Talks on Ancient and Modern Couplets

Author: Sun Baolong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-11-01
Features:
Couplets are a unique literary art form in China. They are constructed based on the characteristics of Chinese characters, such as their meanings, forms, parts of speech, and phonetic tones. In a pair of couplets, it is required that the upper and lower lines have the same number of characters, similar syntax, identical parts of speech, related meanings, and contrasting tones, achieving perfect symmetry. Chinese characters are ideographic, with each character representing a single syllable and generally capable of standing alone to convey a specific concept. Unlike alphabetic writing systems that use word concatenation, the phonetic and written structure of Chinese characters prevents the formation of couplets. Therefore, couplets are a unique and precious literary heritage of China, worthy of study and inheritance. This book selects nearly eight hundred couplets of various contents and forms, many of which are composed by famous figures from ancient and modern times. Each selected couplet is generally accompanied by a brief introduction, and some are further explained and elaborated. In terms of the forms and expressive techniques of couplets, the book lists over twenty different types. The material for this book is sourced from various newspapers, magazines, as well as Liang Zhangju's Collected Conversations on Couplets, Continued Conversations on Couplets, Further Conversations on Couplets, and Records of Clever Couplets from the Qing Dynasty, Liang Gongchen's Further Conversations on Couplets and Continued Records of Clever Couplets, as well as Ming and Qing Dynasty notes and fiction. Some couplets are also drawn from folk legends.