As a cultural tradition, couplets constitute a vital component of Han Chinese traditional culture. Known colloquially as "spring scrolls" (春贴), "door couplets" (门对), "spring couplets" (春联), and "pillar couplets" (楹联), they originated from ancient peach wood charms and represent a unique Chinese literary form. Characterized by balanced structure, antithetical phrasing, conciseness, and refined wording, couplets depict historical contexts while conveying people's aspirations, embodying a long-standing ethnic custom in China. In 2005, the State Council of China officially classified the couplet tradition as part of the first National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Couplets find extensive applications across multiple domains, including spring couplets, trade-specific couplets, wedding couplets, longevity couplets, elegiac couplets, advertising couplets, historical site couplets, celebratory couplets, and residential couplets, with spring couplets being the most widely utilized variety. The poetic line "As thousands of households bask in the dawn's glow, they replace old charms with new ones" (from Yuan Ri by Wang Anshi of the Song Dynasty) vividly documents one of the most significant Spring Festival customs during the Northern Song period: pasting spring couplets. Chinese folk traditions dictate that couplets should adorn every deity shrine, doorway, and object. During the Spring Festival, households nationwide—urban and rural alike—select vibrant red couplets to display on their doors, symbolizing farewell to the old and welcoming the new while enhancing festive jubilation.
CnOpenData has systematically compiled couplet data, categorized into Upper Couplet (上联) and Lower Couplet (下联) fields, facilitating scholarly research on ethnic customs and related cultural topics.
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