Types of couplets
Divide by purpose
1. Universal link? Such as Spring Festival couplets,
2. Dedicated link? Such as tea couplets, birthday couplets, wedding couplets, elegiac couplets, industry couplets, motto couplets, gift couplets, topic couplets, etc.
3. Spring Festival couplets: special couplets for the New Year.
Such as: Kyushu willow spits green; Peach and apricot compete for spring in May.
4. Greeting couplets: used for birthday, marriage, housewarming, having children, opening business and other festive occasions.
Such as: a pair of red hearts for the four modernizations; Two new hand-painted pictures. (Xi Lian), as happy as the East China Sea; Life is better than Nanshan. (first couplet)
5. elegiac couplet: mourn the dead.
For example, books have a strong future and will shock the world; Let the spirit shine forever and then benefit the people.
6. Give couplets: praise or encourage others to use them.
Such as: wind, rain, reading, the sound in the ear; Family affairs, state affairs and everything in the world care about everything.
7. Self-encouragement: For self-encouragement.
For example, books about the country are often read; Nothing is useless to body and mind.
8. Industry Association: Different industries are posted at the gate or in the store.
Such as: to know things from ancient times to the present; I have to read five books. (Bookstore) Although it is a clean business; But it's top kung fu. (Barber shop) welcomes guests in spring, summer, autumn and winter; Entertain people from east, west, north and south. (Hotel)
9. Yan Zhilian: The purpose of ambition.
Such as: I would rather be Zhao's ghost; Not for him, minister.
Divide by word
1. Short connection (within the cross)
2. Zhonglian (within 100 words)
3. Long couplet (100 words or more), etc.
Rhetoric skill
1. Duality: word right, object right, right right, opposition, work right, width right, flow right, palindrome right, top right.
2. Rhetoric couplets: metaphor, exaggeration, backchat, pun, rhetorical question and homophonic.
3. Skill association: embedded words, hidden words, compound words, overlapping words, radicals, word analysis, word splitting and numbers.
United source
1. Sentence couplet: a couplet composed entirely of ready-made sentences in ancient poetry.
2. Couplets composed of ancient Copybook for calligraphy articles and characters.
3. Sentence-picking couplets: Couplets made by picking antithetical sentences directly from other people's poems.
4. Create couplets: couplets independently created by the author.
Divide by content
1. Festival couplets: refer to couplets with specific timeliness or commemoration, and the contents are mostly general chanting, lyricism, discussion and wishes. Strictly speaking, it can be divided into festival couplets and season couplets, but since they are often integrated, this distinction has no practical significance. Generally speaking, couplets can be directly divided into Spring Festival couplets, New Year's Day couplets and National Day couplets. In the Spring Festival couplets, the most important thing is the Spring Festival couplets. The so-called Spring Festival couplets are seasonal couplets used in the Spring Festival. Most Spring Festival couplets can be used universally.
2. Festive couplets: also known as greeting couplets, refer to couplets with a certain congratulatory nature in addition to holiday celebrations. According to its content and object, it can be divided into several subcategories, such as wedding couplets, birthday couplets, new house couplets (housewarming couplets) and so on. The outstanding feature of festive couplets is that they have a certain festive and congratulatory nature, and their contents must be good wishes, celebrations and auspiciousness. There are universal and special holiday couplets. Whether it is universal depends on the alliance, and it is not easy to copy, so as not to make jokes.
3. elegiac couplet: also known as elegiac couplet, it refers to the couplet used to mourn the dead. Its content is limited to mourning, remembering, evaluating and wishing the deceased, and its style is generally sad, solemn, deep and solemn. Others write elegiac couplets for the dead, or write elegiac couplets for themselves, which is another matter. The elegiac couplets can be divided from many angles, including old couplets, middle-aged couplets and youth couplets, as well as elder couplets, peer couplets and younger couplets. In addition, it can be divided into famous couplets and self-mourning couplets, and sacrificial couplets can also be regarded as a subclass of mourning couplets. The content of elegiac couplet generally refers to more specific objects, although there are also general objects and special objects, but in practice, we should pay more attention to the distinction.
4. Scenic couplets: refers to couplets posted, hung and carved at scenic spots. Most of its contents are engraved with scenic spots (such as landscapes and cultural relics). ) or closely related to it (related people, things, etc. Such couplets often become an important part of scenic spots and even history and culture. The combination of scenic spots and historical sites can be divided into several sub-categories, such as landscape gardens, temples and temples, pavilions, houses and halls, monuments and tombs, etc.
5. Industry couplets: refers to couplets whose contents are aimed at a certain industry, department or field. Due to the changes of the times, the application of couplets in the industry is not as good as before, but it is still considerable. Judging from its scope of application and content characteristics, it is still a major category of couplets. Trade associations can be subdivided according to industries and departments.
6. Inscription of couplets: refers to couplets inscribed to others. Although many couplets have been given a certain title, the title couplets mentioned here are limited to interpersonal (or yearning) works, excluding elegiac couplets and congratulatory couplets. Its content generally has a certain nature of praise, wishes and encouragement. From the perspective of the application of couplets, title couplets can be regarded as a big category. According to the different objects of the questions, the questions can generally be divided into several small categories, such as questions, questions, and questions.
7. Miscellaneous couplets: refers to couplets with a wide range of contents without specific objects. This kind of couplets often have simple literary creation characteristics, such as philosophical couplets, lyric couplets, persuasion couplets and so on.
8. Academic couplets: refers to couplets with certain academic nature. This academic nature refers to the specialty that does not belong to the above categories in content and use. Its content is often specialized, with certain disciplinary or religious characteristics, such as popular science association, Buddhist association, Taoist association and so on. From the application scope and development space of couplets, it is necessary to regard academic couplets as a separate category. For example, in the book "A Collection of Touching Smells-1200 Buddhist Couplets" written by the author, many Buddhist figures and Buddhist teachings are systematically written into an academic monograph in the form of couplets. By extension, many scientific knowledge or other learning principles can also be written as couplets, highlighting its academic or professional nature in content.
9. Funny couplets: refer to couplets that highlight interest or skills and pay relatively little attention to content. For example, various humorous associations and skill associations. The content of this kind of couplets either highlights the uniqueness of a certain style (humorous couplets) or is relatively unimportant (technical couplets), making it unique. In this sense, it can be regarded as a single category.
The origin of couplet 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. It is a unique art form of Chinese, concise and profound, neat and even, with the same number of words and the same structure.
Legend has it that couplets originated from Meng Chang, a master of Shu in the Five Dynasties. It is a treasure of China traditional culture. Spring Festival couplets are called Spring Festival couplets, funeral couplets are called elegiac couplets, and wedding couplets are called violet 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).
Parallel prose and rhyme are two direct sources of couplets. In the process of its own development, couplets have absorbed the characteristics of ancient poems, essays, lyrics and songs. Therefore, the sentence patterns used in couplets include ancient poems, prose sentences and parody sentences in addition to regular poems and parallel prose sentences. Different sentence patterns have different metrical patterns and different leniency. Among them, the sentence pattern of rhythmic poetry is the most strict, while the sentence pattern of ancient verse has no restrictions except at the end of the sentence.
Spring Festival couplets have a long history. It is said that they originated from Meng Changjun, the master of Shu after the Five Dynasties. His inscription on the peach symbol on the bedroom door panel:? New Year's Day in Qing Yu, Cargeno. Changchun? , refers to the text? Topic peach personality? (See "Shu Konglang"), which is the earliest couplet in China and the earliest Spring Festival couplets. The basis of this statement is that Liang Zhangju, a couplets scholar in Qing Dynasty, quoted Shu Lang from Couplets' Conghua. However, according to the textual research of couplets, will Liang Zhangju quote them? Work with its words? Change to? Not cooperating with its words? The original text of Shu Lang Lang thinks that this couplet comes from a new hand. Different historical materials in the Song Dynasty have different opinions on this, and some people classify the author as the son of Meng Yun. So who is the author of this pair of Spring Festival couplets is still an unsolved case.
As a custom, couplets are an important part of China traditional culture. In 2005, the custom of couplets was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in the State Council, China. The custom of couplets is passed down and spread in Chinese-speaking areas and ethnic groups with cultural origins of Chinese characters, which is of great value for promoting Chinese culture.
The artistic style of couplets
Ten artistic styles of couplets can be roughly divided into the following 10 from the perspective of genre:
1. At first, couplets were mostly composed of five or seven words, which was the mainstream of couplet style. This poetic couplet still accounts for the majority. Rulian: the breeze helps the willows, and the plum blossoms are defeated in the bright moon.
2. Ci spread to the Song Dynasty, which gradually flourished and enriched the art of couplets. For example, the couplet of Xu Da's former residence: One river does not return, a romantic figure through the ages, asking where the castle peak outside the building, the white clouds outside the mountain and the Han que in the Tang Palace are; In the spring of the small courtyard, the warbler calls the beauty court, watching the green trees by the pool and the red rain by the trees. It's sunny here.
3. Folk song style Some couplets are very similar to folk songs. The language is simple, lively and lively, and full of folk songs. Lotus: Golden willow on the Jinshui River, passing through goldfish mouth; Hosta flowers are outside the jade railing and inserted on the jade head.
4. The prose style is mainly literati couplets. Some people say that it started with Zeng Guofan, such as the preface elegy of Yu Yue, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty: life is useless, death is irrelevant, and 250 volumes of hard work are spread all over the world, which is enough; I don't care about people. I have lived half my life for 30 years, and I have a smile. What should I do?
5. The styles of some operas are linked together, and the expressions, broken sentences and overlapping words are full of the flavor of operas. For example, this may not be the case then, but it may be the case today. Another example: Yingying Yanyan, green and harmonious everywhere; Ups and downs, flowers and plants, year after year.
6. The style of Songti is characterized by its simple and natural language, fresh and pungent, vivid and humorous. This kind of couplet has the style of irrelevant text, which is vulgar but not vulgar. For example, coffin shop: this business is so strange that everyone dares not take care of me. That thing is so strange that everyone can't see it and can't live without it.
7. Idiom style Some couplets are embedded in idioms. For example, a couplet written by Lin Zexu: the greatness of a hundred rivers, the greatness of tolerance; The wall stands a thousand miles, and it is just without desire.
8. Tongue twisters are very similar to tongue twisters. Such as: the deer in the north of the house stays alone, and the chickens in the west crow together Another example: smoke along the eaves, Yan Yan eyes.
9. Some riddles are like a riddle. Such as: the white snake crosses the river, and a red sun crosses the head; Qinglong hangs on the wall, wearing 10,000 Venus. The upper part is an oil lamp, and the lower part is a scale.
10. Parallel prose style An article written in parallel prose style is called parallel prose, which pays attention to neat words, duality, harmonious phonology and gorgeous rhetoric. Parallel prose became popular after the Han Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and later influenced the literary history of China for thousands of years. Couplets were also influenced by it, and the parallel style couplets were fully played in the Qing Dynasty's long couplets. This style was rare before the Qing Dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, couplets became longer and longer. Since then, the style of parallel prose has been fully exerted. For example, written by Li Lianfen, Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower couplets: Millennium achievements, coming from the world, watching the lonely Phoenix Cave, parrots flying around, orioles fishing rocks, Qingchuan Jiege, what a beautiful spring and autumn moon, leaving only mountains and waters, looking forward to the present, when Cui Hao wrote poetry, and Violet wrote; One is the Yangtze River. How many people found it? Looking at Hankou in the distance, the sun sets, the Dongting rises far, the night rain is raining in Xiaoxiang, and the clouds are dreaming, leaving only a faint smoke and a narrow world, all of which give ethereal flutes and crane shadows. This couplet not only uses many parallel names, such as? Phoenix Cave, Parrot Zhou Fang, Yellow Crane Fishing Ground, Qingchuan Jiege? ,? Hankou sunset, Dongting rising far, Xiaoxiang rainy night, cloud dream? And so on, bring people into the vast, poetic, elegant, beautiful, full of literary talent, talk and discuss, spread a magnificent picture with the immediate scenery and historical situation, and the words are inspiring, such as the sound of waves outside the column, from far to near.
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