White Fish Entering the Boat

The story of "White Fish Entering the Boat" is: King Wen of Zhou died, King Wu ascended the throne, raised troops, and joined forces with 800 princes in Mengjin. Something happened during the march: King Wu crossed the river. When he reached the middle of the river, a white fish suddenly jumped into his boat. King Wu picked it up and used it to worship the gods. Pei Pi quoted Ma Rong's explanation: Fish have scales, just like people wearing armor, which is a sign of war. White was the official color of the Yin Dynasty. The white fish entering the boat symbolized that the people of the Yin Dynasty turned to the side of the Zhou Dynasty, and that the Zhou Dynasty was about to replace the Shang Dynasty; later it was used as a metaphor for a sign that victory would be achieved with military force.

White fish entering the boat bái yú rù zhōu

Interpretation: It is a metaphor for the sign of victory with troops.

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Example: King Wu~, the emperor and his ministers changed their colors. ("Three Kingdoms·Book of Wei·Biography of Yang Fu")