What does the fish in jade carvings represent?

We often see various images of fish in jade carvings. Do you know the meaning of fish in jade tone?

Today we will talk about the meaning of fish in jade carvings.

Just like the New Year pictures of Yangliuqing that we used to see, a fat boy holding a big carp; many families must cook a fish during the New Year’s Eve dinner, which means abundance every year.

These two New Year customs actually illustrate the same truth: in our cultural heritage, fish is equivalent to surplus. Our love for fish expresses people’s yearning for a good harvest, plenty and a happy life.

Leaping over the Dragon Gate is a hope for progress

In our cultural tradition, the carp leaps over the Dragon Gate. The poem "Presented to Cui Shiyu" by Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty uses this allusion: "A three-foot-long carp in the Yellow River originally lived in Mengjin. It failed to become a dragon after being painted on its forehead, and returned home to become an ordinary fish."

People also use "ascending the Dragon Gate" to describe becoming prominent by receiving support from powerful people. In the imperial examination era, those who participated in the joint examination and obtained the title of Jinshi were also called "denglongmen". The carp leaping over the Dragon Gate is not only a figurative expression of this beautiful legend, but also carries the good wish of hoping for soaring to high places and having good fortune in the near future. Especially those families who hope their children to gain fame and success through studying and taking exams regard it as a symbol of good luck.

Therefore, the image of fish made into jade works actually represents people’s beautiful hopes for progress and a bright future.

Fish is also a symbol of leisure and ease.

The "Debate on the Haoliang Bridge" is recorded in "Zhuangzi﹒ In the chapter "Autumn Water". It tells the story of a debate between two thinkers, Zhuangzi and Huizi, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The debate was about whether the fish in the river were happy and how both sides knew whether the fish were happy.

Zhuangzi and his friend Hui Shi were walking on a bridge over the Hao River.

Zhuangzi looked at the fish in the water and said, "The fish are at ease in the water. This is the happiness of the fish."

Huizi said: "You are not a fish, how do you know the happiness of fish?"

Zhuangzi said: "You are not me, how do you know that I don't know the happiness of fish?"

Huizi said: "I am not you, so I don't know you; you are not a fish, so you don't know the happiness of fish, which is also completely certain."

Zhuangzi said, "Please return to the topic we started with. You said, 'How do you know the happiness of fish?' etc. You already knew that I knew the happiness of fish and asked me. I knew it by the bank of the Hao River."

Fish is a cultural extension of praying for children

In our culture, fish, like frogs, has been a symbol of female organs and represents abundant fertility since the earliest totems of fertility worship. Later, it gradually evolved into a symbol of many children and good fortune. People in many areas regard wearing jade fish as a symbol of family prosperity and many children.

Abstract imagery that seems to be true but is not

In jade carving creation, they adhere to the concept of less is more, and often use the simplest techniques to express their artistic ideas. Known as the "Qi Baishi" of Chinese jade carving, his works are characterized by their unique contemporary features, ranging from simple realism to ethereal freehand brushwork.

Fish are widely used in jade. In addition to the above mentioned, fish may also represent the religious meaning of Guanyin's South China Sea carp, which is the symbol of worshiping Guanyin's seat in religious beliefs; fish are also used as dynamic images to set off when expressing static things such as lotus flowers.

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