Couplet (Chinese poetry)

Duilian (Chinese对联/对联, Pinyin Duìlián ) or Yinglian (Chinese楹联/楹联, Pinyin Yinglian ) are a pair consisting of a spell art form of the Chinese language. They are an important part of Chinese culture and especially the literature with more than 1000 years of history. They are used today mainly for the Chinese New Year.

• 2.1 Chunlian
• 2.2 Other forms of

Appearance

Often you can find Duìlián at doorways, there are often written in Chinese calligraphy with black ink on red paper.

The color can vary in each case and shows by Customs to a death in the family. The color red is used only in the third year.

Construction

Divided, they are divided into an upper (Chinese上 联/上 联, Pinyin Shanglian ) and lower ( Chinese下联/下联, Pinyin Xialian ) part, which each correspond to one another according to certain rules. The number of characters in a Duìlián can fluctuate 4-400 and more.

Form

For a Duìlián some form rules, as their art is the observance and perfecting by the clerk apply. This form rules state, inter alia:

• The number of characters in the two parts is the same,
• Each two opposite sign from the two halves are in a relationship,
• The importance of these corresponding characters are similar or belong to the same level of meaning as found in a number word is also a numeral opposite,
• The part of speech is mostly the same, so can be found at the bottom of a noun, although the upper part is a noun in the same place and
• In some couplets the tones of the syllables corresponding characters are matched in addition to each other.

Example

Example of a Duìlián ( in traditional characters )

Culture

Writing a Duìlián is similar to writing a poem information on the skill of the writer. This art is made, inter alia in competitions to prove in which a writer in the first half of the Verspaares written, which must then be complemented by a second analog recorder.

There are besides, different, special shapes.

Chunlian

In the preparations for the Lunar New Year ( " spring festival " ) is a Chunlian (Chinese春联/春联) written on ribbons and attached to the inputs of the house left and right. Many Chinese companies are doing today this traditional custom to own and give sentence pairs as promotional gifts.

Other forms

Other forms are:

• Yinglian (Chinese楹联/楹联) at temples and other classical structures
• Helian (Chinese贺 联/贺 联) at weddings, births, store openings and other festivities
• Wǎnlián (Chinese挽联/挽联) to grief at deaths
• Zènglián (Chinese赠 联/赠 联)
• Zhōngtánglián (Chinese中堂 联/中堂 联)

See also: Double happiness

Gallery

Green Duìlián ( Shangri- La)

Permanently installed Duìlián with quote Mao Zedong 「好好 学习,天天 向上」 ( xuexi hǎohǎo, tiāntiān xiàngshàng ) ( Baishuitai )