The Daoist Angler and Kingfisher

Minh-Hoang Nguyen

26-09-2025

Created by Wix AI

On a misty morning by the Hao River, Master Zhuangzi wanders barefoot across a simple bamboo bridge. Beneath him, minnows dart through open channels, weaving in and out of shimmering pools. A flash of cyan orange catches his eye—Kingfisher perches on a reed, head cocked curiously. Zhuang pauses, intrigued by this brilliant visitor.

“Good morning, friend of the water,” Zhuang greets, bowing slightly. “I see you’ve come to fish.” 

Kingfisher tilts his head, glossy feathers catching the light. “I fish, but fishing is not what I do,” he replies in a clear, unpleasant shrill.

“That sounds impossible,” Zhuang laughs. 

 “Observe how I sit perfectly still,” Kingfisher says, spreading his wings like a scholar opening a scroll. “No eager plunge, no casting net—just calm waiting.”

He tips forward, vanishes beneath the water’s mirror, and rises a heartbeat later with a silvery fish clutched delicately in his beak. Zhuang gasps at the effortless catch.

Zhuang sets his net in the stream, heart eager for a catch. He stirs the surface, sending minnows scattering, but every time the mesh dips, it emerges empty. He wipes his wet sleeves and concedes, “I fish with exertion; you fish with non-action. Which is true Dao?”

Kingfisher preens and replies, “Dao is neither yours nor mine—it’s the way water flows. When you cast your net, you force the river to obey. When I dive, I join its path.”

They settle side by side, Zhuang wrapping his robe against the breeze while Kingfisher fluffs the feathers. Together, they watch the sun climb and gild the water with gold. Zhuang breathes in the fresh air, feeling the Dao flow through his chest... 

“Perhaps,” he whispers, “the fish I chase are not the river’s fish, but my own dream?” 

“The fish I catch,” adds Kingfisher, “are gifts of the river—offered when I become this very river.”

Once again, Zhuang gasps...

¤

Years later, both Zhuangzi and Kingfisher still remember the conversation. They just don’t know if it is real or a dream.

But the fish know...

References

[1] Vuong QH. (2024). Wild Wise Weird. https://books.google.com/books?id=N10jEQAAQBAJ

[2] Zhuang Zhou. (1964). Zhuangzi.

[3] Laozi. (1868). Tao Te Ching.