Alignment skills of couplets and various antitheses

Xiaodazhi

Couplets have some basic rhymes, such as the six elements of the basic rhyme of couplets, that is, the number of words is equal, the content is related, the part of speech is equal, the structure is commensurate, the rhythm is corresponding and harmonious. Another example is the six taboos of the basic meter of couplets, that is, six situations that should be avoided as much as possible. They are: avoid staying at the same time; Avoid simultaneous ending; Avoid three flat tails or three tails; Avoid loneliness or loneliness; Avoid homophones and ectopic homophones; Avoid synonyms. In the creation of couplets, these basic rules and regulations should generally be observed, so I won't go into details here. However, in the creation of couplets, there are also some flexible creative techniques, such as self-alignment, borrowing alignment and meaning alignment. On the surface, these creative techniques do not seem to follow the basic rhyme of couplets, but are actually supplements and modifications to the basic rhyme, so they are allowed. This article only talks about my humble opinion on this point.

Self-couplet, also known as "self-couplet in a sentence" or "self-couplet in a sentence", refers to the words in couplets, and the upper couplet itself is in opposition to the lower couplet itself. For example:

Truth and falsehood

Without any knowledge (the author wrote about the Buddhist Association)

Among them, "truth in the heart" and "falsehood in the law", "knowledge is there" and "absence" are the answers in the sentence. The technique of sentence self-alignment is widely used in antitheses (especially long antitheses).

From the overall antithesis of couplets, the self-alignment techniques in couplets can be divided into three types, namely, dual-purpose relative type, loose relative type and non-relative type (including a special illegal type).

Self-alignment in sentences, as opposed to upper and lower couplet, can of course go hand in hand and often coexist. This self-alignment can be called dual-purpose relative self-alignment. For example:

Far rich and near poor, courtesy and the world intersect less;

It is a pity to be close to relatives and slow down friends, because there are many things in the world. (Hubei gave Cao Xueqin a couplet)

Among them, there is not only the confrontation between the upper and lower leagues themselves, but also the neat confrontation between the upper and lower leagues. This dual-purpose relative self-alignment undoubtedly makes the antithesis of couplets more stable and adds symmetry beauty from the overall antithesis effect of all Chinese couplets. Another example is:

Compared with idle clouds, the moonlight shines.

The heart follows the current, and the sound of bamboo is the same as that of the machine (Wang Zaoru's title is Tiantai Wannian Temple)

The same is true between "moonlight light and shadow" and "pine sound and bamboo color" Self-alignment in the sentence is good, and so is the upper and lower couplets. Another example is:

Gong boarded the plane, thinking that the poem was full and the glass was in hand;

I'm still there, watching the bright moon on the other side of Qingshan. (Hu Jingti Taibai Loulian)

Among them, "full of poetry, glass in hand; "Opposite the green hills, the bright moon is at the head." In the sentence, self-alignment is hard, and the up-and-down link is hard.

Of course, generally speaking, when using self-alignment in sentences, the requirements for the confrontation between the upper and lower couplets are relatively loose. So some couplets are quite self-aligned, and the upper and lower couplets are wider. This self-alignment can be called loose relative self-alignment. For example:

Clouds and wild cranes fly away.

Qian Shan Wanshuilai (written by the author)

Among them, "idle clouds" and "wild cranes", "Wanshui" and "Qian Shan" are contradictory, but the antithesis between the upper and lower couplet is wider. Another example is:

Only through the ages;

Light makeup is always appropriate. (A set of sentences in a social theater in West Lake)

Among them, "past" and "present", "light makeup" and "heavy makeup" are self-correcting, but the antithesis between the upper and lower couplets is wider. Another example is:

After thousands of households, I only care about two words, I will pick up Sizhu and Elo;

After three years of dredging, I fled again, and the pain led to the decision. Tour Linghai at night and cross Xiaoxiang at night. (Tang Bin title Wuxi Huishan Zou Zhonggong Hao Cilian)

Among them, it is self-comparison, but the antithesis of the upper and lower couplets is wider.

Moreover, some couplets are only self-couplets, and the upper and lower couplets are basically not relative, or even completely not relative. This self-alignment can be called non-relative self-alignment. It should be pointed out that this self-aligned sentence pattern is common in couplets (especially multi-clause couplets or long couplets). For example:

Qingshan Guo Heng, Baishui Huancheng, Duyu Dajiang Twin Towers;

Lotus on the first day, willow in the evening breeze, two poets on the first floor of the ages. (Wang Tijiangxin Temple Union)

Among them, Castle Peak Crossing the Country, White Water Around the City, Early Lotus and Evening Wind Willow are self-contrast, but the upper and lower couplets are basically not relative in parts of speech and grammatical structure. Another example is:

Wash the wine, make the world green, make the world red, make the dust red, and make this heart clear as a river;

Looking at the fence, watching the drizzle, watching the sails and pavilions in the sunset is better than Liu Lingchun. (Baoqing Shuangqing Pavilion)

Call him to ridicule, don't covet the nickname and small profit of snail horn;

What to send when you leave, so that you can remember the white water in Dongcheng and the green hills in the north. (Baoqing Huilan Pavilion)

Once again, in the red lotus, in the shade of green poplar;

I started traveling from the past and saw the sky and the moon in the sky. (Ruan Yuan title Pinghu Qiuyuelian)

Incense is predestined friends, when Bai Fudi, Su Gong Temple;

The articles are colorful, such as apricot blossom in February and Sanqiu in Guizi. (Gushan Wenchang Temple Alliance)

Ups and downs, watching the lonely sunset and watching the long autumn water are always love things. Fortunately, the lakes and mountains here are all safe;

Since ancient times, it has only been a moment. I asked the talented people on the river and the emperors in the cabinet. What was the scenery like in those days? (Liu Kunyi wrote Teng Wangge's couplet, and this couplet was written by Xiao Guangnan.)

The world is boundless, and in front of me is the lost era? Behind me, where are the future generations? ;

Open-minded, block to see Heng Yue, glass to see Dongting. (Changsha Tianxin Pavilion Alliance)

The best place is home, which is Shao Zixing's nest and Xie Gong's villa.

The chat was successful, occupying a thousand hectares of sacred lakes and three bright moons. (Yu Sheng Temple Retirement Topic)

There are mountains here, and there are bamboos in Maolin.

Happiness is as beautiful as a flower to you and passes away like water. (passenger ship window couplet)

Road flyover Lu is so boring, eight hundred miles in Dongting, flying over, flying over, a fairy who is in the eye;

Fan Xiucai also participated in many things. For decades, no matter who comes first, everyone cares alone. (Yueyang Loulian)

Look at the flowers on the shore and leave people behind. This is not a strange land.

A thousand miles of bright moon, I remember getting drunk in Changsha at night, drifting in the water at dawn, and meeting a good family. (Tao's title is Hankou Changsha Association)

A pen rose from Jiang Han to the top, let go of the belly, swallow Dongting in 800 miles, and dream in 900 miles;

Millennium's work is illusory in vicissitudes of life. He is a real genius and has his own vision. Then let him go to Yellow Crane early and Violet late. (Chen Baoyu, Deqing, Yellow Crane Tower, Wuchang)

Wisdom should be round, action should be square, courage should be big, and heart should be small;

It's friendship that doesn't seek its benefits, and I don't know if its way is worth it. (Zhu Xun's Essay on Xuefang Living Room)

A common feature of the above couplets is that both the upper couplet and the lower couplet are self-aligned, which is often neat, but the antithesis between the upper couplet and the lower couplet (including the requirements of part-of-speech equivalence and structural proportion) is basically not relative, or even completely not relative.

What's more, there is a special kind of non-relative self-alignment, which seems to be illegal on the surface, but it is actually a modification of the meter, so it is also allowed. This type of self-alignment can be called illegal self-alignment. For example:

Loyal minister, dutiful son, so arrogant;

Southerners go to the south and northerners go to the north. How can the small court live? (Wang Chengchuan's title is Lian)

On the surface, this couplet is a "loyal minister and dutiful son", but the couplet below regards it as "southerners return to the south and northerners return to the north", which seems to be a taboo for irregular compound words in couplet rhythm. But from self-observation's point of view, it is very neat, so its essence is still a special regular word, which is a regular word that uses self-alignment. Another example is:

Watching insects come out of the water, never leaving the fire, death means death, and life means life, that is, knowing the origin.

Thinking about the fruit is neither inside nor outside the tree. It has come and gone, but its understanding is empty (by the author of Buddhist Association).

In this couplet, the first couplet is "When a worm comes out of water, it doesn't make a fire", and the second couplet is "The fruit is not inside the tree, but outside it".

On the surface, it also violates the taboo of irregular overlapping in couplets, but it is also a special kind of regular overlapping using self-alignment skills.

Although self-alignment is also commonly known as "intra-sentence self-alignment", if carefully distinguished, in fact, self-alignment can be divided into three types, namely: conjunction self-alignment, which refers to the self-alignment of more than two clauses in a multi-clause conjunction, so it can also be called clause self-alignment (or intra-sentence self-alignment), which is suitable for multi-clause to distinguish it from narrow clause self-alignment. Self-duality in a sentence means that more than two words (including words and phrases) in a clause are self-duality, so it can also be called self-duality. It applies to all clauses to distinguish it from union or self-duality in a narrow sense. Word self-alignment means that more than two words (or words composed of single words) in a word are self-aligned, so it can also be called word self-alignment, which applies to a word to distinguish it from the first two. Examples are as follows:

Couplets are self-correcting, that is, clauses are self-correcting. For example:

On the first floor, He Qi, the five-character swan song, Fan, the word close to love, is in full swing, and Lu Chunyang will be drunk after three passes. Poetry? Ruye? Official? Ye Xian? Where were those lost times before me? , made me cry;

Gentlemen, try it. Xiaoxiang in the south pole of Dongting Lake, Wuxia in the north of the Yangtze River, refreshing in Baling Mountain, and precipice in the east of Yuezhou City. Zhu Zhe, Liu Zhe, Zhi Zhe, Zhen Zhe. There is a real meaning in this. Who can read it? (He Zikai's title is Yueyang Loulian)

This pair of famous Yueyang Tower couplets prominently uses alignment technology. Among them, "Five-word swan song, the word Fan is full of worries, Teng is full of waste, and Lv Chunyang will be drunk after three passes", "Xiaoxiang is in Dongting Lake, Wuxia is in Jiangbei, refreshing is in Baling Shanxi, and the cliff is in Yuezhou East", "Poetry?" Ruye? Official? Immortal Leaves and Liu Zhe, Zhi Zhe, Zhen Zhe all adopt the method of clause self-alignment, so they all belong to self-alignment. Another example is:

Write a thousand words, when Gui Xiang, Sophora japonica yellow;

Go out and smile, watch the West Lake full moon, and the tide is coming from eastern Zhejiang. (Ruan Yuan has a title of Lian)

Pro-Chu, Shu and Liang, patriotic and loyal;

Sao can become a classic, strategy can become history, and great articles can be made by nature. (Zuo Fu titled "Qujia Temple")

Gong Ji in the north, Yanqing in the west, and a pool of smoke and water to share;

Stepping on the willow embankment in spring, going to the vegetable garden in autumn, and dispelling the wind in June are the most difficult. (Zheng Xie title Xinghua Liu Yuanlian)

The above couplets are also self-aligned by clauses, so they all belong to self-alignment of couplets.

Self-duality in sentences means that words are self-duality. For example:

The sky rises from the building and is a place of vision and wisdom;

Xinghui Wen Qu, reading calligraphy and dancing. (Deng Tingzhen Nominated Garden Building)

In this couplet, the words "improving eyesight and understanding Tao" and "brush song and ink dance" in the upper and lower couplets are self-dialogue sentences of "improving eyesight and understanding Tao", "brush song" and "ink dance" respectively, which are typical self-dialogue sentences. Another example is:

Forty thousand dollars, the bright moon and the breeze are valuable today;

A pair of white jade, the poet's name is Gu. (Qi Yanhuai titled Canglang Pavilion)

Fan knows how to be happy before worrying;

Yesterday, I heard that I could talk to Yan Shi (Zhou's title is Yueyang Tower).

Fengshui Longshan, Jiangzuo human face;

Wu Tou Chu Wei, the ambiguity is better than this. (Wu Baozhen title Anqing Daguan Pavilion)

The above couplets also use the method of self-alignment of words, so they all belong to self-alignment in sentences.

Self-correction in words is self-correction in words. For example:

Officials live in seclusion, and the scenery is like the sky;

Teachers and students are flesh and blood, and famous mountains can be attached to the future. (Yanwu Holdings Guwu Renlian)

In this pair of couplets, the words "official seclusion" and "teacher and student's flesh and blood" in the upper and lower couplets are respectively "official seclusion", "following", "mentoring" and "flesh and blood", which can be described as typical words of self-correction. Another example is:

One water holds the west of the city, whether there is smog or not, and the monks with sticks return to the city;

The peaks are facing you. After the rain, the people leaning against the column are drawing. (Yang Sheng 'an Title: Huating Temple Alliance, Yunnan Province)

In this pair of couplets, the upper and lower couplets are "smoke and no smoke", "

Rain and shine is also the relative of haze, presence or absence, rain and shine and shade, and it is also a typical word self-alignment. Another example is:

Suffering and scars, a backhand work;

Look, smell, ask and cut, triple efforts. (Title Hospital Association)

The country will live and die;

Will you avoid it because of misfortune? (Lin Zexu's couplet "Going to the Garrison to Show the Family")

The other mountains all appear dwarfs under the sky., empty and helpless;

Long live the Millennium, the most bitter couple. (Jiashan Mengjiang Women's Temple Alliance)

It's a fairy. When the Millennium Cave was opened, people in battlements were still ploughing fields and digging wells.

Reading into the present, listening to the golden rooster wake up in the middle of the night, the rise and fall of Qin and Han dynasties, all belong to flowing peach blossoms. (Anonymous title Peach Blossom Garden)

Emotion, sadness, fear, love and evil desire;

Rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea. (An indoor couplet on a topic)

Four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter;

A man from east, west, north and south. (A Gongjing Dachuandian Construction Union)

The six divisions in the wheel of karma are clearly visible, and the difference between virtue, stupidity and turbidity is seen. Doesn't it include six ways?

The cause and effect of Sansheng is not only behind us, but also unpredictable. It is also the manifestation of Sansheng (the author wrote the Buddhist Association)

The above couplets are also self-aligned, so they all belong to self-alignment.

There are also some self-pairs, which seem to be self-pairs in conjunctions or sentences, but their essence is self-pairs in words, because only a single word in them is really opposite. This self-alignment can be called self-alignment in mixed words, which can be divided into conjunctions and sentences. Conjunctive hybrid self-alignment, for example:

Ask what the reason is, not unlucky, but really unlucky;

This is a real stranger. This is a marriage, not a marriage. (A concubine couplet)

In this couplet, it seems that there are two clauses in the first couplet, which are "not for her impetuousness, but really for her impetuousness". In the second couplet, there are two clauses, which are self-aligned, and in the couplet, they seem to be self-aligned, but in fact, only "no", "truth", "yes" and "no" (or take another example

The mountains are good, the water is good, and it is no trouble to open the door.

Come in a hurry, go in a hurry, dismount and meet each other. (Tea Pavilion Alliance outside the South Gate of Fuzhou)

Who, Anato, is wearing dinner;

Poverty leads to life. It is better to study behind closed doors. (Li Shizhen Inscription Association)

A hundred feet of pole head, further, ruined, prosperous. If you look around the coast, how can you rule the people?

Overlooking Wanjia County, there are mixed feelings. Those who watch, don't talk empty talk and toast the sunset. (Tian Dongxi titled "Gui Xiang Lou Lian")

Countless, immeasurable, incredible, unmeasurable, unspeakable, looking at all beings, endless reincarnation.

No light, no color, no measurement, no phase, no measurement, looking up at the ten Buddhas, it is infinite (the author wrote a pair of Buddhist couplets)

The above conjunctions are also mixed self-pairs of conjunctions.

Sentences and words are mixed and self-aligned, for example:

There are poetry books, rural areas and family styles, but they are all passed down by ancestors;

No official, no responsibility, no concern for current affairs, will only give Cao hardship. (Ceng Wenzheng's father made his own couplets)

In this couplet, the words "read and cultivate" and "don't care" in the upper and lower couplets seem to be self-correct, and the words "read and cultivate", "don't listen" and "don't ask" in each sentence seem to be self-correct, but in fact, the only real confrontation is "reading" against "cultivating" and "smelling". Another example is:

What goes around comes around, what goes around comes around, morning post and evening post, why not report it;

Fame and fortune are nothing more than a theater. They are all improvisations. (Tianjin Chenghuang Temple Stage Meilian)

Among the sentences in this couplet, such as "what goes around comes around comes around", "Morning Post and Evening News", "fame and fortune" and "going on stage and stepping down", only goodness, evil, morning, evening, fame, profit, going up and down are really opposites. Therefore, we should also

Moreover, the so-called self-correction of couplets, self-correction of sentences and self-correction of words are not absolute in themselves. For example, the self-alignment of a sentence or a word in a single-sentence couplet is definitely the self-alignment in the couplet. This kind of self-alignment can be called single sentence self-alignment (or short sentence self-alignment) to distinguish it from various complex sentence self-alignment (or long sentence self-alignment). Since there are no clauses in a single sentence couplet, there can be no clause self-alignment in a single sentence couplet, so it can only be divided into two types, namely, self-alignment in a single sentence couplet and self-alignment in a single sentence couplet, or self-alignment in a single sentence couplet and self-alignment in a single sentence couplet respectively. For example:

People like Taishan Beidou;

The weather is clear and cloudless. (Hu Hengzhai's title is Yangshan Han Wen Gong Ci Lian)

In this couplet, "Taishan" versus "Beidou" and "Tianlang" versus "Qingqing" are typical one-sentence couplets. Another example is:

Surrounded by lakes and mountains, it belongs to the fundus.

Wan Jia You Xi (Yueyang Loulian)

In this couplet, "lake" is a typical one-sentence conjunction with "mountain" and "sorrow" is a typical one-sentence conjunction with "music". Admittedly, there is no need to divide sentences into self-pairs, which is just to show a theoretical rigor.

In addition, in the creation of couplets, especially in the creation of long couplets, self-antithesis sentences are often used at the same time as parallelism, which can be called parallelism self-antithesis sentences, and can be divided into symmetrical parallelism self-antithesis sentences and asymmetric parallelism self-antithesis sentences. Symmetrical parallelism is self-aligned, for example:

Five hundred miles of Dianchi Lake, running to the fundus, is jubilant and endless. Looking at the gods in the east and the spiritual instrument in the west, there is wind in the north and beauty in the south. Why not choose to take the landing and use Xiedao and Luozhou to sort out the package, which will make the situation smoother.

Thousands of years ago, I forgot the wine and sighed who was the hero. I want to learn the great achievements of ships in Han Dynasty, iron pillars in Tang Dynasty, yu fu in Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. I have tried my best to move mountains and draw a picture as much as I can, which is not as good as dusk rain, and then I broke the monument. I only won a few medals. (Sun Youti Kunming Daguanlou Changlian)

This pair of famous Daguan Lou Chang couplets, like the Yueyang Lou Chang couplets mentioned above, not only highlights the self-alignment of clauses (that is, couplets), but also highlights the self-alignment of symmetrical parallelism. Upper and lower couplets in "Jun in the east, Ling Yi in the west, winding path in the north and Xiang in the south" and "Biography of Han Xilou, Tang Biao, Yu Axe of Song Hui, Yuan Yuege Bao",

"When crabs are on Luozhou Island, they are blustery, the reeds are more flat, dotted with jade feathers and Danxia", "When painting with a bead curtain, it is not as fast as dusk clouds, and all the broken ones return to pale smoke", "fragrant rice is clear around, and hibiscus leaves in September and willow leaves in March" It can be said that the All-China Federation mainly uses this technique. There are many couplets that use symmetry, parallelism and self-alignment, such as:

You squeeze, I squeeze, there is not much space here;

Watch, watch, everyone will come to an end. (a stage association)

Busy becoming famous, busy making money, busy relaxing and having a cup of tea;

Work hard, work hard, have fun in pain, and pour a bowl of wine. (A title is Yuanxiang Tea Pavilion and Wine Pavilion)