(China Commercial Daily 15, September)
I remember that a few years ago, The Scholar criticized Chen Mao's award-winning work Bailuyuan. At that time, Chen said to him, "People made a good choice." "If it is wrong, it is wrong. People pick it out and I will correct it later. " This time, Mr. Yao Ge pointed out his mistakes in couplets, and Chen showed us the master's accomplishment and demeanor.
Most people look at couplets, as long as the meaning is clear, catchy, in line with the couplet relationship, coupled with unique calligraphy attainments, it is considered a good couplet. For example, Chen's above-mentioned works are undoubtedly a kind of praise for Shaanxi's famous gourd head and a century-old brand "Spring at first". After reading it, my mouth is full of saliva and I have a desire to eat a big meal. This has achieved the desired effect of the text. However, judging from the General Principles of Couplets, Mr. Yao thinks that this couplet has "three diseases". One is "couplet tail disease", that is, the vowels of the upper and lower couplets are flat, and now "fate" and "head" are flat, which makes a big taboo. The second is "inaccurate", that is to say, the words used in the couplets corresponding to the rhythm points should be fair and opposite, and once they are violated, they are "inaccurate", while the words "substitution" and "change" in the couplets are vague, and the ending words are flat, which is the performance of "inaccurate". The third is "dislocation", that is, the upper and lower parts of the couplet are arranged in parallel, alternating in turn according to two syllables or grammatical rhythm, and there can be no continuous flat or awkward sounds. Violation of this regulation is "dislocation". In the first part of the book, "Ji" and "Substitution" are all silent, while "Lai" and "Sound" are both flat, which is the expression of "loss of substitution".
I'm afraid ordinary people, even famous writers like Chen, don't have such profound knowledge except couplets experts. Chen told the reporter frankly: "All along, he can only do the basic antithesis in ancient poems and couplets, but he can't remember many verbs and adjectives in the middle, especially the rules of flat and even, and he always can't grasp them well." For some improvisation, there may be big problems. So in this piece, he can only make people read smoothly and not awkward. " And sincerely said: "Classicism has always been my weakness. I accept criticism with humility. " This attitude of listening to others, choosing the good and following, being happy when you hear it, and learning from each other's strengths is really a quality that we need to study hard. Moreover, from "speaking like a book" to picking on couplets, Chen shows a consistent spirit of a master, and his words and deeds make those who whitewash and argue irrationally look so melodramatic.