Dui Lian (Couplets, 对联) are a treasure of traditional Chinese culture and a unique art form of the Chinese language with one character and one sound. As a custom, it has been passed down and spread among Chinese people and even among peoples who use the Chinese language and have cultural origins in Chinese characters around the world, expressing the good wishes of the Chinese working people to ward off evils and disasters, and to welcome auspiciousness and good fortune.
Dui Lian, also known as dual-phrase, door couplets, spring couplets, etc., are paired sentences written on paper, cloth, or carved on bamboo, wood, or pillars.
They emphasize the matching of word count, harmonic tone, and corresponding structure.
The origin of couplets can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty, where they were called taofu. The earliest couplets with definite records appeared during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in China.
The core characteristic of couplets is “duality”.
Whether expressed orally or written down, they must follow the principle of duality.
So, what does duality specifically refer to?
Generally speaking, it requires equal word count, corresponding parts of speech, coordinated tones, and consistent syntax.
Among them, equal word count and coordinated tones are the most crucial.
The equal word count here does not refer to the equality of English word numbers, but to the equality of syllables.
For example, in English, “car” and “jeep” have an equal number of words, but different syllables;
While in Chinese, “kache” (truck) and “jipu” (jeep) not only have an equal number of words, but also equal syllables.
This is because Chinese is a language with monosyllabic words as its basic unit, and syllables, morphemes, and characters are closely linked.
Couplets are composed of an upper couplet and a lower couplet, with varying lengths of text, ranging from just one or two characters for the short ones to several hundred characters for the long ones.
Couplets have various forms, such as positive couplets and negative couplets.
Regardless of the form, they must possess the following characteristics: equal word count and consistent sentence breaks; harmonic tone; corresponding parts of speech and identical positions; related content and coherent upper and lower couplets.
Closely related to couplets are horizontal inscriptions, which serve as the title and central idea of the couplets.
A good horizontal inscription can enhance the couplets, making them more complete.
Based on their purpose, couplets can be divided into various types.
For example, the couplets used during the Spring Festival are called “Spring Couplets”;
The couplets used to celebrate happy occasions such as birthdays, weddings, moving into a new home, the birth of a child, and the opening of a business are called “Congratulations Couplets”;
The couplets used to mourn the deceased are called “Mourning Couplets”;
While the couplets carved at scenic spots are called “Scenic Spot Couplets”.
According to tradition, the couplets that are hung up should be written vertically and posted from right to left, from top to bottom, and cannot be reversed.
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