Chinatown's bustling streets and deafening traffic noise do not seem to bother an old calligraphy artist who concentrates on his work. Dipping a brush into a pot of gold paint, he whips the device to write Chinese letters on the well-cut red paper strips for his customers who watch his brushstrokes with great curiosity.
Couplet reads long nian da ji (Good luck in the Year of the Dragon), made especially for Bangkok Post readers by Nithiwooth Sriboonchaichusakul, special lecturer on calligraphy at universities.
The customers have to wait a few minutes for the ink to dry before they can take their purchased item home.
Tang Liang Hai, the calligraphy artist, has written chun lian or couplets _ a pair of poems written on the red paper _ a million times in his life. His presence, writing the calligraphy for customers near Wat Leng Nei Yi on Charoen Krung Road, has been a familiar sight for residents and passers-by for so long, nobody can remember exactly when the 80-year-old artist started his work here.
A few weeks ago, Tang was joined by a few couplet artists on the pavement on the opposite side of the temple, as the demand for couplets drastically rises during the Chinese New Year period. In the days preceding the Chinese New Year, ethnic Chinese descendants begin to clean their house thoroughly and replace broken effects at home. One must-do of this festive custom is to change the chun lian.
Couplets were originally written in black ink.
"The couplet is regarded as a lucky sign to bless the house owner and guests, and to welcome the new year," says Somchai Kwangtongpanich, a Yaowarat resident who has been studying local history and Chinese culture. Chinese descendants will replace the old couplet at their houses and shops with a new one, as a blessing for life, family and business.
In the run-up to this festive season, Tang is joined by other couplet artists to make between 200 and 400 pieces a day.
But once the new year celebrations are over, the other artists will resume their regular professions, leaving Tang alone on the pavement again. Some days, he doesn't have any customers at all.
Originally written in black, the couplets these days are written in gold _ the favourite colour among ethnic Chinese Thai descendants. They are widely sold on the streets of Chinatown.
"It's like a talisman for me and my business," said Pipat Jirarungsatien, a car parts dealer who runs a business in Chinatown, while waiting for Tang to finish the 13 couplet pieces for him. These couplets will be attached to the doors at his house and shops.
Nobody really remembers when 80-year-old Tang Liang Hai started his couplet writing business. But Tang is seen here every day of the year, unless he’s hired to do it elsewhere.
Pipat was given his first couplet 15 years ago by a respected man who created a poem especially for him. Since then, Pipat feels his life and business took a better turn. Like most customers, he comes to see Tang once a year for new couplets. But unlike others who often choose new poems available at the stall, Pipat always brings original poems that improve his life.
The couplet is not only a tradition, but also an art, said Nithiwooth Sriboonchaichusakul, an expert on Chinese calligraphy who gives lectures at various universities. It combines the beauty of wording, pronunciation, calligraphy and ultimately the meaning of the poem.
Despite being named a couplet, they doesn't always appear in pairs. A couplet can be one-piece, featuring only one word; two-piece, each with several words placed in vertical format; or three-piece, two vertical and one horizontal on top. The one-piece can be attached to any part of the house, usually at the entrance. The two-piece couplet is likely to be attached on both sides of the door frame, while the last horizontal piece of the three-piece is usually placed on top of the door. Hand-written couplets usually carry only calligraphy, while modern or factory-made couplets feature designs that are believed to carry more luck, such as the image of dragon.
A couplet costs from 40 baht to more than 100 baht, depending on the size of the paper for hand-written ones and also on the design for the factory-made ones.
''One piece usually carries fu, which means luck and fortune. The word fu can also be placed upside-down above the door, suggesting boon and luck has arrived at your place,'' explained Nithiwooth.
However, the two- and three-piece couplets cannot be placed upside-down.
Gold is considered an auspicious colour for most overseas Chinese, so gold has replaced the original black ink in Thai-made couplets.
Most popular two-piece couplets in Thailand feature only four letters on each piece, while those in China carry five, seven or nine letters each. Experienced artists can make the two rows of words rhyme vertically and horizontally, explains Nithiwooth. A Chinese name which often has two words can also be made the first word of each poem in the couplet, as well.
Couplets in Thailand, however, are a bit different from those in mainland China, says Somchai. Thanks to the limited knowledge of the Chinese language in Thailand, poems in the couplets have become fixed patterns, repeated among the street couplet artists in Chinatown.
Like most languages in the world, wording and writing develop with society. The poems in the couplets in mainland China have changed in accordance with current lifestyle and the expertise of the artists.
''The more fluent in Chinese, the more beautiful words used in the couplet,'' says Somchai.
That explains why the poems in couplets in Thailand are limited and fixed in pattern. Tang and fellow street couplet artists are probably the last generation in Thailand to be able to write couplets.
Some artists are helped by their sons who understand Chinese but are not fluent enough to make the items. They can only help explain the meaning of poems on the couplets to customers and passers-by.
Even if you are Chinese illiterate, you can buy these couplets for your own luck as they have Thai translations.
Somchai noted that while most couplets available in Thailand have meanings associated with success _ such as be filled with wealth or be successful, people in mainland China ask to be blessed with patience and diligence to make them successful.
According to Nithiwooth, the different blessings on the couplet are determined by the different livelihood of the people in the two countries. Life in mainland China has been tough, while those living in Thailand have been more comfortable with the rich nature and easy lifestyle of the people and its country. The wordings in the couplets for those living in Thailand do not have to be so tense.
As a calligraphy artist is trying to finish the couplets for waiting customers, one female customer doesn't want to wait for a customised chun lian. She simply chooses one from the displayed items the artist created earlier that morning.
Before leaving the shop, Pipat shows his 15-year-old poem that is believed to have improved his life, family and business. The right strip said: ''The coming spring will bring you luck''; the left said: ''On this ground, luck will occur''.
Modern day couplets that are ready to buy.
Teng Tang Jiang and his sons only open their shop for about 20 days a year, starting about two weeks before the Chinese New Year.
