ExclusiveTraditional Chinese Tales: Fu Xi Invented the Fishing Net

Fuxi invented the fishing net. In ancient times, people relied on hunting and foraging for their survival. When there was plentiful harvest, they could eat more. When the harvest was meager, they ate less. And when there was no harvest, they went hungry. Thus, in that era, finding enough food became a major issue. Fuxi felt very sad about this. He thought, if things continue like this, won't many people starve to death? He contemplated for a long time but could not come up with a solution. One day he went for a stroll by the river and occasionally saw a large plump carp jumping out of the water. This caught his attention. Those carp were big and fat. Wouldn't it be great to catch them for food? Determined, he waded into the river and after some time managed to catch a big carp. Delighted, he took the carp home. He roasted the fish and shared it with the people around him. Everyone who ate it found it delicious. So Fuxi took them to catch more fish. In less than three days, everyone had learned how to fish. However, catching the fish in the river came with many challenges. The water could be deep and dangerous and some creatures in the water could hurt humans. Therefore, Fuxi wondered if there was a safer and more dependable method for catching fish. He thought for a long time but still could not come up with a solution. At that moment he noticed a spider weaving a web between two branches. Once the spider had finished its web, it hid at a corner. After a while, some distant mosquitoes and flies got trapped in the web. Only then did the spider calmly emerge from its hiding place and feast on its catch. Seeing the spider catch insects with its web suddenly inspired Fuxi. He ran up the mountain, gathered some vines to use as ropes and wove them into a rough net just like the spider did. Then he cut two sticks and tied them in a cross shape to the net. Adding another long stick tied to the center and the net was completed. He took the net to the river, placed it in the water and held the long stick quietly waiting on the shore. After a while, he pulled up the net and lo and behold it was full of lively fish. This method was excellent. It not only caught more fish than using his hands but also allowed him to stay dry on the shore. Fuxi taught everyone how to use the net. From then on, people knew how to fish with nets and even to this day, people still use nets for fishing.