A cause is related to and precedes an effect. This can take the form of action and reaction or two lines of linked poetry. In the COUPLET room, this concept is made tangible through the display of more than twenty calligraphic pairs of poetic lines, referred to as duilian (對聯). 

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A duilian provides information about the scribe’s skill as a poet and calligrapher. In addition to following strict rules of versification, particular importance is attached to the calligraphic style. 

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In earlier eras, literati would engage in call-and-response competitions. Today, well-known lines of verse by renowned poets and philosophers, along with writing from the contemporary artist’s own pen, can serve as models for the duilian. 

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A distinct aspect of couplets is the role of emptiness, which is conveyed through the omission of specific words, often referred to as 'empty words'. This emptiness is also expressed in the form of parallelism in that there is a space, a void, between the two poems that stimulates our imagination and creates room for interpretation.

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The UMAG collection contains more than 40 couplets, most of which are being exhibited here for the first time.