Double Happiness

Double Happiness, a large Chinese character, is traditionally used in Chinese wedding ceremonies. In the ancient Tang Dynasty, there was a student who was on his way to the capital to attend the nation's final examination where the top learners would be selected as ministers in the court. Unfortunately, he fell ill while he was passing through a mountain village. A herbalist doctor and his daughter found him, bringing him to their home and treating him well. The student recovered quickly. When he had to leave, he found it hard to say good-bye to the pretty girl, and so did she. They had fallen in love.

In response, the girl wrote down the right-hand part of a 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."

The student replied, "Well, I can make a match though it will not be easy. You'll have to wait till I have finished the examination." The young girl nodded, and the student left.

The young man won first place in the examination. The winners were then interviewed by the emperor and as luck would have it, the emperor asked the winners to finish a couplet. The emperor wrote:

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

The young man realized immediately that the right-hand part of the couplet by the girl was the perfect fit to the emperor's couplet so he used it to answer without hesitation.

The emperor was so delighted to see the matching half of his couplet that he made the student his Minister in the court, allowing him to pay a visit to his hometown before holding the post.

The young man returned to the village where he had first met the girl. He found her at home, and he told her the story of the emperor's couplet.

They soon got married. For the wedding, the couple DOUBLED the Chinese character, HAPPY, on a red piece of paper and put it on the wall to express their happiness for the two events. From then on, it has become a Chinese social custom.