng. Li Anyun: "Dragonflies have 50 years. On the first day of celebration, five numbers are combined with the sky, five numbers are combined with the ground, five things are repaired, and Five Blessingg is prepared. Five generations are under one roof, and they are colorful; The crane is counted as August 80, and I wish you a long life of 8,000 years in the spring and 8,000 years in the autumn. Eight yuan will enter, eight times will be boarded, eight tones will follow the law, and eight winds will play Dan. "

Finally, tell an interesting story of winning by numbers. According to legend, in the Ming Dynasty, there was a poor scholar who was quite talented. However, due to the prevalence of favoritism and malpractice in the imperial examination at that time, it failed repeatedly. A year later, it's time to take the science exam again. He heard that the examiner was honest and meritocratic, so he packed his bags and went to Beijing again to accept the job. It's a long way. Although the scholar worked day and night, when he arrived in Beijing, the exam was over. The scholar finally impressed the examiner and allowed him to make up the exam. The examiner's question is to ask him to contact with ten numbers from one to ten. After listening to this, the scholar thought, so I explained the reasons for bumping all the way and failing the list, in order to get the examiner's understanding, and then blurted out: "I was alone in the same boat, sitting on two or three poets, using four paddles and five sails, passing through six beaches and seven bays, and experienced eight bumps and nine winnows." Alas, I came very late. " The examiner secretly marveled: "I have learned a lot in my life!" Then, he asked the scholar to make a couplet of ten to one. The scholar wanted to show his difficulty in studying and taking exams in recent years, so Qingyin said, "After ten years of cold window, I entered the 98 th Hospital, abandoned worldly desires, studied hard on the Five Classics and Four Books, and took exams three times and twice. I must win today. " Hearing this, the examiner repeatedly called it wonderful. For the alliance of rights, scholars can answer like a stream. This year, the laurel of Xie Yuan was taken away by this poor scholar.

The Classification, Norms and Creation Methods of Couplets

Classification of couplets

In Liang Zhangju's Couplet Series, Continuation and Three Stories in Qing Dynasty, couplets are divided into ten categories, namely, stories, English branches, temples, stories, aphorisms, stories, couplets, set sentences and miscellaneous affixes. The Integration of Couplets published in the Republic of China divides couplets into 20 categories, namely, celebration, mourning, melancholy, learning, business, guild hall, temple, shrine, theater, first house, garden villa, New Year's Eve dinner, places of interest, gifts, incense, definite words, definite sentences, funny, vernacular and miscellaneous. These two classification methods are classified according to practical scope, but the latter is more detailed than the former. There are forty or fifty kinds of couplets if they are classified according to their literal structure, rhetorical devices and logical relations. For example:

1. Dual forms: word pair, object pair, right pair, opposition, worker pair, wide pair, line pair, palindrome pair, thimble equivalence.

2. Rhetoric: metaphor, exaggeration, backchat, pun, rhetorical question and homophonic.

3. Wording skills: embedding words, Tibetan words, compound words, reduplicated words, radicals, word analysis, word segmentation, numbers, etc.

4. Logical structure: juxtaposition, turning, choice, cause and effect.

With the development of society and culture, the theme of couplets will be more complete and perfect.

Standardization and creation of couplets

As the name implies, couplets should be "paired", that is, they are composed of upper and lower couplets. The upper and lower couplets must have the same number of words and the same content, that is, the upper and lower couplets can be "linked", and two unrelated sentences cannot be casually combined to form a couplet. Couplets are a comprehensive subject, with complex contents and various forms, and strict requirements on antithesis and leveling. This book will tell and analyze the creative methods according to the norms of couplets for the reference of those who learn to write couplets.

Yuan Shikai, a national thief, began his dream of being an emperor after grabbing the fruits of the victory of the Revolution of 1911, but died before the appearance of the royal robes. After his death, someone gave him a pair of elegiac couplets, saying:

Yuan Shikai is eternal;

Long live the people of China.

Literally, this couplet is harmless, but if you look closely, the couplet above is five words and the couplet below is six words. I'm sorry to be here! A deacon saw the clue, and he secretly said to the mourners: This couplet is ill-intentioned, which means that we in Yuan Gong are sorry for the people!

This short story shows that the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be equal. Generally, couplets are written vertically, with the last word (tone) of the first couplet posted on the right (hand) and the last word (tone) of the second couplet posted on the left (hand).

Although antithesis of couplets has something in common with poetry, it is more demanding than poetry. Couplets can be divided into wide pairs and narrow pairs. Wide pairs can only be formed if the contents of the upper and lower couplets are related, while narrow pairs should be written in strict accordance with the standards of Li Weng Dui Yun. However, in practical couplets, wide couplets are often used, while narrow couplets are rarely used, because the requirements for antithesis are too strict, which restricts people's thinking and is suspected of hurting meaning because of the text.

Third, China's four tones and couplets.

The level and level of couplets are basically the same as poems. One yin applies the basic laws of poetry, with no distinction between 135 and 246.

How to judge the couplets? Besides distinguishing from the content of couplets, it is more important to judge from the flat sound at the end of couplets. It is strictly stipulated in couplets that the last word of the first couplet should be in a flat voice and the last word of the second couplet should be in a flat voice. Later generations called this rule "flat rise and flat fall". It must be noted that the "four tones" in ancient Chinese and modern Chinese are somewhat different. Since the popularization of hanyu pinyin and the use of Beijing pronunciation as the national common language, the level of the same Chinese character has changed. For example, according to the phonological standard of Pei Fu, the four tones are flat, up, down and inside. Pingsheng is listed as "Ping", and going up, going and entering are all listed as "Nuo". According to Beijing's intonation, it can be divided into flat tone, rising tone, rising tone and falling tone. In this way, there are more flat words, and some falling words are classified as flat words, which is worthy of attention of comrades who learn to write couplets. In ancient times, many linguists elaborated on the four tones of ancient Chinese in detail. For example, in the book Jade Key Song, Shi Vacuum made the following analysis:

1. Ping-Ping lived a low life. When reading, the pronunciation is peaceful, with a long ending and aftertaste.

2. Go up-go up and shout. Pronunciation is loud, voice is short and there is no ending.

3. It's a long way to go-to sound and mourn. The ending sound is short and high.

4. Input-Input a short and urgent set of sounds. The entrance is simple and urgent, the reception is short and deep, and there is no ending.

Generally speaking, flat words are relatively flat and have long endings. Short vowels or no vowels. Mr Liu Bannong, a modern linguist, first affirmed that the analysis of four tones in ancient Chinese by vacuum interpretation is correct. Mr. Bannon made a supplement according to his own research. He said: "The sound is smooth and smooth, with the least twists and turns, which is often called balanced sound. The two sounds are the most tortuous, rising or falling, falling or rising or falling. It should be unbalanced. The shortest tone is called promoting sound. " Mr. Bannon's argument is simple and clear. Mr. Zhang Shilu simply divided the four tones into two categories: the flat tone is where the long step is, the flat tone is where the short step is, and the flat tone is mainly the difference in length. The author also believes that apart from the long and short steps, the pronunciation of the four tones in ancient Chinese is also quite different. For example, from the beginning of the flat tone, the scale rises gradually, and reaches its peak at the third tone, which means the highest pronunciation. The entrance sound plummeted, and the volume was low, short and simple. In short: be quiet and sad, raise your voice greatly, stay away from the voice clearly, and raise your voice directly. The above essay is just a general method, which readers can verify in their study and practice.

In order to practice the ability to distinguish four tones, the ancients listed the following 32 words as the basic knowledge of leveling. As long as you can master these words, other words can also be learned by analogy.

1. one two three four five six seven eight nine X. These ten numbers are: in, out, in, in, in, in.

2. Party A, Party B, Party D, Party E, Party G, Party D, Party B ... The level of the cross is: going to the next level, going to the next level.

3. Ugly son Yin Mao Tatsumi didn't apply at noon. These twelve words are: up, up, up, up, up and down.

Using Beijing intonation to mark the four tones of Chinese, namely, flat tone, rising tone, falling tone, all evolved from the four tones of ancient Chinese. People used to judge the flat tone of couplets based on the four tones of ancient Chinese. Nowadays, four tones in modern Chinese are rarely used to correct, write poems and fill words except pronunciation. However, with the popularization of Putonghua and the passage of time, the four tones of modern Chinese have finally been accepted by people.

4. You should know that some Chinese characters are always used horizontally, either horizontally or horizontally, such as reading, teaching, doing, thinking, alongside ... For example:

(1) "Look" is a flat sound: the incense burner emits purple smoke, and the waterfall hangs in front of the river; On the high cliff, it seems to be thousands of feet high, which makes people think that the Milky Way has fallen from heaven to earth.

(2) "Look" and groan: plum acid splashes teeth, and banana leaves a green screen; Spring goes to summer, and the days are long and tired. After a nap, I feel depressed and watch the children play with catkins in the air.

(3) "Teach" to be quiet: cherries, apricots, peaches and pomegranates bloom first, so teach them to plant one by one by the window; The bamboo shadow is like a willow, and it clearly enters the house.

(4) "teaching" sounds: chalk has a fast career and teaches students in accordance with their aptitude; The peaches and plums in the garden are full of vitality, and the rain and spring breeze bloom for the second time.

(5) Speaking for Wei: First, moving to Changsha, looking to Chang 'an in the west, not seeing home; There was a flute sound of "Plum Blossom" from the Yellow Crane Tower, and another drop of plum blossom was seen on the river bank in May.

(6) Unjust for Wei: I have made great contributions to Hanwang, but I have not put myself in my heart; If I had known that rabbits don't eat dog meat, I would have regretted sitting in Huaiyin and fishing.

Phrase structure of couplets

In addition to rhyming antithesis, couplets also have certain rules in terms of phrases and structures. For example:

Shake red;

Detui

(single group, two-character structure)

Moderate benefit;

Full of loss.

(single group, three-character structure)

Happiness lies in contentment;

Can tolerate self-satisfaction.

(single group, four-character structure)

Zhifang concentric knot;

Lotus flowers bloom and fall.

(single group, five-character structure)

Conggui is full of fragrance;

Kunshan and Pian Yu are priceless.

(compound group, six-character structure)

Chunjiang peach leaves are wet;

It rains at night and butterflies dream of cold.

(compound group, seven-character structure)

There are hundreds of rivers and great tolerance;

The wall stands a thousand miles, and it is just without desire.

(compound group, eight-character structure)

From ancient times to the present, start again;

Let's talk about emotions first, and then talk about the beginning.

(compound group, nine-character structure)

Three thousand warriors, arrived at the land of secluded swallows;

Dragonfly ninth five-year plan, the day of reopening the Great Song Dynasty.

(Complex group, cross structure)

Forty thousand dollars, the bright moon and the breeze are valuable today;

A pair of white jade, the poet's name is Gu.

(compound group, eleven-character structure)

Heaven and earth show great kindness, and Junzi feels the same;

Ancient and modern Kyushu national glory.

(compound group, twelve-character structure)

The phrases and structures of couplets should be consistent. The upper couplet is a verb-object structure, and the lower couplet must also be a verb-object structure phrase, such as "shake red; Cui Di. " The upper couplet is a radical phrase, and the lower couplet must also have a radical phrase, such as "concentric knot" and "flower with the same pedicle", which are all of the same phrase structure. When planning the layout of couplets, we must pay attention to the fact that the phrase structure of the upper and lower couplets must be consistent, which is also an important rule that the couplets authors must follow.

. . . . . .