Couplets

The couplets of the Spring Festival are couplets hung on the columns of a hall on Spring Festival’s Eve. It is called “Chun Lian” (春联) in Chinese. Being a unique literary form to China, the Couplets of the Spring Festival mostly describe the bustling atmosphere during the Spring Festival and express Chinese people’s hopes for prosperity in the New Year.

The origin of the couplets of the Spring Festival is “Tao Fu” (peach wood charms against evil). The history of Tao Fu can be traced back to more than 3000 years ago. At that time, people wrote the names of two gods who can control evil spirits on two pieces of peach wood. Tao Fu evolved into today’s couplets in Spring Festival during the Song Dynasty (960 A.D. — 1279 A.D.), and the peach wood was gradually replaced by two pieces of paper.

Except that the couplets of the Spring Festival in Buddhist temples are written on yellow paper, the couplets are usually written on red paper because red is the color of peach wood, and the color of red can bring good luck and defeat evil spirits. However, when there is a death in the family, the younger generation of the deceased cannot use red paper to write couplets of Spring Festival for three years in a row. They use white paper in the first year, green paper in the second year, and yellow paper in the last year. In some places, the younger generation even cannot use couplets during Spring Festival for three years to show their respect for the deceased.

Mostly, the couplets of Spring Festival are glued to the front door frame. Sometimes, families also paste couplets on the doors of the pigpen, kennel, pheasantry, and so on, hoping that the domestic animals are all thriving and healthy. Some families even paste couplets on both sides of the picture or statue of a god or the Buddha, hoping that the god or Buddha can bless the whole family and give them a smooth and prosperous year.

Generally, The Spring Couplet is composed of two antithetical sentences on both sides of the door. The couplets are read from top to bottom and the first line starts from the right. Apart from the two lines, some couplets even have a horizontal scroll bearing an inscription, usually an auspicious phrase, above the gate. It is read from right to left.