"The carp jumps over the dragon's gate" is a metaphor for success, promotion and other successes. Later, it was used as a metaphor to go against the current; to work hard.
Source
According to ancient legend, the Yellow River carp jumped over the Dragon Gate (referring to the Dragon Gate at the narrowest point of the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon where the Yellow River roars down from the mouth of the Hukou, now called Yumenkou) , will transform into a dragon.
"Piya·Shiyu": "It is said that a fish leaps over the dragon gate and turns into a dragon when it passes by, but carp may be the only one." Li Yuan of the Qing Dynasty's "Wandering Fan·Object": "Carps... yellow ones are always When one climbs up Longmen Mountain against the current in the spring, the sky fire burns its tail, and it turns into a dragon." Later, "carp leaping over the dragon's gate" was used as a metaphor for success, promotion, and other successes. Later, it was used as a metaphor to go against the current; to work hard.
[Edit this paragraph] Reason
As the saying goes, "carp jumps over the dragon's gate", which is a metaphor for carp's habit of diving. Carp and many other fish love to dive. Different fish have different diving abilities. Some fish jump very high. For example, there is a fish called "jumping fish", which can jump four to five meters out of the water. It can be said to be the "high jump champion" among fish. Carp can sometimes jump more than one meter out of the water.
Why do fish dive? According to the analysis of scientists, it is generally believed that there are several reasons. Some are caused by changes in the surrounding environment. For example, on the eve of an earthquake disaster, the earth's magnetic field changes and fish feel threatened; such as overcoming obstacles on the way to avoid sudden attacks by enemies; or being suddenly intimidated. An instinctive reaction of a fish to survive.
Another reason is physiological changes. When a fish is about to reproduce, its body produces something that can stimulate nerves, putting it in a state of excitement, so it especially likes to jump.
When a fish is fished out of the water, it will jump around. The reason is that when the fish swims in the water, its muscles always stretch and contract, shaking its head and tail, so that it can move forward in the water. . When it first leaves the water, it still performs the same movements as in the water, but because there is no resistance from the water, the shaking movement is particularly large. At this time, if it encounters a relatively solid surface such as the ground or a ship board, Objects appear to be jumping around.
[Edit this paragraph] Legend
A long time ago, before the Longmen was opened, the Yishui River flowed here and was blocked by Longmen Mountain, and a large lake accumulated in the south of the mountain.
The carp living in the Yellow River heard about the beautiful scenery of Longmen and wanted to go sightseeing. They set out from the Yellow River in Henan Mengjin, passed through the Luo River, and followed the Yi River to the place where the Longmen water splashed. However, there was no waterway on Longmen Mountain and they could not go up, so they had to gather at the foot of the North Mountain of Longmen. "I have an idea. How about we skip Longmen Mountain?" A big red carp said to everyone. "It's so high, how do you jump?" "If you don't jump well, you'll fall to death!" The friends were all confused and couldn't make up their minds. The big red carp then volunteered and said, "I'll jump first and give it a try." I saw it using all its strength from half a mile away, like an arrow leaving the string, leaping into the clouds halfway up the sky. The clouds and rain in the sky move forward. A ball of sky fire chased from behind and burned its tail. It endured the pain and continued to leap forward, finally crossing Longmen Mountain and falling into the lake in the south of the mountain. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a giant dragon. Seeing this scene, the carps in the north of the mountain were so frightened that they huddled together and did not dare to take the risk again. At this time, suddenly I saw a giant dragon descending from the sky and said: "Don't be afraid, I am your partner Big Red Carp. Because I jumped over the dragon gate, I turned into a dragon. You must also jump bravely!" The carps listened. Inspired by these words, they began to jump over Longmen Mountain one by one. But except for a few who jumped over and turned into dragons, most of them couldn't get through. Anyone who fails to jump and falls from the air will have a black scar on his forehead. To this day, this black scar still appears on the forehead of the Yellow River carp.
Later, Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem specifically about this incident: "The three-foot carp in the Yellow River originally lived in Mengjin. It failed to become a dragon when it touched its forehead. It returned to accompany ordinary fish."
[Edit this paragraph] Records of the Three Qin Dynasties
Longmen Mountain is located on the east boundary of Hedong. Yu carved a broken gate in the mountain that was more than a mile wide. The Yellow River flows down from the middle, and there are no vehicles or horses on either side. Every spring, yellow carps come from the sea and the Nagisa River. In one year of age, the number of people who climb the Dragon Gate is only seventy-two. First time on Longmen. Then clouds and rain followed, and fire from the sky burned its tail, turning it into a dragon.
Translation
Longmen is within the boundaries of Hedong.
Dayu flattened Longmen Mountain and opened up Longmen, which was more than a mile long. The Yellow River flowed down the middle, and the two sides could not be used for carriages and horses. Every year in late spring, yellow carp come to Longmen from the sea and major rivers. In one year, no more than seventy-two carp are caught on the dragon gate. As soon as it boarded the dragon gate, clouds and rain followed it, and fire from the sky burned its tail from behind, and it transformed into a dragon.
[Edit this paragraph] Longmen
One is located on the east and west hills of the Yihe River, 13 kilometers south of the southern suburbs of Luoyang City, Henan Province. Xishan is also called Longmen Mountain, hence the name. It was called Yique in ancient times, so it is also called Yique Grottoes. It was excavated in the 18th year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (494), that is, around the time Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang. It was continuously built over a period of more than 1,000 years from the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties to the end of the Qing Dynasty, especially in the Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties. Large and small cave niches are distributed on the cliffs of Longmen Mountain (West Mountain) and Xiangshan (East Mountain) on both sides of the Yi River. There are about 2,100 caves and niches, more than 40 pagodas, 3,860 kinds of inscriptions and tablets, and more than 100,000 statues. Among the Longmen Grottoes, Tang Grottoes have the largest number, accounting for about 2/3. Typical caves include Qianxi Temple, Fengxian Temple, Kanjing Temple, etc.; the Northern Wei Dynasty followed, accounting for about 1/3. Typical caves include Guyang Cave and Binyang Cave. , Lotus Cave, Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave, etc. Most of the statues in the caves are Buddhas, disciples, Bodhisattvas, heavenly kings, and powerful men. There are also secular donors, Buddhist biographies, and Jataka stories. There are 11 sculptures carved into the cliff niche of Fengxian Temple. The main Buddha, the Lushena Buddha, is 17 meters high. The north and south walls of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave are covered with 15,000 carved stone statues, all of which are masterpieces of Tang Dynasty sculptures. The number of inscriptions on stelae ranks first among the grottoes in the country. The famous ones are Longmen Twenty Pins, which represent the calligraphy works of the Wei, early Tang and prosperous Tang Dynasty.
2 Longmen, also known as Yumen, is located 30 kilometers north of Hancheng City, Shaanxi Province. According to "Yu Gong": "The river is led to accumulate stones, and as for Longmen." According to "Records of Famous Mountains": "The river reaches this mountain and goes straight down for a thousand feet. The water waves rise and fall like a mountain and boil." "Hancheng County Chronicles" written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty records: "Both sides of the bank are broken mountains and cliffs, facing each other like gates, but the dragon can cross them, so it is called Dragon Gate." It is said that "Dragon Gate" was dug by Dayu when he was controlling floods, and is also called Yumen Ferry. Regarding "Yu chiseled the Dragon Gate", "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" said: "Yu stood up and worked hard for the world. He worked tirelessly day and night to connect the great rivers and break the blockages and chiseled the Dragon Gate." "Sancai Tuhui" records: "There are two mountains standing on the wall here, and the river flows out of them. , about a hundred steps away, there are broken walls on both sides, which are shaped like gates, so they are called "Longmen".
There are many traces of Yu in the river south of Longmen. "The Tomb of the King" is exposed on the water and looks like a sandbar. Although the water is constantly rushing, it can never be submerged. It is said that when Yu was digging the mountain cliff, the big stone fell into the middle stream, sank to the bottom of the water, and consolidated into a hill. It was King Yu who directed the construction. The place is not the "Lomb of King Yu". There is also a stone in the water of Yumen, with the word "Dragon Gate" engraved on it. It is as big as a bucket, and people can only see it when the water falls. When the river rises, the stone will sink. I don't know the name of the person who wrote it. The date of the engraving.
Longmen is the throat of the Yellow River, the second largest river in my country. Longmen Mountain spans both sides of the Yellow River, with high mountains facing each other and huge waves roaring. The Xiyumen Mountain is 892.6 meters high. Dongyumen Mountain is 891 meters high, and the terrain is very dangerous. Along the way, the Yellow River rushes from the vast Kunlun Mountains with continuous snow peaks, gathers thousands of streams, and roars loudly, passing through the canyon and crossing the deep ditch. At the foot of Longmen Mountain. The mountains on both sides overlap here, and the river is rushing and unpredictable, giving people a strange and dangerous feeling like being on a cliff or swimming in a deep pool. It is one of the eight scenic spots in Hancheng, and the so-called "Yumen Spring Wave" refers to it. Here.
There are Yu temples on the east and west Longmen Mountains. The Xiyu Temple was built in 1264, the first year of Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty. It is a majestic building with tall and elegant pavilions and carved beams. , extremely gorgeous. Standing in front of the temple, I deeply feel the vividness of the ancient poem "The Yellow River rises to the sky, and the two mountains suddenly open up". Every March, people from Shanxi and Shaanxi gather here to trade goods, which is very lively. /p>
At "Dragon Gate", mountains confront each other, and the Yellow River flows through it. The waves are turbulent and roaring like thunder. Therefore, the ancients wrote a poem, "Yu Gate is three levels deep, and there is a thunder on the flat ground." Longmen is one of the most beautiful scenery in the world. A great spectacle. There is a myth and legend about the fish leaping over the Dragon Gate in "The Records of the Three Qin Dynasties": every March when the ice melts and the snow disappears, the carps from the Yellow River gather under the Dragon Gate from all rivers and compete with each other to jump up to the Dragon Gate. There are less than seventy-two. As soon as they climb the dragon gate, clouds and rain will follow, and the sky fire will burn their tails, and they will turn into dragons. Those who cannot climb the dragon gate will have their foreheads exposed and their gills exposed." Because it is difficult to climb, it is valuable. In the past scientific era, those who were on the gold medal list were called to leap to the dragon's gate. This is the so-called "once you climb the dragon's gate, your worth will be ten times greater."
Longmen Mountain is so high that it reaches into the sky. The steep walls are thousands of feet tall and steep, tightly sandwiching the Yellow River in the middle. The narrowest point is Longmen Pass, which is only 60 meters and shaped like a gate. Here the torrent hits the shore, the waves splash, hundreds of whirlpools are connected, and the sound is like thunder. The water flows out of the river mouth, cascading thousands of miles, and the surrounding fields are wide open. Just as the great poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty sang: "The Yellow River comes from the west to conquer Kunlun, and roars thousands of miles to touch the Dragon Gate."