The basic rules of couplets are actually very simple, just three sentences 15 words: the number of words should be equal, the sentences should be correct and the words should be balanced.
1, the basic law of couplets 1: the number of words should be equal.
This is the most basic rule of couplets. If you are willing to post five words on the left and seven words on the right of your door, it is certainly not illegal, but this is definitely not a couplet.
2. The basic rule of couplets 2: The sentences should be antithetical.
The second basic rule of couplets is the upper and lower couplets. There are three basic requirements for confrontation.
First, the parts of speech of the upper couplet and the lower couplet in the corresponding position must be equal: for example, reeds on the wall, top-heavy bamboo shoots in shallow mountains, thick skin with sharp mouths and hollow bellies.
Second, the upper and lower couplet structures must correspond: it means that the upper and lower couplets must have the same grammatical structure. Take the couplet above as an example.
The grammatical structure of this couplet is exactly the same. The whole sentence is a subject-predicate structure, with four words in the first half as the subject and seven words in the second half as the predicate. Among them, the first four words are on the right side, the head words are "reed" and "bamboo shoot", and "wall" and "mountain" are attributes; The last seven words are combined structures, and the three subject-predicate structures of "head/weight", "foot/light" and "root/shallow" are juxtaposed.
Third, the rhythm must be consistent: it means that the pause of the upper and lower couplets must be consistent. Or this couplet: reeds on the wall, top-heavy bamboo shoots in the mountains, shallow mouths and thick stomachs. The rhythm of the upper and lower couplets is exactly the same, both two two two three.
Couplets that meet the above requirements for antithesis belong to workers' pairs. If you can't do it completely, it's called tolerance. For couplets, the first thing to consider is the right work, and it is really necessary to retreat and ask for forgiveness.
3. The basic law of couplets is three: flat sides and law.
The rules of leveling are a little more complicated, which are divided into three levels: at the end of a sentence, in a sentence and between sentences.
At the end of the sentence (1), the upper part should be leveled and the lower part should be leveled: that is, the last word in the upper part must be leveled and the last word in the lower part must be leveled. This is the basic rule of the couplet, which can never be violated or ignored.
Therefore, if you write a sentence with Pingsheng as the last word, never say "Please draw a bottom line", you can just say "Please draw a top line" or just say "Please draw a right line". Sticking Spring Festival couplets at home should also be divided according to this rule, with the upper couplet sticking to the right and the lower couplet sticking to the left.
(2) The sentence should be leveled, and the upper and lower couplets should be leveled: the professional name of the leveling rules of couplets is horseshoe rhyme. Because the alternating transformation law of couplets is the same as that of horseshoe marching.
(3) The feet of many couplets also have leveling requirements: if a couplet has more than one sentence, then the feet of each sentence have leveling requirements in addition to each sentence. If the feet of many couplets are flat and fully meet the requirements of horseshoe rhyme, it is a positive example.