tứ lục

Một vị quan cầm tấm tứ lục để trình lên nhà vua.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Four-six phrase: A classical Vietnamese literary and bureaucratic term denoting a specific, balanced parallel structure of four and six characters per line, traditionally used in royal decrees, petitions to the king, and formal prose.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Văn bản cổ này được viết theo thể tứ lục. (This ancient document was written in the four-six parallel style.)
  • Thể tứ lục thường xuất hiện trong chiếu chỉ của vua. (The four-six style often appears in royal edicts.)

Advanced Usage

• The tứ lục style is a hallmark of Sino-Vietnamese classical literature and official documents from the feudal period. It requires strict tonal alternation and semantic parallelism between the four-character and six-character phrases.

Variants and Related Words

• Văn tứ lục (n): Prose written in the four-six parallel style.
  • Ông ấy nghiên cứu về văn tứ lục thời Lê. (He researches four-six parallel prose from the Lê dynasty.)

Synonyms

• Parallel prose: A general term for writing using balanced, antithetical phrases.
• Biền văn (Chinese: 駢文): The Chinese origin term for this ornate, parallel prose style.

Related Idioms

• While not an idiom itself, mastery of tứ lục was a key skill for scholars and officials, often encapsulated in the phrase:
  • Thông thạo tứ lục. (To be proficient in four-six parallel prose.)