454 CHINESE FISHING 
a few well-known ones, the fins of the shark,! the béche-de-mer, 
the cuttlefish, the jellyfish, and the scollop form important 
articles of domestic commerce, but are not bought or sold to 
any extent in the West.’ 2 
The cuttlefish as a dining delicacy appealed to very early 
palates. The Records of Chou recount that on the appointment 
of Yi Yin to Viceroyalty, T’ang ‘“‘ bestowed—could he do 
more ?—on him cuttle-fish condiment.’’ 3 
In China, as elsewhere, the priority of fishing implement 
furnishes a problem not easy of solution. Professor Giles’s 
statement that “ it is clear the net preceded the hook ’’ demands 
for its gainsaying a knowledge equal, if possible, to his, and, in 
addition, more than triple brass. Mr. Yen, in his “ our ancient 
classics refer to a time when our primitive ancestors tied ropes 
together to form fishing nets,’’ seemingly confirms Giles. 
Legge is uncommittal: ‘‘ they fished with the line, but the 
ordinary method was with the net.”’ 4 
Search in the great Chinese Encyclopedia endorses the 
precedence of the Net over the Rod, but not by overwhelming 
length of time. Its first reference to the former comes from 
the I Ching or Book of Changes, which may date from the 
eleventh century B.c.; to the latter from the Shih Ching or 
Book of Odes, which apparently ranges from the eleventh to 
the seventh century B.c. 
This last passage runs—‘‘ What are used in Angling? 
Silk threads formed into lines. The son of the reverent 
Marquis and the grand-daughter of tranquil King.” The 
startling identification of the silk threads with a son of a 
reverent Marquis and a grand-daughter of a King of Peace 
(according to another translation) shows that in the matter 
and measure of his metaphors in the millennium preceding the 
Christian era the Turanian was far from played out. 
Fortunately our deus ex machina Prof. Legge again comes 
1 These, with fish-maws, and birds’ nests—of the swallow species, Collo- 
calia—are esteemed for their stimulating (or aphrodisiacal) qualities. Williams, 
op. cit., II. 397. 
2 Op. cit. 
3 Pet t’ang shu ch’ao, apud Werner, op. cit., p. 264. 
* Op. cit., vol. IV., Pt. I. p. 148. 
