1, basic knowledge of couplets.
As the name implies, the biggest feature of couplets is "antithetical couplets". It consists of two or two sentences that take care of each other. When writing horizontally, the upper part is above and the lower part is below; When writing vertically and posting, the upper part is on the right and the lower part is on the left.
According to the number of words, there are short couplets and long couplets. Usually, the upper and lower couplets with more than 30 words are "long couplets", and 15 to 30 words are weighted as "medium long couplets".
The word 15 is classified as "short link".
1-2 can only be said to be "right", not "couplet", and it is often used as a single or corresponding word and plaque; 3-4 characters can be called "ultra-short couplet" (4-character couplet is mostly used to write dou Fang, 3-character couplet is rarely practical); Commonly used are short sentences of single sentences or complex sentences within 5- 15 words. According to the purpose and content (couplets), it is divided into Spring Festival couplets, Tang couplets and He Lian couplets (wedding, birthday celebration, housewarming, opening, etc. ), elegiac couplets, aphorisms, curtilage temples, etc. According to the rhetorical format and skills (couplets), there are many categories, such as compound words, overlapping words, truth, word separation, homophonic, pun, palindrome and so on.
Couplets created by an author are called "couplets" or "self-written couplets". When two people write together, the first sentence written is called "antithesis" and the second sentence is called "antithesis". Sentences can be part I or part II. In couplets composed of several clauses, the end of each clause is called "foot" and the end of the last clause is called "joint foot". The couplets of the above sentence and the following sentence are generally called couplet feet.
When writing couplets, especially calligraphy works, punctuation marks can be omitted. When punctuating, if there is a sentence in the upper and lower parts, the upper part is generally marked with commas, and the lower part is generally marked with periods. When there are multiple clauses, the upper joint feet are generally marked with semicolons. According to the needs of content and tone, couplets can also be marked with punctuation marks such as exclamation marks and question marks. In addition, there are Spring Festival couplets, birthday couplets, wedding couplets and elegiac couplets. For posting, usually add a horizontal batch of four words (written from right to left). Other kinds of couplets generally do not cross batches. Except for Spring Festival couplets and wedding opening couplets posted on the door, other couplets are often written in characters about two-thirds smaller than couplets. The signature is divided into an upper paragraph and a lower paragraph, and the name, title and inscription of the recipient are written in the upper paragraph in turn; The next paragraph is written with the title, name and naming language of the co-signer, and some of them are also marked with the time, place, writing method and stamped with the seal.
2. Four elements of couplets
Since it is called a couplet, its main rhythm is to strictly demand the word "right"-that is, antithesis. Broadly speaking, duality includes not only the number of words, the nature and meaning of words and the structure of phrases, but also the correspondence of tones, that is, "level". The narrow sense of duality refers to the former. The latter is specially called "flat and flat" rice.
The antithesis of words simply means that parts of speech should be relative, nouns to nouns, verbs to verbs, adjectives, function words, quantifiers, locators and so on; Secondly, in the phrase structure, the phrases of subject-predicate, juxtaposition, deviation, verb-object, verb-complement and definite structure should correspond; Third, there should be a sharp contrast in the meaning of words. For example, using phrases with the same meaning to connect the same sentence, or opposing each other, will make the taboo of synonyms "use together" and "cross hands".
Correspondingly, couplets have four elements, namely, the number of words is equivalent and the content is related; Parts of speech are quite balanced and harmonious. The contents of the four elements are collectively called couplet rules, sometimes also called couplet rules. Among them, "the number of words is equal and the content is related" is the basic element, "the part of speech is equivalent" is the grammatical element, and "balance and harmony" is the tone element.
(1), the number of words is equal.
The main meaning of the element of "equal number of words": the number of words in each clause of the upper and lower couplet is equal; The total number of words in the upper part is equal to the total number of words in the lower part. Usually it also means "the words of the phrases corresponding to the upper and lower couplets are equal":
The first part: Spring has just arrived.
Bottom line: Magpies sing branches.
If the bottom line is paired as: infinite scenery, it is illegal. Because "scenery" and "spring" are both subjects in couplets, but the words are different, which is usually not allowed in couplets.
Multi-clause example:
The first part: the mountains and rivers are beautiful, and the eight festivals are not old;
Bottom line: sunny weather, the Millennium scenery of Changchun.
The first sentence of the upper and lower couplet is four words, the second sentence is seven words, and the upper and lower couplet are eleven words each; "He Xiu" is the foot of the first clause, and "Lao Chun" is the foot of the second clause. Because the second clause is the last clause, "Laochun" is also called joint foot.
(2) Content-related
The contents of couplets should be related. A couplet should be regarded as an article, with a theme and a central idea, and it is not allowed to say an irrelevant word in the upper and lower couplets. Also cited an example of "spring comes, magpies sing branches". In two words, * * * expresses the joy of spring. If the bottom line is accompanied by "I am sad", it is also illegal. Because the meanings expressed in the two sentences are far apart, they can't be regarded as couplets. Another example is:
My hometown is thousands of miles away.
Ten years of hard work is another day (not only the content is wrong, but also the part of speech is wrong. )
We can't just pursue the corresponding neatness word for word, but the words are blunt and the content is obscure:
Sentence: A river flows eastward (Part II)
Dialogue: the autumn waves of the two rivers move northward (part one)
There is also a cross talk that is mechanical word for word, which is even more ridiculous:
God speaks well.
Isn't it a big mistake to "protect the bad guys in the lower bound" even if it is not harmonious? )
(3) Part of speech is equivalent
Part-of-speech equivalence is a grammatical element of couplets, which means that each word corresponding to the upper and lower couplets should belong to the same category. That is, noun to noun, verb to verb, function word to function word and so on. The classification of parts of speech can refer to the General Grammar Table of Chinese Parts of Speech. For specific writing and application, you can refer to the ancient examples such as "Li Weng Dui Yun" and "Melody Enlightenment", which are humorous and easy to remember, popular and practical: "Clouds are rain, snow is wind, and night is clear. Come to Honglai Yan, stay in birds to sing insects ... come to Honghong, dense to sparse, Yan dance to warbler. The wind is clear to the moon, the dew is heavy to the smoke ... high to the bottom, short to long, willow shadows to flowers. Poet to Foucault, five emperors to three kings ". How to use it specifically, and then take Yilian as an example:
dexter
Open life field
Ruiqi Chuntai
Adjective verb
noun
If it is a "passionate" couple, the content is a bit equivalent, but the part of speech is too different.
dexter
Open life field
Adjective verb noun
Ruiqi
Yingmen
Adjective noun verb
noun
"equivalence of parts of speech" is regarded as the essential feature and iron law of couplets by the authors. Couplets pay attention to concise words, and it is often necessary to examine the part of speech of each word when creating.
(4), level and level coordination.
With regard to the basic laws of the antithesis and homophonic tone, first of all, the end of the upper couplet must be flat and the end of the lower couplet must be flat and even; The leveling of the second, fourth and sixth words in the upper and lower conjunctions must also be unchangeable according to strict metrical requirements, which is commonly known as "no matter what 135 words are, 246 words are distinct". According to the sentence pattern, it can be divided into two types: flat and flat, both of which are based on the second word of the couplet.
On the concept of "ping sheng": the pronunciation of ancient Chinese is also four tones, but it is different from the four tones of Putonghua now. Divided into flat, up, go, and advance. When it is used in poetry couplets, only the flat bricks are "flat" and the other three are "flat". In modern Chinese, the yin and yang of Putonghua, that is, the first sound and the second sound, such as "Ma, Ma", are collectively referred to as "Pingsheng characters" when used in poetry couplets; "Xu" refers to the rising and falling tones of Putonghua, that is, the third and fourth tones, such as "Ma, scold", which are collectively called "Xu" in couplets.
"Smooth and harmonious" means harmonious tone, which is catchy and rhythmic. In addition to the unilateral coordination of the superior and subordinate links, it also includes the mutual coordination of the superior and subordinate links.
Unlike metrical poems, couplets don't require rhyme at the end, but they require the upper couplet to be silent and the lower couplet to be flat. "The first half of the couplet" is the most basic rule of couplet rhythm. For example, this pair of traditional Spring Festival couplets:
Tian Jie Ari Qian Jiale
Flat and light, flat and light.
Plum blossoms in Wan Li welcome the new year.
Ordinary, ordinary, ordinary.
The first couplet "le" is read in Putonghua, and the fourth tone is removed, which is classified as "Cuo" in the couplet, and the second couplet "Xiang" is read as "Ping". "Music" and "fragrance" conform to the melody law of "flat feet and flat feet". In the first case, "in the eyes of spring, the scenery is infinite" and the feet are purring, so this situation not only has the problem of part-of-speech antithesis, but also has the problem of irregular melody.
In the above example, except for the flat tails of couplets, we also notice that the flat tails of all other words are also opposite, which is also the requirement of the rhythm of couplets. Conversely, superiors and subordinates are also the concept of "pair", that is, reverse correspondence. It is also required that in a sentence (in the upper or lower clause), flat words and unvoiced words should appear alternately. Of course, the rhythm of couplets does not require every word to be flat and level, because there are many words in Chinese, and the basic rules that can be applied to most couplets are: in each sentence, even numbers must alternate and even numbers should be flat and level; Odd characters can be even unless they are connected together, and when they submit "isolation" and avoid "triple use". Example:
Firecrackers portend good news (the first word should be leveled)
Just plain, just plain.
The red light lit up the spring.
Flat and light.
And clause couplets, even numbers between clauses, regardless of whether the levels are alternating, such as:
Justice in law enforcement, public health and integrity, and an open and aboveboard atmosphere; ("Gong, Sheng" and "Qi, Guan" shall not alternate)
Even if it is flat, even if it is flat.
Send warm, who loves the people, is as warm as spring breeze and popular on the earth. ("Warmth, love" and "wind, walking" cannot be alternated)
Flat and light, flat and light.
At this point, everyone has a preliminary understanding of the question "what is a couplet?" We often use "antithesis is neat" to affirm a couplet, which means that this couplet conforms to the rules in content, part of speech and melody.
3. The basic format of couplets.
Couplets are divided into two types according to the height of the first word or the second word. According to the length of conjunctions, three words in the upper and lower conjunctions are called "three-word conjunctions", four words in each conjunctions are called "four-word conjunctions" or "four-word conjunctions", and so on. The long couplet is getting longer and longer, and it is also composed of short sentences that are relative and interrelated under seven words. Therefore, it is mainly to master the format within seven words:
There are two types of three-character couplets:
One,
Horizontal lifting type
Part 1: Flat and uniform, for example, fog in the forest.
Bottom line: Xu Ping. Right: Frost the tiles.
Second,
Zexing
Part I: Flat and uniform, for example: Chen Houzhu.
Bottom line: Pingping. Right: Hanzhong School
Four-character couplets are only of this type:
Part I: Flat or even, for example, a unified beginning.
The bottom line is: it's flat. Right: Vientiane update
There are two kinds of five-character couplets:
One,
Zexing
The first part: flat and flat, such as why the room should be elegant and big?
Bottom line: flat and faint. Right: The fragrance of flowers may not be much.
Second,
Horizontal lifting type
The first couplet: even and even, for example, playing a flute can attract a phoenix.
The bottom line is: it's flat. Right: Pan Guixi and Lapras.
Six-character couplets, only puckering up a type:
The first part of the couplet: plain, for example: winter is beautiful.
Bottom line: flat and faint. Right: Spring brings birds and flowers.
Seven-character couplets are the most widely used, and there are many adjustable changes and requirements. There are two types:
One,
Flat type:
The first part: mediocre, mediocre, for example: Liu woke up in spring.
Bottom line: average. Right: the dripping pine crane has a sound.
Second,
Start type:
The first part: Flat and flat, such as a pulse of lakes and mountains.
Bottom line: flat and faint. Right: There are thousands of joys in my heart.
In writing couplets, in addition to following this strict flat and even metrical pattern, the only thing that can be lenient is the nominal fixed phrases, because some fixed words are needed. Such as place names, people's names, animal and plant names, etc. Because it is a fixed phrase that cannot be changed, it is allowed to be lenient. In short, if you want to write and create good couplets, you must follow the basic laws. You can recite the creative realm first, and then work hard according to the beat.