What does the commonly used phrase "carp jumping over the dragon's gate" mean?

Carp jumps over the dragon gate

1. Ancient legend says that if a carp jumps over the dragon gate in the Yellow River, it will transform into a dragon. "Piya Shiyu": "It is commonly said that fish jump over the dragon gate and turn into dragons when passing by, but carp may be the case." Li Yuan of the Qing Dynasty's "Wolf Fan·Object": "Carp...the yellow ones climb up Longmen Mountain against the current every spring. When the heavenly fire burns its tail, it turns into a dragon. Later, the "carp jumping over the dragon's gate" was used as a metaphor for success, promotion and other successes.

2. It is a metaphor for going against the current; working hard.

Story:

A long time ago, before Longmen was opened, the water from the Yi 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 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 line 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, driving Walk forward following the clouds and rain in the sky. 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, a 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."

Name: Carp Jumping over Dragon Gate

Category: Sculpture

Type: Stone Sculpture

Production Year: Ming Dynasty

Production Location: She County, Anhui

Dimensions: 75 cm high and 363 cm long

Collector: Shaanxi Provincial Mass Art Museum

Photographer: Zeng Xianyang

Writer: Zeng Xianyang

Introduction

Introduction

This is a decoration on the front horizontal square of the stone square in Xu State, Shexian County, Anhui Province. Xu Guo Shifang was built in the 12th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1584 AD) and is a nationally protected cultural relic. The stone square is an imitation wood structure building, 11.5 meters high, with a rectangular plane, a third floor and four pillars on the front, and a third floor on both sides. The entire stone square is decorated with carvings on all columns, beams, plaques, finials, and stone foundations, which is Huizhou A masterpiece in stone carving. The carp leaping over the dragon gate is one of the traditional auspicious patterns. Three carps have jumped out of the water, and the middle one has grown wings and transformed into a dragon. It is about to fly away, reflecting the rich imagination of folk craftsmen.

This is used for the decoration on the front horizontal square of the Xuguo stone square in Shexian County, Anhui Province. Xu Guo Shifang was built in the 12th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1584 AD) and is a nationally protected cultural relic. The stone square is an imitation wood structure building, 11.5 meters high, with a rectangular plane, a third floor and four pillars on the front, and a third floor on both sides. The entire stone square is decorated with carvings on all columns, beams, plaques, finials, and stone foundations, which is Huizhou A masterpiece in stone carving. The carp leaping over the dragon gate is one of the traditional auspicious patterns. Three carps have jumped out of the water, and the middle one has grown wings and transformed into a dragon. It is about to fly away, reflecting the rich imagination of folk craftsmen.