Friends who like koi know that Japanese koi is famous all over the world and is famous at home and abroad. Most of the world's famous carp are from Japan, Taisho Tricolor and Showa Tricolor are named after the Japanese era name, and many countries and regions also collectively call these koi "Japanese koi". As everyone knows, koi originated in China at the earliest, and the name of koi is also from China.
Ornamental carp was farmed in China's Southern Song Dynasty, and the tang Dynasty tortoise Meng made a poem "The clouds are low, the rain is cold, the silk birds are hidden and fragrant, and the koi is around the island shadow", the name of the koi was first proposed. Koi carp later flowed into Japan, and after about 200 years of improvement in Japan, it was introduced to the world, and it can be said that ornamental carp originated in China and was named koi, while the contemporary koi originated in Japan. So the question is, why can't koi be genetically improved and developed in China, but has been multiplied in Large Numbers in Japan and swept the world? This should start from the following three aspects.
The first reason is historical reasons
As we all know, the dragon is the totem symbol of the unity of the Chinese nation, and the feudal emperor regards himself as the true dragon Tianzi and has the exclusive right to use the dragon totem. If the people use the dragon pattern without authorization, it will be regarded as a usurpation of power and rebellion, which will lead to disaster. China has had the legend of carp jumping the dragon gate since ancient times, so carp has always been considered a symbol of the dragon, so the folk breeding of ornamental carp is restricted. This restriction reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Emperor's surname "Li", homophonous with "carp", carp also has the meaning of dragon, so the people dare not raise koi, catch koi will also be released quickly, not to mention genetic improvement. This is why koi have not been widely farmed and evolved in China for a long time.
The second reason is that goldfish have been well improved and developed in China, and koi have not been taken seriously.
7 The third reason is that the color of the goldfish is in line with the ancient aesthetics, the color of the goldfish has different degrees of gradient color, the color of the koi is relatively pure, and the red, white, black, and gold are too full, which is not in line with the traditional Chinese aesthetics. So it's not taken seriously either.
The above three reasons led to the rapid development of koi in Japan, laying the foundation for Japan's leading position in the koi industry7, the Japanese through generations of breed improvement, cultivated a colorful, variety of koi. With the development of the koi industry, Japan regarded koi as a work of art, calling it a "living gem in the water", "a swimming art", and promoted it to the world. However, in recent decades, China's koi industry has also developed by leaps and bounds, and has reached a large-scale breeding, and the quality is getting better and better, which has greatly narrowed the gap with Japanese koi. Koi, a fish that combines the dual characteristics of ornamental fish and pets, will surely be loved by more people.