First of all, Happy New Year, everyone!
During New Year holidays, the Chinese have a tradition of hanging Spring Lian on the two sides of the door. Spring Lian is a special form of Dui Lian. So what is Dui Lian?
If you have experience of traditional Chinese residences, you probably have noticed Dui Lian. They're wooden frames inscribed with characters, hung on the columns outside or walls inside a house. Dui Lian consists of three pieces: the upper Lian, the lower Lian, and the horizontal Scroll. The upper Lian and lower Lian are the same size and written vertically, with the upper Lian on the right side and the lower Lian on the left side. The horizontal Scroll, called Heng Pi, is much shorter and hung over the top.
Dui Lian is found in residences, temples, schools, and many traditional public sites. It is not only an expensive decoration but also a symbol representing the characters of the residence owner or the teachings of the institute.
Spring Lian is in a casual form that are written in black ink on red paper and specifically used for the New Year. They're good wills and wishes filled with festive air. Let's see an example of Spring Lian.
The upper Lian: The winter has left. Hundred trees revive.
The lower Lian: The spring is coming. Thousand flowers bloom.
In its original language, the upper and lower Lian have exact same number of syllables and letters and match each other.
Spring Lian are usually simple but Dui Lian can be much more serious.
In Hangzhou city, by the side of Xixia Mountain, resides General Yue's tomb. General Yue Fei (1103 - 1142) was an extraordinary military leader and hero in the wars between the Chinese Song Dynasty and northern nomadic Jin Dynasty. He led his army fighting on the front lines, though back in the Court, some scheme was fermented by his enemies who were close to the emperor. Some high officials fabricated false evidence, persuaded the emperor to call General Yue back and charged him with disloyalty, and sentenced him to death. The death of General Yue was an unbearable tragedy in China's history. In 1162, when the grievance was redressed, General Yue was buried in his present place with honors. Outside the tomb, there are statues of the four treacherous officials who betrayed the great general. The statues have a shameful posture, with their knees down to the ground. |
