The Imprinting Of The Hall The Cultural Study Of Couplet In The Xidi Village

Couplet which is "the poem in poem" is the traditional and specific form of art in China. "Being short in length but wonderful in contents", couplet is "the most beautiful scenery among the art of characters". The creation of couplet requires a high standard of fine wording, the form of antithesis and the reference on historical allusion. It also qualifies as the excellent object of Chinese traditional culture and valuable project of the study of Cultural Anthropology. For a long time, the study of couplet has been confined to literature and history in academia:one aspect is the study of the creation of couplet, and the other aspect is historical research into the development and change of couplet. Although it is exciting to witness some research about social function and social significance published in recent years, it is still rare to find study on couplet from the perspective of Cultural Anthropology. Based on the theories and methods in Cultural Anthropology, the present thesis studies the development and changes of couplet through exploring the essence of traditional culture behind the couplet which is one of the cultural symbols and displays those significant information on traditional cultural values as well as social and cultural functions.Five chapters constitute this thesis which begins with introduction in which the author of the present thesis presents the basic method and core concepts of this study, and makes comments on the extant achievements. The researching methods that this thesis applies in the study are presented too in the first chapter. Chapter two introduces the history of couplet respectively through three parts-the origin, the starting point, the leaping development and the peak of the couplet. In the first part which is introducing origin, the thesis discloses the two types of witchcraft of couplet by citing referential historical documents. In the second part, the author of this thesis presents the answers to the question through commenting on the four extant studies. In the third part, this thesis elaborates on the significant functions and the changes of connotations respectively in Qing and Ming Dynisty. The third chapter analyzes the important information on value hiding in couplet by taking some of them hanging in the old dwellings in the old villages of Xidi, Hongcun,etc, in Hui County.Chapter four focuses on analyzing the relationship between the information on value in couplets mentioned in chapter three and the social structure of Hui County through choosing some of the filed work as examples. the special social and cultural functions couplets take in Hui County is discussed with the study of the ways of farming and living of local people.Chapter five try to give a conclusion based on the analysis foregoing and points out two benefits of such anthropological approach oriented study of Couplet. First couplet itself contains enlightenments in how to preserve our traditional culture. Second the Couplet is a beneficial tool in our nowadays harmony society construction.