What is a antithetical sentence?

Antithesis is also called duality. Because ancient ceremonial guards, like the walk-ons on the modern stage, were facing each other on the left and right, so they were called duels. Antithesis is a rhetorical device that forms the neatness and beauty of words. It is also an important factor in forming the metrical form and presenting the metrical atmosphere.

Paying attention to symmetry is a characteristic of ancient Chinese culture. From the palaces and mausoleums of emperors to the portals and furnishings of ordinary people and the attire of ladies, they all pay attention to symmetry. Literature is no exception. Because Chinese has many monosyllabic words, even polysyllabic words, the morphemes in them are quite independent and can easily create parallels. Therefore, antithetical sentences appeared in pre-Qin poetry. For example, "The Book of Songs" says: "In the past I left, and the willows clung to me; now I come to think about it, and the rain and snow are falling." ("Xiaoya. Caiwei") "Chu Ci" said: "Let the Yuanxiang River have no waves, so that the river water The flow is peaceful... Birds flow through the house, water flows around the hall." ("Nine Songs. Xiangjun"). There are often parallels in prose, such as in the "Book of Changes": "The same voice corresponds to the same breath, and the same spirit seeks each other." ("Yi Qian Wenyan") After the Jin and Wei Dynasties, the influence of duality expanded, and the former parallel prose and interlaced articles developed into The whole text is in parallel prose with four and six parallel characters. From this period onwards, the parallelism in poetry changed from being untidy to gradually being neat, from being used casually to being gradually standardized. After the early Tang Dynasty, when the meter was finalized, antithesis became an important part of the meter poetry.

Palparity generally requires that the words in the same position of two sentences must be opposite, that is, noun to noun, verb to verb, adjective to adjective, adverb to adverb... The antithesis in metrical poetry is neater and stricter than that in ancient poetry and prose. It requires:

First, the sentence and the couplet are opposite;

Second, the words in the same position of the sentence and the couplet have the same part of speech, but the characters cannot be the same.

For example:

Fire trees and silver flowers bloom together, and the iron locks of the star bridge open

廄廄平廄平平仄仄平

(Su Weiwei's " "The night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month")

"Fire Tree" versus "Xingqiao", "Silver Flower" versus "Iron Lock", are nouns versus nouns; "合" versus "开", verb versus verb .

The spring silkworms will die when the silk is dead, and the wax torch will turn into ashes before the tears dry up

Pingping 廄廄廄平平仄仄仄平平仄仄平

(Untitled by Li Shangyin 》)

"Spring Silkworm" versus "Wax Torch", noun Ryu versus noun Ryu; "to death" versus "ash", verb object versus verb object; "Silk" versus "tears", Noun to noun; "Fang Jin" to "Shi Qian", verb Ryu to verb Ryu.

There are rules for the confrontation of quatrains, rhymed poems and arranged rhymes.

Quatrains generally do not require antithesis, and it is up to the author to decide whether to use antithesis. Most ancient quatrains do not require antithesis, for example:

We see each other off in the mountains, as the sun sets over the firewood.

The spring grass is green every year, will the king and grandson return?

(Wang Wei's "Farewell")

Lanling fine wine and tulips, jade bowls filled with amber light.

But the host can make the guests drunk, and they don’t know where they are in a foreign country.

(Li Bai's "A Visit")

Some of the first couplets of the quatrains are antithetical, but the last couplets are not. For example:

The success of the three-pointed kingdom is called the Eight Formations.

The stone in the river will not turn, and the regret will be swallowed by Wu.

(Du Fu's "Eight Formations")

(Note: The antithetical sentences are shown in italics, the same below)

The load is gone and there is no rain cover. There are still proud frost branches among the chrysanthemums.

You must remember that the best times of the year are orange and orange.

(Su Shi's "Winter Scene")

Most of the antithetical sentences are in oblique tones. The first sentence of Wujue does not fit into the rhyme more than that of Qijue, so the first couplet of Wujue is more antithetical than that of Qijue. There are also quatrains in which the first sentence is rhymed and the first couplet is antithetical. For example:

A flower branch produces a seal, and a phoenix tube produces a shining sun.

I would like to ask the benefactor, how long is the eyebrow?

(Huangfu Ran's "Jie Yu's Resentment")

There are wild grasses and flowers beside the Zhuque Bridge, and the setting sun is setting at the entrance of Wuyi Lane.

In the old days, the king Xietang Qianyan flew into the homes of ordinary people.

(Liu Yuxi's "Woyi Lane")

The first sentence of Qijue is rhymed more than that of Wujue. This form of first couplet has more Qijue than Wujue.

There are also quatrains in which the first couplet is not in conflict and the last couplet is in conflict. For example:

Moving the boat to Yanzhu, the guest is worried about the new arrival at dusk.

The sky is wide and the trees are low, the river is clear and the moon is close to people.

(Meng Haoran's "Su Jiande River")

The heart-broken Spring River is about to end, and the staff and quinoa are slowly stepping up to Fangzhou.

The wild catkins dance with the wind, and the thin peach blossoms follow the water flow.

(Du Fu's "Manxing")

The quatrains also have two couplets at the beginning and the end. For example:

The sun sets over the mountains and the Yellow River flows into the sea.

If you want to see a thousand miles away, take it to the next level.

(Wang Zhihuan's "Climbing the Stork Tower")

Every year the Jinhe River returns to the Jade Pass, and the horses and swords are ringed.

The white snow returns to the green tombs in the third spring, and the thousands of miles of Yellow River circles the Black Mountains.

(Liu Zhongyong's "Zhengren's Resent")

Most of the first and last couplets of the predecessor's quatrains do not contradict each other. The first couplets do not contradict each other occasionally, and the last couplets rarely contradict each other. , there are fewer people fighting against each other. However, the two middle couplets (jaw couplet and neck couplet) of the verse must be in opposition, otherwise it will not be called a verse. Its first and last couplets can be in conflict or not. In ancient rhyme poems, there are also antithesis in the first couplet, antithesis in the last couplet, and antithesis in all four couplets. This is all up to the author's discretion and there is no set rule. However, the confrontation between the chin couplet and the neck couplet is a convention of rhythmic poetry, also called a regular example. For example:

Five Rhymes The first sentence does not fit into the rhyme.

After the new rain in the empty mountains, the weather comes late in autumn.

The bright moon shines among the pines, and the clear spring rocks flow upward.

The bamboo noise returns to Huan Nu, and the lotus moves off the fishing boat.

Let the spring fragrance rest at will, and the kings and grandsons can stay.

(Wang Wei's "Dwelling in the Mountains in the Dark Autumn")

The first sentence is in rhyme.

Amidst the sound of dogs barking and water, peach blossoms are full of dew.

You can see deer when the trees are deep, but you can’t hear the bell at noon by the stream.

The wild bamboos are divided into green mist, and the flying springs are hung with green peaks.

No one knows where to go, and I am worried about leaning on two or three pine trees.

(Li Bai's "Unexpected Visits to Taoist Priests in Daitian Mountain")

Seven Rhymes The first sentence does not fit into the rhyme.

The desolate land of Bashan and Chushui has been abandoned for twenty-three years.

Nostalgically reciting the poems on the flute in the air, and when I go to the countryside to read them, I feel like a bad person.

Thousands of sails pass by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of trees spring in front of the diseased trees.

Today I listen to a song of Junge, and for the time being, I can cheer myself up with a glass of wine.

(Liu Yuxi's "Rewarding Lotte and Seeing Gifts at the First Banquet in Yangzhou")

The first sentence is in rhyme.

A letter was sent to the Nine Heavens in the morning, and was demoted to Chaoyang Road eight thousand in the evening.

If you want to eliminate evil things for the saint, are you willing to cherish your old age?

Where is my home in the Qinling Mountains where the clouds are crossing? The snow is holding the blue gate and the horse can't move forward.

I know that you have come from afar with purpose, so that you can take me back to the riverside.

(Han Yu's "Zuo Qian moved to Languan to show his nephew Xiang")

The rhymed poems have three antithetical couplets: the first couplet, the chin couplet, and the neck couplet.

Five Rhythms: The first sentence does not fit into the rhyme.

Travelers arrive in the third autumn and look around the city.

Chu Mountain rises across the earth, and the Han River flows back to the sky.

The crown is not a new place, the Zhanghua is the old place.

The scenery in Xichi is strange, and the way back is full of dust.

(Du Shenyan's "Deng Xiangyang City")

The first sentence is in rhyme.

Bei Que Xiu wrote a letter, and Nanshan returned to my hut.

If you are not talented enough, you will give up, and if you are sick, you will be sparse.

Grey hair makes you grow old, and green hair makes you die at the end of the year.

I will never sleep with sorrow, the window is empty at night under the pine moon.

(Meng Haoran's "Returning to Nanshan at the End of the Year")

The first sentence of the seven rhymes does not fit into the rhyme

The path of the world is uncertain, and the net of dust is entangled and entangled. .

Good fortune and misfortune come back in turn, and prosperity and failure come back again and again, and the hook is hidden in the hand.

The tortoise will not avoid intestinal trouble, but the horse will not be able to cope with it.

For those who don’t believe in Yiqi, winning or losing must wait until the end of the game.

(Bai Juyi's "Five Poems" No. 2)

The first sentence is in rhyme:

Yongxiang has been resentful of Qiluo for many years, and he thinks about the troubles all day long.

There are endless marks on the Xiangjiang bamboo, how much should it be sprinkled in front of the Xianshou monument?

When people go to Zitai and enter the fortress in autumn, the soldiers are left in the Chu tent and listen to songs at night.

I asked at the Bashui Bridge in the morning, but I didn’t arrive at the Qingpao to give me the jade!

(Li Shangyin's "Tears")

In the first three couplets, if the first sentence does not fall into rhyme, there are more five verses than seven verses; if the first sentence falls into rhyme, there are more seven verses than five verses.

There is no need for antithesis in the first couplet of rhythmic poetry, but antithesis is used in the chin couplet, neck couplet and tail couplet. This form of rhymed poetry is rare, because the last couplet is generally the conclusion of the whole poem. It is easier to use loose lines to add the finishing touch, but it is more constrained to use antitheses, so poets do not like to use the end couplets. This form often appears in Du Fu's poems, and there are few imitators by later generations. Here is a poem from each of the five and seven rhymes:

The cool breeze moves thousands of miles, and the bandits are still everywhere.

The book is written from far away from home, and the autumn comes as a guest.

Worried about watching a tall bird pass by, always following the crowd.

I wanted to go to the Three Gorges, but why did I see the two capitals?

(Du Fu's "Sorrowful Autumn")

Suddenly it was said outside the sword that Jibei was being collected, and the clothes were covered with tears when I first heard it.

But what’s wrong with my wife? The books and poems are full of joy.

You have to indulge in drinking while singing in the daytime. Youth is a companion for returning home.

That is, pass through Wu Gorge from Ba Gorge, then go down to Xiangyang towards Luoyang.

(Du Fu's "Wen Guanjun Takes Henan and Hebei")

There are also four couplets in rhymed poetry that all use antitheses. This form appeared earlier, such as Su Weiwei's "The First Moon" in the early Tang Dynasty Night of the 15th":

Fire trees and silver flowers bloom together, and the iron locks of the star bridge open.

The dark dust follows the horse, and the bright moon follows the person.

The wandering prostitutes all have plum blossoms, and all the plum blossoms fall when they sing.

Jinwu can’t control the night, and the jade leaks don’t urge each other.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Wang Wei and Du Fu included many verses in quadruple antithetical verses in their works, and later poets also imitated them. Therefore, although this form is relatively rare, it is slightly more common than triple antithetical verses in the later period. some. Below are one verse from each of the five rhymes and seven rhymes:

Go to the sky to march to the west, and the clouds will protect Beiping.

Capture the White Horse General alive and defeat the Black Eagle City.

Suddenly I saw that the cud soul was suffering, but I only heard that the bamboo made it prosperous.

If Zuo's biography is left empty, who will inherit the name of the business?

(One of Wang Wei's "Three Elegies for the Former Governor Du of Xihe County")

The silver billboard of the Jade Tower pillows the city, and the red flags on the green cover line the purple camp.

The sun reflects the color of the rock paintings, and the wind shakes the trees to the sound of orchestral music.

The heavy pavilions by the water are full of flying objects, and the solitary peaks in the clouds are carved like this.

I was lucky enough to see the eight dragons visiting Langyuan, and I visited Pengying thousands of miles without any trouble.

(Zong Chuke's "Fenghe Xing'anle Princess Villa Yingzhi")

The antithesis of rhythm arrangement is the same as that of rhythm poetry. The first and last couplets can be used or not, but no matter how many are in between Alliance, they must all fight. For example:

Jiang Chenghan is perverted, with each new episode. The sky wants to rain now, and the mountains return to eternal spring.

The hero's career has faded for a long time. Get intoxicated with foreigners and meet people from your homeland.

The war still supported Shu, and the thieves gathered force and defeated Qin. It's not that the appearance is too annoying, it's that I'm deeply ashamed and afraid of damaging the spirit.

(One of the Two Poems on "Shangbaidi City" by Du Fu)

The mountains and water conditions make you aware, and the upstairs is calm and moving.

The sun reflects the beautiful scenery, and the wind drives the scales and waves unevenly.

The drums are played in the early morning to encourage the tide, and the flutes are played all night long.

Welcome customers to wave their red sleeves, and sell stoves with small green flags high.

The bed and mats are left in the spring sleeping place, and the curtains are rolled up and the moon comes up.

The situation will go away without any reason, so I copy Zaihe Lang's poems for Lang.

(Yuan Zhen's "Farewell to the East Tower with Lotte")

Rhythmic poetry uses the antithesis of the chin couplet and the neck couplet as a formal example. The three antithesis of the first couplet, chin couplet, and neck couplet introduced above, the chin couplet The three antithetical couplets of , neck couplet and tail couplet, as well as the full antithesis of the first couplet, chin couplet, neck couplet and tail couplet are called variations, and some are also called special cases and variations in books. These changes were imitated by people writing old-style poems after the Tang and Song Dynasties, and even by modern people.

There are two other variations, which few people followed after the Middle Tang Dynasty. These two variations appeared in the formation process of modern poetry before it was completely finalized. They started in Qi and Liang Dynasties and extended to the mid-Tang Dynasty. One is a form in which the first couplet is in opposition but the chin couplet is incorrect and the neck couplet is correct. For example, Emperor Wen of Liang Dynasty wrote "Listening to Prostitutes at Night":

Albizia julibrissin leaves and daylilies forget worries.

How the moonlight night flows and dances around the waist.

The red lips move with the wind, and the jade bracelet shakes with the strings.

It is a pity to stay as a guest, but to stay in a negative mood is to be charming.

The first couplet and neck couplet of this poem are very neat, but the chin couplet is wrong. There are also the so-called "loss of rightness" and "loss of cohesiveness" in the flat and oblique formats, which bear many traces of ancient poetry. Another example is Wang Bo, one of the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty", in his famous work "Sending Du Shaofu to Shuchuan":

The city gate assists the Three Qin Dynasties, and the wind and smoke look out to the Five Tianjins.

I want to say goodbye to you, both are eunuchs.

There are close friends in the sea, and there are neighbors in the world.

If you do nothing, you will be on the wrong road, and your children will be stained with towels.

This poem is completely rhythmic, but the antithesis still retains the ancient method. After modern poetry was finalized, some poets occasionally imitated ancient poetry. For example, Li Bai's "Hanging a mat on a mat in the mountains and rivers to wait for the moon in my arms":

Wait until the moon comes out, and watch the rivers flow by themselves.

Suddenly in the west corner of the city, a jade hook hangs in the blue sky.

Although Suhua can be embraced, the clear scenery is different.

In Geng Geng Jinbo, you can see the Magpie Tower from the sky.

This kind of variation was given a nice name by later generations, called "Stealing Spring Style", which means: the rhyme poem should be contrasted in the jawline couplet, but it is opposed in the first couplet first, "Yan Ru Plum blossoms steal the beauty of spring and bloom first." (Volume 2 of "Poet's Jade Chip")

There is also an antique variation, that is, the first couplet and the chin couplet are not antithetical, and there is only one antithetical couplet in the whole poem. For example, Wang Wei in the prosperous Tang Dynasty wrote "Send Off Qizhou Yuan Changshi Returns":

How can we say that we are sad when we say goodbye with a handshake?

The autumn wind is blowing, and the guests are leaving Mengchangmen.

The old post is connected to Huaili, and the long pavilion is under Huaiyuan.

Zheng Xijiu Jingjie, from then on to the source of the river.

Another example is Yuan Zhen's "Return to the Fields" in the mid-Tang Dynasty:

Tao Jun was thirty-seven and left the capital with a ribbon.

I also went to Xi'an Village in Shangshan this year.

The abbot’s room is repaired in winter and the tangerine garden is planted in spring.

Thousands of human affairs will never be discussed again.

These two kinds of antique antithesis are mostly seen in the Five Rhythms and rarely in the Seven Rhymes, but they are also occasionally seen in famous works. For example, Cui Hao's "Yellow Crane Tower":

In the past, people had taken the Yellow Crane to go there, and the Yellow Crane Tower was vacant here.

The yellow crane will never return, and the white clouds will remain empty for thousands of years.

Qinchuan is full of Hanyang trees and luxuriant grass in Parrot Island.

Where is Rimu Xiangguan? The smoke on the Yanbo River makes people sad.

Another example is the second part of Du Fu's "Ode to Ancient Relics":

Shaoluo knows Song Yubei well, and he is also my teacher in elegance and elegance.

Looking forward to the future, I shed tears, depression is different from generation to generation.

The old house in Jiangshan is empty and empty, and the clouds and rain are desolate. How can I dream of it?

In the end, all the Chu palaces were destroyed, and the boatman’s advice is still doubtful.

The chin couplets of these two seven-rhythms seem to be right but not right. Compared with the neck couplets, their neatness is much worse. The first chin couplet is uneven and out of alignment, and the second chin couplet and chin couplet are uneven and out of alignment. There are also legacy of ancient poetry in the rhythm.

The two types of rhythmic poetry with ancient styles introduced above are rarely seen after the mid-Tang Dynasty. After the late Tang Dynasty, the antithesis of chin couplets and neck couplets in rhythmic poetry became the golden rule of rhythmic poetry, just like the antithetical couplets and sticks in rhythmic poetry. Therefore, quatrains were later also called jieju, which means: quatrains were cut from regular verses. If what is cut out is the first couplet and the last couplet of the verse, then the two couplets of this quatrain are not in conflict; if what is cut out is the first couplet and jaw couplet of the verse, then the first couplet of this quatrain is not in conflict and the last couplet is in conflict; if it is cut out If it is the neck couplet and the tail couplet of the rhythmic poem, then the first couplet of this quatrain is in opposition, but the last couplet is not; if the cut is the jaw couplet and the neck couplet of the rhythmic poem, then the two couplets of this quatrain are in opposition.