Atlas / For study & exams / Carp at the Dragon GateNo. 04

Plate IEast Asia · China Carp at the Dragon Gate, drawn by Wishlore

Pl. ICarp at the Dragon Gate. A carp leaping towards the gate. Drawing: Wishlore.

No. 04 · For study & exams · East Asia

The carp at the Dragon Gate

A carp that leaps the Dragon Gate becomes a dragon — a Chinese story told of the effort it takes to pass a hard test.

Earliest record: Sanqin Ji legend; Qing belt ornament
Source: People’s Daily, on the Sanqin Ji legend (1 March 2024)
Region: East Asia · China
Wish: For study & exams
Layers: Record Folk Modern

Keep this symbol · from £2.99 Read the sources

The story · three layers

The story, in three layers.

Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.

Record

Sanqin Ji

The leap at the gate

The Sanqin Ji tells that a carp which leaps over the Dragon Gate turns into a dragon.

Folk

Qing dynasty

On a scholar’s belt

In the Qing dynasty, belt ornaments carved with the leaping carp stood for passing the imperial examinations.

III

Modern

Wishlore, today

How we tell it

We tell it as a story about effort before an exam, not as a charm that changes a result.

Carp at the Dragon Gate

Sanqin Ji legend; Qing belt ornament

Story and sources on the reverse

Pl. IIThe story card. Every printed piece carries the story and a code that opens the full source list.

Keep it close

How would you like to keep it?

Download & print

Print-ready card and phone wallpaper

£2.99Sample price

Printed story card, posted

Story and source code on the reverse

£8Sample price

Sterling pendant

925 sterling silver · whole symbol

£28Sample price

Gilded pendant

Gold plated 925 silver (vermeil) · lab-created stones

£85Sample price

Atelier, numbered

Handmade, numbered, made to order · making video later · lab-created stones

£185Sample price

Wish for someone

A private note in your own account. Nothing is sent to them.

Free

Add to bag · £8

Pendants are whole symbols, drawn from this plate. Pictures are design drawings, not photos, until the piece is made and photographed
Printed cards and pendants are made in our partner workshop in China and shipped worldwide
Delivery: [UK/EU/US days TBC]; duties shown at checkout

Watch the story

The story, in a minute.

It opens with the pencil construction, then follows the record, how people used it, and the piece we make today. Every fact in it comes from the sources on this page.

Length: 0:55
Narration: English, with subtitles on screen
Images: Pencil construction and the atlas drawing on this page, animated; no AI images; jewellery shown as a line drawing
Sources: Listed at the end of the film

Story film · 0:55 · Drawn from the atlas plate · no AI images

In one breath

A carp that clears the gate becomes a dragon. Who would you keep it for?