On October 20, the winners of a couplet contest inspired by Nobel laureate Mo Yan were unveiled. Twenty-one-year-old postgraduate student Song Kejia claimed the first prize, receiving high praise from experts and drawing widespread attention.
The contest began in June 2025 when Mo Yan, inspired by his visit to the century-old Hakka walled house in Huiyang, Guangdong, wrote the first line of a couplet and invited literary enthusiasts to craft a matching response.
今年6月，诺贝尔文学奖获得者莫言在广东惠州惠阳区参观百年客家围屋碧滟楼时，有感而发写下“从南阳到南洋根深叶茂”十字上联，并发出“向天下文友敬求下联”之邀。
10月20日，该征集活动获奖名单正式揭晓。来自北京的21岁研究生宋珂嘉所对的下联“自井壁及井毕角亢星张”获得一等奖，并得到专家高度评价。
1.inspire /ɪnˈspaɪər/ v. 激励，鼓舞；赋予灵感，激发（想法）；使产生；引起，导致；吸气，吸入（专升本词汇）
例句：His confident leadership inspired his followers.
他那自信的领导风采激励着他的追随者。——《剑桥英语词典》
2.unveil /ʌnˈveɪl/ vt. 揭开；公布vi. 揭开
例句：The company recently unveiled a test version of its new search engine.
这家公司最近公布了新搜索引擎的测试版。——《剑桥英语词典》
3.claim /kleɪm/ n. 要求；要求权；主张；断言；声称；要求物vt. 要求；请求；主张；声称；断言
例句：The police said that if no one claims the watch, you can keep it.
警方说如果没人认领这块表，你可以留着它。——《剑桥英语词典》
图源：@美好惠州 视频截图
“从南阳到南洋根深叶茂”
According to Huizhou Daily, the historic site Mo Yan visited, built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), encapsulates the history of Hakka people venturing to Southeast Asia and embodies profound Hakka cultural heritage. Mo's first line reflects elements of Hakka culture and overseas Chinese culture, praising the virtues of Huizhou people—their reverence for culture and pioneering spirit.
据惠州日报介绍，莫言所参观的碧滟楼，是一座始建于清光绪年间的客家围屋，浓缩了客家人下南洋打拼奋斗的历史，沉淀了深厚的客家文化底蕴。
4.historic /hɪˈstɒr.ɪk/ adj. 有历史意义的；历史的
例句：This battle is of historic meaning.
这一战具有历史意义。——《剑桥英语词典》
5.embody/ɪmˈbɒd.i/ vt. 使具体化；包含；代表，体现（专升本词汇）
例句：She embodied good sportsmanship on the playing field.
在运动场上，她展现了优秀运动员的风采。——《剑桥英语词典》
6.heritage /ˈher.ɪ.tɪdʒ/ n. 遗产；继承物
例句：These monuments are a vital part of the cultural heritage of South America.
这些纪念碑是南美文化遗产的重要组成部分. ——《剑桥英语词典》
图源：@惠州发布 视频截图
The couplet contest garnered enthusiastic responses and active participation, receiving a total of 12,475 submissions and generating over 20 million views on related topics. The submitted couplets varied in themes, expressing nostalgia, celebrating perseverance, or envisioning the future.
据惠州日报报道，此次征集反响热烈，共收到12475件投稿作品，网络互动跟帖约3万条，相关话题阅读量超过2000万。投稿者来自全国各地，活动还吸引了众多海外华侨关注，下联内容或咏叹乡愁，或赞颂奋斗，或展望未来，风格各异。
7.response /rɪˈspɒns/ n. 反应；回答；响应；答复（专升本词汇, 动词respond的词性转换）
例句：Her proposals met with an enthusiastic response.
她的提议得到热烈的响应。——《剑桥英语词典》
8.vary/ˈveə.ri/ v. 改变；变化；使多样化（专升本词汇）
例句：The samples varied in quality but were generally acceptable.
这些样品质量有差异，但是大体上可以接受。——《剑桥英语词典》
“自井壁及井毕角亢星张”
经专家们对全部作品的细致初评，莫言担任评审团团长参与终评，获奖者宋珂嘉的下联，最终脱颖而出，荣获一等奖。
图源：@惠州发布 视频截图
Ouyang Jianghe, a poet and specially appointed professor at the School of Chinese Language and Literature of Beijing Normal University, provided on-site commentary for the first-prize winning entry and elaborated on the couplet's brilliance. He said he was astonished to learn it was written by a student.
在颁奖仪式现场，北京师范大学文学院特聘教授、诗人欧阳江河表示：“我真的很惊讶，刚才我听说（这个对子）是一个学生写的，我下巴没有掉下来就已经很不错了。”
9.commentary /ˈkɒm.ən.tər.i/ n. 实况报道；现场解说；评论；注释（专升本词汇, 动词comment的词性转换）
例句：There's good arts coverage in the newspaper, but not much political commentary.
报纸上有很多艺术方面的报道，可是政治时事述评却不多。——《剑桥英语词典》
10.brilliance /ˈbrɪl.jəns/ n. 才华；(色彩)鲜明；光辉；辉煌（专升本词汇，形容词brilliant的词性转换）
例句：Her first novel showed signs of brilliance. ——《剑桥英语词典》
她的第一部小说显示出她的才气。
11.astonish/əˈstɒn.ɪʃ/ vt. 使惊讶；使吃惊（专升本词汇）
例句：What astonished me was that he didn't seem to mind.
让我感到诧异的是他好像毫不在乎。——《剑桥英语词典》
文章转自21世纪英文报公众号
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/D0R237lkVFBi7upo0-t30Q
一审一校|莫丽娜
二审·编辑制作|郭玉玮
三审(终审)|汪元飞
