History of the couplet
As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, there was the custom of the hanging taofu (peachwood charms), namely, two peachwood boards with the names of twoghost-driving gods -- "shen tu" and "yu lei"- with the belief that each of them dispelled evil spirits. It was not until theFive Dynasties(907-960) that their names were replaced by other words, a simpler version of what appears on couplets today. According to historical records, the earliest spring couplet appeared in 964 in the Shu State of the Five Dynasties. After the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the spring couplet became a common phenomenon among the folks. The ancient people called it "peachwood charms," as its origin indicated.
During theMing Dynasty, people began to replace the peachwood board with red paper, hence giving rise to the couplets we see today. As recorded by an ancient book, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, after settling his capital in Jinling (today'sNanjing), ordered every scholar-bureaucrat's house to have a couplet attached. After theQing Dynasty, the development of couplet reached another peak, with a great many well-composed couplets.
With the increasing cultural exchanges between different countries, the couplet art also arrived in the surrounding countries, such as Viet Nam, Korea, Japan and Singapore, which still retain the custom.
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