锦鲤
释义 DEFINITION
字面含义：锦鲤原指一种色彩鲜艳的观赏鲤鱼，常见于中国园林池塘。
网络含义：2018年后成为‘幸运象征’的代名词，特指被大量网民转发祈求好运的虚拟形象，也用来形容自带‘欧气’（好运体质）的幸运儿。
常见用法：90%以上场景用于社交媒体祈福（如考试前转发）或形容偶然获得巨额财富/机遇的人（如中彩票者）。
词源故事 ETYMOLOGY
从池塘到热搜：锦鲤的奇幻漂流
2018年10月，支付宝推出‘中国锦鲤全球免单大礼包’抽奖活动，河南姑娘@信小呆在300万参与者中被随机选中，瞬间获得价值百万的全球旅行套餐。网友戏称她为‘天选之女’，‘锦鲤’一词开始病毒式传播。
三个月内，微博出现超过2000万条带有#锦鲤转运#的话题。心理学教授李铭指出：‘这反映了Z世代在不确定环境中对‘可控幸运符号’的心理依赖’。
有趣的是，真正的转折点发生在2019年考研季。当时有考生在考前转发‘杨超越+锦鲤’合成图后考出高分，引发‘玄学应验’的二次传播。从此锦鲤图片发展出复杂亚文化体系，包括：
- ‘暴富锦鲤’（金色鳞片+元宝图案）
- ‘学业锦鲤’（戴学士帽的卡通鱼）
- ‘复合锦鲤’（粉红色爱心变体）
例句：‘快转发这只加班锦鲤，说不定明天甲方就通过方案！’——某设计公司微信群聊记录
DEFINITION
Literal meaning: A vibrantly colored ornamental carp, often seen in Chinese gardens.
Internet culture: After 2018, it evolved into a digital ‘lucky charm’. People share koi images to manifest good fortune, similar to Western ‘chain letters’ but with cuter aesthetics. It also describes individuals with uncanny luck, like someone who ‘won the lottery on their first try’.
Cultural note: Unlike four-leaf clovers, golden koi carries undertones of ‘life-changing opportunities’ rather than general luck.
ETYMOLOGY
From Pond to Pixel: The Digital Metamorphosis of Koi
Everything changed in October 2018 when Alipay launched its ‘China’s Golden Koi’ giveaway. A 26-year-old office worker @XinXiaodai won a $150,000 global travel package from 3 million entrants overnight. Netizens declared her ‘proof that magic exists in the algorithm age’.
Within weeks, Weibo exploded with 20 million+ posts tagged #KoiManifestation. Dr. Ming Li, a social psychologist, noted: ‘It’s Gen-Z’s version of carrying a rabbit’s foot, but optimized for the attention economy’.
The trend took an unexpected turn during China’s 2019 postgraduate exam season. Students shared memes merging koi with Yang Chaoyue (a pop star famous for ‘unearned success’), claiming it boosted their scores. This birthed niche koi subcultures:
- ‘Rich Koi’ (gold scales + ingot symbols)
- ‘Scholar Koi’ (wearing graduation caps)
- ‘Love Koi’ (pink heart-shaped variants)
Example: ‘Send this overtime koi to your work chat! Maybe the client will finally approve the draft.’ – Real message from a Shanghai design firm’s WeChat group