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14 ICLICE and 3 IRCMALS May 19 Seoul 2019 RUNNING HEAD: A STUDY OF CHINESE COUPLETS ON STRUCTURES IN HONG KONG 14th ICLICE Seoul 2019 057-043 Chiu Kay Tang A STUDY OF CHINESE COUPLETS ON STRUCTURES IN HONG KONG Chiu Kay Tang Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Chu Hai College of Higher Education 80 Castle Peak Road, Castle Peak Bay, New Territories, Hong Kong [email protected] Abstract The couplet is an important Chinese cultural heritage. It is a combination of the artistry of using the Chinese language in a poetic manner and writing the Chinese characters in an aesthetic way. Hong Kong has numerous places, sites, or historic buildings which are adorned with couplets. Many of these couplets are not only very well-composed by famous writers but also very well-written by famous calligraphers. Information on the history, culture, and anecdotes of the literary arena of Hong Kong provided by these couplets may contribute to a better understanding of local history, customs and behaviour of the inhabitants. The ongoing 2-year research aims to salvage this precious part of Hong Kong literature, art, and culture by recording couplets posted or inscribed on outdoor and indoor structures in Hong Kong before they are destroyed in the course of time. It employs a combination of the methods of field study, library research, and data analysis. Field study consists of visiting sites where couplets are likely to be found, targeted structures being temples, pavilions, pagodas, quadrangles, and Chinese gardens. After the couplets are recorded and photographed, the research assistant will go to the Public Records Office and libraries to search the archives for their background information. The research outcome will consist of a monograph containing all the couplets recorded. Information on the locations and descriptions of the structures where the couplets are found will be provided. The form, tonal and rhythmic patterns of the couplets will be carefully examined and analyzed with the aim of clarifying the rules for couplet composition. The present paper will use illustrative examples to show how these couplets give us useful information on local history and culture. Their artistry and tonal and rhythmic patterns will also be examined. Keywords: Chinese couplets, Hong Kong Structures, rules for couplet composition, history and culture Introduction The Chinese antithetical couplet is an important Chinese cultural heritage. The composition of couplets has been popular among the Chinese people for more than a thousand years. It is a tradition of the Chinese to compose couplets for important occasions such as the Chinese New Year, marriages, birthdays, funerals, and other special social interactions. Couplets are often put up on the doorways for decoration in Chinese communities worldwide and are frequently found outdoors in pavilions, temples, graveyards, pagodas, quadrangles, and Chinese gardens. Numerous excellent couplets demonstrating accurate command of diction and syntax and encapsulating thought-provoking ideas with a minimum number of words have been composed since this art form came into being. Although there is no formal record of all the couplets written by known or unknown authors from ancient times to the present, the total number of couplets that have ever been written is estimated to be at least one hundred thousand. In 2006, the “couplet custom” has been 14th International Conference on Language, Innovation, Culture and Education (ICLICE) & 3rd International 61 Research Conference on Management, Leadership & Social Sciences (IRCMALS) 14th & 15th June, 2019 A STUDY OF CHINESE COUPLETS ON STRUCTURES IN HONG KONG officially included in the National List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in China by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China. Obviously, the couplet is regarded as an integral part of traditional Chinese culture. However, this art form has never secured its deserved place in the history of Chinese literature. Since the publication of Lin Chuan Jia’s ( ) A History of Chinese Literature》）in 1904, a book hailed as the first book on the history of Chinese Literature written by a Chinese scholar, dozens of books on the same topic have been written. However, none of them have paid any attention to the countless good couplets in existence and devoted a section, if not an entire chapter, to give an account of this art form that should be considered as an independent genre. A few books on the history of Hong Kong literature written by Mainland scholars and about twenty books on different aspects of Hong Kong literature written by Mainland or local authors have been published since 1990s. However, none of them has examined the numerous couplets composed locally. Since 2014, Hong Kong scholars have started to edit and publish the voluminous Great Series of Hong Kong Literature 1919-1949 ( 1919-1949). As the chief editor has indicated in the preface to this Series that until now there is no book on the history of Hong Kong literature written from a local perspective, therefore, it is hoped that this Series would serve as the foundation for the composition of such a book. The Series strives to compile and organize the materials necessary for this purpose. This twelve-volume Series is an anthology of works covering prose, fiction, literary criticism, new poetry, children’s literature, popular literature, and classical literature written by Hong Kong authors or composed in Hong Kong. This anthology differs from similar anthologies of the “great series” nature published in the Mainland, Taiwan, and Malaysia in one very important aspect: it includes a special volume dedicated to works written in the classical style. As the chief editor says in the preface to this Great Series, “there are lots of Hong Kong intellectuals who are able to write poems and essays in the classical style; …this kind of literary work is an important expression of the literature and culture of Hong Kong” ( 1919-1949 ， 26 ) . The special volume is an anthology of prose, shi and ci poems written in the classical style. This is an unprecedented inclusion in anthologies of the “great series” nature published so far. However, to my great disappointment, local couplets have not been included. Apart from the Great Series, a few anthologies of works written in Hong Kong in the classical style have been published during the last twenty years. Again, these anthologies only collect shi and ci poetry but do not include couplets, although many of the authors appearing in these anthologies are also very good writers of couplets. After the First Opium War, China ceded Hong Kong to Britain in 1842. Since then, over the decades, hundreds of thousands of China migrants fled to the Colony to avoid domestic upheavals, among them were numerous famous scholars and poets who were excellent writers of Chinese literature in the classical style, including couplets. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that numerous places, sites, or historic buildings in Hong Kong have been decorated with couplets. Many of these couplets are not only very well-composed by famous writers but also very well-written by famous calligraphers. Obviously, they are of great literary and aesthetic values and deserve to be preserved and recorded. Those couplets found on structures which have been declared as monuments by the Antiquities Authority of Hong Kong will theoretically be properly preserved and protected. However, numerous other couplets posted or inscribed on structures that do not belong to this fortunate category may be partly damaged or even entirely destroyed over the course of time. According to historical record, some of these valuable couplets have already been destroyed. It is high time we make proper records of these couplets. Otherwise, this indispensable component of Hong Kong literature, art, and culture may be lost forever. 14th International Conference on Language, Innovation, Culture and Education (ICLICE) & 3rd International 62 Research Conference on Management, Leadership & Social Sciences (IRCMALS) 14th & 15th June, 2019 A STUDY OF CHINESE COUPLETS ON STRUCTURES IN HONG KONG Apart from its preservation objective, the present study attempts to give a clearer picture about the rules for couplet composition. Many scholars believe that there are no hard and fast rules in composing couplets apart from the alternate use of oblique and level tones especially in the last words of the lines. Another group of scholars insists that there are stringent rules in couplet composition in respect of tonal and rhythmic patterns. A representative example of this group is Professor Yu Dequan ()a scholar from mainland China who propounds the theory of horse hoof rhythm ( ) in couplet composition. The couplets found on structures in Hong Kong are usually composed in a more serious manner by the literati. They adhere to the rules for composition, if any, more closely than couplets written by the ordinary people on occasions like wedding or birthday parties. Therefore, an analytical study of a substantial quantity of these couplets may give a better understanding of the rules for couplet composition. Objectives and Impact The present research aims to salvage a precious component of Hong Kong literature, art, and culture by recording couplets posted or inscribed on outdoor and indoor structures. It is hoped that by compiling Hong Kong couplets, the position of this genre in the literary arena would be raised to a level equal to that of shi, ci poems and prose written in the classical style. The couplet is an integral component of local literature, and therefore future books on the history of Hong Kong literature will not be complete if this genre is not discussed. Scholars can only start to write comprehensive books on the history of Hong Kong literature if they are provided with all the necessary materials. The outcome of the present research would serve such a purpose. Local couplets contain valuable information on the history, culture, and anecdotes of the literary arena of Hong Kong, thus contributing to a better understanding of local history, customs and behaviour of the inhabitants.
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