Historical origin of two-part allegorical sayings

The name "Xiehouyu" first appeared in the Tang Dynasty. Old Tang books. As mentioned in the Biography of Gui Zheng, there is a so-called poem "After thanking the government for five times" (a kind of "after thanking" poem). However, as a language form and expression, it appeared as early as the pre-Qin period. For example, the warring States policy. Chu Ce IV: "It's not too late to mend." It means it's not too late to mend the sheepfold after losing the sheep. This is the earliest two-part allegorical saying we saw today.

The origin of xiehouyu

Two-part allegorical saying is a special language form created by China people in their life practice. Generally, it consists of two parts, the first part is an image metaphor, like a riddle, and the second part is an explanation and explanation, like a riddle, which is very natural and appropriate. In a certain language environment, you can understand and guess the original intention by saying the first half sentence and "resting" the second half sentence, so it is called two-part allegorical saying.

Two-part allegorical sayings, with distinctive national characteristics, rich flavor of life and intriguing humor, are loved by the broad masses of the people. Although ancient two-part allegorical sayings are rare in written records, they must have been circulated among the people. For example, Qian Daxin's "Constant Yan Lu" contains: "Sending goose feathers a thousand miles away, light and heavy, is also contained in the Song Dynasty." This kind of two-part allegorical saying has been used to this day.