It is not only timely but also necessary to talk about Spring Festival couplets before the Spring Festival. Because Spring Festival couplets are very popular now, but the knowledge of Spring Festival couplets is not very popular. My train of thought is: from antithesis to couplets, and then from couplets to Spring Festival couplets. Because Spring Festival couplets are subordinate to couplets, antithesis is the foundation of Spring Festival couplets, so this paper starts with the foundation, in order to let everyone have an accurate understanding.
The meaning of "right to right"
We can understand couplets and Spring Festival couplets as pairs. For example, there is a book called "Rion Duiyun" in the old Mongolian reader. It is a preparation for writing a poem, which is right: "the sky is against the earth, the rain is against the wind, and the mainland is against the sky." Mountain flowers are to the sea trees, and the sun is to the sky. " We can proudly say that among all the languages in the world, Chinese is the most suitable for pairing, because its uniqueness lies in its neat structure, because it has no inflections and rich tones, so its sense of rhythm is changeable. If the English words "heaven" and "earth" are opposed, they will become "heaven" and "earth", and it is difficult to achieve structural neatness.
The importance of pairs in China's children's education is self-evident, so I remembered the story of a pair of Guo Moruo. When Guo was six years old, the private school teacher wrote a pair: fishing. The students were surprised to pat birds, raise insects, pat flies and so on. Only Guo was right to beat the tiger, saying that he saw that the child would succeed in the future.
In fact, it is not only the education of children, but also an indispensable part of the old literati's knowledge structure, and it is also an important means for them to communicate and play, leaving countless anecdotes. From this, I think of a story that Mr. Chen Yinque used pairs to test students. Everyone should have heard of this story, but it may be vague and there are many "versions". More reliably, the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University enrolled students in 1932. At that time, the head of the department asked Chen to write a test paper. After Mr. Chen wrote an essay on Sleepwalking in Tsinghua Campus, he didn't end with a pair of questions: "Sun Walker". Mr Chen Yinque's self-made answer is "Hu Shizhi". The two are a good match: as far as characters are concerned, one is virtual and one is real, one is ancient and one is modern, one is martial and one is literary. Hu Shi advocated vernacular Chinese and opposed classical Chinese, which was also a "big trouble" for the so-called old culture. As far as language is concerned, Hu and Sun Jiayi regard dogs as "lynx", and the significance of "behavior" to "fitness" and "person" to "ambition" is self-evident. To Mr. Chen's delight, there are really two candidates who take "Hu Shizhi" as their goal. The two candidates later became celebrities, one was a linguist and the other was a historian Zhang. What does this mean? It shows that talents can be found in pairs.
The two anecdotes mentioned above boil down to a problem, that is, duality plays an indispensable role in China's traditional culture and education. Just as Mr. Chen Yinque said in the article "Talking with Liu about the Book for Chinese Examination": "For many aspects that pairing can express the language characteristics of our country, we can test whether candidates can distinguish between false words and real words and their use, whether they can respectively stabilize their tone, the amount of reading and the degree of wealth, and the strength of thinking ability."
However, a closer study shows that there are still differences between pairs of words and conjunctions. The words used for pairing can be words, words, phrases or sentences. And conjunctions can only be sentences.
The category of "couplets"
It is a logical mistake to say that Spring Festival couplets are a kind of couplets, because Spring Festival couplets are only one of the three categories of couplets. Logically speaking, couplets mainly include antithesis, antithesis and antithesis, and their similarities are as follows: first, they are all antithetical sentences; Second, everyone needs to pay attention to leveling. This is the most basic feature of couplets. Now, it is more important to understand the difference between the three.
Let me talk about duality first. Duality is a rhetorical method in writing, which is especially widely used in parallel prose. For example, in Yu Xin's "Ai Jiangnan Fu", "The general goes and the tree falls; The strong man does not return, and the cold wind is bleak. "The sunset is lonely in Qi Fei, and the autumn water is the same as the sky." In Wang Bo's Preface to Wang Tengting, there are also "Beginners are jealous, and moths refuse people; Cover the sleeves, be sycophantic and confuse the Lord. " Relatively speaking, duality is slightly looser in terms of rules. For example, in the above three situations, the next sentence ends with a groan, which is not allowed in couplets and dialogues. Another example is Su Shi's "Poem on a Thousand Cliffs" and Ouyang Xiu's "Poem on Autumn Sound", both of which have the same word (branch, er), and are also found in couplets and dialogues.
Let's talk about confrontation Duality is an inseparable part of metrical poetry. Of the eight sentences in the five-character seven-character rhyme, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth groups of sentences require antithesis. Compared with antithesis and duality, antithesis has the strictest requirements in rules, and there are almost harsh provisions in parts of speech, structure and level.
Take the fifth and sixth sentences in Bai Juyi's Farewell to Ancient Grass for example: Sweet and sweet, they are on the high road and reach the crumbling city gate. First look at the part of speech of each word, "far" and "clear" are adjectives; Fang and Cui, which used to be adjectives, are nominalized here. "Fang" is fragrant and "Cui" is Cui; "Invasion" and "Lian" are verbs, "Gu" and "Huang" are adjectives, and "Dao" and "Cheng" are nouns. Look at the sentence structure, far fragrant and green, both of which are partial structures as the subject; Invasion and connection are verbs as predicates; Ancient roads and deserted cities are all partial structures as objects. Finally, look at the flat tone. According to the rules, the focus of five words is to look at the second and fourth words. If the second word in the previous sentence is flat, then the fourth word in this sentence is flat; On the other hand, the second word should be flat and the fourth word should be flat. If the second word of the previous sentence is a hyphen, then the fourth word of this sentence should be flat; The next sentence should be reversed, the second word should be flat and the fourth word should be flat. The last sentence, the last sentence must be flat, and the next sentence must be flat. Look at Bai Juyi's antithesis again, the last sentence: "Fang" is a flat tone, "Gu" is a Legato; Next sentence: "Cui" is a flat sound, and "Huang" is a flat sound. The suffix "Dao" is a sound, and "City" is a flat sound. The above are the most basic rules, and the specific application is more complicated.
The Seven Laws take the third and fourth sentences in Du Fu's Ascending the Mountain as an example: leaves fall like the spray of a waterfall, while I watch the long river always roll forward. Due to the spatial relationship, the part of speech and structure are omitted, and only the word "Pingze" is mentioned. According to the rules, seven characters depend on two, four and six characters, either flat or flat. The previous sentence is flat, so is the next sentence. In short, just the opposite. There are 246 words in Du Fu's two sentences. The first sentence is Edge, Wood, Xiao, Ping and Lian, and the next sentence is Exhaustion, River, Rolling, Ping and Lian. Look at the last word, the word "Xia" in the previous sentence is awkward, and the word "Lai" in the next sentence is flat.
Finally, say couplets. Couplets are an independent literary style, and the rules should be treated as such. However, because there is no word limit for couplets, the level of other long sentences can be appropriately relaxed except for five or seven words.
Speaking of couplets, there are many kinds. For example, Spring Festival couplets to welcome the Spring Festival, happy couplets to celebrate, birthday couplets to celebrate, elegiac couplets to mourn, game couplets for games, industry couplets for industries, theme couplets written around a certain theme and so on. These couplets are used temporarily, not for a long time, and some even never hang them. Only couplets are engraved or written on the pilaster, which permanently determines its status, so couplets have become the floorboard of couplets.
Talk about duality, duality and duality. What is the relationship between them? To make an inappropriate analogy, as we all know, the driver's license of a car is divided into ABC. License A can drive the vehicles specified in license B and license C, and this relationship is irreversible. For example, if you take photos of idol A and idol B, the antithesis can only be considered as C. So a good antithesis can be hung directly on the wall or engraved on the post. For example, I personally read a couplet written by Mr. Liu Yazi: I am afraid of hearing the literary inquisition and writing a book for Mi Liang. From Gong Zizhen's Seven Laws "Ode to History".
Previous life of couplets
It is controversial when the couplets in the true sense began, and the most influential one is the saying that they began with Meng Chang, the master of Shu in the Five Dynasties. "History of Song Dynasty" said: "Every year, except (New Year's Eve), Meng Changjun ordered a bachelor to set up a bedroom door (inner door). At the end of the year (the year before the Song Dynasty), Xin (bachelor's name) wrote a poem, calling himself a pen (self-writing) because of untidiness: New Year's Day, Jiaxuye. Changchun. " This statement was later painted with superstition, saying that the date when Meng tasted the New Year was the "Jia Festival" of his birthday, and the general named Lu Yuqing. This statement actually helped, making this so-called earliest couplet unreliable. My point is that couplets in the true sense should not be produced before the Tang Dynasty. Because couplets were separated from the antithesis of orthodox poetry and matured in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the process of separation and independence took time, so the birth of couplets would be at least in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. It is reasonable to say that it began in the Five Dynasties.
The birth of couplets is not too early, but it develops very rapidly. Wang Anshi's poem "January Day" describes the grand occasion when every family posted Spring Festival couplets: "firecrackers are one year old, and the spring breeze sends warmth into Tu Su. Thousands of families always change new peaches for old ones every day. "
Speaking of couplets, Su Dongpo can't be ignored. There are many stories about him and couplets. Although there are many "novelist's words" in it, it is not credible, but the couplets handed down in his name are still worth appreciating. For example, he played a game with Wang Anshi: the east slope of this wall is inclined, and (written by Wang Anshi) is to stand a stone on it. Full of wisdom and humor (written by Su Dongpo); For another example, he helped Qin Shaoyou finish the second couplet, "Push the moon out of the window behind closed doors and throw stones at the bottom. "Strict rhythm and great verve; And sarcastically snobbish "sit, please sit, please sit;" "Tea, tea, tea." It is also hilarious and amazing.
There are too many beautiful couplets left by scholars, which are everywhere. There is no need to list them one by one. But there are three couplets that must be mentioned. They hang in front of the old shop.
The first pair is a barber shop: punching all the heroes in the world and not daring to fight back; Who wouldn't bow their heads when they exercise too little power and flatten the hero in the room?
The second pair is a washing and dyeing shop: washing and dyeing is better than the applied yarn; Sewing and knitting are better than Qingwen's fur mending.
The third pair is a cotton-playing shop: playing jathyapple with a three-foot ice string and jumping in the spring breeze in one day.
These three trade associations are beautifully written, reflecting the brilliance and popularization of traditional culture. Looking back at the present, we can make people realize the necessity and urgency of restoring and promoting traditional culture.
What is the current situation? I'm afraid it's not an exaggeration to use the word "unsightly". A friend of Kochi hung a couplet written by a famous calligrapher in his living room: If the sky is affectionate, it will grow old, and the world will be vicissitudes of life. He and the calligrapher are probably still at the level of "the same number of words is a couplet".
A colleague wrote a pair of couplets for his hometown's new house: "Double waters embrace the show, Taoyuan meets the stream, and it is connected to the four seas, rich and glorious; Fushan is surrounded by green, Tianma is connected to the road, Wang Baiyan is on the top of the mountain. "Ask my advice, I said it is illegal, and it is hung at home, too many words, not in the temple Taoist temple. So it was changed to: "Two waters embrace the four seas, and Fushan surrounds five continents." I replied, "it's too cliche and too loud, not to mention the flat meter, which connects the four seas with five continents." "An intellectual who has been engaged in cultural and educational work for a long time is still so. What about others?
There is another thing that makes me feel chest tightness. A few years ago, I should have written a couplet for Zhao Jialou in Minhang, one of which was about Qin Yubo, the city god of Shanghai:
If you are not a minister, you will resign and return to your hometown;
If you die, you will keep your land, and the four dynasties will do their duty to help Shencheng.
"Life is not a minister, death is a defense", just as Zhu Yuanzhang said when he heard Qin Yubo's death, which means that if he is alive, he will not be an official, but if he dies, he will defend his country for me. Therefore, it was named Shanghai City God. Not long ago, I received a friend's WeChat, saying that he was playing with some friends in Zhao Jialou and was "enjoying" my couplets. Monta was very enthusiastic and sent photos. I was dumbfounded. I don't know which great calligrapher wrote "Death as a Guardian" as "Death as a Guardian". The differences between words vary greatly, which makes good couplets unreasonable. Think again, this couplet with my name has been hung in famous scenic spots for several years. Can you not feel chest tightness?
Last year, I visited the Little Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi 'an. On both sides of the main entrance of the original site of the Daxiong Hall of Jianfu Temple, a pair of gold-plated couplets are engraved: the Millennium Temple passed through the stormy Xia Chunqiu from the Queen's foundation, and EMI huang temple made great achievements from the prosperous times to the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. You can tell at a glance that this book was written by modern people, because the ancients would never write such couplets. There are at least three major mistakes in a couplet. First, the last words of the couplet are flat; Second, there is an "emperor" from top to bottom; Third, how does The Storm of Xia Chunqiu affect the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties? I think, if the master of the Book of Changes (the first abbot of Jianfu Temple, a monk in the Tang Dynasty) comes back, he will cry bitterly at the couplet and denounce the scholar who ruined the lintel.
Recently, I saw a pair of sought-after "gods" on the internet: birds in cages can't hate Guan Yu and Zhang Fei; People living in the world need Wukong more if they want Bajie. The meaning is good, but the last word "fly" in the couplet is flat and wrong after all. In fact, as long as the first couplet is changed to "a caged bird, you must hate Zhang Fei and Guan Yu."
"Six Essentials" of Spring Festival couplets
Finally, when it comes to Spring Festival couplets, I actually understand that Spring Festival couplets are based on couplets and are one of the branches of couplets. Then all the rules mentioned above, such as the number of words in two sentences should be equal, the parts of speech should be consistent, the sentence patterns should overlap, and the levels should be relative. The same applies to Spring Festival couplets. What we want to discuss further now is the appreciation and writing of Spring Festival couplets. The premise of discussing these problems is that we must be familiar with the rules mentioned above, otherwise everything is impossible.
I want to put forward some views on the appreciation and writing of Spring Festival couplets, which can be summarized as "six essentials".
First, "to be positive" means to make Spring Festival couplets full of "positive energy", and to understand that the era of "being sad every year and being homeless everywhere" is long gone.
The second is to be timely, that is, to have the characteristics of the times. Compared with the past, the way of celebrating festivals has changed a lot. For example, setting off firecrackers is forbidden in many places now, and you are still writing The Sound of Firecrackers Saying goodbye to the old year, which is obviously out of date.
Thirdly, "avoiding vulgarity" is a big problem in the appreciation and writing of Spring Festival couplets. Spring Festival couplets belong to folk customs, but this "vulgarity" is by no means "vulgarity". Don't think of "the golden rooster crows the dawn" when it comes to the Year of the Rooster, "Ma Benteng" when it comes to the Year of the Horse, and "Three Yang Kai Tai" when it comes to the Year of the Sheep. It's the Year of the Dog, and the Spring Festival couplets of the Year of the Dog on the Internet have been overwhelming. It's really annoying to say "the dog barks" and send it away.
The golden rooster serves the country, and the righteous dog serves the people's safety; Golden rooster wins, jade dog reports good news; The golden rooster is good, and the yellow dog delivers good news; The golden rooster talks about the jade palace, and the jade dog is happy; Bamboo chicken, Meixiang dog; Chickens dance early in the morning, and dogs squat and watch. ...
Fourth, "to standardize" means to follow the rules left by predecessors in form. Why can Spring Festival couplets last for thousands of years and become the favorite of ordinary people? It is because it is healthy and festive in content and pleasing in form, which need "rules" to guarantee.
Fifth, there is no contradiction between "innovation" and stressing norms. If handled well, they will complement each other. But it must be explained that when I say "innovation", I mean content rather than form, that is, people often say "new wine in old bottles".
Sixth, "characteristics", the so-called characteristics are personality. We should oppose empty couplets that can be posted everywhere. Last year, I posted some Spring Festival couplets, this year, and next year. I can keep posting them. You can use at most one mouse, cow, tiger and rabbit. Such Spring Festival couplets are not posted. Last year, I wrote a pair of Spring Festival couplets: millions of people travel abroad, and the infinite taste is in their mobile phones. I think I'm writing something about this year.
At this point of writing, I think it is of great significance to carry forward our traditional culture, and understanding and writing Spring Festival couplets is an important part of it.