文鳐鱼

The Classic of Western Mountains: one hundred and eighty li west is Mount Taiqi. The Guan River issues from it and flows west into the shifting sands. In it are many Wenyao fish: shaped like a carp, a fish's body with bird's wings, blue-green markings, a white head and a red beak. They travel the Western Sea and swim in the Eastern Sea, flying by night. Their voice is like a luan-bird's; their flesh is sour-sweet; eating them cures madness. When they appear, the world has a great harvest. What is this, first of all. Fish body, bird wings, white head, red beak, blue-green markings, flying at night. It is not a mythical animal. It is a flying fish. Exocoetidae have enormously developed pectoral fins that open like wings. They do not flap; they glide. Accelerating underwater, they flick the tail, break the surface, spread the fins, and glide tens of metres — a hundred, with luck. Flying fish live in Chinese waters. In the warm parts of the South China Sea and the East China Sea they appear in schools in summer and autumn. Fishermen call them "flying crows" or "swallow rays," because in the air they look like swallows. "Flying by night" is the most accurate clause. Flying fish are phototactic. At night, a ship's lamp goes on and they come in a rush, hit the hull, and land on the deck. The crew gets up in the morning to a deck covered in fish. So "flying by night" does not mean they only fly at night. It means you only see them fly at night. By day they fly too, but you cannot tell a fish from a splash. "Travel the Western Sea, swim in the Eastern Sea" is stranger still. The Western Sea in this geographic system means western waters — Lake Qinghai, or something further inland. The Eastern Sea is the East China Sea. One fish, swimming from western waters to the eastern sea. Biologically that is migration, but it cannot be the same fish. What actually happens: flying fish live in warm water and move with warm currents. When the current is strong they push north and west; when it weakens they retreat south. What the recorder saw was: this kind of fish is sometimes in the western water, sometimes in the eastern sea. He read that as: it travels between them. Then "their voice is like a luan-bird's." Flying fish do not call. But when they leave the water, the tail beats at high speed and makes a slapping sound. At night, hundreds of fish leaving the water at once sounds like a great flock of birds beating wings. The luan is a legendary coloured bird. The recorder used a bird's sound for a fish's sound — because what he was watching was, precisely, a scene of fish becoming birds. Then: "their flesh is sour-sweet; eating them cures madness." Flying fish meat is sour with sweetness behind it. Anyone who has eaten it knows: inosine monophosphate and free amino acids in sea fish produce a clean, faintly tart sweetness. "Cures madness" again. Linghu had the same clause. This time it is a fish. Sea fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and iodine. Iodine bears on thyroid function and neural development; omega-3 on mood regulation. The mechanism was unknown, but the observation was not: people who eat sea fish are steadier. The last clause matters most: "when they appear, the world has a great harvest." Why would flying fish mean a harvest? Because they are a warm-current indicator. A large inshore appearance of flying fish means a strong warm current, high water temperature, and a rain belt shifted north. For a monsoon agricultural state, warm moist air moving north means rain, and rain means harvest. So "when they appear, the world has a great harvest" is not a blessing. It is a forecast. A fish leaps out of the water at night and lands on the deck. The fisherman picks it up, looks at it, and says: the rain will be good this year. That judgement was probably more reliable than any divination.

เขไทยฉี มีแม่น้ำกวนไหลลงตะวันตกสู่ทรายเคลื่อน "ปลาเหวินเหยา" ตัวเหมือนปลาไน มีปีกนก หัวขาว ปากแดง ลายเขียวอมน้ำเงิน บินยามค่ำคืน นี่ไม่ใช่สัตว์เทพ แต่คือ "ปลาบิน" (flying fish) ครีบอกจากใหญ่จนกางได้เหมือนปีก มันไม่กระพือ แต่ร่อน "บินยามค่ำคืน" แม่นที่สุด: ปลาบินชอบแสง กลางคืนเปิดไฟบนเรือ ฝูงปลาจะพุ่งมาชนเรือ ตกเต็มดาดฟ้า เช้ามาก็เก็บ "เร่ร่อนในทะเลตะวันตก ว่ายในทะเลตะวันออก" — จริง ๆ คือมันตามกระแสน้ำอุ่น กระแสแรงก็ขึ้นเหนือ-ตะวันตก กระแสอ่อนก็ถอยลงใต้ "เห็นเมื่อไรข้าวกล้าอุดมสมบูรณ์" — ปลาบินเป็นตัวชี้กระแสน้ำอุ่น กระแสอุ่น = ฝนมาดี = ผลผลิตดี นี่คือการพยากรณ์ ไม่ใช่คำอวยพร

Gunung Taiqi, Sungai Guan mengalir ke barat ke pasir bergerak. "Ikan Wenyao": tubuh kap, sayap burung, kepala putih, paruh merah, corak hijau biru, terbang pada malam. Ini bukan haiwan mitos, tetapi "ikan terbang" (flying fish). Sirip dadanya besar hingga boleh dibuka seperti sayap. Ia tidak mengepak, ia meluncur. "Terbang pada malam" paling tepat: ikan terbang tertarik cahaya. Malam, lampu kapal menyala, kawanan menyerbu, terhempas ke lambung, jatuh ke geladak. Pagi, anak kapal mengutipnya. "Merantau di Laut Barat, berenang di Laut Timur" — sebenarnya ia mengikut arus panas; arus kuat ia naik ke utara-barat, arus lemah ia undur ke selatan. "Muncul, dunia menuai hasil besar" — ikan terbang penunjuk arus panas. Arus panas = hujan baik = hasil baik. Ini ramalan, bukan restu.

Núi Thái Khí, sông Quan chảy tây vào cát chuyển. "Cá Văn Dao": mình cá chép, cánh chim, đầu trắng, mỏ đỏ, vằn xanh, bay trong đêm. Đây không phải thú thần thoại, mà là "cá bay" (flying fish). Vây ngực lớn đến mức mở ra như cánh. Nó không vỗ, nó lượn. "Bay trong đêm" chính xác nhất: cá bay bị ánh sáng hấp dẫn. Đêm, đèn tàu bật, đàn cá lao tới, đập vào mạn, rơi xuống boong. Sáng ra thủy thủ nhặt. "Đi khắp Tây Hải, bơi ở Đông Hải" — thực ra nó theo dòng nước ấm; dòng mạnh thì lên bắc-tây, dòng yếu thì lùi nam. "Xuất hiện thì thiên hạ được mùa" — cá bay là chỉ báo dòng ấm. Dòng ấm = mưa tốt = mùa tốt. Đây là dự báo, không phải lời chúc.

Gunung Taiqi, Sungai Guan mengalir ke barat ke pasir bergerak. "Ikan Wenyao": tubuh ikan mas, sayap burung, kepala putih, paruh merah, corak hijau biru, terbang pada malam. Ini bukan hewan mitos, melainkan "ikan terbang" (flying fish). Sirip dadanya besar hingga bisa dibuka seperti sayap. Ia tidak mengepak, ia meluncur. "Terbang pada malam" paling tepat: ikan terbang tertarik cahaya. Malam, lampu kapal menyala, kawanan menyerbu, menghantam lambung, jatuh ke geladak. Pagi, awak kapal memungutnya. "Mengembara di Laut Barat, berenang di Laut Timur" — sebenarnya ia mengikuti arus hangat; arus kuat ia naik ke utara-barat, arus lemah ia mundur ke selatan. "Muncul, dunia panen besar" — ikan terbang penunjuk arus hangat. Arus hangat = hujan baik = hasil baik. Ini ramalan, bukan restu.