Question

In at least 100 words, explain the relationship of the characters to the carp throughout Wang's "The Carp."

Answer 1

For reference, here is the text of the poem, The Carp, by Yun Wang:

My father was the school principal. The day I was born, he caught a twenty pound carp. He gave it to the school kitchen. All the teachers and boarding students tasted it.

Waves of mountains surrounded us. I grew up yearning for the ocean. Smoke arose from green mountains to form clouds each morning. My father named me Cloud.

When a son was born to Confucius, the king of Lu sent over a carp as present. Confucius named his son Carp.

The wise say a carp leaping over the dragon gate is a very lucky sign. My father says he named me Cloud because I was born in the year of the dragon: there are always clouds following a dragon. Confucius’ son died an early death. My father has only three daughters.

When I was three, I wandered all over the campus. A stray cat in a haunted town. My mother says I passed the room where my father was imprisoned. He whispered to me, hid a message in my little pocket. It was his will that I should grow up a strong woman, and find justice for him.

They caught me. My father was beaten to near death. Some of them were students, whose parents were peasants. Some of them were teachers, who used to be his best friends. They had tasted the carp.

It has been recorded that Confucius could not tell the difference between millet and wheat, and was thus mocked by a peasant. This peasant became a big hero, representing the wisdom of the people, thousands of years after Confucius’ death.

My father still goes fishing, the only thing that seems to calm him. The mountains are sleeping waves. My father catches very small fish. My mother eats them. My friends laugh at me, when I tell them that once upon a time, my father caught a carp weighing twenty pounds.

Answer 2

It seems that the "carp" in Wang's poem is a pretty complex symbol, with many personal and cultural connections. You could talk about the carp's literal connection to the author's life, with the anecdote of her father catching the big fish and feeding it to the teachers and students; you could consider the carp's cultural connection to the dragon, as well as the historical connection to Confucius, who "named his son carp", in parallel to the way the author's father "named me cloud". The carp could also represent a certain moment in time, and the feelings related to that moment which is no longer there; consider the contrast between the big "carp weighing twenty pounds" and the "very small fish" that the father now catches.

For additional reading and background, consider researching the history of the "Chinese cultural revolution"; some of the verses of the poem, especially when she mentions her father's mistreatment by being "imprisoned", "beaten to near death" seem like they could be direct references to events that took place during that time in history; knowing more about that would surely enhance your understanding of the poem. If you'd like, I will link to a piece of an article describing these events in more detail, so you may understand the backdrop upon which this poem is likely based: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution#Academics_and_education