THE FISHERIES OF THE FAR EAST 



is surrounded by water; Malacca and Corea nearly so; 

 China, Siam, and Annam are washed by the sea as well 

 as drained by huge, fish-teeming rivers ; and the inhabi- 

 tants of the three last-named have, for centuries, cultivated 

 the art of fresh-water fishing to an infinitely greater 

 extent than can be seen in any other part of the world. 

 Fish is cheap, moreover, and Easterns are economically 

 inclined. Next to rice, therefore, fish must be regarded 

 as the staple food of these temperate folk, and the pro- 

 curing of it as one of their most important occupations. 



Fresh-water fishing as carried on by the Chinese is 

 anything but a laborious industry; on the other hand 

 it offers ample opportunity for meditation and rest ; and, 

 as a large proportion of the population spend their lives 

 on the water, they have not far to look for their dinner. 



The approved Celestial method of angling has its 

 peculiarities. The fisherman provides himself with two 

 or more slender bamboo rods, each of which is supplied 

 with rings for the line to pass through, such as our own 

 rods have, and also with a homely attempt at a winch. 

 His lines would make a British angler envious ; they are 

 of the finest silk, deftly twisted, and scarcely thicker than 

 a hair ; yet of wonderful strength and durability. His 

 hooks are not so likely to be coveted by Europeans, for 

 they are of the bent-pin order, being destitute of barbs. 

 Each line has a short bit of wood tied on to it in place 

 of a float, fastened only by one end, so that it will merely 

 lie on the water instead of standing perpendicularly. 



Seated on his raft, or on the bank, the Chinaman very 

 methodically prepares for his morning's work. With the 



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