Inspiring couplets double up the fun
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 16, 2014
Chengdu is known for its rich cultural heritage and fiery cuisine. It's also a city with the heart of poet. Visitors to the city can't miss the variety of couplets at most historical sites and tourist attractions, some of which are often-quoted lines by Chinese. Each couplet tells a story.
Every year Wuhou Temple, which is dedicated to a nobleman, receives hundreds of thousands of visitors. They come to the old hall to pay homage to Zhuge Liang, prime minister of the Shu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280) and a symbol of wisdom in Chinese culture.
Some admirers pay special attention to the couplet that hangs at the entrance of the memorial hall. Many scholars believe the couplet epitomizes the Chinese philosophy toward state management.
The couplet reads: Win the world not by military exploits but through winning people's hearts; make wise policies by evaluating the situation and reviewing past lessons.
Chinese antithetical couplets (duilian or yinglian), are considered an important cultural heritage. Each couplet usually has two lines of verse known as the "head" and the "tail." The composition requires the mastery of literary skills since the two lines have a one-to-one correspondence in their metrical length, and each pair of characters must have certain corresponding properties.
Couplets are profound yet concise, using one character per word in the style of classical Chinese. Some couplets are often displayed for special occasions such as weddings or during Spring Festival. They are usually seen on the sides of a main gate or as hanging scrolls in an interior.
Most historical sites and tourist attractions in Chengdu feature a famous couplet.
One of the most admired couplets in Chengdu is found at the Du Fu Cottage Museum — dedicated to the memory of Du Fu, a great poet during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The couplet was written by Gu Fuchu some 160 years ago during the reign of Emperor Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The couplet reads: Lonely am I as we live in years far apart, and poets are ill-fated in such a wonderful world; an exile were you too but your name is long remembered, as I visit this cottage in moonlight and gentle breeze.
Many scholars consider Chengdu the home of the Chinese couplet. The first recorded yinglian was made in the city, although the exact origin of the form remains a mystery and may have begun years earlier.
Legend has it that Meng Chang, the second emperor of the Shu Kingdom, with Chengdu as its capital, wrote a couplet in the year 965 to celebrate the Chinese New Year. It reads: Prosperity follows as the New Year comes; the festival begins spring that will last long. It was written several months before his kingdom was conquered by the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
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