Summarize the characteristics of couplets, mainly divided into four aspects: first, the form is symmetrical; Second, the content is related; Third, the words are concise; Fourth, the rhythm is clear. Some people call it the four beauties of couplets, namely, the beauty of architecture, symmetry, language and rhythm.
Couplets have four characteristics:
(A) symmetrical form
Symmetry refers to the opposite form of upper and lower conjunctions, also known as dual form. Antithesis is an important rhetorical method in China's classical literature, and it is the charm and life of couplets. What is duality? In other words, duality is the symmetry of antithetical sentences. The word "antithesis" comes from the rank of ancient court guards (honor guards), which are arranged in pairs, so it is called antithesis. As a rhetorical device, duality is applied to Chinese writing art, that is, metaphor is arranged in pairs with two parallel sentences to express related or opposite relationships. In China ancient literature, antithetical sentences are very common. No matter the Book of Songs, Shangshu, Yijing, Laozi and Huainanzi, there are well-known antitheses. Fu literature after the Han Dynasty, parallel prose in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and metrical poems after the Tang Dynasty have gradually been mastered by people and become irreplaceable rhetorical methods in classical literature.
Duality is a major feature of China literature. China's square characters, word for word, provide a prerequisite for the emergence and growth of dual art, which makes parallel prose, poetry and couplets, a condensed art, last for thousands of years and have strong vitality.
The antithesis in couplets is to put similar concepts or relative concepts in the corresponding positions in the sentences and dialogues of couplets, so that they are juxtaposed and form the symmetrical beauty of couplets. In couplets, antithesis is particularly important, which is the essence of couplet art. There is a folk riddle about Spring Festival couplets, which reads:
Two sisters, average length.
Dress together, dress separately.
Flushed, the annual report is auspicious.
In a few words, he accurately wrote the symmetrical beauty, architectural beauty and auspicious characteristics of couplets.
Dual form originates from the phenomenon of mutual opposition and interdependence in the objective world, and is the basic form of everything. This opposition and interdependence inspired the symmetrical beauty of literature and art, and also catered to the theory that "one yin and one yang is the Tao" in China's ancient theory of yin and yang. Liu Xie pointed out in the article "Wen Xin Diao Long Li Ci" that "nature takes shape, support must be double, spirit and flesh are used together, and things are not lonely." It emphasizes the dual state of objective things. Liu Xie also said: "There are four pairs of beautiful words. It is easy to say that it is right, but it is difficult to do things. The superior opposes it and the subordinate is right. " Because opposition can better reflect the objective existence full of complex contradictions, museums can better express the author's dialectical thinking and reveal the essence of things.
To learn to write couplets, we must master the basic requirements of antithesis. The ancients said, "If you don't obey the rules, you won't be Fiona Fang." There are clear principles for the predecessors to talk about confrontation. The book "Fragrance Against the Rivals" puts forward the basic principle of "real with real, virtual with virtual", emphasizing "whether there is virtual with real, paying attention to life and death", which laid the basic framework for the later couplet art. Ancient Chinese characters are divided into three categories: real characters, empty word characters and auxiliary characters. The category of real characters is divided into semi-real characters, and the category of empty word is divided into two subcategories: movable type and dead type, with semi-empty word attached. The classification is as follows:
Real words: flowers, grass, forest, mountains, sky, earth. ...
Semi-reality: strength, heroism, literature, martial arts, light and thunder. ...
Empty word (death): tall, innovative, strong, big, refined and small. ...
Empty word (Live): Flowing, Singing, Ascending, Playing, Photographing and Opening. ...
Half deficiency: up, down, middle, inside and outside. In ... ...
Auxiliary words: knowing, also, naturally, being, speaking and harmony. ...
The predecessors summed up the above classification in a few words: "Invisible is virtual, there are traces that can be referred to as real, body is static for death, and it is like half-virtual and half-real." Compared with our current Chinese classification, this classification is monotonous and novel. However, careful analysis also has similarities with modern Chinese classification. The notional words mentioned by the ancients are the nouns we call today; The so-called semi-truth is an abstract noun; The so-called function words, verbs live, adjectives die; Auxiliary words are function words, including prepositions, conjunctions and auxiliary words "Half empty" includes more abstract time words and adjectives. Mastering and being familiar with the classification of ancient words is very helpful for us to learn and appreciate couplets today.
For beginners, it is best to learn couplets (also called strict couplets) first, that is, to form couplets according to similar words. Here are some examples:
Bamboo flourishes because of its proximity to water;
Lan and the atmosphere are also very harmonious.
The first words "bamboo" and "orchid" above and below the conjunction are vegetation nouns, the second words "yin" and "one" are prepositions, the third words "Lin" and "dang" are verbs, the fourth words "water" and "wind" are astronomical geographical nouns, and the fifth words "emotion" and "qi" are astronomical geographical nouns.
For another example, Hangzhou Yuexiu Mountain Zhenhai Tower Alliance:
Urgent water for the sky into the sea;
Clouds set with the sun.
The first word in the couplet is an adjective, the second is an astronomical noun, the third is a verb, the fourth is an astronomical noun and the fifth is an adverb. The antithesis is also very clever.
The semantic category of nouns is very important to workers. For example, if there is the word "wind and rain" in a sentence, we should first consider that "wind and rain" is an astronomical term, a flat sound and a parallel structure. The dialogue must be confronted with astronomical terms and the parallel structure must be correct. For example, you can choose "stars", "frost" and "clouds". If "the sun and the moon" belong to the right, it is wrong. If "sunset glow" and "starlight" are used, it is a mistake of disordered parts of speech. Because "sunset glow" and "starlight" are both structural nouns. If "The Map of Mountains and Rivers" belongs to the right, it is not a work pair, but a wide pair. If you use "ichthyosaur" as a relative, you will make the shortcomings of a different kind of relative.
In antithesis, sentences with the same syntactic structure are more common, such as poems by Xie Zhen and Wang Ji:
The wind makes the flowers still fall;
Tonamiyama is more hidden.
However, there are also some antitheses that are literally relative and not necessarily the same in syntax and structure, as shown below:
Always remember that the rivers and lakes return to white hair;
Want to go back to heaven and earth and get on the boat.
"Bai Mao" in the sentence is not the direct object of "Gui", but actually the inverted sentence of "Bai Mao Gui", while "Zhou" in the antithetical sentence is the direct object of "Ru".
In addition, in the antithesis, you should also consider what feelings you want to express in the couplets, whether the words you choose conform to the common sense of things, and whether the images you choose achieve the artistic effect you express. Therefore, we should give consideration to both, and don't hurt the righteousness with words. The ancients said: "There is no limit to choosing words, and there is a teacher in using words." Beginners should read and write more. If there are no good sentences for the time being, it is best to settle down for a while before writing, or put it down, or start a new stove. The art of writing is an art of refinement. The process of writing is the process of refining. As long as you read and write more, practice makes perfect.
(B) Content-related
The reason why couplets are called couplets is that couplets not only need couplets, but also rely on the word "couplet". Without couplets, you can't call them couplets. If the upper part and the lower part are two unrelated things, and they cannot reflect each other, contact each other and echo each other, it is a failure. For example:
Once and for all, live forever;
Vientiane renews the earth.
This antithetical couplet is reasonable and basically symmetrical in terms of the antithesis and the part of speech, but it can't be regarded as a couplet. Because the up and down links exist in isolation, they cannot express a complete theme together. The first part is a sentence in Jia Sixie's "Qi Yao Min Shu Planting Alfalfa" in the Northern Wei Dynasty: "This thing will last forever, and the planter will do it once and for all." The second couplet is a general sentence of Spring Festival couplets, and they are not related to each other.
Couplets have many forms of connection. Some couplets are related not only in content but also in form. Wrote a couplet for Xu:
Only poor and sick are poor, that is called poor;
Only by not taking money can you be an honest official.
The meaning of this couplet is: only poverty and illness are considered poor; If you don't love money, you will be dishonest if you don't pay taxes. The upper couplet is a foil, the lower couplet is a positive meaning, and a "yes" and a "yes" indicate its turning point.
Although some couplets don't use related words, they can make people clearly see the causal relationship they represent, such as Yanmen Association:
Mochow has no confidant in the road ahead;
There are many old friends outside Yangguan in the west.
The upper part is cause and the lower part is effect. It can be seen that their internal relations are very detailed. Look at Liang Qichao and Zhang Zhidong again:
The four rivers are the first, and the summer seasons are the second. The old man lives in Jiangxia. Who is the first and who is the second?
Three religions and nine streams are in the front, three talents are in the back, and the boy is Confucianism. How dare he be in the front and back?
The first part of Zhang Zhidong's couplet titled "Four Waters" and "Four Seasons" is intended to ask questions and make things difficult. Liang Qichao, the leader of the Second League, took the "three religions" and "three talents" as the positive, and answered neither humble nor humble. The first half of the couplet is deliberately difficult, and the second half is played by the topic, which effectively echoes from top to bottom and achieves a perfect fit in content.
Whether it's lyrical scenery, nostalgic past events, expressing ambition with things, etc. It is necessary to use metaphor to turn it on and off properly. You can't write about scenery just for the sake of writing about scenery, but for the sake of lyricism. Please see Gu Xiancheng Academy Door Association:
The sound of wind and rain, the sound of reading, the sound of hearing;
Family affairs, state affairs, world affairs. Care about everything.
The first part is intended to write a scene, but the second part is devoted to expressing its ambition. Two unrelated things use each other, so the first one is not just to write a scene, but to write a scene. The phrase "hearing voices" breaks the author's heart. The second book "caring about everything" is the author's original intention.
(c) concise text
A very important reason why couplets have been enduring for thousands of years is that they are concise, vivid, short, easy to circulate, exquisite and catchy.
Couplets have a strong expressive force, which is not only related to the language characteristics of our country, but also lies in the author's high concentration and refinement of couplets, making them more concise than fu and parallel prose, and more flexible than poems, words and songs. Don't need the three elements of the novel, as long as the meaning to be said is clearly expressed in the most concise language, such as Sanqing Pavilion Company, Xishan, Kunming, Yunnan:
Listen to what the birds say;
Ask the flower who is laughing at.
The man personified the scenery, reminding people that this place must be a scenic spot with birds and flowers. In just eight words, the All-China Federation accurately summed up the natural landscape of flowers and birds and flowers. It can be described as witty remarks, but also like the alpine pavilion in Changbai Mountain, Jilin Province:
Thousands of peaks pull out the ground;
Ten thousand days in the sky.
This couplet is saying that a thousand peaks rise from the ground and go straight into the sky, just like a jade arch in the hands of ministers, facing the sky. If the author does not have the ability to refine the language, it is absolutely impossible to paint such a magnificent picture of the motherland with only a few figures. Look at a couplet written by Zhou Enlai when he was young:
An upright sea;
Immediately Kunlun.
This couplet has only eight words, but it embodies such a vast space and profound feelings. From the couplets, we can feel the author's great mind born for saving the country and his heroic spirit of fighting for the rise of China. It can be said that it is concise and uses words like gold. The extraction of words and sentences is very difficult, not as simple as some people say. In fact, making a wonderful couplet is not easier than writing a poem.
Language should be refined and combined with life experience, so that the joint sentence can be concise and reasonable. The use of exaggeration, analogy and other techniques must be appropriate, natural and targeted, and avoid digressing from Wan Li, so that readers can read credibly and chew with relish. Like a shower hall:
Honest and clean people here;
Relatives are forgotten friends.
Only fourteen words remind the scenery here to the fullest. The style of writing is elegant, novel, impartial and just right.
In addition, the words used in the upper part of the couplet can't be used in the lower part, otherwise even the best couplet is a taboo of "heavy words", and it is not beautiful to commit heavy words (except for clever couplets). Such as "the spring breeze melts the rain; Flowers and trees meet in spring ",from the part of speech, it can be said that it is often right, but the word" spring "in couplets is taboo, even if the meaning of the word is beautiful, it is not desirable. "
(D) clear rhythm
The rhythm of couplets will be discussed in detail in relevant chapters. Only some relationships between rhythm and structure and hierarchy are explained here.
The difference between couplets and poems lies in the external form. That is, the number and length of couplets are not limited, which is more flexible and free. However, it must be noted that the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be equal. In other words, the total number of all couplets must be even.
The rhythm of couplets is flexible, but not chaotic. The so-called flexible rhythm means that there is no fixed program, just a rough parallel and parallel intersection in the long couplet, because rhythm and parallel and parallel are two aspects of the same gas. As for short couplets with less than seven characters, the requirements should be stricter because of the small number of words, but in any case, under the premise of not damaging the meaning of the words, the ending of the upper couplet should be silent and the ending of the lower couplet should be flat. It is excusable for some famous leagues to break this convention, but as novices, you must not follow suit. It is better to work together. Only in this way can we improve our rank.
We put the characteristics of couplets into a formula that is easy to remember:
The upper and lower conjunctions must be the same,
The speech is unreasonable.
These conjunctions are organically combined,
The most taboo is to isolate the west and the east.
Clutter and verbosity are a big mistake,
Perfect image is the key to a sentence.
The rhythm is different,
One song and three sighs are endless.
Common couplets (short couplets) are as follows:
First, the parallel relationship.
The upper and lower couplets are parallel in form and consistent in tone. The upper and lower couplets explain the same thing from two different angles and express the same theme. This form of couplet is often used in sentences, such as "Ye", "You" and "Du" ... and ",and it can be called legal without association or related words.
Watching You Jun write couplets of Wuhou Temple in Chengdu;
Two respects and three cares.
A pair of thousand-year-old feet
The author pays tribute to Zhuge Liang by grasping the two aspects that can best express Zhuge Liang's image, namely "two tables" (that is, "front and back teachers") and "one pair" ("Longzhong Dui"). Shows his superhuman wisdom and extraordinary achievements. The joint language is concise and surprising. This kind of couplets has strong strokes, heavy colors and vivid images, but it will appear monotonous and repetitive if it is not handled properly.
Second, a coherent relationship.
The upper and lower couplets describe continuous events in chronological order, or are formed according to the sense of continuity, which is called coherence. Related words are often used as "already" and "just". For example:
Taiwan Province Province has been returned to Japan.
The Summer Palace has another ceiling.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government was forced to cede Taiwan Province and Penghu Islands to Japan. Later, some people advocated running a naval power, but Cixi used the public funds of the navy to build the Summer Palace for her personal enjoyment. All the people in China are very angry. Someone wrote a couplet to satirize it.
Third, the progressive relationship
The relationship between duality and sentence output is from small to large, from shallow to deep, from outside to inside, which is called progressive relationship. Commonly used related words are "situation", "more" and "not only …… but also". Like a barber shop:
Don't teach white hair to make people old.
I prefer the spring breeze to blow my face.
On the narrative level, the second couplet is deeper than the first couplet. The second couplet uses the poem "Spring breeze is high" in Bai Ju's Grass, which has a particularly strong meaning. This is the beauty of couplets. Some conjunctions omit related words that express progressive relations without reducing their progressive meanings. Such as a guest house:
The door is full of guests.
This is home.
Relative words are used at the end of couplets, but they still represent progressive relations, so they are placed in this category.
Fourth, the hypothetical relationship.
This syntactic relationship is called hypothetical relationship, and the commonly used related words are "if", "such as", "convenient", "if … just" and "if … just".
As a couplet written by Qi Gong:
If a glass of water is as light as its name suggests.
Yingxin Village tea is more fragrant than wine.
If fame and fortune are as light as a glass of water, you will think that farmers' green tea is better than wine.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) conditional relation
That is, the sentence puts forward the conditions and the sentence gets the result. This syntactic relationship is a conditional relationship. For example:
Be diligent and ask for less.
Promote longevity
Heaven and earth enter the chest
The article gives birth to wind and thunder
Flipped through a few books.
You deserve three meals.
"More diligence and less desire" is the condition, and "long life" is the result. Only when the conditions are met can the result be achieved. The above triplets all fall into this category.
Sixth, the turning point
A condition is deduced in one sentence, but the sentence is stated in the opposite direction. This is called a turning point. This grammar is very common in couplets. The related words "Dan", "que" and "ran" are commonly used, but some of them are not used. Like a barber shop:
Although it is a trivial skill.
But this is kung fu on it.
The first part of the couplet is "exquisite" in suppression, and the second part is "working hard on it", which is intended to promote.
Another example: Weng Tonghe's self-titled couplets:
The article is really about temperament.
When the wind and rain came, they talked and laughed deeply.
Although this couplet does not use related words, it is not difficult to see that it is still a turning point. There is a feeling of closeness between the two realms, but the turning point is that mountains turn into flowers. The choice of related words depends on the author's handling of the content and the author's likes and dislikes of words. There is no definite method.
Seven, choose the relationship
The upper and lower sentences say two things respectively, indicating a substitution relationship, which is called a choice relationship or a trade-off relationship. Commonly used "and", "not as good as", "but" and "no", such as:
Desire for perfection: the story of Allen Hart Pena
It's not for Waquan.
This couplet is directly related to Ning ... not ... ",showing the heroic spirit of integrity.
Another marriage:
But for eternity.
Why wait and see each other?
It can be seen that this is a couplet written by a newly married couple who live in two places to express their sincerity in love.
Eight. causality
Sentence and duality deduce causality respectively. Generally, one sentence is about the reason, reason, result or conclusion, but there are also inverted sentences.
For example, a cotton shop association:
Mu Xue, Qian Lai
Become wanjiachun
The former sentence is because, which means the scene of cotton harvest, and the latter sentence is fruit, which means that with cotton-padded clothes, everyone will no longer feel cold in winter.
Another example is the Wild Goose Gate Association:
On the road ahead, there will be dear and sincere friends
There are many old friends who go out from Yangguan in the west.
This is a causal inversion sentence, the sentence is the conclusion, the antithesis sentence is the reason, and the inversion sentence can add literary color to the couplet.
Nine. Purpose relation
Sentences and antitheses express the relationship between purpose and action. Or a sentence is an end, a sentence is an action or measure, but there are also people who are upside down.
Look at the next couplet:
Clever management of thousands of things.
Add tens of millions of hearts.
What the sentence says is action; The sentence says the purpose.
Look at another couplet:
Endure to make the national clothes fall to the emperor.
Return the heroes of the Central Plains to my country.
This couplet was written by Shi Dakai. That sentence means that we can't stand the oppression of the "righteous emperor" (the ruler of the Qing Dynasty) any longer, and we intend to take action; The next couplet is about the goal to be achieved. This couplet is upside down.
The above three examples are all short couplets. As for short sentences and long couplets, readers can analyze and understand them according to this principle, so I won't go into details here.
The structure of couplets, that is, the collocation and arrangement of couplets, that is, the grammatical structure of upper and lower couplets must take care of each other and be symmetrical with each other, that is, the subject-predicate structure is opposite to the subject-predicate structure, the verb-object structure is opposite to the verb-object structure, the partial structure is opposite to the partial structure, and so on. The structure of couplets determines the success or failure of couplets. Therefore, the complete organization of couplets is conducive to highlighting the theme and making couplets full of artistic appeal, which is the first problem to be considered in writing couplets.
Please see the trade union of Shengji Temple in Emei Mountain:
Half-day-Open Buddha Pavilion
Flat land-look at others
Sentences and dialogues are composed of a two-syllable structure and a three-syllable verb-object structure, with the same meaning unit and rhythm unit, which makes people easy to read and is a masterpiece.
Hangzhou Longjing Garden has a couplet:
Poetry writing-plum blossom month
Tea Boiling-Gu Yuchun
Look again:
Hard-working families come early in spring.
Harmony, home is late.
"Spring comes early" and "Yan goes late" are both "subject-predicate-complement" structures.
Please see Guizhou Jiaxiu Loulian:
Water flowed from the jasper ring.
People walk in violet petals.
The units of meaning are one, five and one. "Water" and "human" are nouns, while "Chu" and "Xing" are verbs. "From Jasper Ring" and "In Violet Leaf" are two opposite accusative constructions. The upper and lower structures are similar.
Content determines form. Couplets are relatively regular, forming a neat and harmonious formal beauty. However, due to the needs of content, they can sometimes be flexible. For example:
There are Buddhists in the world.
There are no bridges in the world.
This couplet is a couplet, couplet and triple structure, and its meaning units are also couplet, couplet and triple. However, Zongsi Buddha is a verb-object structure, and "long bridge" is an abbreviation of "long bridge" and a dynamic complement structure. Occasionally, structural dissimilarity is allowed without harm. The rhythm unit and meaning of this couplet are the same. Consistency is the rule, inconsistency is the exception. Regardless of consistency, the upper and lower links must be equal. This is the premise of couplet structure. On the basis of equal number of words, the grammatical structure of each meaning unit of sentence and dialogue sentence must be similar in order to form a good structure. Another example is the Yun Qi Temple Fair in Hangzhou:
Water-flowing to the stone-flowing out-cold
The wind-from the flowers-came here-fragrant.
Its meaning unit is "133 1". Water, wind, cold and fragrance are nouns and adjectives respectively. "Shi Xiangbian" and "Li Conghua" are opposite in the object-object structure; "Outflow" and "Come here" are verbs and directional verbs with similar structures.
The organization and structure of the work, the connection and arrangement of all parts of the work, this is the structural problem. Structural characteristics are exposed, so it is the forming factor of the work, but it is determined by the ideological content of the work, and there is no structure that is not formed according to certain theme requirements. In addition, the structure depends on the genre, so novels, plays, poems and other works are different from other genres. The same is true of the structure of couplets. The structure of couplets is rarely mentioned. It seems to be the simplest and not enough, but it is not. When talking about quatrains in the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Yi once said that "the structure should also be clever". The structure of couplets is obviously much more complicated than quatrains. Let's talk about the structure of couplets first.
1. Alignment and association
Symmetry is the most basic requirement of couplet structure. The upper and lower couplets require strict symmetry, just like the wings of an airplane and the wheels of a car. If the number of words in the upper and lower couplets is equal, but the sentence structure is inconsistent, then the strict symmetry beauty cannot be achieved. For example, Ms. Chen Aizhu (the mother of the great writer Mr. Mao Dun) took her husband Yongxi Shen Lian:
Young people learn from Confucius and Mencius, while long students learn to use acousto-optic to turn electricity into electricity, worrying about the country and home. I was sick, but I didn't give full play to my talents and died in printed matter.
A lover, that is, a mentor and friend, has been in love with each other for ten years and shattered the riverside, which he can never recover. From now on, he will swear to keep his last words and discipline his twins.
This couplet has deep feelings and exquisite words, but from the perspective of structural composition, it is far from meeting the requirements of rigorous and symmetrical beauty. The first sentence of the first couplet is a verb-object structure, and the first sentence of the second couplet is a subject-predicate structure. Youth chanting is not good for Lover, and Words of Confucius and Mencius is not good for Mentor. In our Chinese, a word can be one word or several words. Therefore, we should also consider the same phrases when considering the equality of words. Only when the upper and lower couplet phrases are consistent, that is, the sentence structure is consistent, can the whole couplet structure have a neat and symmetrical beauty. Relevance: This is the second requirement of couplet structure.
Looking for Han Han in the water park (Pingping)
Old people in the village like telling stories.
Part of speech and balance meet the requirements. Can it be regarded as a couplet? I can't. Because it has a fatal flaw, the contents of the upper and lower sentences are irrelevant. Because a couplet should be word equivalent, part of speech relative, even and harmonious, and the upper and lower sentences should be closely linked to form an organic whole. Another example is "looking up information in the library and watching tigers and wolves in the zoo". The same two unrelated sentences can't be regarded as couplets at all. The above is the general requirement of couplet structure: the upper and lower couplets should be symmetrical and connected, which is what any couplet should achieve. The content, syntax and style of couplets are different, and their structural forms will naturally be varied, which is what we want to further explore.