Once in a while, the images of such individuals are edited to look like fish, but very often they only have a tenuous connection to actual koi. Instead, they frequently center around either a successful figure - Leonardo DiCaprio was a popular choice after his long-awaited Oscar win - or someone viewed as exceptionally lucky, such as Wei Yingluo, the ruthless Mary Sue-type heroine from a popular 2018 TV drama. Despite the name, many modern koi memes don’t feature fish at all. But when traditional culture and the internet collide, change is inevitable. Locals refer to the sacrificed carp as an “ingot fish” and hope the offering will bring them prosperity in the coming year. In the areas surrounding Shanghai, such offerings are made on the fifth day of the new lunar year - a day dedicated to the wealth god. Lu Xun, one of the most influential Chinese authors of the 20th century, once wrote a detailed account of a traditional Chinese practice in which a live, red carp is used as a ritual offering during Chinese New Year. On occasion, the offerings are more literal. Depending on how the carp is depicted - sometimes leaping, sometimes being held by a plump baby boy - they might be a prayer for good fortune or for additional heirs. The reasons for this are partly linguistic: The Chinese word for “fish” sounds similar to the word for “surplus,” and the word for “fish egg” sounds much like the word for “son.” Carp imagery is a common element of New Year’s commemorative paintings, engravings, and paper cuttings - precursors to today’s koi memes. Even today, Chinese use the phrase “a carp that jumped through the dragon’s gate” to describe those fortunate enough to move up in the world.įish as a whole have traditionally been seen as highly auspicious in China. Most fail, but a lucky few succeed and are transformed into dragons. According to an ancient myth, there is a magical doorway located at the narrowest point of the Yellow River, and every spring, carp swim against the current in an attempt to leap through. While koi are a relatively recent import from Japan, the fish’s cousin - the common carp - has been associated with good fortune in China since at least the Han Dynasty. Netizens will share them ahead of just about anything, from tests and job interviews to big dates - whenever they feel they could use a little divine intervention.Īlthough the internet has certainly put a modern spin on beliefs about koi, the core idea behind the meme dates back thousands of years. In essence, such posts are prayers for good luck. Koi - a widely recognized symbol of good fortune in the country - have for years been used on the Chinese internet in a way similar to “lucky” or “blessed” online images in the West. Ma’s stroke of luck turned her into an overnight sensation, as netizens recognized her good fortune by pasting her photo into a number of so-called koi memes. 7, Alipay - one of China’s largest online payment platforms - named 26-year-old Ma its “2018 Alipay Chinese Koi.” Selected at random from a pool of more than 3 million contest entrants, the Beijing-based computer engineer’s victory entitles her to a laundry list of prizes, ranging from luxury brand freebies and new phones to a Japanese cruise and round-trip tickets to both the U.S and Thailand. He is truly our Tolstoy a weaver of human parables,” the actor shares.Ma Huixian may be the luckiest person on the Chinese internet - but she's also one of the fishiest. “His descriptive flights of the imagination, his way of invoking the spiritualism of the cosmos, the delicacy of nature, and also the beautiful and moving evocations of childhood and the sanctity of the playing field are admirable! These are all characteristics that are singular and specific to Premchand. Vivaan shares what got him interested in the project, “Firstly, the opportunity to work with Seema is huge and secondly, the chance to inhabit the work of Premchand, who is one of my favourite writers of all time.” For Vivaan, Munshi Premchand is the “poet of the earth!” where he lauds the writer’s profound love for Mother Earth and its fellow people. The series also has time-tested writer Munshi Premchand’s popular short stories Gulli Danda and Idgah narrated by Vivaan Shah and Vinay Pathak. Viewers can see Saadat Hasan Manto’s Toba Tek Singh and Hatak being masterfully narrated by Manoj Pahwa and Sadiya Siddiqui, Harishankar Parsai’s Ek Film Katha narrated by Gopal Datt and Manto’s Mammad Bhai brought to life by the talented voice of Vineet Singh.
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