To Be the Truly Lucky Koi Fish

Recently, a girl whose net name is Xin Xiaodai has become the most discussed Internet celebrity known as the “National Koi”. The “National Koi” actually represents the winner in a lucky draw campaign launched by Alipay, a popular e-payment platform in China. And Xin, as the only person in three million to hit the jackpot, was flooded by numerous gifts like phones, accessories and free deluxe accommodation.

Nowadays, people are tweeting koi-related posts in hopes of unexpected wealth, just like Xin, together with many truehearted wishes.

“Follow and retweet this koi fish, and you will have good fortune within a month.”These kind of posts have gone viral not only on Weibo, but also on WeChat and many other social medias. In today’s society, Chinese people’s craze for koi fish, which represents good luck in Feng Shui (an ancient art and science related to health and fortune in China), has driven millions to repost koi-related tweets in hopes of being wealthy and healthy. Reposting koi has become a way to relieve stress, regardless of whether netizens take it seriously or consider it a joke. So, why does the koi fish have the magic power to reverse their unfortunate current situations and improve their lives? The answer has already been embedded in historical values for a long time.

koi-related posts

The worship of koi fish first appeared in ancient people’s imagination of animals. The word “koi” comes from Japanese, simply meaning “carp”. It includes both the dull grey fish and the brightly colored varieties. What are known as Koi in English are referred to more specifically as Nishikigoi in Japan (meaning “brocaded carp”). In Japanese, koi is a homophone for another word that means “affection” or “love”. Moreover, koi stands for heartfelt blessings for bumper harvests and the yearning pursuit of better lives. Since then, the totem of the koi fish has become a symbol of happiness and success. Therefore, Chinese people like to paste the elaborately-designed pictures of koi fish at their houses or offices in order to attain good luck.

Koi fish

However, from another perspective, the craze for koi fish actually reflects their herd mindset, just like they are in hot pursuit of the fashion brands and the super icons.

While reposting the koi fish has become a kind of fashion trend, the purpose of reposting is commercialized: to pray for winning a fortune then pray for good luck. In other words, the koi fish has become a marketing gimmick, or a business stunt. E-tailors would like to push people to repost their advertisements by selecting one or some lucky netizens as “koi fish”, and giving them some material rewards. Just like the crazy spread of the tweet of “Yi Dijina” (an official account run by a self-styled "koi fish" girl) and other brands. In that case, people become a tool to increase the exposure and visibility of e-tailors or Internet celebrities. Besides, for the sake of this crazy trend, the lawbreakers have also joined this “party”. They’ve seized this as an opportunity to collect people’s information illegally, so people are mostly a tool or a victim in this crazy party instead of winners or lucky dogs.

So being a sensible person, one should develop the ability to resist the temptation: to believe in yourself rather than to fantasize about becoming a koi. Be sensible, not only in the coming “Double Eleven”, but also in your future life. Most importantly, hope everyone can be a “Super Koi” by his or her own effort instead of relying on the so-called "mysterious power" of koi fish.