As we all know, carp is one of the fish with the longest history of breeding in China, even earlier than the four major fish. There is a record of carp in the ancient "Book of Songs", which shows that it has been widely eaten and recognized in ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Fan Li, a doctor of the Yue Kingdom, compiled the "Fish Farming Sutra", which introduced the breeding methods of carp in detail. He emphasized the importance of developing pond carp farming, and predicted that the benefits of carp farming could reach 10 million, which also laid the foundation for the development of carp farming in China. In the Liang period of the Southern Dynasty, Tao Hongjing spoke highly of carp and called it "the length of all fish, which tastes like food". Carp became one of the most popular freshwater fish in ancient times due to its simple farming techniques, strong reproductive ability, and delicious taste.
Despite its long history of carp farming, it has not become one of the four major fish like herring, grass carp, silver carp and bighead fish. The reasons for this can be explained in three ways: the name, the national ban and the difficulty of farming.
First of all, the name is one of the main reasons why carp was not included in the four major fishes. During the Tang Dynasty, the carp was renamed "Chigong" because of its homonym with the emperor's surname "Li", a name change that led to a nationwide ban on the consumption and trade of carp. Such restrictions have led fishermen to turn to other fish species such as herring, grass carp, silver carp and bighead, while the four large carp are becoming popular because they are easy to farm and delicious.
Secondly, the national ban has had a significant impact on carp farming. Due to the long-term ban on the consumption and trade of carp, farming techniques have been greatly restricted. On the contrary, due to the gradual maturity of its breeding technology and the characteristics of delicious meat, the four major carp gradually replaced the carp as the main breeding object.
Finally, carp farming is more difficult than for the four major carp. Fourth, the large carp has the advantages of strong adaptability, strong reproductive ability, high tolerance and other advantages, and is easier to breed. In contrast, carp have higher requirements for breeding conditions, which makes the breeding process relatively complex. Due to the combined influence of these factors, the carp did not enter the ranks of the four major fish, and the four large fish became the more representative freshwater fish.
1.Carp has a long history of farming: carp is one of the fish with the longest history of aquaculture in China, and has been widely eaten and cultivated in ancient times.
2.Simple farming: The cultivation method of carp is relatively simple, and the breeding technology is easy to master. This makes carp a relatively easy fish to be cultivated in ancient times.
3.Strong reproductive ability: Whether in the wild or in fish ponds, carp have a strong reproductive ability. Compared with the four major carp, the breeding conditions of carp are less demanding.
4.Delicious and nutritious: The meat of carp is delicious, the taste is tender, and the nutritional value is also very high, which is loved by the masses.
In summary, although the carp did not become a member of the four major fishes, its long history of farming, simple farming methods, strong reproductive ability, and delicious and nutritious characteristics made it popular in ancient times. Although the status of carp in the market is not as good as that of the four major fish, it is still an important part of China's abundant freshwater fish resources.