Speaking of the rise of door-to-door couplets in Beijing, it is related to the architectural pattern of the old Beijing city. The architectural pattern of old Beijing has its own set of overall planning. From the Forbidden City to Zuozu Youshe, four cities and nine gates, it has been radiated to the streets and alleys as dense as cobwebs, to the courtyard of Dazhaimen in the hutong, to the courtyard corridor of Screen Gate in the courtyard, and to the planted flowers and trees. It's exquisite. It's a complete set. As the most representative quadrangle in old Beijing, the gate is the first impression, like a face, so it is called the son of the frontispiece, which naturally deserves special attention. The gate of the old Beijing quadrangle is not allowed to be painted red when the emperor is around, but black. The gate became red after the Republic of China. Therefore, if we see the old and broken black painted doors now, the years are long enough, while the bright red painted doors are mostly nouveau riche.
The doors of old Beijing quadrangles are usually double doors, which is not only for the spacious doors, but also for the traditional symmetry of China, which provides convenience for the appearance and popularization of door couplets, and the door couplets have become a unique part of doors. This kind of door couplet, which pays the most attention to the antithesis of words and meanings, is symmetrical with the left and right switches, just matching the scabbard and hitting it off at once. In old Beijing, such quadrangles can't live without couplets on the gate. The content and writing level of couplets reflect the master's culture. Even for the sake of artistry, you have to ask a master to add some facade to yourself-you see, when it comes to this facade, Beijingers always treat their doors and faces equally.
What do foreigners see in Beijing now? There are fewer hutongs and fewer quadrangles, and the couplets on the doors are generally about a hundred years old. With the erosion of time, there is not much left, so it is naturally more and more difficult to see the large-scale demolition of hutongs and quadrangles. I also found that some door couplets I saw with my own eyes a few years ago are not clear now, and some even leveled the gates and yards. Many things that you think are beautiful and valuable have been moved away as waste soil. It seems that everything is calculated according to the construction area of the new building, and it can be doubled every year after a somersault.
I can only introduce you to some of the couplets that the running brokers have seen in recent years. Those who are interested can go and have a look. Maybe before long, they will never appear again-
"Poetry and calligraphy cultivate sentiment and make our family sound."
"Reading makes you better, and getting better is the happiest."
"Many words are rich, and God is a spring."
"Mian Shize is not as good as doing good, boosting his family business or studying."
"A few new seats for fragrant grass and Yao Lin, and old piano books for jade cups and beads."
"Sincerely nourish vitality, poetry and books are fragrant."
These couplets are all about reading. Our ancestors argued that everything is inferior, and only reading is high. Therefore, in the couplets of old Beijing, this kind is mostly, and the most is "faithfulness is handed down from generation to generation, and poetry and books are handed down from generation to generation." These couplets have the same meaning, but different characteristics. In my opinion, "writing more is rich, and falling in love with God is the best". Now we pay attention to the word "harmony", but who can treat the word "harmony" as devoutly as God and spring? Who can see how much culture determines your future wealth? Let's look at "faithfulness and vitality, poetry and books are extraordinary." In the past, the owner of the yard sold ginger. Think about it. A man who sells ginger and pays attention to poetry and songs makes our businessmen, big and small, blush.
"Career shines in the world, and career shocks the world";
"in time, the thunderstorm will lift the dragon armor, and the spring breeze will soon come";
"There is a great exhibition in the scale exhibition, celebrating the prosperity of the same people".
All three householders are businessmen, but all three couplets are straightforward. In old Beijing, there are many such couplets, the most representative of which is "business is booming all over the world, and financial resources are flourishing up to three rivers".
As a businessman, "living in Hebei, but crossing three stacks" is written slightly better. Qing Ji is also the name of the merchant, embedded in the couplet; Five Blessingg means longevity, wealth, health, virtue and a good death; More than three means more happiness, longer life and more children; They are all auspicious words, but they are more specific.
"The source is flowing water, calm", "The source is deep and leafy, the border is unemployed, and there is money in the long run", "The Tao is based on time and follows nature". Of these three pairs, the first two talked about the "source" of Shang, and the last two talked about the "Tao" of Shang. The first pair speaks better than the second pair, but it is subtle and vivid. The third pair speaks better than the first and second pairs. This is a pawnshop. Later, he became a police station. No matter what you do, you should pay attention to Tao and reason. The good news is that Tao and reason are related to the times and justice, which makes people convinced and awe-inspiring, and they dare not expect anything.
Look again, Ding Shuping, The Biography of Kao Huo Zhi, Pingping and Huo Zhi all use allusions, which are for business. Leveling is a fair and reasonable buying and selling price that the Han Dynasty attached importance to, and a leveling officer was specially set up at that time. Although it looks profound, it is about the morality of doing business.
"Make money from the main road and keep management neutral" is easy to understand. It is also a kind of morality in doing business. Before and after the contrast, there are elegance and vulgarity, simplicity and simplicity, and different styles.
It is the superior and the more common door couplet that can make them both knowledgeable and pun and tell their professional characteristics. "Friendship is congenial to Qiu Zhen, and fame can make clothes and praise the lamb." At first glance, it is a fur dealer named Yisheng. "Hengzu has a road like water, and the market is as long as the sea." At first glance, it is a timber business, and the first word in the couplet contains its own business name, called Hengli. People can stop and look at it, and couplets are their beautiful and unique business cards.
Take it as your business card, so that people can know what the owner of the yard is doing at a glance, which is also a feature and function of Beijing Door Union. For example, wine sellers: Du Kang brewing, Taibai; See a doctor: Xinglin is warm in spring, and orange Jing Quan is fragrant; Bathing: singing soup only when the golden rooster is hot, and patting the guest away with the jade board; Barber: Although it is a small business, I work hard ... It's a pity that many door couplets I saw when I was a child are rarely seen again now. I only saw it at No.43 Jixiang, Peking University: Xinglin is warm in spring, people celebrate their birthdays, Orange Well Sect and Tao Wei God. That is the old house of Mr. Fan Shouyan, an old Chinese doctor. There are also several pairs of Qianshi Hutong: mountains and rivers are thousands of times, and pine and cypress are lush as spring; The global market is full of books, and the treasure is the spring of commodities; Long life is boundless, welcome Thai luck, and gather wealth to become rich. There are many treasures that are endless, and the Thai steps are as flat as the sun. They are all small workshops that cast silver ingots in those days.
Of course, in couplets, ordinary families don't care about puns, they care about more families, or they want their families to spread widely and develop-
"Hanoi's home is far away, and Yinshan Shize is long";
"The sound of the world is old, and the spring is deep and strange";
"The descendants of the sages will be big, and the brothers will be fat";
Or wish this family luck, peace and harmony-
"Be prepared for danger in times of peace, enjoy balance alone, and be auspicious at home";
"Jiaxiang Life Insurance, the year of enriching the country and enriching the people"; "Ruixia Cage Ren, Xiangyun protects Demen";
Still looking forward to beautiful scenery, many friends, and cultivating temperament-
"Mountain light is a spring, delicate and fragrant"; "But this year will certainly fill us with grace, and the humanities will prosper from now on"; "The flowers in the forest are still fragrant after the rain, and the grass makes people idle."
But more attention is paid to traditional moral feelings-
"Only goodness is treasure, and you can be loyal to others", which is a very good saying. "Enze North Que, Qingqia Nanxun", there is "Nanxun" in the Book of Songs, which is about a word of filial piety.
"The article is so natural, loyalty and filial piety make a beautiful garden", which expresses a word of filial piety and a word of loyalty.
"Clear and auspicious in front of the door, safe and healthy at home" is about innocence. "Lan Zhi's gentleman's nature, the heart of the ancients" is about mind. However, the former is straightforward, while the latter uses Bi Xing's ancient brushwork. And "ancient civilization flourished and new human beings evolved a lot", which shows that it is completely following the trendy pace of the Republic of China.
The most interesting thing is No.27 Caochang Wutiao, which was originally the Baoqing Hall in Hunan Province. It has a deep left and right two-story courtyard with high steps and a black door. Door couplets are not on the gate, but carved on the boards on both sides of the door, which is very distinctive. "Only the good is the treasure, then you will be loyal to others."
Unfortunately, what I saw was only a small part of the old Beijing Door Couplet. I don't know how many wonderful things I missed. As far as I know, Yuan Chonghuan's former residence in Guangqumen includes: Destroying the Great Wall will last forever. The former residence of Yingxiutang, the camp of Dawailang, is: Yingjie has a sword three feet around his waist and five books in his belly. The Dongguan Guild Hall in Romantic Hutong includes: the hometown of Aoqiaoxian Chen Zhong and Jimen Banner. The Gu Teng Bookstore of Zhu Yizun's former residence in Baihai Hutong has: a courtyard surrounded by green grass, ten acres of rattan flowers, antique and antique. Liuli Street Xinhui Guild Hall in Fenfang has: new poems push new words to meet visitors, flowers talk early ... Of course, counting further, in Ceng Pu's "Flowers of Evil", there is also a famous couplet of Baoan Temple Street: Baoan Temple Street has a collection of 100,000 books, and the members of the household department have filled the vacancy for 1000 years. This door still existed during the Republic of China, which once made Mr. Zhu Ziqing linger for a long time. Nature is all in the past, and it seems so far away from me.
What I like best is a pair of door couplets once used in Bingshichang Hutong, Koujie, Dongzhu City: the ground is connected with the mouth of the city, and people are in the heart of the jade pot. Compared with the jade pot, the place name of the ice house factory is so neat and quaint, which is really rare. I went to Bingshichang Hutong many times in a row, but I couldn't find this pair of door couplets. I also inquired about the old neighborhood in many ways, and I didn't find out which gate this couplet had appeared in.
For a time, I was fascinated by couplets, wandering around like a string of hutongs and looking for couplets like a treasure hunt. Because I vaguely feel in my heart that such couplets may soon become "the last rose in summer." Someone once told me that there is a couplet in a tinker outside Xuanwu Gate-Oral Bar No.47, which is difficult to recognize, but it is well preserved. I got there at once. At first glance, it looks like a small seal character and Zhong Dingwen. It is an antique. I can't recognize a few words. I didn't know until I asked: there is no horse in the world, so it is good to write poetry. Upon further inquiry, the original residence of this hospital is Mr. Wu Xiaoling, an old alumnus and senior scholar of Huiwen, and only people like him can match it. It was summer when I went, and there were two acacia trees in the yard. Scarlet velvet flowers leaned out of the gate and set each other off as an interest, which was unforgettable.
I should also add that these door couplets are all half-eyed. The family is located at No.51opposite the former residence of Nanliu Lane, and on the right half door, "Xiangguang Essays for Painting Zen". One is No.90, Xie Jie Street, Yangmeizhu, and the left half door "manages Yan Zifeng together". In the latter, a new family moved into the compound and lived on the right side of the gate. In order to expand the house, people knew the Housing Authority, so they removed the door on the right and replaced it with a small door, leaving only this half door couplet. For years, Yan Zi has been a lonely hero.
The other is the small courtyard in the east of Wuxu Road in the long lane, with only half a door left, which is crumbling and cracked, but the crimson patent leather is still there, embossed with "Jingchu family style". A few days later, I passed by and the couplet was gone. I put on two new doors and painted them with bright red paint, like two lips painted with inferior lipstick.
Really, with the demolition of more and more quadrangles and hutongs and the extrusion of more and more tall buildings, I think such couplets are almost gone, or I will go to the museum to see them in the future. Under the thinking mode of urban construction, large areas of old streets and alleys have been eroded by real estate developers, and the high-rise buildings that have sprung up seem to be more valuable than quadrangles, but I don't know if Beijing is still Beijing without the support of quadrangles. Without quadrangles, where can we go to see those door couplets that have survived for nearly a hundred years? Just like the sculptures and national emblems in front of European houses, these are proof of Beijing's own identity. We are like a bear with a broken stick. In order to achieve what we think is self-righteous, we easily discard the most precious things.
Two days ago, I accompanied Professor Paula from the United States to Dashilan, and specially went to Qianshi Hutong. The narrow alley was empty, and the old couplets were still there, except for some illegible handwriting. In fact, I haven't been there for two or three years, and the erosion of the sun, moon, wind and frost is faster than I thought.
Old Beijing couplets!