pianwen 駢文, couplet texts

Pianwen 駢文 "couplet texts", also called pianliwen 駢儷文, is a literary style that flourished during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period 南北朝 (300~600). The term itself only appeared during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) in Li Zhaoluo's 李兆洛 preface to his anthology Pianti wenchao 駢體文鈔.

Texts written in couplet style are characterised by a consistent structure of four-character or six-character sentences or phrases, which are only occasionally interrupted by longer phrases. For this reason, Song-period 宋 (960-1279) scholars called this style the si-liu wen 四六文, meaning "four-six [syllable] texts". In addition to this structural feature, sentences are paired in couplets. This is not an entirely new phenomenon, but a distinctive stylistic device in Chinese literature overall. Four-syllable phrases are also known from other periods, yet it was particularly between the 3rd and 7th centuries that entire prose texts were written using this couplet style. Apart from a predefined length of phrases, pianti texts are also characterised by antitheses in parallel sentences.

Pianwen texts therefore required a carefully planned construction to achieve a satisfying result in shape, taste, sound, and content.

The pianwen style was gradually displaced by a revival of the "ancient style" (guwen 古文) during the mid- and later Tang period 唐 (618-907), but its use was continued until late imperial times.

In terms of sound and rhythm, pianli texts emphasised tonal balance and harmonious cadence. In rhetoric, they paid attention to ornate diction and the use of allusions. While parallel prose focuses heavily on formal techniques—sometimes restricting the expression of content—when skilfully applied, it can also enhance the artistic effect of a work. Notably, the parallel prose of the Northern and Southern Dynasties includes works with profound substance as well. For example, Bao Zhao's 鮑照 (c. 414-466) Wucheng fu 蕪城賦 "Rhapsody on the ruined city" contrasts the past prosperity and present decline of Guangling 廣陵 (today's Yangzhou 揚州, Jiangsu), exposing the extravagance of the ruling class while expressing sorrow over splendid mansions reduced to rubble and the impermanence of human life. Kong Zhiqui's 孔稚珪 (447-501) Beishan yiwen 北山移文 "Proclamation on Mount Beishan" sharply satirises the false recluses who outwardly dwell in the countryside but keep their hearts set on the imperial court. Yu Xin's 庾信 (513-581) Ai Jiangnan fu 哀江南賦 "Rhapsody on mourning the southern lands" portrays his personal grief and condemns the incompetence of the Liang rulers, while also voicing deep longing for his lost homeland.

Zhang Renqing's 張仁青 history of the development of Chinese parallel prose, Zhongguo pianwen fazhan shi 中國駢文發展史 (1970), lists twenty-five definitions of pianwen texts, while Mo Daocai's 莫道才 "General treatise on parallel prose", Pianwen tonglun 駢文通論 (2010), summarises them into thirteen. The most widely used and suitable terms are pianti wen 駢體文 (parallel-style writing) and si-liu wen 四六文 (four-six prose). Pianwen 駢文 is an abbreviation of pianti wen or pianli wen 駢儷文 (paired-parallel writing), while si-liu wen can be shortened simply to si-liu 四六 “four-six”.

Many people consider lici 麗辭 "ornate diction", liyu 麗語 "ornate language", ouyu 偶語 "paired phrases", or paiyu 俳語 "witty phrases" as synonyms for pianwen. However, strictly speaking, these terms refer to antithesis and paired constructions, which are issues of sentence structure and rhetorical technique, not the genre of parallel prose itself. Some believe that the Lici 麗辭 chapter in the literary theory Wenxin diaolong 文心雕龍 discusses pianwen texts. In reality, that chapter focuses mainly on rhetoric: the examples of paired sentences it cites include regular poems (shi 詩), rhapsodies (fu 賦), and prose (wen 文), and thus do not directly address a specific literary genre.

Others have described pianwen as "ornamental literature" (meiwen 美文), "aristocratic literature" (guizu wenxue貴族文學) or "court literature" (miaotang wenxue 廟堂文學). However, these are characterisations rather than scholarly definitions.

During the Liang and Chen periods, the pianwen genre was called "modern prose" (jinwen 今文), while in the Tang and Song dynasties it was named "contemporary prose" (shiwen 時文), both terms contrasting it with ancient-style prose (guwen 古文) and signifying "the style of writing popular at the time". Some early writers referred to it as "Six-Dynasties prose" (liuchao wen 六朝文), but this view is somewhat limited, as it overlooks the fact that non-parallel prose also existed during that period.

In essence, pianwen can be described as a polished style of writing that primarily utilises paired sentences, with a focus on rhythm, tonal harmony, and an emphasis on ornate diction and aesthetic effect. Pianwen compositions are situated somewhere between prose and verse.

From a literary perspective, both pianwen and sanwen 散文 (prose) are broad generalisations of language style; the ancients did not classify them as specific types of writing. These terms appeared relatively late in history. The term sanwen was first used during the Southern Song dynasty, as a counterpart to "four-six texts" (si-liu wen 四六文).

The term pianwen as used during the Qing period contrasted with prose or "unstructured writings" (sanwen or santi 散體). The use of si-liu as the title for collections of parallel prose began in the late Tang with Li Shangyin's 李商隱 (813-c. 858) Fannan si-liu 樊南四六. Later, in the Northern Song period, scholars such as Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007-1072) and Xia Song 夏竦 (985-1051) also compiled their parallel prose into collections titled by the "four-six" format. In the Southern Song, specialised studies of pianwen literature appeared, such as Wang Qiu's 王銍 (died 1144) Si-liuhua 四六話, Xie Ji's 謝伋 (1099-c. 1165) Si-liu tanzhu 四六談箸, and Yang Yuandao's 楊囦道 Yunzhuang si-liu yuhua 雲莊四六餘話, which were listed alongside collections of commentaries on poetry and lyric-metre style poetry (ci 詞).

However, the genre si-liu is not entirely identical with pianwen. During the early Six Dynasties period, parallel prose was mainly used as paired four-character sentences. After the Liang and Chen periods, it frequently employed alternating four- and six-character sentences. Tang-period parallel prose established the four-six format as the standard form, while Song-period writers preferred long chains of more than three paired sentences. Even in the Qing era, some scholars mimicked the four-character style of the Wei and Jin periods. Therefore, the later term si-liu wen became, in practice, a general designation for parallel prose.

Before the Ming period, there were separate collections of parallel prose, but no comprehensive anthologies. During the Ming, many selections of si-liu texts appeared, mainly consisting of writings for both public and private correspondence. Among these, Wang Zhijian's 王志堅 Si-liu fahai 四六法海 holds notable scholarly value. This work includes writings from the Wei and Jin dynasties up to the Southern Song, and its title reflects the compilation of si-liu literature, though it is not limited to four-six paired sentences.

In the Qing period, several comprehensive anthologies of pianwen texts were compiled: Li Zhaoluo's 李兆洛 (1769-1841) Pianti wenchao 駢體文鈔, Xu Xuan's 許槤 (1787-1862) Liuchao wenxie 六朝文絜, and Wang Xianqian's 王先謙 (1842-1918) Pianwen leizuan 駢文類纂. Other collections include Chen Jun's 陳均 (1174-1244) Tang pianti wenchao 唐駢體文鈔, Peng Yuanrui's 彭元瑞 (1731-1803) Song si-liu xuan 宋四六選, Zeng Yu's 曾燠 (1760-1831) Guochao pianti zhengzong 國朝駢體正宗, and Zhang Mingke's 張鳴珂 (1829-1908) Guochao pianti zhengzong xubian 國朝駢體正宗續編. During the Qing era, some parallel prose works continued to be published under the title si-liu, such as Chen Weisong's 陳維崧 (1626-1682) Si-liu jinzhen 四六金針, Sun Mei's 孫梅 Si-liu conghua 四六叢話 (1790), Li Yu's 李漁 (1610-1680) Si-liu chuzheng 四六初徵, and Chen Yuncheng's 陳雲程 (1906-2009) Si-liu qingli ji 四六清麗集. After the May Fourth Movement, scholars generally adopted the term pianwen.

Parallel prose experienced a revival during the Qing period. To compete with advocates of ancient-style prose (guwen), parallel prose writers vigorously claimed that pianwen had existed since ancient times. Some anthologies of parallel prose deliberately widened their selection criteria to enhance the prestige of the form. Following the Qing tradition, some modern scholars even argued that all writings not produced by the Eight Masters of the Tang and Song (xxx) must be classified as parallel prose. Since ancient-style prose cannot fully represent all types of prose, supporters of the pianwen style contended that parallel prose should include the rhapsodies (fu) of the Han and Wei periods, extend through the Song four-six style (si-liu), and even encompass near-modern writings that resemble, but are not strictly, parallel prose.