Ch: Taigongwang. A Chinese scholar who was thought to be a paragon of humble virtue and learned accomplishment, and who lived in the 11th century BCE. His real name was Lu Shang (Jp: Ryo Shō 呂尚). After earning a reputation as a great scholar, Taigongwang is said to have fled society to live alone spending his days fishing on the banks of the Wei River 渭水. "Taikōbō" is sometimes used to mean skilled-angler tsurishi 釣師.
Many legends surround Taigongwang, including the story that when he fished, his line bore neither bait nor hook. In one legend, Taikōbō was discovered by Wen Wang (Jp: Bun Ō 文王), first and model king of the Zhou dynasty, who felt he needed Taigongwang's knowledge of statecraft, and invited him to serve as a court minister. Taigongwang refused, thereby ensuring his place in Chinese history as moral exemplar of disinterestedness. The sobriquet Taigongwang, equivalent to "Grand-Duke's-Desire," supposedly originated from Wen Wang's statement "I, the Grand Duke have long fished for you."
There are well-known paintings of Taigongwang by Kano Sanraku 狩野山楽 (1559-1635, Myōshinji 妙心寺, Kyoto) and Ogata Kōrin 尾形光琳 (1658-1716, Tokyo National Museum).