Fish worship in Chinese folk paper-cutting
In traditional Chinese culture, fish is a representative of the worship of fertility and reproduction. The early people lived near water, and fish became an inexhaustible food resource for the ancestors. The strong reproductive ability of fish also attracted the attention of the ancestors, so fish was regarded as a symbol of matching and reproduction. "Xiaoya·Wu Sheep" says: "If there are fish in all dimensions, it is actually a good year." It is believed that dreaming of fish is a sign of a good harvest. This undoubtedly also regards fish as something related to reproduction. (Related reading: Paper-cut frog and carp pattern and production tutorial)
In the 1940s, Mr. Wen Yiduo published an article entitled "Speaking of Fish". The article pointed out through textual research that the Chinese nation has had the custom of using fish to symbolize the matching of the sexes since ancient times; Zhao Guohua in "On the Culture of Reproductive Worship" further points out that "it is a symbol of female genitalia, and the outline of Pisces is similar to that of the vulva." Scholars have the same view on the function of early fish culture.
In Hebrew, the word "fish" is interpreted as "reproduction", "germination", "proliferation", etc. Similar symbolic meanings also exist in large numbers in early Chinese culture. As early as five or six thousand years ago, our ancestors worshiped fish as a symbol of fertility. This meaning is already contained in the "fish" totem worship of the Banpo people. There are more than 20 primitive cultural sites unearthed in our country on painted pottery with fish patterns. Mr. Li Zehou pointed out: “For example, the various fish patterns and fish-faced human faces commonly seen on Banpo painted pottery from the Yangshao period, do their witchcraft and etiquette meanings influence the descendants of the clan? 'Gua Lian Mian' endless blessing?" In the traditional folk paper-cut combinations of marriage, love and reproduction, we found more remaining fish-shaped combinations, the most interesting of which are the Pisces picture and the Fish Lotus picture. Some of these Pisces diagrams are like Tai Chi diagrams, with two fish chasing each other and forming a rotating circle. Some people call it "yin and yang fish" or "happy encounter". It is placed on the bed of the bridal chamber when getting married.A must-have window grille. Some have a doll sandwiched between the Pisces, which is called a "fish doll" or a "happy doll". The forms vary greatly. Here, the Pisces symbolizes Yin and Yang, while the doll is the new life created by the intersection of Yin and Yang. The meaning of this kind of flower-loving is to pray for more fertility, more children and more blessings.
There are many forms of fish lotus pictures: "fish playing with lotus", "fish drilling in lotus", "fish pecking at lotus", etc. The single fish shape here is a symbol of male genitals, while the lotus is Because many seeds symbolize the female vagina. Mingming is a "fish and lotus picture", but it actually means that a man and a woman have intercourse and have a son.
Today, fish, as an active factor in traditional Chinese culture, has experienced development and changes for tens of thousands of years. "Fish" in folk culture has already become the carrier of "surplus" or "abundance" because of its homophony. It is often used as an image of "abundance of auspiciousness" and "abundance in successive years" in paper-cuts used for blessings during the New Year. Only in the paper-cuts of marriage, love and reproduction, the witchcraft significance of fish as a reproductive totem is relatively complete.
From totem worship to objects of reproductive belief, they are all important functions of early fish culture. Due to its strong reproductive capacity, fish have been in constant psychological dialogue with humans since ancient times. It has become a psychological talisman for humans' desire for continuity and the reproduction of offspring.
