Couplets belong to a condensed literary and artistic category. Among many literary categories, couplets and metrical poetry have very similar characteristics, that is, they both use the most exquisite language and rhythmic rhymes to reflect people's lives and express emotions. The following is about the characteristics of couplets, welcome to read!
Characteristics of couplets
1. The upper and lower lines of a couplet must have the same number of words
A couplet consists of an upper line, a lower line and a horizontal line. The one affixed to the right is called the upper line, the one affixed to the left is called the second line, and the one affixed to the top is called a horizontal line, also called a banner, and the content is written horizontally. Horizontal script is essential for Spring Festival couplets, usually four characters, but also five or six characters. The meaning of the horizontal batch should be coordinated with the upper and lower couplets to play the finishing touch. Some couplets may or may not be used for horizontal batches. There is no certain word limit for the first and second lines of a couplet. Some only have two or three words, and many have dozens or hundreds of words. They are composed of several clauses. In any case, the first and second lines of a couplet are limited. The number of words must be equal. For example, a common Spring Festival couplet: "The grass is green again in spring, and the apricot blossoms are still red ten miles away." In 1925, a couplet at the entrance of Huangpu Military Academy: "Those who want to be revolutionary come closer; those who are not revolutionary move away." Spring couplets reflecting the achievements of rural reform : "In addition to the old year, we have ten tons of grain stored at home; to welcome the new year, we have a thousand yuan in bank deposits." Hengmao said "have food and clothing." The number of characters in each couplet is equal.
2. Pay attention to the neatness of the antithesis;
In addition to the equal number of words in the upper and lower couplets, the antithesis of the couplet also requires similar syntax. Syntactic similarity mainly includes three contents: equivalent sentence patterns, identical parts of speech, and corresponding structures.
The sentence patterns are equivalent, which means that if the first line is of four or three sentences, the second line must also be of four or three sentences; if the upper line is of two or four sentences, the second line must also be of two or four sentences. Sentence structure. For example:
"A cold eyebrow is pointed at a thousand people; a bowed head is like a bully."
It is a four-three sentence pattern, that is:
"A cold eyebrow is pointed at a thousand people. Refers to: bowing one's head willingly - Ru Ziniu."
"Only the state officials are allowed to set fires; the people are not allowed to light lamps."
It is a two-four sentence pattern, that is.
"Only state officials are allowed to set fires; common people are not allowed to light lamps."
Another example is Du Yuan's couplet describing the scenery of Shishan Mountain in Xinhui County, Guangdong, one of which:
" The moon shines through the stone water; the wind breaks the rock smoke."
It is a sentence pattern of two or three, that is,
"The moon shines through the stone water; the wind breaks the rock smoke. "Second:
"The chirping of birds and the sound of the stream are like the natural silk and bamboo in the world; the colors of the mountains and clouds and the trees are natural pictures, which are the paintings of He Lao."
It is. Sentence patterns 23, 22, and 24 are:
"Birds' songs - the sound of the stream, comfortable - the reed, true - silk and bamboo in the world; mountain clouds - the color of caged trees, natural ——Pictures, He Lao——Pictures in Paintings”
The corresponding parts of speech means that the parts of speech in the corresponding positions of the upper and lower couplets should be equal, that is, nouns to nouns, verbs to verbs, adjectives to adjectives, and quantifiers to each other. Quantifiers, adverbs versus adverbs, modal particles versus modal particles, and adverbs versus adverbs. For example, the couplet of Bibo Temple in Beijing:
"A courtyard of fragrant grass is surrounded by fresh green; ten acres of vines are covered with ancient flowers."
"One courtyard" is a quantifier to "ten acres", and "fang" "Grass" is a formal noun to "vine flower", "wai" is a verb to "fall", and "fresh green" is a formal noun to "ancient fragrance".
Another example is the Baotu Spring Couplet in Jinan:
"In the mirror of the painting pavilion, I can see the fantasy of a blessed land of gods; beyond the flying spring clouds, the dictation is the clear sound of the mountains and rivers."
"Hua Ge" is a formal noun to "Feiquan", "mirror" is a noun to "cloud", "中" to "outside" is a directional noun, "look" to "listen" is a verb expressing action, "phantom" is a noun to "cloud". "zuo" is a verb to "write", "immortal" is a noun to "landscape", and "blessed land" is a formal noun to "voiceless".
Another example is the Spring Festival couplets made by farmers in a certain place in Yunnan during the late Qing Dynasty when they were angry at the landlords and gentry:
"Hey, where are the cannons? Oh, they are celebrating the New Year."
"Huh" is an onomatopoeia for "Oh", "where" is a pronoun for "they", and "firecrackers" is a verb for "New Year".
Structural correspondence means that the relationship between the words that make up the couplet should be the same. For example, if the first couplet has a subject-predicate structure, the second couplet should have a subject-predicate structure; if the first couplet has a verb-object structure, the second couplet should have an opposite structure. With verb-object structure, etc. For example, Xin Qiji's memorial couplet:
"Strengthening the rivers and mountains, the majesty penetrating the sun and the moon, leaving a heroic heart;
The name is immortalized in the universe, fighting against the bulls in the sunset, leaving only tragic words "Thousands of articles."
Among them, "Strengthening the Rivers and Mountains" and "Famous in the Universe" are both subject-predicate structures, and the predicate part of them is a verb-object structure; "The majestic energy penetrates the sun and the moon" and "The evening "Guang Chong Niu Dou" is also a subject-predicate structure, and the predicate part is also a verb-object structure; "A spare heroic heart" and "There are thousands of tragic words left" are verb-object structures, and the object part is a supplementary structure.
Another example is the Nantian Gate Couplet of Mount Tai in Shandong Province:
“The gate is open for nine nights, and you can walk up to the wonders of three days; the steps are hundreds of steps, and you can overlook the wonders of thousands of mountains.”
< p> "The door is open for nine nights" and "The steps are Chongbai level" are both subject-predicate structures, and the predicate part is a verb-object structure. "Stepping up to the scenic spots for three days" and "Looking down at the wonders of thousands of mountains" are both verb-object structures. And the object part has a positive structure, and the structure is exactly the same.3. Pay attention to the level and level of the couplets
The level and level of the couplets are basically the same as the requirements of the jaw couplets and neck couplets of the old style poetry. The emphasis on level and obliqueness is to make the couplets read rhythmically, rhythmically and harmoniously. The level of the couplet requires level to level and level to level. You can also "regardless of one, three, five" (that is, the first, third, fifth, etc. characters in the sentence can be relaxed), but it must be "two, four, and six clearly" (that is, the words in the second, fourth, fourth, etc. position in the sentence can be relaxed) The characters in the sixth and even-numbered positions must strictly follow the requirements of level and oblique). The so-called Ping and Ze, the ancient "Ping" refers to the level tone, and "Zi" refers to the rising, falling and entering sounds. The modern ping and tones are divided according to the pronunciation of Mandarin. The first and second tones (i.e., Yinping and Yangping) are flat tones, and the third and fourth tones (i.e., rising and falling tones) are oblique tones. As Mr. Lu Xun wrote:
"A cold eyebrow is pointed at a thousand people; a bowed head is willing to be a ruthless ox."
The pingqi in this couplet is "pingping ping ping ping ping chee, ping chee ping chee chee" "Ping"
Another example is the couplet of Sansu Ancestral Hall in Meishan, Sichuan written by Xiang Chu:
"The name of the father and son in the article in the Northern Song Dynasty is an ancient ancestral hall in Nanzhou."
This. The level of the couplet is "廄仄平平廄仄, 平平仄仄仄平平"
Another example is the hanging couplet at the waterfall pavilion at Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou:
"White water is like cotton, no need for a bow." The spring flowers disperse by themselves; the red clouds are like brocades, why do they need to be woven naturally?” The word "can" in the second line indicates that it does not comply with the law of correspondence between levels and obliques. However, according to the principle of "one, three, five, no matter", the words "can" or "even" are allowed if they are in the one, three, or five positions.
Couplets pay attention to level and oblique, and when read, they sound sonorous, rhythmic, and full of musical beauty.
To pay attention to equality, it is necessary to require that the upper and lower couplets with the same part of speech cannot have the same word. Because if they have the same character, it will inevitably break the rules of equality and obliqueness. For example, there is a couplet in an old society theater:
"Sing less about snow, moon, wind and flowers to avoid being distraught;
Sing more about loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and justice to restore the world's hearts."
The "dian" in "sing dian" and the "some" in "play some" have the same meaning, but they cannot have the same word. If they are the same words, they cannot be compared.
However, according to the principle of words not harming the meaning, for the purpose of expression, the same word is allowed to appear under special circumstances as a last resort, and will be accepted by others. Of course, this has a moderate impact, but it already falls into the broad category. Kuan Dui's requirements for equality and opposition are not very strict. For example, when Zhang Jin, the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was appointed as the prefect of Nan'an in the Ming Dynasty, he wrote a couplet for Qiaolou in Haining County to promote clean government:
"If you are generous, the people will receive more gifts;
If you are generous, you will be given more. "The official is not worth a penny."
There are three characters with the same character in the two, four and eight positions. However, because the content of this couplet is profound, people don't care about its irregularity. .
Another example is Premier Zhou xx’s support for Cai Yuanpei:
“From the Manchu Movement to the Anti-Japanese War, Mr.’s ambition is the national revolution;
From the May Fourth Movement to Human Rights Alliance, sir, your trip is about democracy and freedom.
”
The same word appears in the first, fourth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, thirteenth and fourteenth places in this couplet. However, this couplet distinguishes Mr. Cai Yuanpei The great contributions in life are highly summarized and the content is concise, so people will not care about whether it is in compliance with the rules.
4. Similar, related or opposite meanings
From the content point of view, each couplet can express a complete meaning. Except for special circumstances, such as the ruthless couplets that began to appear in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The meanings of the upper and lower couplets are the same, similar, and complement and deepen each other, which is called Zheng. Yes; the upper and lower couplets have opposite meanings and contrast in content, which are called opposition.
For example, Dong Biwu wrote in the couplet of the Nanhu Revolution Memorial Hall:
"On the towers in the mist, the revolution is born. There used to be sparks here;
In the stormy world, when spring comes, thunder is heard everywhere. ”
This is a direct line. The upper and lower lines complement and deepen each other, showing Nanhu’s great influence in the history of the Chinese revolution and its great contribution to the revolution.
Another example is a pair of words to support Li Dazhao. .Couplet:
"Strive for the revolution, sacrifice for the revolution, and die without regrets;
Living under oppression, groaning under oppression, how can the living be embarrassed? ”
This is an objection, comparing Li Dazhao’s “struggle” and “sacrifice” for the revolution with the “life” and “groaning” of others under oppression, and praising Li Dazhao. The fearless revolutionary spirit.
Judging from the relationship between the upper and lower couplets, the upper and lower couplets of most couplets are parallel, which is usually called "flat pairing". For example, He Xiangning congratulates Liao Zhongkai:
< p> "The kindness of a husband and wife is not fulfilled in this life but will be fulfilled in the next life; the debt of a child and a daughter is both shared and paid by one person. "This couplet is about Liao Zhongkai's farewell to his wife and children after he was killed by the reactionaries. The first couplet is written from the perspective of his wife, and the second couplet is written from the perspective of his children. They are two parallel aspects. .
However, there are also upper and lower couplets, which are called "string pairs". For example, there is a couplet in Du Fu's poem "Wen Guanjun Takes Henan and Hebei":
"That is. Pass through Wu Gorge from Ba Gorge and then go down to Xiangyang towards Luoyang. ”
There is a succession relationship between the upper and lower lines of this couplet, that is, the second line is the continuation of the first line. Of course, the succession relationship also includes conditions and results, sequential connections, turning connections, etc.
However, "joining the palms" cannot appear in the couplet, that is, the meaning of the upper and lower couplets is repeated. For example:
"Xuan Ni is saddened by Lin; he hunts Confucius in the west." ”
Here, “Xuni” and “Confucius” are the same person; “Bei” and “Tie” are synonymous, and “Huolin” and “Xishui” refer to the same thing.
The words and sentences are concise, neat and precise, and the number of couplets varies from four to more than one. Five or seven-character rhymed poems and eight-character prose are the most common. The content covers a wide range of poems, aphorisms, aphorisms, Proverbs and even vernacular texts can be used. They are elegant and dazzling, and they are truly eye-catching chapters. Therefore, calligraphy and couplets are integrated, and the poetry and philosophy of the beautiful words are appreciated in the calligraphy and ink. The charm of beautiful calligraphy is indeed the perfect embodiment of humanities and art. Throughout the ages, calligraphers have been happy to reward and give gifts to them. Literati like to hang this elegance on the wall, which is the charm of the beauty of calligraphy and art. It is endearing and enduring.
It is simple and profound, with neat contrasts and harmonious tone. It can be said that the art of couplet is a unique art form of the Chinese language. Cultural treasure.