Content of couplets
The content of couplets should be the most important part of appreciation of couplets. I wonder if we should treat the contents of couplets from the outside to the inside and from the superficial to the deep from these aspects:
First, let's see if the sentences in the couplets are fluent. We all have this problem when reading novels, reciting poems, enjoying plays and watching movies. Sentences are not fluent, which directly affects expression. As I said before, when some people create couplets, they sometimes pay attention to the coherence of the whole sentence for one word or several words, which makes the sentences of couplets seem obscure or far-fetched. If it is a long couplet, it is necessary to break the sentence first; If you can't even solve the sentence break, it will directly affect the understanding and understanding of its content, let alone appreciate it. It is not enough to make sentences fluent, but also to consider whether the levels between sentences are clear, whether there is an inherent and inevitable connection between the upper and lower parts, whether there is word order inversion and speech contradiction. I think it's better not to appreciate those couplets that don't even understand the sentences, or are out of order and inexplicable. This should be the first step in appreciating couplets.
Second, look at the content of couplets. Such as scenic couplets, is it about scenery or people? Is it about history or legend? Is it good or bad, is it good or bad? Is it narrative, description, discussion or lyric? Does it contain the author's feelings or express some feelings of the author? If you appreciate the couplets of historical celebrity memorial sites (such as Wuhou Temple, Guandi Temple, Yuefei Temple, Hanyu Temple, etc.). ), you must know something about this historical figure, such as his background, experience, main achievements, achievements, historical and present people's evaluation of him and so on. If you appreciate the couplets of Buddhist temples, you should also know some Buddhist common sense, Buddhist terminology, and the difference between this temple and other temples (such as Dengfeng Shaolin Temple where Buddhism practiced in the Northern Wei Dynasty). It is considered as the ancestral court of Zen; Baima Temple in Luoyang is the first temple built after Buddhism was introduced into China. To appreciate Taoist couplets, you should also have some Taoist knowledge, know some Taoist terms and the uniqueness of this Taoist temple (for example, the Taiqing Palace in Lu Yi is a Taoist building built in Lao Zi's hometown to commemorate him). If it is a famous scenic spot, it is necessary to have a general understanding of the scenic spots, such as its location, the age of development, the origin of its name, which famous scenic spots are there, which celebrities have been there in history, and what remains are there now (for example, Baiquan in Huixian County is called "Weiyuan" because there are many springs, which are injected into Wei River). Weiyuan Temple was built in the Sui Dynasty, and then pavilions and stone bridges stood everywhere, becoming a scenic spot with beautiful lakes and mountains. Emperors, senior officials, scholars and bachelors have all come here to visit, live in seclusion and give lectures. There are many scenic spots in memory of Sun Deng, a hermit in Jin Dynasty, Shaofuzi Temple in memory of Shao Yong, a philosopher in Northern Song Dynasty, Sun Qifeng Temple in memory of Sun Qifeng, a scholar in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and Quanfeng Pavilion built in memory of Feng Yuxiang during the Republic of China. In short, we should know everything about this scenic spot. Otherwise, it will directly affect the appreciation of landscape couplets.
For example, the back hall of the Beiluzu Temple in Luoyang is linked:
There are Qinling Mountains in the southeast, and Cui Dai faces the Phoenix Que.
Listen to the northwest flood, the waves come out of Longmen.
This is a couplet about the local scenery and geographical location, from which we can know that the temple is located on the mountain on the bank of the Yellow River. But this has nothing to do with Lv Zu.
For example, Baiquan Shaofuzi Temple is linked to Rangge (the topic was decided by Kang Zengding, the magistrate of Jianhui County in Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty):
Concentrated, the emperor is extremely practical 60 volumes.
Corresponding to each other, Xia Feng followed this trajectory for 500 years.
The first part of the book, "Devoted to the Spirit", comes from the copula of the Book of Changes, meaning to study the subtle meaning and enter the mysterious realm. Used for philosophers, very appropriate. Emperors Learn the World is one of Shao Yong's major works. The second part is about 500 years after Shao Yong in the Northern Song Dynasty, Sun Qifeng came here to inherit his career. "Harmony without difference" in Zhouyi Gan is a metaphor for people with the same opinion echoing each other. It is the same as the previous "concentration". "Five hundred years" comes from "Under the Ugly Sun of Mencius": "In five hundred years, there will be kings and celebrities (celebrities in the world)."
It seems that it is not easy to read a couplet, especially a couplet of places of interest, and understand its content. What should we do? I suggest: on the one hand, we should pay attention to the accumulation of relevant knowledge at ordinary times. The so-called "attention everywhere is knowledge" and the so-called "hate books when using them" is the truth. On the other hand, to travel to a certain place, we should make full preparations in advance and consult some relevant materials. This is an emergency. If you want to go to Shaolin Temple, there are many books about Shaolin Temple. You can learn about its historical origin (built in the Northern Wei Dynasty in 495 AD), relevant historical figures (such as Dharma, who came from the Southern Dynasties to cross the river and taught Zen for ten years, and then passed the cloak instrument to his second ancestor Hui Ke), historical events (such as the rescue of the Tang King by thirteen stick monks in the early Tang Dynasty), geographical location and environment (at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain in Songshan Mountain in the northwest), so if you meet couplets of relevant scenic spots there, you will not be helpless.
Such as Xishi Square outside the gate of Shaolin Temple:
The heart spreads the ancient hole, and Yan Dongxue holds his knees.
Face to face with the peak, and hear the golden sound in the quiet night.
The first couplet says that Buddhism is practiced in the cave behind the temple, and the divine light seeks dharma in the snow. "Shen Guang", a person's name, common surname Ji, a Luoyang native, is well-read and especially good at metaphysics. One winter, I went to Shaolin Temple to seek dharma and stood in the snow all night. Until the snow was knee deep, Dharma remained unmoved. He cut off his left arm with a dagger. Seeing that he was so sincere, Dharma gave him the Shurangama Sutra and a cloak instrument, named Hui Ke, and became the second ancestor of Zen Buddhism. The bottom line is that Shaolin Temple faces Shaoshi Mountain in Songshan, and there is Goushan Mountain in the northwest. Zi Jin, Prince of Zhou Lingwang. Legend has it that he liked blowing sheng, worked in Feng Huangming, traveled between Elo and climbed to the top of Gou Mountain (in present-day yanshi city) by crane.
In addition, it depends on whether the allusions in couplets are appropriate, and special attention should be paid to this aspect.
For example, Zhang Feiran, a native of Luling (now Ji 'an, Jiangxi Province) in Baiquan Qinghuige, Huixian during the Republic of China:
The deceased is like this, and there is no day and night.
Dedicated to the ear, you can have a country.
You can refer to the Preface to the United Front: "In the spring of the 25 th year of the Republic of China, Yu Bei came to Sumen Mountain in Baiquan after work and saw a son in the ruins of Sichuan. I felt that this was what I wrote." The first part is from the Analects of Confucius Zi Han: "Zi Zaichuan said,' The deceased is like a husband, and he doesn't give up day and night.' "It means that all past current events, like the flowing water of this river, cannot be answered and will not stop because of the alternation of day and night. This allusion is very apt. The second part, "Listen with your heart", comes from King Huiliang of Mencius: "Do it with your heart. "
The couplets of places of interest we often see often contain allusions or characters (such as native place, experience, official position, political achievements, etc. ), or geography, or historical facts, or legends, so be sure to examine it carefully. If you can't understand the allusions, I'm afraid you can't appreciate them. Another example is the couplet of Xishifang outside the gate of Shaolin Temple, which also contains several allusions.
It can be said that the content of couplets can be read and understood, and the appreciation of couplets has completed a large part of recognition.