I. Introduction.
Spring Festival couplets, a literary form rich in cultural connotation and artistic value, are an important part of traditional Chinese culture. It expresses people's yearning for a better life and expectations for the new year with neat and auspicious words. However, the origin of Spring Festival couplets is not simple, and it has gone through a long process of development. So, in which dynasty did the Spring Festival couplets appear in the real sense?
Second, the origin and development of Spring Festival couplets.
1.The origin of the couplets.
The origin of the spring couplets can be traced back to the ancient peach charm. In the Zhou Dynasty, people would hang rectangular peach wood boards on both sides of the gate, called peach charms. The names of the two gods, "Shen Tu" and "Yu Lei", are usually written on the peach charm to ward off the invasion of evil spirits. This is the earliest prototype of Spring Festival couplets.
2.The development of Spring Festival couplets.
With the passage of time, the Spring Festival couplets gradually developed, and the form and content were constantly enriched. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, people began to write couplets on peach symbols, which is considered to be the initial form of spring couplets. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Spring Festival couplets gradually became popular, and many celebrities left popular Spring Festival couplets.
3. Ming Dynasty: Spring Festival couplets in the real sense appeared.
However, it wasn't until the Ming Dynasty that the couplets really matured and became finalized. During the period of Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty, due to Zhu Yuanzhang's vigorous promotion and advocacy, Spring Festival couplets really became a common literary form. Zhu Yuanzhang required every household to post Spring Festival couplets at the door during the Spring Festival, and this policy quickly popularized the writing and posting of Spring Festival couplets.
Fourth, the content and form of the Spring Festival couplets.
Spring Festival couplets after the Ming Dynasty are usually based on neat and auspicious characters. In terms of content, Spring Festival couplets usually express people's beautiful expectations and visions for the new year, or entrust the yearning for a happy life. In terms of form, the Spring Festival couplets are usually composed of two sentences, each sentence of seven or eight characters, and the upper and lower sentences are evenly opposed, and the battle is neat.
5. Conclusion: The Ming Dynasty played a role in promoting the Spring Festival couplets.
During the Ming Dynasty, due to Zhu Yuanzhang's vigorous promotion and advocacy, the Spring Festival couplets were popularized in a real sense and became a literary form with profound cultural connotation and extensive social influence. During this period, people's writing and posting of Spring Festival Couplets became a Xi and cultural tradition, which has continued to this day. Therefore, we can say that the Spring Festival couplets in the real sense appeared in the Ming Dynasty.