Any form of literary and artistic works has its own different basic characteristics, so that it can be distinguished and not confused. Similarly, couplets, as a unique literary form, also have basic characteristics different from other literary forms. If you want to write couplets, you first need to understand and master the basic characteristics of the art of couplets, so as to write a couplet that conforms to the rules and does not go out of shape. Generally speaking, the basic characteristics of couplet art are: two lines of words, the same number of words, related content, balance and harmony, equivalence of parts of speech and corresponding structure.
Two lines of couplets, namely the upper couplet and the lower couplet, generally refer to short couplets. If it is a long couplet of dozens or hundreds of words, of course it is more than two lines, but it must be a couplet and a couplet, or two groups of words.
The so-called word equality means that there are generally more words in the upper and lower parts, but there is no word limit. But because Chinese characters in our country are one word and one syllable, some syllables are one word or several words. Therefore, under the premise of equal words, we should consider the same phrases, which is also called the same rhythm. How many words are there in the upper phrase and how many words are there in the lower phrase, so that the sentence patterns of the upper and lower phrases can be consistent. For example:
Don't do anything against your will; Listen less to pleasant sounds.
This is a five-character couplet, called two-three sentence pattern or two-three rhythm. Upper couplet and lower couplet are two phrases with exactly the same number of words.
However, under very special circumstances, the number of words in the upper and lower couplets is not exactly equal. It is said that when the traitor Yuan Shikai died, someone wrote him a couplet: Yuan Shikai is eternal; Long live the people of China.
When someone questioned the unequal number of words and the unequal relative phrases in this couplet, the author confidently said, "Yuan Shikai" is sorry for "the people of China". This widely circulated couplet expresses the voice of the people of China.
The contents of couplets are related, that is, the meanings of the upper sentence and the lower sentence of couplets should be similar or opposite, so as to make them coherent and interrelated, thus jointly expressing a central idea. If a couplet only seeks the consistency of form and ignores the unity of content, it can only be a good couplet.
The plainness and harmony of couplets is a basic feature of the art of couplets, or a basic meter, and it is also a minimum requirement when writing couplets. Because couplets are basically artistic forms derived from parallel prose and regular poems (especially regular poems), they are obviously marked with a stricter birthmark than even figures of speech.
Flat and harmonious, that is, in a sentence of a couplet, it must be flat and even, and the corresponding words between the upper and lower sentences should be flat and even. Moreover, according to the format of metrical poems, every two or three words should be replaced by two or three words. If there are more than four flat or oblique words in a couplet, it will appear stiff, which is a big taboo in writing couplets. Moreover, beginners must pay attention to the fact that in a couplet, the ending of the first couplet should be clear and the ending of the second couplet should be flat. Once upon a time, the first couplet ended in a flat voice and the second couplet ended in a Legato. That's just a variation of couplets, not enough.
Tones in ancient and modern Chinese are divided into "four tones", but they are different. The four tones in ancient Chinese are flat, upward, curved and entering tone; Flat voice is divided into upper level and lower level. Modern Chinese means flat tone, rising tone, rising tone and falling tone. Pingsheng characters in ancient Chinese, Yin Ping and Yangping in modern Chinese are all Pingsheng characters; Similarly, "Shang, Qu, Ru" in ancient Chinese and "Shang, Qu" in modern Chinese are both "Nuo". The Rusheng characters in ancient Chinese have been transformed into the four tones of Yin, Yang, Shang and Qu in modern Chinese.
In some solicitation activities in China, it is generally clearly stipulated that the ancient four tones and the new four tones cannot be mixed. Therefore, how beginners master the ancient tone-entering characters that are transformed into flat tones in the new four tones can be tested by the formula left by the ancients:
The sound level road is not low, and the voice is powerful.
The sound of walking is clearly sad, and the sound of entering is short and urgent.
For example, the tones of the words "Feng (Ping), Jiu (Shang), Lu (Qu) and Mu (Qu) can be distinguished. In addition, you can refer to the new edition of Poetry Rhyme published by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House.
Six characteristics of couplet art
Xiaodazhi
As a cultural phenomenon and literary form, couplets can be viewed from two aspects. On the one hand, from a cultural point of view, couplet art has cultural characteristics and functions such as nationality, folklore (that is, mass plus tradition), practicality and enlightenment; On the other hand, from the literary point of view, couplet art has obvious artistic creation characteristics and requirements such as rigor (mainly reflected in antithesis) and exquisiteness.
The so-called nationality means that couplets are a unique literary form in China literature. As mentioned above, it embodies and expresses the characteristics and advantages of Chinese characters and is an important part of Chinese character culture. It basically exists only in the cultural circle of the Chinese nation, especially the Han nationality, and has strong national characteristics. Although couplets occasionally exist in some minority languages or foreign languages, their influence is far less extensive and far-reaching.
The so-called practicality means that couplets are a very practical literary form. Whether it is appealing to both refined and popular tastes, if it is combined with the calligraphy art of Chinese characters, it can be posted, hung and carved in the gatepost hall, which can create a peaceful, festive or elegant and solemn atmosphere and style. It can not only be elegant, but also enter people's families, and it can play a role in many fields of social life.
The so-called folk custom means that couplets are closely related to people's daily life. Couplets have a strong flavor of life and a broad mass base since they came into being. With the development of the times, they gradually merged into the folk customs of China people and became an indispensable part of the traditional culture of China. It is generally believed that the earliest couplets are Spring Festival couplets, which originated from Fu Tao (of course, from the literary point of view, couplets originated from the antithesis in the regular poems). From the Jin Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the literary form of couplets has sprouted and gradually developed. However, people usually paste the Spring Festival couplets inscribed by Meng Changjun, the queen of Shu in the Five Dynasties, in 964 AD:
Xinnianna Qing Yu
Changchun festival number
As the beginning of the Spring Festival couplets. Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, couplets gradually prevailed and continued to this day. In short, the strong folklore (or the combination of mass and tradition) formed on the basis of nationality and practicality is the soil for the survival and development of couplets.
The so-called enlightenment means that couplets are still a literary form with strong enlightenment function. Learning to write couplets is very helpful for us to learn Chinese language and literature, especially the basic knowledge about pronunciation, rhythm, part of speech, grammatical structure and rhetoric. Appreciating and writing couplets is a good way to learn Chinese. Couplets should be the basic content of Chinese education.
The so-called rigor means that couplets belong to the category of metrical literature. It is not only practical, but also artistic. It requires strict rules, and two groups of words can't be made up if they are equal. If there is no certain meter to regulate, then, as a unique literary form, the uniqueness and artistry of couplets will disappear, and its artistic vitality will be difficult to last. Because the most essential artistic feature of couplets is antithesis, only a more rigorous form (meter) can embody and guarantee its antithesis.
The so-called essence means that the artistic style of couplets can be summarized as "short and pithy" on the whole. The length of couplets is often very short, with a few words to a dozen words on one side, and few long couplets with hundreds or thousands of words. Therefore, as a compact and rigorous literary genre, its content should be concise and contain as rich ideological connotations as possible. In this sense, if a couplet has only form but no connotation, it will inevitably become a kind of "word game" and "carving skills" On the other hand, good couplets have the reputation of "poetry in poetry". In short, the refinement of form (length) and content is another important artistic feature of couplets.