In Chinese poetry, a duilian (simplified Chinese: 对联; traditional Chinese: 對聯; pinyin: duìlián) is a pair of lines that follow specific rules. They are often found on the sides of doors in homes or displayed as hanging scrolls inside rooms. While sometimes called Chinese couplets or antithetical couplets, they are better described as a written form of opposite but balanced phrases. Each line has the same number of characters, and every character in one line must match specific features with the character in the other line. A duilian is ideally deep in meaning but short, written with one character per word in the style of Classical Chinese. A common type of duilian is the chunlian (simplified Chinese: 春联; traditional Chinese: 春聯; pinyin: chūnlián), which is used during New Year celebrations to express happiness and hope for the future.

History and usage

Duilians began during the Five Dynasties period and became especially popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties. They have been part of Chinese culture for more than 1,000 years and continue to be an important tradition.

Duilians are often written on red paper and placed on walls. In some cases, they are carved onto wooden plaques to be displayed for a longer time.

Playing duilian games is a common activity among Chinese speakers. These games involve using words and thinking quickly to create clever and meaningful phrases. They are similar to a game called "the dozens," where people try to outdo each other with quick, clever responses.