The Carp Leaping Dragon Gate

This mechanism toy tells the story of the Carp Leaping Dragon Gate

Lishan Qin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z2OsdR1oMM&feature=youtu.be

Description

The name of this storytelling project is “The Carp Leaping Dragon Gate”. It’s a derivative of the ancient Chinese folk story. In Chinese culture, carp fish are always considered as a lower life. They’re vulgar, inferior, and are despised by other living creatures. However, legends say that in the east ocean far away, there is a giant gate called the “Dragon Gate”. The Gate is so high that it could reach the sky. It is said that the mighty god Emperor Yu once made a promise that if there is a carp fish that could jump over the Dragon Gate, he will turn the fish into a noble dragon. Thus, every year during the spring season, in front of the Dragon Gate there is the carp fish that keeps jumping up and down, up and down, in order to become strong enough to jump over the dragon gate and become the mighty dragon.

IMA/IMB Shanghai
INTM-SHU.238.1
Toy Design and Prototyping
Narrative/Storytelling