What does koi fish stand for in China culture?

Koi fish symbolizes good luck. People in China prefer red. During the Spring Festival every year, people decorate their clothes and their homes with red, which means good luck. Koi fish's body is mostly red, which caters to the preferences of China people, and people will unconsciously think that it represents good luck.

Koi fish symbolizes wealth. "Rich" and "expensive" are separate, but they are perfectly combined in koi fish. China people attach importance to geomantic omen, and think that water represents wealth. Many businessmen like to put fish tanks in front of their homes or companies, hoping for good luck. In addition, "carp" and "profit" are interlinked, so the raised koi fish is used as a mascot to make money.

Carp has profound and long-standing cultural factors in China. As early as ancient times, the ancestors who made a living by fishing painted the image of carp on pottery, and the unearthed fish-patterned colorful pots proved this. In the Tang Dynasty, carp was very influential at that time because it was homophonic with Li. It is not only protected by the laws of the Tang Dynasty, but also has a superior position than the current giant panda. In the dynasty, officials with five or more products were required to wear "fish symbols" to show their superiority and inferiority, and all scholars and gentlemen respected them.

Extended data

Koi fish's ancestors were common edible carp in northern China, and the origin of carp was in China. In fact, the auspicious meaning of koi fish is also related to carp in China.

In the Fairy Biography in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, there was a legend that fisherman Ying was carried to heaven by carp. The narrative in another book, Three Ji Qin, is even worse: "Every spring, the yellow carp goes upstream, and the winner turns into a dragon", and "When you first climb the Dragon Gate, there are clouds and rains, and the sky burns its tail from behind and turns into a dragon"-this is the origin of the ancient legend "Carp yue longmen" in China.

Since the Han Dynasty, carp has not only become a gift, but also has a very cultural style. Cai Yong's "Drinking Horses in the Cave of the Great Wall" in the Han Dynasty says: "Guests come from afar and leave me two carp. Hu Er cooks carp with books in it. " This kind of "sending a book in the belly" of the ancients coincides with some forwarding words when forwarding koi fish today, which is also the origin of the so-called "fish book".

China News Network-How did koi fish, who swiped the screen these two days, hook up with good luck?