What Parallel sentences mean in Vietnam

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Parallelism played an important role in Vietnamese classical literary style. It marks every literary genre from prose to poetry, including phu, a kind of rhymed prose. It entirely governs a particular genre, called "cau doi" or parallel sentences.

A pair of parallel sentences comprises two parts, the words of which must stand opposite to one another in the six tones of the Vietnamese language as well as in meaning.

In Vietnam in the old days, parallel sentences were composed during meetings between literati, in salons, on the occasion of festival, weddings, and even funerals. According to the circumstances, their contents might be solemn, laudatory, or mocking.

On New Year’s Day, every home liked to have a pair of parallel sentences composed and written by a scholar on red paper and hung in the place of honor, usually on both sides of the entrance door or of the ancestors’ altar. In Hanoi, during the weeks preceding Tet, Hang Bo Street was crowded with people coming to buy parallel sentences from white- bearded calligraphers, whose stalls lined both sides of the street.

Here are two pairs of well- known, old Tet parallel sentences:

Thit mo, dua hanh, cau doi do:

Cay neu, trang phao, banh trung xanh.

(Fat meat, pickled onions, red parallel sentences Tet pole, sting of firecrackers, green chung cakes)

Or

Chieu ba muoi, no hoi tit mu, co cang dap thang Ban ra cua

Sang mung mot, ruou say tuy luy, gio tay bong ong Phu vao nha.

(On the New Ywar’s Eve, pay debts on all sides: bending your legs, kick out poverty.

On New Year’s Day, rice wine makes you drunk: stretching your arms, carry in wealth).