Is fish a mascot?

It is either the mascot fish or the most important and common mascot in anthropology or folklore in China. The most direct statement is that "there are fish every year" or "there are more than one year because of" fish ". Because "fish" is the homonym of "fish", it gives people in this world an imaginary space, or a dream prospect. In other words, in an era of material scarcity, "surplus" or "abundance" is people's common vision. This may not be the whole folk theme of "fish every year". In the cultural tradition of China, "fish" has its original meaning as a mascot. Because fish can swim freely in the water, unlike people detained by water in this world, "fish" and "bird" (more precisely, "goose") have the same function, that is, it is synonymous with letters. In this way, there is a story of "fish crossing the foot". Li Shangyin, a poet who is good at guessing poems (or love poems), wrote in a short message to Secretary Ling Huchong: "Song and Shu have been apart for a long time, and the two carp are far apart." Earlier, Cai Yong's "Drinking Horses in the Great Wall Cave" said: "The guests from afar left me a pair of carp. Tell the children to cook carp, and there is a book in it. " These are probably the earliest origins of "fish book" and "ruler element". Similarly, there is another word called "Fish Story". For example, in Tang poetry, there are a few lines in Shu's fish story, recalling your dream of crossing Nantang in autumn. There is no doubt that both Fish Book and Fish Note point to an auspicious thing. "Fish-producing element" was later really called "fish element". For example, "Suddenly, it is reported that there are fish in Qiu Jiang, which seems to say that there are many mountains and horses." There are also some things related to fish, which are also related to auspiciousness and harmony. Such as "fish symbol" and "fish water". The former "fish symbol" is a letter in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, including gold, silver, copper and wood. They are all presented to local officials as samples of fish to show the size of their official positions and their use when passing through, inspecting and controlling places. The latter "fish and water" directly refers to both (whether monarch, minister or friend, etc. ) are very harmonious, and later it means that the couple have made up. Of course, "lovesickness" also has the metaphor of sexual intercourse.

Fish, as an auspicious thing, is much earlier in China's cultural tradition or, to be precise, in China's human folklore. There is a record in Shan Hai Jing, which was written in the Warring States Period, that fish is auspicious. Shan Hai Jing? 6? 1 mountain classics? 6? 1 Xishan Jing recorded a fish called "Wenkun". "Temperature ray". It is a flying fish with wings. This fish can not only fly, but also fly at night. "Shan Hai Jing" records that as long as this fish comes out of the water, it will be "a catastrophe on earth". "Heavy hair" is a bumper harvest. This may be the earliest record of fish and harvest in China ancient books, or the earliest original wish scene in China ancient books. That is to say, the folk vocabulary of "there is fish every year" (or "there is more than one year") and the meaning of this word (including its reference, which can also be found in ancient books) are not without a source as now said, but the source is still very early! There is also a saying that flying fish can "resist soldiers" in the Mountain Sutra. However, in Shan Hai Jing, fish and its appearance are not all auspicious signs. On the contrary, in Shan Hai Jing, fish and its appearance are often ominous. Now, let's take a look at the similar records of "South, West, North, East and Middle" Wuyue Classics in Shan Hai Jing. For example:

-winning the fish out, "the fish has wings and sounds like a mandarin duck, seeing its city water."

-comparable to fish, "seeing the world is full of water."

-fish (bone, smooth sound) fish out, "see the world dry."

-When the squid comes out, "there are soldiers in the city."

-The strip is like a snake. "When light comes in and out, you will see the drought in your city."

The first four species are real fish-of course, the fish recorded in Shan Hai Jing are mostly mythical-while the latter is an amphibian with ridges, scales and wings, which lives mainly in water like water snakes. Here we can clearly see that the appearance of some fish is not a good omen, but a bad omen. In a famine era in which both food and labor depend on the weather, good weather is what we human beings want most. Whether it is flood or drought, it is the enemy of our mankind and almost invincible. Therefore, before these floods and droughts come, we humans always hope that there will be such signs. In other words, before the unpredictable disaster comes, there is such a display. Then there is the omen of "dead fish", which is about war. For our ancestors, war is not something to celebrate (including today). That war is bound to bring disaster to people. Therefore, people don't want war, or whether it can be avoided. Therefore, "fish" in Shan Hai Jing not only refers to things that are precursors of natural disasters, but also can be used as precursors of man-made disasters. Because of this omen, we humans can do some precautions within our power. Whether it is trait preparation or psychological preparation. Originally, psychological preparation is often more important. This is not only the preparation before behavior, but also the psychological comfort. Why? In other words, people can still know the secrets of heaven or God in advance. As a result, things that suddenly appear, that is, these animals, easily appear earlier. Once it appears, it means that events we didn't know before have changed. Maybe we can know a little.

As a result, some fish have become such reference objects-God's reference objects.

In this case, we can see that fish are not born as mascots. This is also a fact about evolution. Historical records? 6? 1 Biography of Xiang Yu says: "Now man is a knife and I am a fish." What is a "fish"? You can eat it. However, in this discussion of Sima Qian, "fish" has become a thing that can be slaughtered. This "signified" is because "fish" and "meat" themselves can be used as "signifier" symbols for people to refer to things. In Shan Hai Jing, fish, as a kind of food, has long been recognized by our ancestors. Even if luck like "warm rays" means that the thing itself is edible. Shan Hai Jing describes it like this. "Wenlei", "shaped like carp ... its taste is sour and sweet, and it is crazy to eat". That is to say, although people have some problems eating this kind of fish, it also shows that ancestors will eat this kind of fish (the types of fish and their edible and inedible will be discussed in another article). As for other fish recorded in Shan Hai Jing, they are completely described as food. Such as carp, squid and mandarin fish. Fish can be used as human food, which shows that our ancestors realized a long time ago that everything that flies in the sky (such as birds), runs on the ground (such as animals) and swims in the water (such as fish) can be eaten by people. From this, we can see the fact that fish, as a symbol of people's beautiful vision, has been produced among the ancestors, but it is even more ominous. Moreover, we also see that it can be used as human food-so at present, "fish" with "fish every year" can be put on the table for human consumption.