Professor Chang Jiang talks about six principles of couplet creation

Professor Chang Jiang talks about six principles for creating couplets

What principles should be followed when creating couplets? I think we should remember these six words: workmanship, stability, relevance, relevance, novelty and novelty.

『Work』

Work, first of all, refers to neatness. A couplet should have the same number of words, the same part of speech, harmonious tones, and similar sentence patterns. That is to say, it must be completely consistent or basically consistent with the characteristics and laws of the couplet. Neatness is the most basic requirement for writing couplets.

The ancients (or predecessors) were very particular about "work" when making mistakes. Before the Qing Dynasty, the writing and selection of couplets were relatively strict, and there was almost no one who failed to do so. The couplets from the Republic of China period, such as the couplets collected in various collections of Hu Junfu's "Selected Ancient and Modern Couples", were also carefully selected. Of course, some books are chosen more casually. In recent years, some of the couplets in the couplets are indeed not rigorous enough, especially the new couplets selected. Some irregular couplets have also appeared in the book, causing people to have doubts about the creation of the new couplets. There are two reasons for this. One is that the author himself lacks a serious attitude towards creation, and the other is that the editors and selectors did not consider each link step by step. They copied here and there and gathered them together to make a book. Then they would have made a mistake. I think the latter has a greater responsibility. If things are done according to the principle of "although few are good, it is better to be less than too much", those very untidy "couples" will never get ahead, which will be a blessing for the alliance.

Here, I don’t want to give examples, but just remind readers: Don’t think that all printed couplets are good or “model essays.”

Work also means "exquisite and concise". I have roughly estimated that couplets with less than seven characters account for more than half of the total number, and long couplets with more than nine characters account for less than one percent. It uses limited numbers to express infinite and rich thoughts, feelings and images, and is exquisite and concise in terms of conception, layout, word usage, phrasing, and sentence formation.

Not knowing how to cherish ink like gold is a problem of poor couplet writing. In the 1986 national "Condolences to the Front Lines and Memory of the Heroes" campaign, among the couplets selected in the preliminary evaluation, there were also such "unrefined" couplets. Here are two examples:

Couplet No. "283":

With beautiful mountains and rivers, how can there be beauty in the hearts of heroes;

The sun is high and the moon is high, the sun and the moon are high, how can it be as high as the warrior style.

The judges believe that "the mountains and rivers are beautiful" and "the sun and the moon are high" are superfluous and clever meanings, and should be changed to:

With beautiful mountains and rivers, how can there be beauty in the hearts of heroes;

The sun is high and the moon is high, how can it be as high as the warrior style.

Couplet numbered "272":

Fighting the bandits at the border, we have repeatedly made great achievements in the fire;

The earth welcomes the spring, and the whole world sings the same song as a generation of heroes.

The judges believe that "in the fire" and "the world" are redundant words, and it is better to delete them and form a "four or six" sentence pattern to be more concise:

Fighting the bandits at the border has made a lasting difference. Achievements;

The earth welcomes spring, and a generation of heroes sings the same song.

Of course, after the "appendectomy" couplet, it is impossible to win the first or second prize. It is okay to win the commemorative award, because the work can still be "rescued" after all. Otherwise, the judges will continue to There is no need to discuss it.

『Steady』

Steady means stable and stable. If you follow the rules, you can find stability; if you are unconventional, you can also find stability. Just like a building, no matter what the style, it must have a solid foundation and a correct image. The same is true for making couplets.

Stability has its external manifestations. When choosing a sentence pattern, put short sentences first and long sentences last. For example, in a ten-character couplet, the four-six sentence pattern is more stable than the six-four sentence pattern; in the eleven-character couplet, the forty-seven sentence pattern is more common; in the twelve-character couplet, the five-seven sentence pattern is dominant; in the eighteen-character couplet, Generally, it is a 657 sentence pattern. If you use "666", it will be dull, if you use "765", it will be unstable. Almost no one uses it this way. The reason is that using a sentence with a lot of words at the end can "support" the previous words. live. In addition, there is also a situation where the word "collar" can be understood as "supporting" the whole couplet together. For example, the couplet of Kunming Daguan Tower should end with:

...Don't let down the fragrance all around. Rice, ten thousand hectares of clear sand, nine summer hibiscus, three spring willows;

...only a few pestles and sparse bells, half a river of fishing fire, two rows of autumn wild geese, and a pillow of clear frost.

The purpose of the suffix "upper oblique and lower flat" is to create a smooth phonological effect. "Zi" means "uneven". If the entire couplet is concluded with the word "Zi", it will not be stable.

The inherent meaning of stability is mainly reflected in strength and weakness. The so-called strength and weakness refers to the relative scope of the upper and lower couplets, the relative depth of thoughts, the relative between abstract and concrete, and the relative intensity of emotions. Generally speaking, the upper and lower lines are equally strong, for example:

Know a lot about the world and have a broad mind;

Read all about people and have a broad vision. (Couple of Proverbs)

Home is surrounded by green waters and green mountains;

People are surrounded by the gentle spring breeze. (Spring Festival Couplets)

There are many such couplets. But some have changes in strength and weakness, mainly the weak at the top and the strong at the bottom. There are many such couplets, such as the one in the "Yangcheng Evening News" that leads the alliance:

Wear the chicken and dance;

Prancing horses contend for spring.

Both the upper and lower lines mean striving for victory. The second line is naturally more powerful and has a broader scope. Another example is a work that dominates the list of Guangzhou Cuiyuan Restaurant:

I welcome guests in the Cui Pavilion, countless sweet and fat, fragrant and elegant;

Garden Court The flowers are beautiful, I wish you a cup of prosperity and happiness, and the mountains and seas are full of joy.

Compared with the concrete feelings of the sentences, the couplets are superior in terms of charm and emotional sublimation.

From the above two examples, we can see that the difference between strength and weakness is not good or bad. Regardless of whether the strengths and weaknesses are equal, or whether the superior and weak are equal and the inferior is stronger, each sentence must be done to the best of its ability. If a word fails, it will be like the foundation pillars of a house collapsing, and the building will not be stable.

As for the situation where the top is strong and the bottom is weak, it is relatively rare. Unless there are some interesting connections, no one is willing to do something that "starts but ends first".

Stability, there is another factor that "works hard in connecting with foreign countries", that is, the maturity and stability of thinking. If a person's thoughts are capricious, he has no belief in life, and he is emotionally impetuous and exaggerated, it will be difficult for his couplets to achieve true stability.

『Post』

Post means appropriate. It's like a person making a piece of clothing. After being cut and sewn properly, it will fit you perfectly. It's not too big or too small, not too fat or too thin. It will fit you and make others comfortable. Making couplets should be like wearing clothes. A good couplet can reach the point where "if it increases by one point, it will be longer, and if it decreases by one point, it will become shorter". If the intention is inappropriate, the main idea will be poor; if the lyricism is inappropriate, the expression will be inappropriate; if the wording is inappropriate, the behavior will be ineffective; if the wording is inappropriate, the description will be flawed.

"Not sticking" is often expressed as an exaggeration, as if a dwarf is wearing a long gown and a high hat. When writing an elegiac couplet, it means "existing with the heaven and earth" and "bringing the same glory as the sun and the moon"... . Even if I were to make an advertisement or write a eulogy, I'm afraid it wouldn't be written like this.

"Not sticking" is also often manifested in inappropriate word choice, especially the failure to carefully select synonyms and synonyms. In the 1985 national "Welcoming Spring - Great Wall" campaign, there was this couplet:

To the east, the sound of the waves is old at Jieshi;

To the west, near Yangguan, the willows are new.

This couplet is good in terms of conception, emotion, contrast, and obliqueness. However, the word "old" is used to contrast with the word "new". The wording is too restrained, and the meaning is unclear: can the sound of waves have Is it old or new? The judges decided to replace this word with a synonym of "ancient":

To the east is Jieshi, the sound of the waves is ancient; to the west, it is close to Yangguan and the willows are new.

In this way, a good couplet was "saved".

Not posting also shows that the theme of the upper and lower couplets is not focused, that is, the intention is not consistent. This is one of the reasons why a large number of works in the competition were not selected in the preliminary evaluation. In the Spring Festival of 1988, the first couplet of the "Great Reunion of the World" was the lower couplet. In the final comment, I encountered a couplet like this:

Sentence: The bright moon looks up to the sky, and it has its own clear brilliance on the surrounding sea;

Couplet: The yellow flowers are fragrant in the evening festival, as if they are serious and proud of the third autumn.

This couplet has a good idea and is in line with the season of the Zhenglian (starting from the Mid-Autumn Festival). There is no problem with contrast or obliqueness, and the word "late festival" forms a pun, which means that yellow flowers (chrysanthemums) bloom in During the later festival (Mid-Autumn Festival), it is also said that the elderly maintain the sentiments of their old age.

Therefore, this couplet is very popular among the middle-aged and elderly judges on the jury. However, it was also found that although it has a certain relationship with the theme of the Happy Reunion Alliance, it is not closely "connected". Therefore, it can only be rated as second-class and ranked lower.

『Qie』

Although Qie also means "appropriate", it mainly manifests itself as having a clearer and stronger pertinence, that is, "exactly and unwaveringly."

"Couplets Series·Volume 4" contains:

Chaozhou Han Wengong Temple couplet says: "God's will is a gentle letter, not a letter. Mr. Ande is here; people's hearts will return to the right path. , It only takes eight months, and it has been learned for hundreds of years. "Close to Chaozhou, and you can't move to Changli Temple." The reason why this couplet cannot be "moved to other places" is because it is "closely connected to Chaozhou". In the 14th year of Tang Yuanhe's reign, Tang Xianzong sent people from Fengxiang to welcome the Buddha's bones into the palace and offer them alms. Han Yu (Wen Gong) wrote "On the Bone Table of Buddha" and "wanted to eliminate evil things for the sage". Unexpectedly, "a letter was sent to Jiuzhongtian in the morning, and he was demoted to Chaoyang Road eight thousand at night" and was demoted to the governor of Chaozhou. Although he only stayed here for eight months, his literary ideas were further strengthened by his encounters. As the leader of the ancient prose movement, he was respected as a teacher of all generations.

You might as well compare this couplet with other Korean ancestral couplets:

First one

Su Xueshi’s first biography was about banishing an official;

Meng Fuzi’s later worship gentlemen.

Second

Inscriptions on gold and stone have been around for eight generations;

The surname Jiangshan has been around for thousands of years.

Third

Since the decline of the Eight Dynasties, the old articles have respected Beidou;

The four schools of learning have been promoted, which is now Zu Dou focusing on Dongjiao.

Fourth

If you study hard, you can become an official, and if you are an idle official, you can become three officials;

Obviously, these couplets are also excellent works, but they are not "close to the place". The first two couplets are from Chaozhou, and the last two couplets are from Beijing. Compared with the "God's Will" couplet, it is very clear whether it is appropriate or not.

In addition to touching the place, the couplet also emphasizes touching the person. Regardless of the inscription, celebration, or condolence, it must be very suitable for the identity, experience, and personality characteristics of the couplet and the couplet writer. On October 19, 1936, Mr. Lu Xun died of illness in Shanghai, which shocked the literary world. Many celebrities wrote elegiac couplets to express their condolences. Here are a few of them below:

The most rigorous writings are nothing more than the history of Chinese novels;

The last words are too painful, don’t be a short-term writer. (Cai Yuanpei)

The moon hangs in April, twin stars fall one after another, and East Asia and Western Europe shed tears together;

I recite it with two hearts, but regret that there is no one side, and the souls are summoned all over the south and north. (Guo Moruowan)

If you want to beat a drowned dog, you will not forgive even when you die. If you know how to attack and retreat, you will not only be a great leader in the literary world;

Don’t be a short-term writer. You will hate helpers the most in your life. Dare to laugh and curse, worthy of ideological authority. (Chen Yiwan)

An enemy? Friendly? Yu Wei asked himself;

Do you know me? Sin me? The public is speechless. (Xu Maoyong)

These couplets are "work-cut". First of all, it is relevant to Lu Xun: some are named after Lu Xun's works, such as "A Brief History of Chinese Novels" and "Two Hearts Collection"; some are praising Lu Xun's spirit, such as Beating the Drowned Dog; some are making appropriate evaluations of Lu Xun, such as "Not only a great leader in the literary world", "Worthy of ideological authority"; some said Lu Xun's will, such as "Don't be a short-term writer"; some related to the time of Lu Xun's death, such as "Fang hangs in April, and double stars fall" (Golky's death on June 18, 1936 ). Secondly, it’s about the collaborators themselves: Cai Lian is calm and solemn, like a close friend of a scholar; Chen Lian is sharp and sharp, without losing the Confucian style of a military general. Guo Lian's "no face" was just a matter of words. He and Lu Xun had never met or exchanged a single letter, so he felt "this is a great regret for me"; Xu Lian is even more commendable for being relevant to himself. People know that Lu Xun had misunderstood Xu during his lifetime and wrote an article to severely criticize him. Before Xu could explain, Mr. Lu Xun passed away. Therefore, Xu Lian expressed more of his complicated emotions at the time.

This kind of "cut" shows the particularity of things. From a philosophical point of view, universality is contained in particularity. Only "particularity" also shows the ever-changing and colorful nature of things.

Spring couplets, longevity couplets, and elegiac couplets are divided into two categories: "universal" and "special". Although universal couplets are "universal", they have no individuality and are not "specific". Therefore, they should not become the main way of creation. Dedicated links should be strongly promoted.

『New』

New means fresh and unique, original, not conforming to the past, and reaching the point of "being new and different". If there is no "newness", the couplet cannot develop.

The most important thing is that the couplet should have a new idea. Regarding the same theme, the same sights, and the same characters, latecomers must surpass their predecessors with their latest ideas. Otherwise, if they are inferior to their predecessors or imitate their predecessors, they might as well stop writing.

Try a few traditional couplets for barber shops:

The first one

Although there is no skill at all;

It is a top-notch effort .

Second

Everyone who comes here is a hater;

There should be no scratchers here.

Third

Create a new look;

Cut off thousands of old things.

Fourth

Don’t teach gray hair to make people grow old;

I would rather have the spring breeze on my face.

Fifth one

Hone your beard and ask how many heads there are in the world;

Try it when you are ready and see how I can do it?

These couplets each have their own perspective. Although they all contain puns, they do not feel repetitive. The first couplet is about self-praise for good craftsmanship, and the puns of "Hao Mo" and "Ding Shang" are used extremely well; the second couplet is about the customer's mood, and "playing the crown" and "scratching the head" are the representative actions of the customers before and after getting a haircut. ; The three couplets describe the characteristics of the "pruning" industry; the four couplets describe the noble spiritual realm of the barber; the five couplets were inscribed by Shi Dakai, a general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and used haircuts to express the fearless fighting spirit.

In the face of these famous couplets, we must find new ways to recreate, such as:

Start a new business from scratch;

Knock down old phenomena with one hand.

There are also some that borrow the meaning of ancient couplets and modify them:

Be willing to bow your head and be willing to do nothing;

If you stand firm, you will show your supreme merit.

It is similar to the couplet quoted above, but the words "bow down" and "stand on the ground" write the shape and demeanor of the barber, which also has new ideas. However, there are also some things that are not well transformed, such as:

If you sharpen your skills, you will be proficient;

If you try it when you need it, you will have excellent means.

When creating new couplets, you should pay more attention to innovation. There is a very distinctive pair:

Technological innovation, clear and logical;

Radiant and youthful.

"Clearly clear" is a clever pun. But once those operating procedures are written down, it becomes boring:

Clipper and shave to your satisfaction;

Perming and blow-drying to your satisfaction.

It can be seen that new ideas are the key to the creation of couplets. However, some couplets today do not have new ideas, especially in the creation of Spring Festival couplets. This problem is more prominent. We advocate that couplets should reflect the spirit of the times, express contemporary people's lifestyles and ways of thinking, express the ideological outlook and moral standards of the new society, and express the endless stream of new things and new concepts. Many couplet writers have made valuable efforts and achieved remarkable results. Generally, beginners often have a narrow and one-sided understanding of the spirit of the times. They think that when writing Spring Festival couplets, they must write "Responsibility Field", "Realize the Four Modernizations", and "Revitalize China", as if only these new terms and slogans can reflect "ideology." In fact, this understanding is unscientific.

The language of the couplets should be fresh, elegant, natural, fresh and lively. Old clichés should be discarded, and new slogans should also be eliminated. Only by using new language to express new artistic conception can we create masterpieces. Some comrades write and publish dozens or even hundreds of Spring Festival couplets every year, but do not pay attention to innovation. If you try to sort out their works over the years, you will find that there are too many similarities in artistic conception and language.

『奇』

Strange means that the idea is unique and the language is ingenious, which is amazing. Such couplets leave a deep impression on people and are often unforgettable.

Quiet couplets often win by surprise and win over others by cleverness. Since ancient times, there have been a large number of split couplets. In terms of the strangeness of the concept, the following pair is rare:

Jujube spines are used as fuel, cut and split into four bunches;

Chanmen When building a house, move more to make up for the smaller ones to create double rooms.

Take the digital couplet as an example again. There is a digital initiation couplet, such as "Three lights, sun, moon and stars, four poems and elegant poems". When a sentence uses "三" to refer to three nouns, the couplet must avoid "三", but it must also refer to three nouns, which is very strange. As a result, people were inspired to write many such pairs. Throughout the ages, only Mr. Hua Luogeng's pair can be called "the most amazing of all wonders":

Three strong ones, Han, Zhao and Wei;

Nine chapters of Pythagorean string.

This was written by Hua Luogeng on his way abroad with a delegation of Chinese scientists in the early 1950s. Not only did the three terms he received have their origins (Han, Zhao and Wei were the three strongest powers in the Warring States Period, the Pythagorean theorem was first seen in "Nine Chapters" "Arithmetic"), and the names of the three powerful people present here, Qian Qian and Zhao Jiuzhang, have an extra layer of meaning compared to "Three Lights and Four Poems".

Except for interesting couplets, there are some strangely conceived couplets in other types of couplets. For example, when writing couplets about Taibai Tower, I would write more about Li Bai's wandering life experience, the elegant environment of the building, and even write about Li Bai's poetic talent in a way that praises Li and suppresses him. Wang Youcai's couplet is a unique one:

Among us in this generation, we only drink wine;

Sir, don't write poems here.

Some people also call it the "Taibai Restaurant" couplet. In any case, the concept of this couplet is extraordinary. It uses the idea of ????persuading people to drink only and not write poems to contrast Li Bai's poetic talent, and the writing method is unusual.

You should see some new and unique couplets, which can often promote the diversification of couplet varieties. For example, the couplets embedded with the stems and branches of this year's heavenly stems and earthly branches are the development of the Spring Festival couplets; the self-elegy couplets are the development of the elegiac couplets, etc.

Work, stability, relevance, relevance, novelty, and novelty are the basic rules for making couplets. Ancient and modern famous couplets can take into account and highlight these six aspects, so they can last for a long time. On the contrary, if the couplets are not workmanlike, unstable, not consistent, not cutting-edge, not new, and not surprising, even if they are "stained" by any of these problems, they will not become good works. Therefore, beginners should work hard on these few words, and do not need to be greedy for too many couplets. If they can "create one and be satisfied with one", they will have the basis for improvement.