Canghai sun, Chicheng clouds, Emei snow, Wuxia clouds, Dongting moon, Pengli smoke, Xiaoxiang rain, Wuyi peak, Lushan waterfall, combined with the wonders of the universe, are painted on the wall of my studio;
Shaoling poems, Mojie paintings, Zuo Chuanwen, Sima Shi, Xue Tao's notes, Youjun posts, Nanhua Sutra, Xiangru's poems, Qu Zi's Li Sao, collected ancient and modern exquisite arts, and placed them in my mountain window.
---Deng Shiru (Qing Dynasty)
This couplet was written in the first month of Yuanchun in Jiaqing (spring 1796).
The first couplet says that the nine famous mountains and rivers represent the beautiful scenery and wonders of the ancient country of China. These are all painted into pictures and hung on the wall of my study for my viewing and appreciation. Canghai Ri: The sea water is of endless color, and the scenery is spectacular at sunrise. In the past dynasties, viewing the sunrise over the East China Sea from the top of Mount Tai was the best. Chixia City: Chicheng, the name of the mountain, is located six miles northwest of Tiantai County, Zhejiang Province. The red stone screens on the mountain are lined up like a city, and the view looks like clouds, so it is called "Chicheng Qixia". Emei Snow: refers to the majestic and spectacular snow scenery of Mount Emei in Sichuan. Wu Gorge Cloud: There are the famous Twelve Peaks of Wushan on both sides of the East Wu Gorge in Wushan County, Sichuan. The peaks are slender and beautiful, often shrouded in clouds and mist, making them a scenic wonder. Dongting Moon: Dongting Lake is known as the "Eight Hundred Miles of Dongting". The moonlight in Dongting is extremely beautiful. Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower" describes: "The long smoke may clear the sky, and the moon is thousands of miles away..." Pengli Smoke: Poyang Lake in Jiangxi is also called "Pengli Lake". The vast smoke waves on the lake are a spectacle. Xiaoxiang Rain: refers to "Xiaoxiang Night Rain" and is one of the "Eight Scenic Spots of Xiaoxiang". Guangling Tao: the tide of Qujiang River in Guangling (now Yangzhou). Lushan Waterfall: Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province is known as “the most beautiful place in the world”. Lushan Waterfall is a wonder.
The second couplet says that nine celebrities and their unique skills are collected in the window of my mountain bookstore for my study and discussion. Shaoling Poems: Du Fu (712-770) once called himself Shaoling Yelao in his poems, and was known as the "Sage of Poetry". His poems are called "the history of poetry" and there is "Du Gongbu Collection". Mojie Painting: Wang Wei (699-759), also known as Mojie, was famous for his poems and paintings in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Biography of Zuo: Zuo Qiuming's Biography of Zuo in the Spring and Autumn Period was written by Zuo Qiuming during the Spring and Autumn Period. It preserves a large amount of historical materials, has beautiful writing and detailed records. It is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese history and literature. History of Ma Qian: Sima Qian's "Historical Records" is my country's first biographical general history. It begins with the legendary Yellow Emperor and ends with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, covering about three thousand years. This book is not only an immortal historical masterpiece, but also enjoys a high status in the history of literature. Xue Tao's note: Xue Tao (768-831) was a famous female poet in the Tang Dynasty. She was once a prostitute, and was also known as the female school secretary. When he lived in Huanhuaxi, he created a small crimson paper to write poems, which was known as Xue Tao's paper. Youjun calligraphy: Wang Xizhi (321-379), a great calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty, was a general of Youjun and was known as "Wang Youjun" in the world. His calligraphy art enjoys a high status in the history of Chinese calligraphy and is known as the "Sage of Calligraphy". He wrote "Le Yi Lun", "Huang Ting Jing", "Dongfang Shuo Painting Praise" in regular script, "Seventeen Tie" in cursive script, and "Lanting Preface" in running script, which had a great influence on later generations. Nanhua Sutra: Also known as "Nanhua Sutra", or "Zhuangzi", it is a Taoist classic. The inner chapters have high literary value and are unparalleled in classical prose. Xiangru Fu: Sima Xiangru (179 BC-117 BC) is a representative writer of Fu in the Han Dynasty and the master of Han Fu. Qu Zi Li Sao: Qu Yuan (about 340 BC - about 278 BC) is the earliest great poet in our country. His representative works include "Li Sao". Mountain window: refers to the display window of the mountain bookstore.
The content of this couplet is rich, the momentum is magnificent, and the writing method is unique, which is amazing. Critics call this couplet "the eternal masterpiece of the serial couplet". There is a couplet in Zhuge Liang's former residence in Longzhong, Xiangyang, in memory of Mr. Zhuge. The content is slightly different from this couplet. This couplet is included in the Ming Dynasty Qingyan sketch "The Notes of a Small Window". It is believed to be a couplet from the Ming Dynasty writer Li Dongyang (1447-1516), but "Qinglian Poetry" was changed to "Shaoling Poetry" and "Guangling Chao" was changed to "Guangling Tao". The contents of the couplet of Zhuge Liang's former residence and that of Li Dongyang are quite similar, but it is difficult to determine which one comes first. Deng Shi's couplet is the same as the couplet in "The Story of a Small Window". Deng Shiru's Bishan Bookstore Couplet written in official script only replaced "Guangling Tao" with "Wuyi Peak", so Deng Shiru's couplet came from "The Story of a Small Window".
Deng Shi's Longmen couplets are written in Wei stele regular script and adopt the form of Longmen couplets. There are changes in the rules and the layout is symmetrical and harmonious.
Deng Shiru also wrote this couplet in official script for Bishan Bookstore. There is another interesting aspect.