Couplets originated from the symmetry of characters and sounds in China, and appeared before the Zhou Dynasty. With the development of papermaking and calligraphy, couplets have become an independent style. Couplets are short in form and concise in words, which is not only a vivid artistic expression, but also an excellent cultural heritage. Couplets are developed on the basis of ancient "Fu Tao" and "antithesis". The earliest Spring Festival couplets in China appeared more than 1000 years ago.
According to historical records, on the eve of the Spring Festival in the twenty-seventh year of the post-Shu Dynasty (AD 964), Meng Chang, the master of the post-Shu State, was good at learning couplets on weekdays, so when the new year came, he suddenly made a decree to ask ministers to write couplets on the "Fu Tao Board" to test his talents. Ministers each wrote a picture and waited patiently for the inspection. Meng Chang looked at them one by one, but he was not satisfied. Therefore, he personally wrote "Happy holidays in Qing Yu in the New Year. Changchun "boarded the" Fu Tao Board ".
This is the earliest Spring Festival couplets written by China. The exquisite format of couplets not only has a long history and traditional habits, but also has a unified and fixed format on the basis of widespread use by the masses.
The origin of development:
Couplets, also known as antithesis, antithesis, spring stickers, Spring Festival couplets, couplets, Taofu and couplets (named after the pillars hanging in halls and houses in ancient times), are a kind of dual literature, which originated from Taofu. It is a antithetical sentence written on paper, cloth or engraved on bamboo, wood and columns. Although language is simple, it contains profound meaning, neat and even, with the same number of words and the same structure, which is a unique art form of Chinese language. ?
Couplets are the treasures of China traditional culture, and the earliest recorded couplets appeared in the Three Kingdoms period. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1399), an extra-large iron cross was unearthed in Luling, Jiangxi Province (now Ji 'an City, Jiangxi Province), on which the year number of Sun Quan Chiwu in the Three Kingdoms period (238-250) was cast. On the iron cross, there is also a beautifully made couplet cloud: "The four seas celebrate An Lan, the iron pillars keep the cross, the people cherish Ozawa, and the golden stove is fragrant." Its form and content are related to early Christians in China.
During the Spring Festival, couplets are called Spring Festival couplets, funeral couplets are called elegiac couplets, and wedding couplets are called Qinglian couplets. Couplets are a national style written by using the characteristics of Chinese characters, and generally do not need to rhyme (only the antitheses in the rhyme need to rhyme).