A Complete Guide to the Types, Meanings and Display Methods of Spring Couplets

Spring couplets are red couplets posted on both sides of the main door during the Spring Festival, using neatly matched parallel phrases to express the wish of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, and of praying for blessings and good fortune. They generally consist of an upper couplet, a lower couplet and a horizontal scroll, and are mostly written or printed on red paper; together with the character fu, window paper-cuts and lanterns, they bring out a rich festive atmosphere.

Divided by posting position, common types of spring couplets include door-center pieces, frame couplets, horizontal scrolls, spring strips and diamond-shaped pieces. The door-center piece is pasted in the middle of the door panel, the frame couplets are pasted on the left and right door frames respectively, the horizontal scroll runs across above the lintel, spring strips are long vertical auspicious phrases pasted on door and window frames, and diamond-shaped pieces are decorations such as the diamond-shaped character fu.

Divided by content, the themes of spring couplets are very rich. There are general blessing couplets expressing good fortune and auspiciousness, zodiac couplets tied to the animal year, harvest-themed couplets favored by farming families such as abundant grain and thriving livestock, and business couplets suitable for shops and various trades. Different families can choose flexibly according to their own circumstances and the occasion of posting.

When choosing and pasting spring couplets, one usually first distinguishes the upper and lower couplets, then determines the left and right positions according to the writing direction of the horizontal scroll; if they are pasted the wrong way round, they will not read smoothly. The timing of posting differs slightly among regional customs, but it is generally completed before the Spring Festival, with the emphasis on the meaning of welcoming the new and inviting good fortune. After a year of wind and sun, spring couplets easily fade and become damaged, and it is enough to replace them with new ones the following year.