Traditional couplets are done with ink and brush, and require excellent calligraphy skills that not everyone has. Only a few calligraphers are able to do a brilliant job. Before the New Year, the handwritten ones can be still found in some local markets, where people can choose their favorite lines and ask the calligrapher to write them. The new couplets are put up, symbolizing swapping out the old for the new, and hoping for good fortune in the new year. Some areas put up the couplets in the afternoon of New Year's Eve, mostly local businesses who then close up shop and rest for the New Year after putting up the couplets. The pasting order is: Shanglian -> Xialian -> Hengpi. 2025 Spring Festival Couplets Guide: Learn about the history, meaning, types, and proper ways to paste couplets. Includes traditional auspicious couplets recommendations and innovative couplet creation methods. A typical set of Chinese New Year couplets consists of two vertical lines of poetry, which correspond in length, rhythm, and context, accompanied by a horizontal scroll bearing a four-word blessing. The couplets are a celebration of linguistic artistry, encapsulating wishes for prosperity, happiness, and good fortune in the coming year. Chinese Couplets are an integral part of Chinese New Year. One of the Chinese couplets are Spring Festival couplet, also known as Chunlian in Mandarin. There are two prevalent types of Spring Festival Couplets: handwriting couplets and printed ones. People paste them on the doors to get rid of bad luck in the coming new year. During this joyous and reunifying festival, couplets, with their unique charm, become an indispensable cultural symbol of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The golden characters flowing on these red papers not only adorn the doorframes of every Chinese household but also carry the good wishes for the coming year and a deep nostalgia for traditional Red paper, gold ink, and even the act of writing with a brush are all carefully chosen to enhance the couplets’ symbolic meaning, fostering positive energy for the new year. Common Phrases and Themes: Chinese New Year couplets often follow specific linguistic and thematic patterns. Common themes include: Chunlian is called Chun Lian or Spring Couplets. Chun means spring. Chun Lian is one of the Chinese New Year symbols that are inseperable from Chinese Spring festival, or Chun Jie in Mandarin. There are quite a few symbols that are assocciated with Chinese New Year, and each of these symbols has its own importance and deep meaning. Chunlian Learn Chinese - History and Culture Chun lian is a special type of Duilian, or couplet. It is used only during the Chinese New Year as part of its celebration. While duilian is permanent, chunlian is a temporary decoration to be placed on the entrance of the house, somewhat akin to Halloween and Christmas decorations. Hence, the Chinese New Year is the starting time of Three (November, December, and January) Yang. Later, Three Yang (San Yang) also means the Chinese New Year. This couplet is unearthed from Mogao Grottoes and is the earliest extant Spring Festival Couplet. 天泰地泰三阳泰,家和人和万事和。 Characteristics of Chinese Couplets. It's believed that the Chinese couplet evolved from the traditional Chinese metrical poem, and became more flexible. Characteristics of couplets are listed below. The couplet has two equal-length lines, however the number of characters in each line can be from four to seven or more. Seven is most common Doufang Meaning. This is the square-shaped Fai Chun with angles all pointed in the direction of the 4 cardinal points. But because of the limitations in space, this Fai Chun will only display one character, the Chun that means Spring, a man which means Full, or Fu representing Good Fortune. The literal translation of this specific type of painting is “[new] year drawing.” They are also known as “New Year prints.” This is a craft with a history of at least one thousand years. In line with all New Year decorations, these paintings are used by the people to express their wishes for the future year. 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 (simplified Chinese: 春 联; traditional Chinese: 春 聯; pinyin: chūnlián), used as a New Year's decoration that expresses happiness and hopeful thoughts for the coming year. Chinese couplets represent a significant part of Chinese traditional culture. It has been continued for thousands of years. In ancient times, people would carve couplets on the surface of bamboo Fai chun (traditional Chinese: 揮春; simplified Chinese: 挥春; pinyin: huīchūn) or chunlian (春聯; 春联; chūnlián) is a traditional decoration [1] that is frequently used during Chinese New Year. <iframe src=" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe> 5. 年花 (New Year Flowers) Symbolism: New Year flowers such as 桃花 (peach blossoms), 富贵竹 (lucky bamboo), and 桔子树 (tangerine trees) represent growth, prosperity, and good luck. Each flower carries its own specific auspicious meaning. Application: These flowers are used to decorate homes and offices during Chinese New Year. For Chinese New Year couplets. Another one of the Chinese New Year symbols that you will find used as decoration during the Spring Festival are Chinese New Year couplets. Couplets are a set of two vertical strips of red paper with poetry calligraphed on them in black or gold writing that are hung on opposite sides of a doorway. Common Chinese greetings on Lunar New Year couplets . Here are popular Chinese New Year greetings included in our festive printables. Vertical couplets. 大吉大利 (Dàjí dàlì / Happy and prosperous) – Also part of the saying 大吉大利晚上吃鸡 (Dà jí dà lì wǎn shàng chī jī / Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!)
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