classification by purpose
1. General couplets-Spring Festival couplets
2. Special couplets-tea couplets, birthday couplets, wedding couplets, wedding couplets, elegiac couplets, industry couplets, motto couplets, gift couplets, and question-and-answer couplets
Classification by word number
1. Short couplets (cross)
classified according to rhetorical skills
1. Duality: speech pair, matter pair, right pair, opposition, work pair, wide pair, flowing pair, palindrome pair and top target.
2. Rhetorical association: metaphor, exaggeration, backchat, pun, rhetorical question and homophonic.
3. Skill association: embedded words, hidden words, compound words, overlapping words, radicals, word analysis, word separation and numbers.
according to the source of couplets
1. Set-sentence couplets: couplets composed entirely of ready-made sentences in ancient poems.
2. Word-set couplets: couplets composed of ancient articles and words in Copybook for calligraphy.
3. Sentence-picking couplets: Couplets made by directly picking antithetical sentences from other people's poems.
4. Creative couplets: Couplets independently created by the author.
Types of couplets
1. Festival couplets: refers to couplets with specific timeliness or commemoration, and the contents are mostly general chanting, expressing feelings, discussing and wishing. Strictly speaking, it can be divided into festival couplets and seasonal couplets, but in view of the fact that they are often integrated, this distinction has no practical significance. Generally speaking, festival couplets can be directly divided into Spring Festival couplets, New Year's Day couplets and National Day couplets. Among the festival couplets, the most important one is the Spring Festival couplets. The so-called Spring Festival couplets are seasonal couplets used for the Spring Festival. Most Spring Festival couplets can be used universally.
2. festive couplets: also known as congratulatory couplets, refer to couplets with a certain congratulatory nature except festival celebrations. According to its content and object, it can be divided into several subclasses, such as marriage couplet, birthday couplet, new house couplet (housewarming couplet) and so on. The outstanding feature of festive couplets is that they have a certain festive and congratulatory nature, and their contents must be good wishes, festive and auspicious. There are universal and special festive couplets. Whether it is universal or not depends on the alliance, and it is not easy to copy it, so as not to make jokes.
3. elegiac couplet: also referred to as elegiac couplet, refers to the couplet used to mourn the dead. Its content is limited to mourning, remembering, evaluating and wishing for the dead, and its style is generally sad, solemn, deep and solemn. There are also people who write elegiac couplets for the deceased or who write elegiac couplets for themselves, which is another matter. The elegiac couplet can be divided from many angles, such as the couplet for the elderly, the couplet for the middle-aged and the couplet for the young, or the couplet for the elders, the couplet for the peers and the couplet for the younger generation. In addition, it can also be divided into famous couplets and self-elegiac couplets, and sacrificial couplets can also be regarded as a subclass of elegiac couplets. The content of elegiac couplet generally refers to more specific objects, although there are also general and special objects, but in practice, we should pay more attention to the distinction.
4. Couplets of scenic spots: refers to couplets posted, hung and carved in scenic spots. Most of its contents are inscribed with the scenic spots (such as landscapes, cultural relics, etc.) or closely related to it (related people, things, etc.). Such couplets often become an important part of scenic spots and even history and culture. The association of places of interest can be divided into several sub-categories, such as landscape gardens, temples and temples, pavilions and pavilions, houses and halls, monuments and tombs, and so on.
5. Industry couplet: refers to the couplet whose content is specific to a certain industry, department or field. Due to the changes of the times, the application of couplets in the industry is not as good as before, but it is still considerable. Judging from its scope of application and content characteristics, it is still a big kind of couplets. Industry associations can be classified into sub-categories according to industries and departments.
6. Inscribed couplets: refer to couplets inscribed to others. Although many couplets are endowed with some kind of title, the title couplets mentioned here are limited to the works of interpersonal communication (or yearning), excluding elegiac couplets and congratulatory couplets. Its content generally has some praise, wish and encouragement nature. Judging from the application of couplets, title-giving couplets can be regarded as a large category. According to the different objects of the topic, the topic-giving couplet can be generally divided into several subcategories, such as the topic-giving couplet, the topic-giving couplet, and the topic-giving couplet.
7. Miscellaneous couplets: refers to couplets with a wide range of contents without a specific object. This kind of couplets often have simple literary creation characteristics, such as philosophical couplet, lyrical couplet, persuasive couplet and so on.
8. Academic couplet: refers to couplets with a certain academic nature. This academic nature refers to a professional nature that does not belong to the above categories in content and use. Its content is often specialized, with a certain discipline or religious characteristics, such as popular science association, Buddhism association, Taoism association and so on. From the application scope and development space of couplets, it is necessary to regard academic couplets as a separate category. For example, in the book "A Collection of Touching Smells-12 Buddhist Couplets" written by the author, many Buddhist figures and Buddhist doctrines are systematically written into an academic monograph in the form of couplets. By extension, many scientific knowledge or other learning principles can also be written in couplets, and their academic or professional nature can be highlighted in content.
9. Funny couplets refer to couplets that emphasize interest or skill rather than content. Such as various humorous associations, skill associations, etc. The content of this kind of couplets either highlights the uniqueness of a certain style (humorous couplet) or is relatively unimportant (technical couplet), which makes it unique. In this sense, it can be regarded as a single category.
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Literary features
The couplets are of different lengths, only one or two words short; It can be hundreds of words long. There are various forms of couplets, such as right, opposition, flowing pair, couplet pair and set sentence equivalence. However, no matter what kind of couplets are used and what form they are used, they must have the following characteristics:
First, the number of words should be equal and the sentence breaks should be consistent. In addition to deliberately leaving the position of a word to achieve a certain effect, the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be the same, no more or less.
second, it should be flat and even, and the tone should be harmonious. The traditional habit is to "pucker up and fall flat", that is, the ending of the last sentence in the upper couplet is puckered up, and the ending of the last sentence in the lower couplet is flat.
Third, the main parts of speech are relative and in the same position. Generally called "virtual to virtual, real to real", it means noun to noun, verb to verb, adjective to adjective, quantifier to quantifier, adverb to adverb, and the relative words must be in the same position.
fourth, the content should be related and connected from top to bottom. The meanings of the upper and lower links must be connected with each other, but they cannot be repeated.
In addition, the traditional method of hanging couplets must be written straight and pasted vertically, from right to left and from top to bottom, and cannot be reversed.
The horizontal criticism closely related to couplets can be said to be the title and the center of couplets. Good horizontal criticism can make the finishing point and complement each other in couplets.
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Creation method
As the name implies, couplets should be "paired", that is, they are composed of upper and lower couplets. The number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be equal, and the content should be consistent, that is, the upper and lower couplets can be "linked" (flat and parallel), and two unrelated sentences can not be combined together casually to become couplets.
couplets are generally written vertically, with the last word of the first couplet (slur) attached to the right (hand) and the last word of the second couplet (flat) attached to the left (hand).
antithesis of couplets, though similar to poetry, is more strict than poetry. Couplets can be divided into wide pairs and narrow pairs. Wide pairs can only be formed if the contents of the upper and lower couplets are related, while narrow pairs should be written in strict accordance with the standards of Li Weng Duiyun. However, in practical couplets, wide couplets are often used, while narrow couplets are rarely used because the requirements of antithesis are too strict, which fetters people's thinking and is suspected of harming the meaning because of the text.
The rules of leveling couplets are basically the same as those of poems. Generally, the basic rules of distinguishing between the 135 and 246 in each poem are applied.
how to judge the upper and lower couplets? In addition to distinguishing from the content of the couplet, it is more important to judge from the flat sound at the end of the couplet. It is strictly stipulated in couplets that the last word of the first couplet should be pronounced with a flat voice, and the last word of the second couplet should be pronounced with a flat voice. Later generations called this rule "flat rise and fall". It must be noted that the "four tones" in ancient Chinese and modern Chinese are somewhat different. Since the popularization of Chinese Pinyin and the use of Beijing pronunciation as the national common language, the level of the same Chinese character has changed.
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Metric requirements
The formal name of couplets is couplets, commonly known as couplets, which is a unique Chinese language, literature and art form in China and is loved by people from all walks of life. To sum up, couplet meter is six elements, also called "six phases", which are classified as follows:
First, the number of words should be equal
The number of words in the upper couplet is equal to the number of words in the lower couplet. The number of words in each clause of the long couplet is equal. There is a special situation, that is, the number of words in the upper and lower couplets is intentionally different. For example, in the Republic of China, someone ridiculed Yuan Shikai's couplet: "Yuan Shikai is eternal; Long live the people of China. " The words "Yuan Shikai" in the first part and "China people" in the second part are "sorry", which means that Yuan Shikai is sorry for the people of China.
Reduplication or reduplication is allowed in couplets. Reduplication and reduplication are commonly used rhetorical devices in couplets, but attention should be paid to the consistency of the upper and lower couplets when overlapping. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, Gu Xiancheng titled Wuxi Donglin Academy Union: the sound of wind and rain reading, and the sound was heard; Family affairs, state affairs, and everything in the world are concerned.
However, we should try our best to avoid "heterotopic words" and "appositive words" in couplets. The so-called ectopic heavy word means that the same word appears in different positions in the upper and lower links. The so-called homonym means that the same word is opposite in the same position in the upper and lower parts. However, some function words are allowed to have homonyms, such as Geling couplet in West Lake, Hangzhou:
The Song of Peach Blossoms and Flowing Water;
between the shade and the grass.
The word "Zhi" in the upper and lower parts is duplicated in the same place, but it is ok because it is empty word. However, there is a special format of "ectopic mutual weight" (called "transposition case"), such as Lin Sen holding Dr. Sun Yat-sen's couplet:
one person is eternal; One person through the ages.
Second, the parts of speech are equivalent
In modern Chinese, there are two parts of speech, namely, content words and function words. The former includes nouns (including locative words), verbs, adjectives (including color words), numerals, quantifiers and pronouns. The latter includes adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliary words, exclamations and onomatopoeia. Part-of-speech equivalence means that words or phrases with the same position in the upper and lower parts should have the same or similar parts of speech. The first is the rule of "real to real, virtual to virtual", which is the most basic rule with the widest meaning. In some cases, just follow this. Secondly, the corresponding rules of parts of speech, that is, the above 12 types of words correspond to each other. This rule should be followed in most cases. Thirdly, the rule of semantic correspondence refers to putting the same type of things expressed in Chinese characters together for confrontation. The ancients noticed this rhetorical method long ago. In particular, the nouns are divided into many small categories, such as astronomy (sun, moon, wind, rain, etc.), season (day and night, etc.), geography (mountains, rivers, etc.), official offices (towers, doors, etc.), vegetation (trees, peaches, plums, etc.), birds (chickens, birds, cranes, etc.) and so on. Finally, the corresponding rule of adjacent categories, that is, words with adjacent categories can be paired with each other. Such as astronomy to the season, astronomy to geography, geography to the palace and so on.
Third, structural proportionality
The so-called structural proportionality means that the grammatical structure of the upper and lower conjunctions (or the structure of their phrases and sentence patterns) should be the same as much as possible, that is, the subject-predicate structure versus the subject-predicate structure, the verb-object structure versus the verb-object structure, the partial structure versus the partial structure, the juxtaposition structure versus the juxtaposition structure, and so on. For example, Li Bai's title is Yueyang Tower in Hunan:
Water and sky are one color; The wind and the moon are boundless.
this conjunction is both subject-predicate structure. Among them, "water sky" and "wind moon" are both parallel structures, and "one color" and "boundless" are both positive structures.
However, in the case of equivalent parts of speech, the requirements of some similar or special sentence structures can be relaxed appropriately.
Fourth, the rhythm is corresponding.
That is, the places where the upper and lower links stop must be consistent. Such as:
Don't let the Spring and Autumn Festival be celebrated; It's the hardest thing for an old friend to come.
this is a pair of seven-character short couplets, and the rhythm of the upper and lower couplets is exactly the same, both of which are "two-two-three". Longer couplets must have a corresponding rhythm.
Fifth, it's flat and harmonious.
What is flat and harmonious? The classification of flat tones in Putonghua, in short, is flat tone and rising tone, flat tone and flat tone. Among the four ancient tones, the flat sound is flat, and the rising, going and entering sounds are silent. There are two aspects in the harmony of level and level:
(1) The level and level are opposite. Generally speaking, it is not required that the characters are opposite, but it should be noted that the upper and lower endings (feet) should be opposite, and the upper part should be different and the lower part should be flat; The words at the end of the phrase or at the rhythm point should be flat and opposite; The ending word (sentence foot) of each clause in the long couplet should be flat and opposite.
(2) The upper and lower couplets alternate in their own sentences. Yu Dequan, a contemporary couplet writer, summed up a set of "horseshoe rhyme" rules. Simply put, it is "flat and even", which goes on like the rhythm of a horseshoe.
six is content-related
what is a couplet? It is both "right" and "linked". The words mentioned above are equal in number of words, equivalent in part of speech, same in structure, corresponding in rhythm and even in harmony, all of which are "right", but they are still short of a "couplet". "Lian" is about content relevance. Between the upper and lower couplets of a couplet, the content should be related. If the upper and lower couplets each write an unrelated thing, and the two cannot reflect, connect and echo, it cannot be regarded as a qualified couplet, or even a couplet.
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Folk custom
As a custom, Spring Festival couplets are an important part of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation. In 25, the State Council listed the custom of couplets as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. The relevant introduction and evaluation words are as follows:
The custom of couplets originated from the dual phenomenon of ancient Chinese in China. During the Western Jin Dynasty (around 29 AD), there were well-regulated antitheses, which can be regarded as an important symbol of its formation. In the process of more than 1,7 years' historical spread, couplets, parallel prose, regular poems and other traditional literary forms have influenced and borrowed from each other. Through the three important development periods of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, the forms have become increasingly diverse and the cultural accumulation has gradually become rich. Couplets have such general names as couplets, couplets, couplets, etc. It began in Ming Dynasty to call them couplets.
The custom of couplets is passed down and spread in Chinese-speaking areas and ethnic groups with cultural origins of Chinese characters, which is of great value for promoting Chinese culture.
The customs of couplets mainly include the following:
Customs of Spring Festival couplets: Spring Festival couplets are called Spring Sticks in ancient times, which are seasonal couplets written and posted during the annual Spring Festival. The custom of Spring Festival couplets originated in the Five Dynasties, took shape in the Song Dynasty and became very common in the Ming Dynasty. In Hunan, posting Spring Festival couplets is an important custom in the Spring Festival culture. Spring Festival couplets have the characteristics of eulogy, timeliness and pertinence, and highlight the word "spring".
Wedding custom: Wedding couplets are written to celebrate the wedding, and are usually posted at the gate, cave door, hall or dressing hall of the wedding home. Its content is mostly warm praise and good wishes for both parties to the marriage, with a strong auspicious and festive color.
custom of birthday couplets: birthday couplets are special couplets for people who have passed their birthdays. Their contents are generally to praise the meritorious service and moral articles of those who have passed their birthdays, and to wish those who have passed their birthdays much happiness and longevity, with warm and respectful feelings.
custom of elegiac couplet: elegiac couplet, which is called mourning couplet in some places, evolved from elegiac couplet, and is a kind of couplet used by people to express their memory and place their grief on their ancestors and the dead. It is often pasted on doorways, on both sides of urns, on both sides of memorial service venues, and on wreaths. Generally, it is written in black and white with solemn, solemn and painful feelings. Through the joint language, arouse people's memory and respect for the dead.
posting Spring Festival couplets: Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door couplets" and "spring couplets", are a kind of couplets, because during the Spring Festival.