Fish in Chinese mythology

Fish are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are various myths involving fish. The word for "fish", yu is a homophone for "abundance" and "affluence". (Eberhard, 1983: 106). Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. The geographic area of "China" is of course a concept which has evolved of changed through history. Fish in Chinese mythology include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China). (Yang 2005:4) The Chinese dragon is the head of the fish clan.

The Chinese character for fish: traditional Chinese: 魚; simplified Chinese: 鱼; pinyin: yú. Pronounced with a different accent in modern Chinese, 裕 (yù) means "abundance". Due to the homophony, "fish" mythically becomes equated with "abundance".

The character for fish (魚) evolved from an ancient pictograph. It is the traditional 195th (out of 216) traditional radical. Over time, the pictographic representations tended to become increasingly stylized, until evolving to the modern standard form:

Carp (traditional Chinese: 鯉; simplified Chinese: 鲤; pinyin: lǐ) can be transformations of dragons, or carp can sometimes change into dragons. According to tradition, a carp that could leap the falls of the Yellow River at Dragon Gate, would be transformed into a dragon: this motif symbolizes success in the civil service examinations. (Eberhard, 1983:57-58) Dragon Gate, at the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi, is where the river flows through a cleft in the Longmen mountains, supposedly made by Yu the Great. According to one account, all the carp competed at a yearly competition to leap the Longmen falls, those who succeeded were immediately transformed into dragons, and flew off into the sky. (Christie, 1968: 65 and 74) Pictures of Carp attempting to leap the Longmen falls have been enduringly popular in China.

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