In couplets, the law is: The formal name of couplets is couplets, commonly known as pairs. It is a unique form of Chinese language, literature and art in China, and is loved by people from all walks of life. Couplet rhythm, in summary, consists of six elements, also called "six phases", which are summarized as follows:
First, the number of words in the first couplet must be equal
The number of words in the upper couplet is equal to the number of words in the second couplet. In the long couplet, the number of words in each clause of the upper and lower couplets is equal. There is a special situation where the number of words in the upper and lower couplets is intentionally different. For example, during the Republic of China, someone satirized Yuan Shikai in a couplet: "Yuan Shikai is eternal; long live the Chinese people." The three words "Yuan Shikai" in the upper couplet and the four words "Chinese people" in the second couplet are "I'm sorry" means that Yuan Shikai was sorry for the Chinese people.
The second is that the parts of speech are equivalent
In modern Chinese, there are two major categories of speech, namely content words and function words. The former includes six categories: nouns (including locative words), verbs, adjectives (including color words), numerals, quantifiers, and pronouns. The latter includes six categories: adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, particles, interjections, and onomatopoeia. Equivalent parts of speech means that words or phrases in the same position in the upper and lower conjunctions should have the same or similar parts of speech. The first is the rule of "real versus real, virtual versus virtual", which is the most basic rule with the broadest meaning. Just follow this in some cases. Secondly, there are corresponding rules for parts of speech, that is, the above-mentioned 12 types of words correspond to each other. This rule should be followed in most cases. The third is the meaning-category correspondence rule. Meaning-category correspondence refers to putting the same type of things expressed in Chinese characters together and contrasting them. The ancients noticed this rhetorical method very early. In particular, the noun part is divided into many subcategories. Finally, there is the adjacent category correspondence rule, that is, words in adjacent categories can communicate with each other. Such as astronomy versus seasons, astronomy versus geography, geography versus palaces, etc.
The third is structural compatibility
The so-called structural compatibility means that the grammatical structure of the upper and lower couplets (or the structure of their phrases and sentences) should be as similar as possible, that is, the subject-predicate structure To subject-predicate structure, verb-object structure to verb-object structure, partial structure to partial-positive structure, parallel structure to parallel structure, etc. However, in the case of equivalent parts of speech, the requirements for some more similar or special sentence structures can be relaxed appropriately.
The fourth is rhythm correspondence
That is, the pauses in the upper and lower lines must be consistent. For example: Don’t let the good days of Spring and Autumn pass; the most difficult thing is that wind and rain bring old friends. This is a seven-character short couplet. The rhythm of the upper and lower couplets is exactly the same, both "two-two-three". For longer couplets, the rhythm must also be corresponding.
The fifth is the harmony of Ping and Ze
What is Ping and Chou? The classification of Mandarin's tone and tone, in short, Yinping and Yangping are Ping, and the rising and falling tones are Ting. Among the four ancient tones, the flat tone is flat, and the rising, coming, and entering tones are flat. The harmony of oblique and oblique lines includes two aspects:
(1) The upper and lower lines are opposite to oblique and oblique lines. Generally speaking, it is not required that the words should be opposite, but it should be noted that: the last characters (joints) of the upper and lower couplets should be opposite, and the upper and lower lines should be flat and the upper and lower lines should be flat; the words at the end of the phrase or the rhythm point should be the opposite; the upper and lower characters in the long couplet should be opposite. The last word (sentence foot) of each clause in the couplet should be the opposite of oblique and oblique.
(2) The upper and lower couplets alternate between oblique and oblique sentences. Contemporary Lianjia Yu Dequan and others summarized a set of rules of "horse hoof rhyme". To put it simply, "Pingping Ping Ping Ping Ping Ping" has been going on, like the rhythm of horseshoe.
Sixth is content related
What is a couplet? It is both "right" and "connected". The above-mentioned words with the same number of words, the same part of speech, the same structure, the corresponding rhythm and the harmony of oblique and oblique are all "right", but there is still one "link" missing. "Connection" means that the content must be relevant. The content between the upper and lower couplets of a couplet should be related. If the upper and lower couplets each write about an unrelated thing, and the two cannot reflect, connect, and echo, then it cannot be regarded as a qualified couplet, or even a couplet.
Requirements:
The length of the couplet text varies, the short one is only one or two words; the long one can reach hundreds of words. There are various forms of couplets, including positive pairs, opposing pairs, running-water pairs, joint-ball pairs, and collection-sentence pairs. But no matter what type of couplets and what form they are used, they must have the following characteristics:
1. The number of words must be equal and the sentences must be consistent. Unless the position of a certain word is intentionally left vacant to achieve a certain effect, the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be the same, no more and no less.
2. The levels should be consistent and the tones should be harmonious. The traditional custom is "廄 rises and flat falls", that is, the last word of the first line is in the square tone, and the last word of the second line is in the flat tone.
3. The parts of speech should be relative and the positions should be the same.
It is generally called "Void to Void, Real to Real", that is, noun to noun, verb to verb, adjective to adjective, quantifier to quantifier, adverb to adverb, and relative words must be in the same position.
4. The content should be relevant and connected from top to bottom. The meanings of the upper and lower lines must be connected to each other, but they cannot be repeated.
5. In addition, the traditional practice of hanging couplets must be written vertically, from right to left, from top to bottom, and cannot be reversed.
Hengpi, which is closely related to the couplet, can be said to be the title and the center of the couplet. Good horizontal batches can play a finishing touch and complement each other in the couplets.