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As the deity who grants success in the imperial examinations, <a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/figures-stories/god-of-literature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kui Xing</a> 魁星 is revered as the God of Literature. The image of Kui Xing is often presented as a spirit holding a writing brush in one hand and a scroll or a tablet in the other. He is often seen standing on one foot while the other is kicking back towards an ink vessel (斗 dou).
During the Tang and Song dynasties, scholars who scored number one in imperial examinations would stand on the head of large <a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/motifs-symbols/dragon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dragon</a>&#8211;<a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/motifs-symbols/fish/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carp </a>reliefs on the steps in front of the imperial palace to receive the announcement of the ranking. Therefore, a person who can make it and <a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/motifs-symbols/may-you-be-the-only-one-who-can-stand-on-the-head-of-a-dragon-carp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stand on the head of a dragon-carp is considered as a champion</a>.
When the figure of a scholar is replaced by Kui Xing standing on the head of a dragon-carp, its meaning is merged as well. The figural scene is blessing you to be the top scholar in the examinations.
Related Pun Picture:
<a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/pun-pictures/you-will-certainly-come-out-first-in-the-imperial-examinations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You will certainly come out first in the imperial examinations</a> 必定夺魁

When the God of Literature kicks an ink vessel, you are blessed to be the only one who can stand on the head of a dragon-carp.

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Pun Design ：
Writing brush + Ingot + <a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/figures-stories/god-of-literature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kui Xing</a>
Punning Details：
-Writing brush 笔 bi is a pun on 必 bi meaning ‘certainly’ or ‘necessarily’;
-Ingot 锭ding is homophonous with 定 ding meaning ‘surely’ or ‘inevitably’;
&#8211; ‘kui’ refers to Kui Xing 魁星 who is believed to be the God of Literature. Kui Xing has been legendary for writing the names for the first successful candidates in the imperial examinations since the Song dynasty.
Therefore, the image of the God of Literature holding a writing brush in one hand and a gold or silver ingot in the other conveys a good wish for the examination sitters to be successful and achieving top marks.
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Related Symbol:
<a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/motifs-symbols/may-you-be-the-only-one-who-can-stand-on-the-head-of-a-dragon-carp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May you be the only one who can stand on the head of a dragon-carp</a> 独占鳌头
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Related Figural Scene:
<a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/figures-stories/when-the-god-of-literature-kicks-an-ink-vessel-you-are-blessed-to-be-the-only-one-who-can-stand-on-the-head-of-a-dragon-carp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">When the God of Literature kicks an ink vessel, you are blessed to be the only one who can stand on the head of a dragon-carp.</a> 魁星踢斗,  独占鳌头

You will certainly come out first in the imperial examinations

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The term ‘Kui Xing’ originally referred to the North Star (北斗 Bei Dou). As stated in the Historical Records by Sima Qian (司马迁 145BCE – ?) , ‘Kui is the first star of the Great Dipper constellation’. Therefore, Kui also carries the meaning of being the first.
Gu Yanwu (顾炎武 1613–1682), a scholar in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, wrote in his book ‘Records of Daily-Gained Knowledge’ (日知录 Rizhilu):
“The origin of the worship of Kui Xing by people today is unknown. Kui 奎 was the master of Literature, and therefore temples were built to worship him. However, he could not be portrayed accurately, and thus was changed to a homophonous name of ‘Kui 魁’. But even this was not easy to portrait Kui, so the character Kui 魁 was split into 鬼 (meaning ghost, demon or spirit) and 斗 dou (a vessel for measurement, also a pun for the Dipper Bei Dou) so that the image of Kui can be illustrated by a spirit lifting one foot and supporting a dou vessel.”
Legend has it that the writing brush he was holding was used to write the names of successful candidates in the imperial examinations. Once their names were written, their literary and official careers were guaranteed to flourish. Therefore, during the imperial examination era, scholars regarded Kui Xing as a deity of their great fortune.
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Related Pun Picture:
<a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/pun-pictures/you-will-certainly-come-out-first-in-the-imperial-examinations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You will certainly come out first in the imperial examinations</a> 必定夺魁
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Related Figural Scene:
<a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/figures-stories/when-the-god-of-literature-kicks-an-ink-vessel-you-are-blessed-to-be-the-only-one-who-can-stand-on-the-head-of-a-dragon-carp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">When the God of Literature kicks an ink vessel, you are blessed to be the only one who can stand on the head of a dragon-carp. </a>魁星踢斗,  独占鳌头

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