Fragrant fish is named after a balm on the back that makes the fish body exude a faint scent of fruits. It is the "Fragrant Princess" in the fish. The fragrant fish in Taiwan is also "scented for the crime" like the "Fragrant Princess" in the Qing Dynasty. It was once devastated, and later it relied on artificial reproduction.

Scented fish are distributed in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other places. They can be divided into two types: one is the "sea-submerged type". Every autumn and winter, it flows to the lower reaches of the river to produce eggs. After production, most of the scented fish will die and have a life of about one year. Therefore, there is a term called "year fish". The hatched fish will swim to the estuary area to suck. Then, with various stages of growth, the small fish will flow upstream along the river; the other "soil-sealed type" only grows in freshwater, and its life can last for 2 or 3 years.

Taiwan native scented fish belongs to the descending sea type, originating in the stream north of the central part, and is most famous for the Tamsui River and the Xindian River basin in the upper reaches. In autumn, the fish go downstream to Bitan and other places to produce eggs, attracting the Hanjiakou and the people to catch up. Japanese poet Ozaki Omura came to Taiwan to see this grand scene during the Japanese administration and wrote a poem about "Bitan Fish Gou": "The fish gouge is the best in the world, and the silver is full of pressure; a layer of 3,000 tails are obtained, and a wine glass is placed on the Wanxi River."

Doctor Lin Yufang, a dentist who lived in Japan, once said: "During the Japanese treatment period, eating delicious fish is a fashionable thing." Taiwanese literati also like this taste. "The Complete Taiwan Poem" contains about 32 poems related to fragrant fish. Among them, Wei Qingde, who was once a international champion, especially loved this taste, leaving 8 poems, such as "New Sunshine on the River" wrote: "The sky is shining above and below and the water is shining, and the mulberry and mahjong has already sunny. When I come to visit the moon in the evening, I like to have fragrant fish with wine." In addition, he also rafted with friends in Bitan and had a banquet. The following is "The owner puts wine and divides it, and the child also explains the poem. The seven-inch fragrant fish is served in the order, because you don't have to feast your favor." The guests of Meng Jun's door, wine and fragrant fish, no longer have to lean on the door to feast, and sing "Is the long fish coming! No fish to eat."

The production of fragrant fish reached 60 tons in 1936, but due to factors such as illegal fishing, river staining, and water tank blocking migration routes, there were still 40 tons in 1940. After 1957, the production volume dropped directly, and it was no longer recorded after 1968. It was estimated that the fragrant fish had been absolutely alive in Taiwan. In "The Spring Lecture of Daojiang Ye" (No. 15), "The fragrance fish is just three inches on the fish, and the wine and two oranges are used to listen to the rooster." The kind of spring game musical disciples left their memories.

Taiwanese businessmen artificially breed after imported fertilized eggs from Japan in the 1970s. By the 1990s, they were able to cultivate their own seedlings. The large-scale breeding scented fish industry has grown up in 1985. In recent years, the production volume has exceeded 1,000 tons. The main area is in Yilan County, where the springs and live water are lingered.

Japanese people call fragrant fish "fried". Salt roasting is the most common way to cook. It seems simple, but in fact, it is very useful to experience the chef's skewers and grills. First, use a thorn to penetrate the fragrant fish from the head to the end. The fish body is wavy and cannot pierce the inner body to avoid the bitter taste. Then sprinkle the fragrant fish and roast it slowly over a long heat until the skin is slightly burnt and the fragrance comes to the nose. The salted roasted fish does not remove the internal organs. Don’t remove them when you eat the liver until you feel tired. The bitter and sweet taste is like a great love, and more like life.

Xindianxi was called "the old town of fragrant fish". In recent years, it has been vigorously cultivated in the local community, released fish seedlings, and the water conservancy unit has set up several low weirs in the downstream riverbed to maintain water levels and build suitable fish for fish, so that fragrant fish can gradually reappear.

Unfortunately, when the fish migrated to Bitan, it was blocked in Bitan Yan, which was damaged by the typhoon in Sudiller in 2015. I went to see the construction of the New Bitan Yan with Song Deren, director of the New Taipei Water Conservancy Bureau. They specially cooperated with Zeng Qingchen, professor of the Department of Life Sciences of Qinghai University, to tailor-made the fragrant fish rejuvenation and fishing path, which opened in July 2023, giving the fragrant fish a way home.

Some people in Taiwan call fragrant fish "the national fish". It is said that the national surname Zheng successfully introduced from Fujian to Xindian River to breed in Xindian River, but Cao Jianzong, Yufu and others believed that the strength of the Zheng family had not yet been expanded to the north at that time, and there was doubt.

The book of the school in my childhood has a story about the former president watching the fish going upstream and fighting against the current. This may be a myth in the period of authority, but think about it, what is the driving force of the fish going upstream? Is it instinct? Maybe it's the original intention.

The sudden earthquake, heavy rain and various epidemics…… Which accident or tomorrow comes first, really makes people less and less understand. We are like fish in the turbulent stream, just keep moving forward with all our might, forget what this desperate original intention is, or maybe, we should occasionally calm down, rethink our life positioning, and then come out.

Responsibility Edit Wu Yifan