Couplets are a treasure of traditional Chinese culture. The earliest recorded couplets appeared in the Three Kingdoms era. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1399), a large iron cross was unearthed in Luling, Jiangxi (now Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province), with the Chiwu reign number of Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms era (238-250) cast on it.

As a custom, couplets are an important part of Chinese traditional culture. In 2005, the State Council of China listed the custom of couplets in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. The custom of couplets has been passed down and spread among the Chinese and even in regions around the world where Chinese is spoken and among ethnic groups with cultural origins of Chinese characters. It is of great value to the promotion of Chinese national culture.

Classification by purpose:

1. Spring couplets: special couplets for the New Year.

2. Congratulatory couplets: used for birthdays, weddings, housewarming, births, openings and other festive occasions.

3. Gift couplet: used to praise or encourage others.

4. Self-encouragement couplet: used for self-encouragement.

5. Industry links: For different industries, they are posted on the door or inside the store.

Extended information:

Form requirements:

The length of the couplet text varies, the short ones are only one or two words; the long ones can reach hundreds of words. There are various forms of couplets, including positive pairs, opposing pairs, running-water pairs, joint-ball pairs, and collection-sentence pairs. But no matter what type of couplets and what form they are used, they must have the following characteristics:

1. The number of words must be equal and the sentences must be consistent. Unless the position of a certain word is intentionally left vacant to achieve a certain effect, the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be the same, no more and no less.

2. The levels should be consistent and the tones should be harmonious. The traditional custom is to use the oblique tone at the end of the first line and the level tone at the end of the second line.

3. The parts of speech should be relative and the positions should be the same. It is generally called virtual to virtual, real to real, that is, 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.

4. The content should be relevant and connected from top to bottom. The meanings of the upper and lower lines must be connected to each other, but they cannot be repeated. In addition, the traditional practice of hanging couplets must be written straight and vertically, from right to left, top to bottom, and cannot be reversed.

Reference materials:

Baidu Encyclopedia--Couplet