Double Happiness

Double Happiness

A Chinese Folklore

Double Happiness, a well known chinese character, is normally written on a red piece of paper or in paper cut is always put where it must strike the eyes on a young couple's wedding. The existance of this word has its story behind it.


In the ancient Tang Dynasty, there was a student who was on the way to the capital to sit for the national final examination, in which the top learners would be selected as the ministers in the court. He, unfortuantely fell ill halfway when he passed through a mountain village.


But thanks to a herbalist doctor and his daughter, he was taken to their house and treated well. After a few days of rest , he recovered quickly due to the father and the daughter's good care. Well, when he had to leave, he found it hard to say good-bye to the pretty girl, and so did she. They fell in love. So the girl wrote down the right hand part of an antithetical couplet for the student to match:
"Green trees against the sky in the spring rain while the sky set off the spring trees in the obscuration."

"Well, I can make it though it is not easy. But you'll have to wait till I have finished the examination." replied the student. The young girl nodded in significance.


The young man successfully attained first place, and he was noticed and highly appreciated by the emperor. Naturally, the emperor tested the few top scorers. All of the top scorers were asked by the emperor to finish a couplet, which would need a right part as the answer. The emperor wrote:

"Red flowers dot the land in the breeze's chase while the land colored up in red after the kiss."

Seeing the couplet in which was given by the emperor, the young man realized immediately the right part of the couplet by the girl was the perfect fit to the emperor's couplet.

So he took the girl's part as the answer without hesitation. The emperor analysed all the answers and he was delighted to see the matching half of his couplet was so talented and harmonious that he authorized the young man's identity as Minister in the court and allowed him to pay a visit to his hometown first before holding the post.


The young man met the girl happily at home and told her the emperor's couplet. They soon got married. For the wedding, the couple DOUBLED the Chinese character, HAPPY, together, on a red piece of paper and put it on the wall to express the happiness for the two events. And it was from then on, it was recognised as an auspicious word and a word which brings happiness.