| Duilian | |
| Pic: | 瓦硐南天廟 (12)楹聯、窗雕花.jpg |
| Piccap: | Pillar duilian outside the Nantian Temple (瓦硐南天廟) in Penghu, reading the eulogy of Guan Yu, to whom the temple is devoted. |
| Picsize: | 260 |
| S: | 对联 |
| T: | 對聯 |
| P: | duìlián |
| W: | tui4 lien2 |
| Bpmf: | ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄌㄧㄢˊ |
| Poj: | Tùi-liân |
| Tl: | Tuì-liân |
| Y: | Deui lyún |
| J: | Deoi3 lyun2 |
| Qn: | Đối liên Câu đối |
| Chuhan: | 對聯 |
| Chunom: | 句對 |
| Kanji: | 対聯 |
| Hiragana: | ついれん |
| Revhep: | Tsuiren |
In Chinese poetry, a duilian is a pair of lines of poetry which adhere to certain rules (see below). Outside of poems, they are usually seen on the sides of doors leading to people's homes or as hanging scrolls in an interior. Although often called Chinese couplet or antithetical couplet, they can better be described as a written form of counterpoint. The two lines have a one-to-one correspondence in their metrical length, and each pair of characters must have certain corresponding properties. A duilian is ideally profound yet concise, using one character per word in the style of Classical Chinese. A special, widely-seen type of duilian is the chunlian, used as a New Year's decoration that expresses happiness and hopeful thoughts for the coming year.
A duilian must adhere to the following rules:
Example of a duilian:
Chinese: 書山有路勤爲徑
level-level-oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique (Chinese: 平平仄仄平平仄)
shū shān yǒu lù qín wéi jìng
Translation: The mountain of books has one way and hard work serves as the path
Chinese: 學海無涯苦作舟
Tone pattern: oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique-oblique-level (Chinese: 仄仄平平仄仄平)
Pinyin: xué hǎi wú yá kǔ zuò zhōu
Translation: The sea of learning has no end and effort makes the boat
| Bottom | Top | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| knowledge | Chinese: 學 | Chinese: 書 | book | |
| sea | Chinese: 海 | Chinese: 山 | mountain | |
| have not | Chinese: 無 | Chinese: 有 | have | |
| border | Chinese: 涯 | Chinese: 路 | way | |
| painstaking | Chinese: 苦 | Chinese: 勤 | diligence | |
| makes | Chinese: 作 | Chinese: 爲 | is | |
| boat | Chinese: 舟 | Chinese: 徑 | path |
Originating during the Five Dynasties, and flourishing during the Ming and Qing dynasties in particular, duilians have a history of more than a thousand years and remain an enduring aspect of Chinese culture.
Often, duilians are written on red paper and stuck on walls. Sometimes, they are carved onto plaques of wood for a more permanent display.
Dueling duilians are a popular pastime with Chinese speakers,[1] a game of verbal and intellectual dexterity, wit, and speed which shares some parallels with the dozens.