Couplets, also known as pairs, peach symbols, etc., are a form of literature. Some people say that it originated from peach charms, and some people say that they originated from spring couplets, and the ancients often pasted the words "Yichun" on the day of the beginning of spring.
Later, it gradually developed into Spring Festival couplets, expressing the good wishes of the working people to drive away evil spirits and welcome blessings.
Couplets are sentences written on paper, cloth, or carved on wood or bamboo, and are also a unique art form characterized by concise and profound semantics, neat and harmonious contrasts, and consistent word count and structure.
By the Ming and Qing dynasties, it had reached its peak and was deeply loved by literati and scholars, and ordinary people also had a strong interest in it.
At that time, couplets were also known as pairing, and it was a common way for many talented and beautiful people to judge each other on someone's talent. Because in ancient times, it was not as open as it is now.
Before marriage, men and women rarely see each other, and most of them pay attention to "the orders of their parents and the words of matchmakers", and there are many young men and women who have not even met before marriage.
In the city of Suzhou, where the small bridge flows water, the talented Du Qiuyue is like a proud snow blooming alone in the spring breeze, beautiful and windy, shining in everyone's heart. In her time, pairing was not only a form of cultural entertainment, but also a contest of wisdom.
Du Qiuyue, a shy and introverted woman, has great ambitions in her heart. She hopes to find a gentle and elegant partner who can share similar interests, rather than being respectful after marriage and the relationship between husband and wife is not harmonious.
Although Jiangnan has a large number of talents, it is still difficult to fully meet such requirements.
Fortunately, her parents allowed her to make her own decisions and allowed her to find her own wishful husband through the form of couplets.
When Du Qiuyue announced that he was going to use couplets to recruit relatives, the entire single man was enthusiastic. Many talented people and students who went to the capital to take the exam also wanted to see what Du Qiuyue was like. In addition, they also want to test their talents.
On that day, Du Qiuyue was packed of people outside the door, surrounded inside and out. With Miss Su's arrival, the lively and noisy crowd began to quiet down.
Miss Su walked up the lotus steps and slowly introduced to everyone the rules of this couplet recruitment, no matter if the other party is from a poor background, as long as they can be worthy of my couplet, under the premise that both parties are willing, they will become husband and wife.
Miss Su soon came up with the first question, which read: "Spring Reading, Autumn Reading, Spring and Autumn Reading and Spring Reading". This couplet may seem simple, but when you look closely, it contains a profound meaning.
If you don't read much and don't read deeply, you can't accurately understand the "spring" and "autumn" in the couplet.
Read in the spring, read in the fall, and read all year round. What kind of book are you reading? Read "Spring and Autumn".
The people below were also whispering, and it was difficult to come up with the next link for a while. Suddenly, a scholar gave the following couplet, saying: "East pawnshop, West pawnshop, East and West pawnshop as things".
It turned out that the man had just come out of a pawnshop. He was going to the capital to take the exam, but he didn't bring enough coils.
Had to go pawn something. Although there are some flaws, it is still a good couplet, and Miss Zhou is also very satisfied.
The eyes of the two met in the air, as if an invisible force was pulling them. Miss Zhou already has the answer in her heart.
This scholar originally came to join in the fun, but he didn't expect to have such a creation and meet a beautiful woman, but the most important thing for him at the moment is to go to Beijing to catch the exam, so he asked Miss Zhou to give him some time, and when he is named on the gold list, he will come back to marry her.
A few months later, the scholar arrived as promised. Under the night of the candles in the cave room of the two, the scholar decided to use a couplet to express his inner joy, thought about it, and wrote down: "The green mountains on both sides of the strait are sandwiched with clear water."
Miss Zhou was not far behind, and it didn't take long for her to say: "A round of bright moon shines on clear waves." This couplet adds a lot of color to this wedding night.
After that, the two lived a happy life of chanting poems and thrushes, and also encouraged other lovers to dare to boldly pursue true love.