A famous saying goes that, “Jiang Taigong (1128BC~1015BC) gets the fish, which is willing to let itself be caught”. Jiang Taigong, also called Jiang Shang, is a real historical figure, who is a famous statesman and strategist in history.
There spread various versions about the origin of this famous saying. The most popular one goes that during the period of Shang Dynasty (1600BC~1046BC), Jiang Taigong heard that King Wen was searching for talented people to assist him to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. He decided to help him. However, he did not offer himself to the king directly. Each day, he went fishing near the river. His fishing was really special as the hook was straight and he did not use any baits. What’s more, the fishing rod hung 3 feet above the water. People who saw his way of fishing always laughed at him, “You will never get the fish by fishing this way!” Jiang answered calmly, “I am waiting for the fish which is willing to be caught”. Soon, the news about Jiang reached King Wen. Curious about him, the King visited him and talked with him. After their talking, the King discovered that Jiang was really a genius. He then visited Jiang another two times to invite him to appear at court and finally, Jiang agreed to help him. With the help of Jiang, King Wen and his son King Wu overthrew the Shang Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty (1046BC~771BC).
Nowadays, when we talk about the famous saying, we always mean that a person who is willing to fall into other people’s trap.
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