To put it simply, before the Qin and Han Dynasties, during the Chinese New Year, people would hang peach charms on the left and right sides of the door and write "Tu (tu)" and "Yulei" (the name of the great god who descends ghosts) to ward off evil spirits. . Taofu is what later became known as Spring Festival couplets~

According to records, Meng Chang, the lord of Later Shu, inscribed a couplet on his bedroom door on New Year’s Eve in 964 AD, “New Year’s greetings, Jiajie Changchun” "It is the earliest Spring Festival couplet in my country.

After the general development in the Song Dynasty, the advocacy of Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty, and the prosperity of couplets in the Qing Dynasty, it developed.

Features:

The number of words is equal and the sentences are consistent. Levels and obliques match each other, and the tones are harmonious. The parts of speech are opposite and the positions are the same. The content is relevant and connected from top to bottom.

Alternative names:

pair, antitheses, couplets, couplets, couplets, couplets, couplets, conjunctions, couplets, couplets, couplets, couplets, posts, Li Yu, Li Yan, couplets, responses, etc.

Answer: Beautiful Moments - Level 4 2010-8-6 19:02

Couplets are similar to poetry, and they pay attention to symmetry. :

The sky is against the earth, the rain is against the wind. Continent versus sky. Mountain flowers versus sea trees, red sun versus sky, etc.

The number of words must be the same, and the meanings can be different, but the emotional similarity is very important!

Answer: Zhang Gongji - Level 1 2010-8-8 08:50

As for the origin of couplets, there are many opinions in Yingjie. It is generally believed that the earliest couplets are Peach charm inscription by Meng Chang, Lord of Shu during the Five Dynasties. Regarding Meng Chang's inscription of Taofu tablets, "History of the Song Dynasty·The Meng Family of Western Shu", Zhang Tangying's "Shu Shu", Huang Xiu Xiu's "Maoting Guest Talk", Liang Zhangju's "Couplets", and Tan Sitong's " "Shi Juyinglu's Brushwork" and so on are all recorded. The book "Shu Shu" said, "Before Shu returned to the Song Dynasty, Chang ordered Xin Yinxun, a scholar, to inscribe a peach charm board on the door of his dormitory. He said that his words were not Gong's and his self-titled pen said: 'New Year's greetings, the festival number is Changchun.' Later In Shuping, the imperial court knew Chengdu as Lu Yuqing, and Changchun was the name of Taizu's birthday. "This is mysterious and may not be God's will. According to the "Collection of Couplets of the Song Dynasty", there is a Tan of Hundreds of Flowers in Mengchang's garden. Wang Yao, Minister of the Ministry of War, wrote: "There are islands in the cross water, and several layers of flowers can be seen outside the tower." This is also the earliest garden couplet in my country.

However, in recent years, some people have pointed out that it has become a custom to write couplets on New Year's Eve during the Five Dynasties period. The earliest couplets were undoubtedly written by the Liang Dynasty writer Liu Xiaochuo and his sister Liu Lingxian in the Southern Dynasty. Tan Sitong's "Shi Ju Ying Lu Notes" contains this record, which tells that Liu Xiaochuo was dismissed from office and did not come out. He wrote a couplet on his door: "We will celebrate the funeral behind closed doors and lie down to thank the Duke." His sister also made a couplet: "Falling Flowers" The sweep is still combined, and the orchid is picked back to life. "Although the couplets are not finished, the sentences are all parallel and beautiful, and they are inscribed on the door. It can be said that they are the earliest couplets recorded in the history books of our country. This is four to five hundred years earlier than Meng Chang's couplet.

Many scholars believe that the mature period of couplets should be the Sui and Tang Dynasties. This is also a statement recognized by most people. In the early years of the Liang Dynasty, after the emergence of Yongming style, it only played a certain role in paving the way for the formation of couplets, but as a literary category, it did not form a system. Liu Xie, a literary theory critic of the Southern Dynasties, in his masterpiece of literary criticism "Wen Xin Diao Long", although he has penetrating insights into "rhythm" and "Li Ci", he also has profound insights into poetry, Sao, Fu, Yuefu, praise and alliance. Ten literary styles including inscriptions, tablets, condolences, essays, Xieyin, historical biographies, scholars, Zhushuo, imperial edicts, appeals to move, seals of Zen, chapter lists, memorials, discussions, and secretarial equivalents are elaborated. , but did not mention couplets, which shows that although there were couplets earlier than Liu Xiaochuo, they did not form a literary style at that time, or did not attract the attention of writers. However, many scholars believe that after the couplets came into being in rhythmic poetry (Five Dynasties and Tang Dynasty), this statement became more controversial. Opponents believed that the issue of balance between couplets had been solved before the Tang Dynasty, and the lines in rhythmic poetry were The problem of using numbers and rhymes to stick together has nothing to do with couplets.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Yongming style became increasingly prosperous. Some literati like to focus on some wonderful pens on couplets, and for a while they formed the trend of "extracting sentences for appreciation and criticism". For example, Li Bai's "Three mountains are half-fallen outside the blue sky, and two rivers separate Bailuzhou." Du Fu's "Once I leave the purple platform to connect Shuo Desert, I only leave the green tombs facing the dusk." Bai Juyi's "Why bother when apes climb trees and cry, geese fly across the lake It's also difficult." Li Shangyin's famous saying "The silkworms will die only when they are dead, and the tears will not dry until the candles turn to ashes." With the participation of poets, the art of couplets has been promoted.

Except for Bai Juyi, most poets of the Tang Dynasty have famous couplets handed down to the world. For example, Li Bai's couplet on Yueyang Tower in Hunan:

The sky and water are the same color

The wind and moon are boundless

Du Fu's couplet on Zhuge Liang's former residence:

Sangu Pin Annoying the affairs of the world

The two dynasties opened the hearts of the veterans

King Luo Bin inscribed a couplet on the tide-watching pavilion in Hangzhou:

Viewing the sea from the tower

Gate The Chao of Zhejiang

The Zhenguan Baohan Collection of Jinci Temple in Taiyuan, Shanxi contains couplets inscribed by Li Shimin, personally inscribed by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty:

Articles of Eternal Events

Sheji Yirong Clothes

By the Song Dynasty, pasting couplets on doors had become a common custom. Wang Anshi wrote in his poem "Yuan Ri": "Every household always replaces the old talisman with new peaches." Zhao Gengfu wrote in his poem "New Year's Eve": "Peach Talisman Poetry" Well, I'm afraid of disturbing the people who come in contact with me." This shows that there were not a few authors of Lianyu at that time. The scope of title couplets has also expanded, and couplets have generally become indispensable decorations in places of interest, temples, corridors, and courtyards. When Qi Ying, a monk from the Xiang Temple, accompanied Qian Ti, King Zhongyi of Wu and Yue, on a tour of the Huangpu River, he wrote a couplet for the Bibo Pavilion:

A river three thousand miles away

Two tides at twelve o'clock< /p>

The famous writer Su Shi also wrote a couplet for the Zhenwu Temple in Guangzhou:

Showing off his power with his hair and sword, how can the immortal Buddha have his ears

There are ways to subdue the dragon and the tiger, the turtle and the snake Yunhuzai

In the Yuan Dynasty, due to various reasons, the couplets became more neglected than those in the previous dynasties, and few of them have been handed down. Only a few works by Yang Rui, Zhao Mengfu and others can be seen now, such as Yang Rui's self-titled couplet of his apartment:

Guangyi Dongbi Library

Heart is in the landscape of West Lake

Zhao Mengfu's couplet of Lingyin Temple in West Lake:

The wind returns from the dragon stream, and the pines and waves of thousands of valleys are connected to the sea air

The clouds gather on the eagle peaks, and the thousand-year-old laurel moonlight reflects the light of the lake

The form of couplets in the Yuan Dynasty is subtle in It was used in Yuan dramas. For example, Guan Hanqing's drama "Save Feng Chen" wrote at the end:

An Xiucai's flowers and willows become candles

Zhao Paner's romance saves Feng Chen

This can be considered a new form of couplets.

Couplets truly reached their heyday during the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ruling class attached great importance to parallel prose and couplets, and included them in the imperial examinations. Therefore, no one who has won the title of Jinshi or Juren can cope with it. Because the emperor favored him, all the ministers around him worked diligently to win the appreciation of their master. There are those who can change a person's destiny because of a couplet. For this reason, the style of couplets became more and more popular, and literati considered it a blessing that the couplets and inscriptions coincided with each other. When visiting places and looking for ancient times, they could not help but compose couplets and inscriptions to create grandeur and elegance.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established his capital in Jinling, he sent a decree to Jinling and other places before New Year's Eve of the year: "Every official, official, scholar, and commoner must have a Spring Festival couplet on their door." On New Year's Eve, he personally went on a patrol incognito to show his true feelings. Once he found a house that had not posted Spring Festival couplets. After asking, he found out that it was a pig castrate and he didn't know how to write his business content into the couplets. After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he thought for a moment and wrote a couplet for the castrate:

Split the road of life and death with both hands;

Cut off the roots of right and wrong with one knife.

It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor on horseback, made outstanding contributions in promoting and developing the cause of couplets. During this period, many masters of couplets appeared, such as Xie Jin, Tang Yin, Xu Wei, Yang Shen, etc. The most famous one is Xie Jin.

In the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong, the art of couplets became more and more perfect. Both in terms of content and form, it has a certain level. Kangxi was also a master at writing couplets. The couplet he wrote about the Qifeng Pavilion in Jinshan, Zhenjiang, is a very good couplet:

The clouds in the stream first rise and the sun sinks into the pavilion;

The storm is about to come and the wind is filling the building.

Emperor Qianlong was a romantic emperor who liked to show off his elegance. Whenever he travels, he always writes poems and couplets everywhere, but not many of his works have been praised. Only the couplet on Xinuang Pavilion of Yanbo Zhishuang Hall in Chengde Summer Resort is pretty good. The couplet reads:

The swallows and the orioles are moving, and they are happy to talk to the birds;

The orchids and cinnamon stamens are constantly fragrant, and the trees and flowers are constantly growing.

During the 300 years of the Qing Dynasty, countless masters of couplets emerged, such as Ji Xiaolan, Weng Fanggang, Ruan Yuan, Zheng Banqiao, Yu Yue, Yuan Mei, He Shaoji, Sun Beard, Liang Zhangju, etc., all of whom have masterpieces handed down to the world. During this period, the scope of couplets gradually expanded, and all descriptions, lyrics, and discussions could be included in the couplets, and unprecedented long couplets also appeared. Kunming Grand View Tower Couplet written by Sun Beard Weng is the first long couplet in history and is known as "the first long couplet in ancient and modern times". Zhang Zhidong's Junshan Xiangfei Temple couplet is longer than the Daguan Tower couplet. The longest one is Zhong Yunfang's "Couplet with the title Jiangjin and Linjiang Towers", which is 1,612 words long and is the longest couplet so far. During the late Qing Dynasty, there were great innovations in the writing techniques of couplets. However, with the changes in language and the emergence of vernacular and new style poetry, the requirements for long couplets are not as strict as in the past. Due to the emergence of long couplets, couplets in the Qing Dynasty played an important role in the history of couplets in my country. During the late Qing Dynasty, there were masters in the field of calligraphy such as Tan Sitong, Zhang Taiyan, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Yang Du, Yan Fu, Wang Kaiyun, Lin Zexu, Zhang Zhidong, and Zhong Yunfang. With the prosperity and development of couplets, some experts and scholars have emerged who collect and describe couplets. Liang Zhangju is one of the best. He wrote several monographs such as "Couplets on Couplets" and left the most precious information to future generations. Others such as Liang Gongchen, Yuan Mei, Wang Yuyang, Tan Sitong, Yu Zhengxie and others also have monographs passed down to the world.

During the Republic of China, China fell into an abyss of suffering due to warlord warfare and invasion by foreign invaders. The country has no peace and the people have no life. As a result, many works that were concerned about the country and the people appeared. Among them, Liu Shiliang of Sichuan is especially famous. He founded "Shi Liang's Journal" in 1929, which was quite influential. His temperament is free and easy, his language is humorous and witty, and his works are highly satirical, which has had great repercussions in society. Others include Feng Yuxiang, Sun Yat-sen, Liu Yazi, Yu Dafu, Guo Moruo, etc., all of whom have written more influential famous couplets.

After liberation, especially since the 1980s, traditional culture has been revived. The tide of reform and opening up has injected new ideological content into the ancient literary style of couplets. Couplet societies have sprung up all over the country, there are more and more couplet enthusiasts, and couplet competitions and couplet collection activities have been held in various places. We are happy to see that the development of couplets to this day has entered a new era. Couplets, an ancient evergreen tree, will surely show its attractive appearance in the new century.

Answer: 2007-02-19 01:17

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***0 comments...The following are special Recommended related questions for you Couplet Pingzhi Where are some couplets about New Year's Day (should have horizontal batches)? Looking for couplets to celebrate New Year's Day? Does anyone have a couplet with a horizontal comment? Can the horizontal comment in a 15-point couplet only have 4 characters? The number of words in the upper (lower) couplet cannot be...Other answers***10 answers and comments┆Report

The flying dragon is in the sky

[Scholar] The origin of the couplet refers to the antithetical sentence The time when the formula was first separated from its use as a rhetorical counterpoint and used independently.

It is still unclear when the couplet originated. There are currently two theories in academic circles: one is that the couplet originated from peach symbols. However, the purpose of writing the names of the two gods "Shen Tu" and "Yulei" on the peach charms was just to ward off evil spirits. Until "Huainanzi" described the two gods, there was no awareness of independent use of antithetical sentences. "Shen Tu" and "Shen Tu" "Yulei" is also not a contrastive sentence. Therefore, this argument is difficult to sustain. Another belief is that the couplet originated from Meng Chang, the Lord of Shu after the Five Dynasties. The reason is that "History of the Song Dynasty: Shu Family" records that "the New Year is full of Yuqing, and the festival is called Changchun". But judging from the materials discovered later, there were already people making couplets in the Tang Dynasty before Meng Chang. Therefore, it is too late to date the origin of the couplets in the Five Dynasties.

Tan Sitong seems to have seen this. In "Shiju Yinglu Brushwork", he set the origin of the couplets in the Liang Dynasty. He said: "Kao Xiao (Liang Dynasty) Liu Xiaochuo was dismissed from office and did not come out. He wrote on his door: "After closing the door to celebrate the funeral, I lie down high to thank the Duke." His three sisters continued: "The fallen flowers are still together after sweeping them, and the clusters of orchids are picked and revived. '. Although this is a poem, the words are all in contrast, and the title is a couplet. "But this conclusion is also not rigorous. Because the last sentence of the first and second couplets must be square and flat, and "Qing" and "生" both have flat tones and rhyme exactly, so the two are composing poetry, not couplets.

Some people place the origin of the couplets in the Western Jin Dynasty, saying that "Lu Shilong in the clouds, Xun Minghe in the sun" is the earliest couplet in my country. This is also unacceptable to others.

The research results show that the combination of these two sentences is just a coincidence when the two announced their families.

The period when the couplets were produced - Tang Dynasty

The couplets were produced in the Tang Dynasty, which is based on historical facts. The discovery of some actual couplets that appeared in the Tang Dynasty is a powerful explanation. Mr. Fang Dong found three couplets of Tang Dynasty halls in the "Xiapu County Chronicle" and "Fuding County Chronicle":

A man does not eat his saliva, but uses the sea waves to clear his heart;

How can a gentleman dare to occupy the top of the mountain by relying on the fence?

(This is a couplet written by Lin Song, a Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty, about his study in the thatched cottage, the time was (860--873))

There are also two couplets written by Chen Peng.

One:

The bamboo fence is sparse;

The hut is open to the stars.

Another one:

The stones are neatly arranged high and low;

The bamboo door is exquisitely open to the left and right.

The number of couplets discovered in the Tang Dynasty is gradually increasing, which at least shows that the couplets of the Tang Dynasty actually existed. The reason why couplets were produced in the Tang Dynasty is by no means accidental. It can be explained from the way the couplets came about.

In addition to the rhetorical techniques of couplets, the most critical way to produce couplets is rhythmic poetry. In addition to the rhythm of the verses, the eight lines in the verses require that the middle jaw couplets and neck couplets must be in opposition, and must be of a certain level, and the couplets must also be in opposition. This shows that the most essential thing about couplets is directly inherited and developed from rhymed poetry. According to many historical records, when many poets in the Tang Dynasty wrote, they did not first obtain the whole poem, but wrote the more exciting middle two couplets of the verses, and then combined them with the whole poem. This is the case in Jia Dao's poem "Recalling Wu Chushi on the River". According to "The Biography of Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty":

(Jia Dao) stayed in Chang'an. Although he sat, slept and ate, he chanted bitterly and did not wash his hands. At that time, the autumn wind was strong, and the yellow leaves could be swept away, so I chanted: "The fallen leaves are all over Chang'an." Fang thought of the alliance, and it was impossible to find it. Suddenly, "the autumn wind blows on the Wei River" was the answer, and I couldn't be happier.

This couplet later entered poetry, so it was not used as a couplet. There is no independent couplet, which shows that the "link" and the couplet in verse are related but different. There are still certain conditions for transforming the "link" of verse into a couplet. This point was very thoroughly introduced by Mr. Liang Yusheng from Hong Kong in the article "The "Couplet" of Rhythm Poetry is Different from the Couplet". He gave an example, the neck couplet in Du Fu's "The Prime Minister of Shu": "Three visits frequently disturbed the world's plans, two dynasties opened the hearts of old ministers" can be said to summarize Wuhou's life, so it can be independently used as a couplet in Wuhou Temple; but the neck couplet "The green grass on the steps reflects the beauty of spring, and the yellow oriole sings in the sky across the leaves" cannot be used independently as a couplet for Wuhou Temple.

In addition to rhymed poetry, there were also other factors that promoted the emergence of couplets to varying degrees in the Tang Dynasty. These factors are mainly couplets, excerpts and book walls.

Coupled sentences are an old way of composing poetry. Two or more people compose a poem together and connect it to form a chapter. Later, it became customary for one person to pronounce the previous sentence, and the continuation would form a couplet, and then the previous sentence would be uttered, taking turns. This way of writing poetry was very common in the Tang Dynasty. "The Preface to the Collection of Meng Haoran" records: (Haoran) traveled to the secret province, the autumn moon was new, and Zhu Yinghua composed poems and poems. Haoran said: "The slight clouds are light on the river, and the raindrops are sparse on the phoenix trees." Everyone here sighed at its purity, and could not continue to write.

In the Tang Dynasty, couplets were expanded into drinking orders, slogans, etc. I won’t introduce them one by one here...

Sentence excerpts are to extract particularly wonderful sentences from a work and use them individually. Mr. Cheng Qianfan said in the article "About Couplets": This trend of picking out particularly wonderful sentences in a work and appreciating them individually originated in the Six Dynasties and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. When Bai Juyi entered Chang'an at the age of 18, his poem "Farewell to the Ancient Grassland" contained the sentence: "The wild fire will not burn out, but the spring breeze will blow again", which was widely recited.

Book wall means writing poems on the wall. Some poets and calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty liked this. In Huishan, Wuxi, there is a wall couplet written by Zhang Hu of the Tang Dynasty: "Small holes penetrate slanting bamboo, and heavy streets are filled with fine sand." This is an example.

In addition to the above factors, there is also the special influence of the poem's sentences. Due to space limitations, I will not introduce these one by one. You can read them outside class by combining relevant books.

In short, it can be seen from the above aspects. In the Tang Dynasty, various conditions were met for the emergence of couplets. No matter what method was used, couplets, as an independent literary genre, could be said to be well-established and natural.

The development period of couplets - Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties

After the Tang Dynasty, couplets were gradually popularized. By the Song Dynasty, it had officially deepened into various fields. In the early days of Guangshun in Wuyue (951), Qiying, a monk from Longhua Temple, accompanied King Wuyue to Bibo Pavilion for one day. It happened that the tide of the Huangpu River was full, and the boat was like clouds. Qiying said it could be said:

Three thousand miles There is a piece of water outside;

There are two tides at twelve o'clock.

At that time, people called it a good couple, so they mentioned it to Bibo Pavilion. At this time, the tour title couplet was called a couplet of scenic spots. In the fifth year of Shaoxi's reign in the Southern Song Dynasty (1194), Zhu Xi built a Jingshe in Cangzhou and wrote a couplet of his own:

Pei Wei Zun Kao Xun,

Hui Mujin's biography.

This is the study couplet. When Jia Sidao, a powerful official in the Southern Song Dynasty, was in Huaiyang, he put up lanterns in the Yuan Dynasty. Guests made excerpts for the lantern door couplet:

The world is divided into three parts on a bright moonlit night;

There is a small red building ten miles away from Yangzhou.

This is the Dengmen title couplet. Birthday couplets and elegiac couplets also appeared in the Song Dynasty. At the same time, couplets began to be used in literary works, also during the Song Dynasty. Song dialect novels often use couplets to summarize chapters. In short, couplets were widely used in all aspects of social life during the Song Dynasty and gradually became popular among people.

There are not many couplets recorded in the Yuan Dynasty. The two couplets written by Zhao Ziang on the orders of Kublai Khan were in praise of Emperor Yuan and had a great influence. A poem written by Wang Wei written on the main hall:

Nine heavens closed the palace;

All nations worshiped Mianqi in their clothes.

The message written on Yingmen is:

The sun and the moon light the heaven and virtue;

The mountains and rivers are the residence of the Zhuang Emperor.

Zhao Ziang also inscribed this couplet on the Yingyue Tower in Yangzhou:

Three thousand guests in Spring Breeze Langyuan;

The first floor of Mingyue Yangzhou.

In the early Ming Dynasty, due to Zhu Yuanzhang’s advocacy, couplets gained great popularity. The name "Spring Festival Couplets" was proposed by Zhu Yuanzhang. According to historical records, after Zhu Yuanzhang established his capital in Jinling: "On New Year's Eve, when an edict is delivered to the families of ministers, officials, and common people, a Spring Festival couplet must be placed on the door." In order to check the implementation, Zhu Yuanzhang also "went on a small trip". It is said that he also specially castrated a family. The pig's inscription has this couplet:

Split the land of life and death with both hands;

Cut off the root of right and wrong with one knife.

Zhu Yuanzhang also had a couplet inscribed on the Qinhuai River:

Beautiful mountains, beautiful waters, beautiful moons, beautiful winds, wonderful land for thousands of years;

Crazy colors, crazy sounds, crazy love, crazy dreams , several generations of idiots.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to couplets, and his actions were effective, every Spring Festival, every household posted Spring Festival couplets. Over time, it became a custom. The promotion of Spring Festival couplets has effectively promoted the development of couplets.

The heyday of couplets - the Qing Dynasty

Since the Qing Dynasty, there have been countless masters of couplet writing. Xie Jin in the Ming Dynasty, Sun Beard Weng, Zheng Banqiao, Ji Xiaolan, Zeng Guofan, Yu Yue and others in the Qing Dynasty. Anecdotes about their couplets are still circulating today. Some of the couplets they wrote have been collected into volumes.

The collection of couplets has appeared as far back as the Song and Yuan dynasties. Zhou Shouzhong's "Shu Lian" and Qian Decang's "Yu Tang Qiao Dui" are examples. "Xiehua Qixiu" written by Yang Sheng'an in the Ming Dynasty is the earliest collection of couplets seen today.

In the Qing Dynasty, whenever there was a grand ceremony, there were imperial texts, which was the heyday of couplets. During the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns, couplets were edited twice, but I don't know what they looked like because I haven't seen the books. In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Sheng published a book "Commentary on Ancient and Modern Couples", which collected the interesting and clever couplets before Kangxi. It can be called the master of interesting and clever couplets at that time. During the Qianlong period, Li Qiantang wrote the "Lian Jing", a collection of four volumes, which collected Confucian scriptures or composed a couplet based on the meaning of the scriptures. Among the influential ones are: Wang Youguang's "Wuxia Proverbs Couplet", Liang Zhangju's "Couplet Collection", "Couplet Continuation" and "Three Couplets" have the greatest influence. Personal collections include Zeng Guofan's "Qiuque Zhai Couplet", Zuo Zongtang's "Dun Mo Yu Shen", Yu Yue's "Couplet Recording" and so on. Zhang Taiyan, Wu Gongheng, etc. also have special collections of couplets, and there are many excellent ones. There are also joint collections such as "Couplets Huihai" and "Collection of Couplets".

The development of couplets in the Qing Dynasty is outstanding in four aspects: First, the longer they are written, the longer they become. Known as "the first long couplet in the country", the long couplet of Kunming Daguan Tower has 180 words, which is already a grand view. However, in terms of word count, many couplets since Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty have surpassed it.

For example, Wu Ke read the long couplet of Gansu Province, Zhong Yunfang inscribed the long couplet of Wangjiang Tower in Chengdu, Yu Yue inscribed the long couplet of Peng Yulin Temple in West Lake in Hangzhou, Pan Bingle inscribed the long couplet of Wuchang Yellow Crane Tower, and Zhang Zhidong inscribed the long couplet of Qu Yuan Xiangfei. The couplets of ancestral halls, etc., each range from 192 to 1612 words, which can be described as a huge piece. Second, the more you write, the more skillful you become. Many artistic techniques are used (which will be introduced in detail in the "Artistic Techniques of Couplets" later, so I won't go into details here). Third, the use is becoming more and more common and extensive. The scenery is very beautiful, and there are couplets of scenery and things; when someone dies, there are elegiac couplets; when feeling the world, there are couplets of metaphors; when making friends, there are couplets of entertainment. This kind of thing is common to both officials and people. The fourth is the unique set of rhythms of the couplets - the horse hoof rhyme is not only formed, but also perfected (this will be specifically introduced in future explanations and will not be expanded upon). In short, couplets have entered its unprecedented heyday since the Qing Dynasty.