Becoming the Dragon

In a recent post on Appreciate a Dragon Day, I alluded to a special fish that, through determination, became a dragon. This was in reference to a Chinese legend about a koi ascending a waterfall on the Yellow River. It’s an old story, one that may pre-date written language.

The legend tells of a school of colorful koi fish that swam upstream until they reached an imposing waterfall. Most of the koi stopped swimming there and allowed the current to carry them back downstream. A few koi remained, however, determined to scale the waterfall. They jumped and jumped, each time descending to the river bottom and then swimming hard to the surface to build up speed. After a hundred years of trying, only one fish reached the top of the waterfall. There it was rewarded by the gods for its perseverance and turned into a wondrous golden dragon. The waterfall became known as the Dragon Gate from then on.

Why am I writing about this? Two reasons. One, it’s a cool story with a positive message — determination pays off. Keep going and you, too, can conquer the heights of your own Dragon Gate. All dragon fans should know this story.

Second, I know this legend because of heavy metal music, and I think that’s fun information to share with others. Specifically, the band Trivium introduced me to the legend with the song “Becoming the Dragon.” You can watch the video and read the lyrics to the song below. I share them here for entertainment purposes only and don’t claim any rights to Trivium’s rocking tune.

Volume up, dragon fans!

Becoming the Dragon by Trivium (lyrics from Musixmatch)

Swimming in the river ascending
Free of fear, filled with purpose
Nishikigoi fights through oceans of adversity
Against the current to obtain the highest goals

Swim through oceans of suffering
Climb to the falls of Dragon Gate
Become
Transform from Koi into a beast
Dragon

A living symbol of courage
No wave will shatter these scales (shatter the scales)
Dreams of three eagle claws and the paws of a tiger
Waterfall’s up ahead, one thing left to do

Swim through oceans of suffering
Climb to the falls of Dragon Gate
Become
Transform from Koi into a beast
Dragon

You’ll never stop the becoming, yeah
This dragon will rise and be king

All bear witness to a great form
Evolution is complete
A breath that turns into clouds producing rain or fire
Watch the world move according to each desire

Swim through oceans of suffering
Swim through oceans of suffering
Climb to the falls of Dragon Gate
Become
Transform from koi into a beast
Dragon