Braised fish, sweet and sour fish, boiled fish, sauerkraut fish, tomato fish, beer fish, white rotten fish, salt and pepper fish sticks, fresh mushroom fish fillet, watercress whole fish, hibiscus crucian carp, squirrel mandarin fish, colorful yellow fish, winter vegetable cod... This is not a parody of "The Name of the Dish Newspaper", but the presence of fish on the Chinese table is too strong.
Chinese people like to eat fish, not only because the fish is delicious, but also because the fish is auspicious. "There are fish (Yu) every year! Jiqing has fish (Yu)! "The harmony alone exudes the joy of abundance and abundance. At important banquets such as Chinese New Year's Eve meals, a "yu" dish is a must-have dish for almost every family, wishing for "more than enough prosperity" in the coming year.
In addition, fish is "seedy". Many places also have the habit of putting a fish on the wedding banquet to express their wishes for the bride and groom's "many children and blessings" and "prosperity".
In the evolution of many auspicious symbols of fish, different types of fish even have different meanings. For example, carp because of the homonym between "carp" and "profit", means "great luck". Catfish because "catfish" is homonymous with "link", which means "more than one year". The homonym of "mandarin" and "expensive" of mandarin fish takes its symbol of "wealth and wealth".
In addition to the festive and auspicious fish appearing on people's tables, we can also see a variety of vivid and interesting fish patterns in daily life.
▲Suzhou Humble Administrator's Garden has been paved with goldfish patterns on the edge of the pond for more than a year;
▲Lantern Festival fish lantern in Wang Mantian Village, Xitou Town, Xiao County, Huangshan, Anhui;
From a very early age, the ancestors who depended on nature formed an indissoluble bond with fish. The variety of fish patterns on the original pottery further shows the close connection between the daily life of the ancestors and "fish".
▲Neolithic human-faced fishnet faience pot Collection of the National Museum of China
▲Neolithic stork stone axe faience vat, collection of the National Museum of China
▲The fish totem symbol in the Neolithic Jiangzhai primitive settlement
During the Warring States period, the ancients believed that the Tianhe River was connected with the water system on the surface. So the fish were placed on high hopes, and also shouldered the sacred mission of "communicating heaven and earth".
In the painting "Ascending to the Sky by the Dragon" unearthed from the Warring States Ancient Tomb of Changsha Bullet Warehouse, the person under the public cover is about to fly to the sky by the dragon, accompanied by a small fish in the lower left corner of the picture, which seems to have the intention of leading the way and opening the way.
▲The Warring States painting in the collection of the Hunan Provincial Museum, with a fish guiding the way in the lower left corner
The Western Han Dynasty's "Legend of the Immortals" also described the way for immortals to ascend to heaven. The immortals or the wind, or the cranes... But the most common is riding a "fish". Juanzi, Lü Shang, Qin Gao, Ziying and others all rode on the back of a carp to ascend to the immortals.
▲ "Qin Gao Cheng Carp Scroll" by Ming Li in the collection of the Shanghai Museum
▲The image of a fish pulling a cart depicted in a Han Dynasty mural
However, compared with the above-mentioned myths and legends of helping "immortals" for fun, their own "becoming immortals" is obviously more inspirational. The story of the struggle of fish who love to fight to win - "carp jumping over the dragon gate" is almost well known.
The Han Dynasty's "Records of the Three Qins" states: "Every late spring, a yellow carp swims upstream, and the winner turns into a dragon." Later, people often used "fish leaping over the dragon gate" to express their hopes for students' success and fame.
▲ Qing Kangxi "Blue and Croaker Turns into Dragon Pattern Wash" Collection of Nanjing Museum
Out of the love and worship of fish, fish-related artifacts emerged in various ancient periods, and there were many varieties.
▲Painted lacquered fish pattern ear cup Western Han Palace Museum collection
▲Tang Sancai Double Fish Bottle Collection of Nanjing Museum
▲Bluestone carved fish pattern inkstone Song Palace Museum collection
▲Longquan kiln green glaze plastic paste four fish pattern washing yuan Palace Museum collection
▲Colorful fish algae pattern lid jar Ming Jiajing Collection of the Palace Museum
▲Paper catfish kite, Qing Palace Museum collection
▲Beaded fish dryer Qianlong Collection of the Palace Museum
The combination of fish, algae, lotus flowers, etc. in the upstream of porcelain to form the "fish algae pattern" has also become one of the classic patterns of ancient porcelain.
▲Mackerel algae pattern jar Yuan Collection of the Palace Museum
▲Colorful fish algae pattern garlic bottle Ming Wanli Palace Museum collection
▲Colorful goldfish algae pattern box Qing Palace Museum collection
▲ Qianlong Qinglong blue and white pastel openwork openwork fish algae pattern four-series turning heart bottle
Collection of the Palace Museum
"The drizzle of fish comes out, and the breeze swallows oblique." Fish roaming freely among the algae, the scene is cheerful, harmonious and vibrant. According to the cultural relics in its collection [Qingqianlong alum red pastel fish algae pattern folding basin], Guanfu Museum designed and launched the Jinyu Mantang series tea set set
▲Qianlong Qing Dynasty alum red pastel fish algae pattern folded along the basin Guanfu Museum collection
Goldfish, beautiful and colorful. And because of the homonym "golden jade", it has an auspicious meaning. People often use the combination of goldfish and algae to indicate that the house is full of gold and jade or rich and rich.
This goldfish full house series of tea sets: the fish algae pattern layout is appropriate, the algae green color is clear, the goldfish red color is lustrous, interactive covering, self-contained.
Goldfish swim among the algae, lively and fun.
Goldfish are full of ponds, gold and jade are full of halls, "there is gold and jade at home, and there is more than enough wealth".
This gold and jade full house set contains a pot of four cups. It is made by appliqué process and fired at high temperature. The porcelain surface is lustrous and brightly colored.
Algae and goldfish, flexible layout, harmonious colors, so that the whole set of tea set presents a sense of "smooth and flexible, comfortable".