Love Story of Couplets

Author: Li Wen-Zheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-02-01
Features: "Love is the eternal theme of literary and artistic works." This statement truly can be considered a famous saying. Throughout history, both in China and abroad, this has been the case; from poetry and drama to novels and films, it is undeniable. So, as a unique artistic form of Chinese language and literature, can couplets also carry this theme? The answer is likely unquestionable. Since couplets became an independent literary and artistic form, there are countless works in which they express the theme of love. Whether it's early verbal exchanges, later wedding couplets, humorous couplets, dedications, or eulogies, one often encounters couplets with love as their content. Besides clever couplets, there are often vivid and interesting love stories accompanying them. Of course, these include both historical facts and legends. However, whether it is fact or legend is not what people are most concerned about; rather, the couplets and stories themselves can be enlightening and delightful, which I believe is enough. _This is also the original intention behind writing this book._ When it comes to the stories of couplets and love, the first thing many readers will think of is the story of test-coupling for matchmaking and husband-wife couplets. Indeed, there are many such stories passed down through history that most people who have read a few years of books are familiar with. For example: the legend of Wang Anshi, a Northern Song dynasty statesman and litterateur, and "He"; the humorous tale of Su Xiaomei giving three riddles to her fiancé; and the clever story of Wang Baochan recruiting Xue Pingui as her husband. These, of course, belong to the category of legends.