parallel couplets; parallel prose
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
parallel couplet construction; paired parallelism in literary writing
literaryA term from classical Chinese literary criticism referring to a balanced, often elaborate, style of writing where sentences or phrases are constructed in pairs that match in structure, sound, and meaning. It is the defining feature of 'parallel prose' (骈文 pián wén).
Liù六
cháo朝
wén文
zhāng章
jiǎng讲
jiu究
pián骈
lì俪
，
cí辞
zǎo藻
huá华
měi美
。
The writings of the Six Dynasties emphasized parallel couplet construction, featuring ornate diction.
Tā他
duì对
Táng唐
Sòng宋
sǎn散
wén文
hé和
pián骈
lì俪
wén文
dōu都
yǒu有
hěn很
shēn深
de的
yán研
jiū究
。
He has done deep research on both Tang and Song prose and parallel prose.
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Zhè这
duàn段
wén文
zì字
de的
pián骈
lì俪
tè特
diǎn点
hěn很
míng明
xiǎn显
，
shàng上
xià下
jù句
duì对
zhàng仗
gōng工
zhěng整
。
The parallel characteristics of this passage are obvious; the preceding and following lines are perfectly antithetical.