Create Stunning Chinese Spring Couplets with Python in 70 Lines

Spring couplets (春联) are a traditional Chinese literary form used during the New Year, featuring balanced and concise characters that convey good wishes.

The following Python script, about 70 lines long, generates decorative couplet images using publicly available glyphs for 1,550 common Chinese characters.

Required modules

import io
from PIL import Image
import numpy as np
import requests

Download character glyphs

def get_word(ch, quality):
    # Retrieve image of a single Chinese character or uppercase letter
    # ch - character, quality - resolution: H-640, M-480, L-320
    fp = io.BytesIO(requests.post(url='http://xufive.sdysit.com/tk', data={'ch': ch}).content)
    im = Image.open(fp)
    w, h = im.size
    if quality == 'M':
        w, h = int(w*0.75), int(h*0.75)
    elif quality == 'L':
        w, h = int(w*0.5), int(h*0.5)
    return im.resize((w, h))

Download background image

def get_bg(quality):
    """Get the background image for the couplet."""
    return get_word('bg', quality)

Generate couplets

def write_couplets(text, HorV='V', quality='L', out_file=None):
    """Generate a couplet image.
    text   - couplet content, words separated by spaces
    HorV   - 'H' for horizontal, 'V' for vertical layout
    quality- character resolution: H-640, M-480, L-320
    out_file - optional output filename
    """
    usize = {'H': (640, 23), 'M': (480, 18), 'L': (320, 12)}
    bg_im = get_bg(quality)
    text_list = [list(item) for item in text.split()]
    rows = len(text_list)
    cols = max([len(item) for item in text_list])
    if HorV == 'V':
        ow, oh = 40 + rows*usize[quality][0] + (rows-1)*10, 40 + cols*usize[quality][0]
    else:
        ow, oh = 40 + cols*usize[quality][0], 40 + rows*usize[quality][0] + (rows-1)*10
    out_im = Image.new('RGBA', (ow, oh), '#f0f0f0')
    for row in range(rows):
        if HorV == 'V':
            row_im = Image.new('RGBA', (usize[quality][0], cols*usize[quality][0]), 'white')
            offset = (ow-(usize[quality][0]+10)*(row+1)-10, 20)
        else:
            row_im = Image.new('RGBA', (cols*usize[quality][0], usize[quality][0]), 'white')
            offset = (20, 20+(usize[quality][0]+10)*row)
        for col, ch in enumerate(text_list[row]):
            if HorV == 'V':
                pos = (0, col*usize[quality][0])
            else:
                pos = (col*usize[quality][0], 0)
            ch_im = get_word(ch, quality)
            row_im.paste(bg_im, pos)
            row_im.paste(ch_im, (pos[0]+usize[quality][1], pos[1]+usize[quality][1]), mask=ch_im)
        out_im.paste(row_im, offset)
    if out_file:
        out_im.convert('RGB').save(out_file)
    out_im.show()

Example usage

# Example 1
text = '普天同庆 欢度春节'
write_couplets(text, HorV='V', quality='M', out_file='普天同庆.jpg')

# Example 2
text = '年尽岁除岁月如歌 冬去春来春光似画'
write_couplets(text, HorV='H', quality='M', out_file='岁月如歌.jpg')

# Example 3
text = '人世间纵有百娇千红 唯独你是我情之所钟'
write_couplets(text, HorV='H', quality='M', out_file='情之所钟.jpg')

Running the script produces image files that display the specified couplets on a decorative background, suitable for New Year greetings.