China Naming Network - Almanac query - What does koi mean?

What does koi mean?

Asking for koi means seeking good luck.

Koi is an Internet buzzword and a cultural phenomenon. Koi is originally a high-end ornamental fish with rich ornamental value and is loved by people. In modern times, it refers to everything related to good luck; such as: people with good luck, or things that can bring good luck. On September 24, 2018, Alipay’s official Weibo posted a Weibo post titled “Wish you to become a Chinese Koi”, which attracted more than 3 million retweets, making Koi popular on the Internet.

Koi is originally a type of carp. The original species is red carp (Cyprinus carpio), which is an ornamental fish. Before the Internet age, carp had actually been endowed with many connotations in real Chinese history. Liu Xiang of the Western Han Dynasty recorded the legend of carps carrying people to heaven and becoming immortals in his "Biographies of Immortals", and used carps as mounts for immortals. In the "Biography of Sanqin" of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is a story of carps leaping over the dragon gate.

In the Tang Dynasty, the word koi appeared in poems, "Although I am ashamed that the koi carp is worn on my forehead, I am proud of the Lilong sleepless pearl." Huang Tao's "The same year after becoming famous". The koi in the poem is generally believed to refer to "carp with shining scales" and is not the modern koi we see. Modern koi was born in Japan in the 19th century, and its ancestors were originally Chinese carps.

Although modern koi has been in China for only a hundred years, due to its unique masculine beauty, longevity, feng shui, and the beautiful meaning of carp from China, "koi" "Carp" is endowed by modern Chinese people as a symbol of beauty and wealth.

Koi morphological characteristics

Koi has a strong physique, bright colors, changeable patterns, and majestic swimming postures. It has extremely high ornamental and breeding value. Its body length can reach 1-1.5 meters. Koi are distinguished by their different colors, patterns and scales. Among them, butterfly koi was only successfully bred in the 1980s. It is famous for its long and smooth fins. It is actually a hybrid between koi and Asian carp, and is not a true koi.

The colors of koi include one to several colors, including: white, yellow, orange, red, black and blue (a light gray shade due to the black under the scales). light or shiny. Although there are endless variations in patterns, the best ones are the small round spots on the top of the head and the stepstone-like pattern on the back. Fish scales can be present or absent; large or small; or they can have wrinkles, like "diamonds".