About the Antithesis (1)

Last time when we talking about bamboo, one may noticed that number of character that describe the bamboo. It is two sentence

未曾出土便有节，

纵使凌云仍虚心。

Here I put underline words in bother sentences opposite each other and non-underline words opposite each other too. That is the typical Chinese style of description, they uses two sentence to say some thing or to emphasis something. We may call it as antithesis. That is to describe one thing from two profiles. We can analysis the word by word. First 未曾 means ‘before happened’ opposite纵使means ‘even after’. The second word 出土means ‘unearth’ opposite 凌云 means ‘above cloud’. The third word 便 means ‘already’ opposite 仍 means ‘still’. The last word 有节 means ‘can have self-control’ opposite 虚心 means ‘empty-heart or humble and modest’. You may see in the last pair words 有 means ‘have’ opposite 虚 means ‘empty’ or ‘have no’.

This kind of expression may look like stereo vs. normal record. You may regard it as a stereo message that causes the audience a stereo thinking. The normal antithesis habit is:

天对地，玄对黄，日对月，乾对坤,

Heaven opposite earth, black opposite yellow, sun opposite moon and sky opposite ground.

地理对：河对海、地对山、大陆对长天、荒原对沙漠、古塞对雄关。

River opposite sea, plain opposite mountain, continent opposite sky, desert opposite sand-land, fortress opposite mountain-pass. 
　　天文对：冰对火、雪对霜、海市对山光、星辰对日月、瑞雪对骄阳。

Ice opposite fire, snow opposite frost, mirage opposite vapour, stars opposite sun and moon, timely snow opposite blazing sun etc. there are some more as:
　　颜色对：红对白、紫对缃、黑桦对白杨、青竹对绿柳、墨兰对珠黄。
　　方位对：南对北、西对东、六极对八风、五湖对四海、边塞对围城。
　　数字对：一对二、百对千、两两对三三、千年对万寿、独木对群山。
　　花木对：桃对李、菊对兰、玫瑰对牡丹、绿茵对红叶、白芷对橙柑。
　　飞禽对：鸥对鸟、枭对鹏、白鹤对黄莺、杜鹃对喜鹊、燕舞对鸪鸣。
　　走兽对：熊对象、马对羊、狡兔对贪狼、雄狮对猛虎、牛仔对猴王。
　　鱼虫对：蜂对蠓、蛾对虫、蝼蚁对鱼龙、河龟对海蚌、蝴蝶对蜻蜓。
　　人伦对：夫对妇、臣对君、祖宗对玄孙、同志对朋友、家族对外亲。
　　文学对：词对赋、曲对文、五典对三坟、楚辞对史记、诗品对文心。
　　感情对：愁对乐、喜对吟、和气对知心、涌泉对滴水、思绪对情恩。
　　精神对：痴对智、佞对昏、颓废对沉沦、修身对养性、刻骨对铭心。
　　人事对：公对私、言对行、协作对竞争、生活对劳动、长辞对永生。
　　文史对：经对史、古对今、后汉对先秦、伏羲对盘古、忠臣对昏君。
　　形体对：面对首、毛对肌、口舌对心脾、饥肠对傲骨、夺目对画皮。
　　宫室对：楼对阁、户对窗、皇室对民房、茅庐对寺庙、巨厦对中堂。
　　珍宝对：珠对玉、锦对珍、绿翡对白银、琼瑶对玛瑙、紫贝对黄金。
　　军事对：弓对箭、将对兵、烽火对狂旌、楚歌对剑气、画角对长城。
　　饮食对：茶对酒、盐对油、瓜果对米粥、山珍对海味、熊掌对猴头。
　　时令对：朝对夕、暮对晨、白昼对黄昏、中秋对元旦、去暑对立春。
　　文具对：棋对纸、笔对琴、泼墨对撰文、砚池对书案、七彩对八音。
　　衣饰对：巾对带、衣对衫、木屐对华冠、袈裟对襁褓、项链对耳环。
　　虚词对：然对也、之对乎、而已对斯夫、无非对是否、矣哉对再如。
　　副词对：还对再、就对将、偶尔对时常、方才对恰巧、必定对应当。
　　连词对：及对与、而对或、除非对倘若、虽然对即使、因为对如果。
　　介词对：同对往、被对朝、由于对沿着、自从对为了、除了对依照。
　　助词对：的对地、啦对吧、罢了对是吗、哎哟对完了、似的对等着。
　　叹词对：嘿对喂、哦对啊、嘿喽对哇啦、哎呀对嗨哟、哼哼对哈哈。
　　象声对：轰对嗡、当对哗、叮咚对乒乓、咣当对扑哧、唏哩对哗啦
　　联绵对：阡对陌、貅对貔、璀璨对旖旎、氤氲对滟潋、翡翠对琉璃。