A little over 2000 years ago, nestled in a mountain valley, was the small Chinese village of Lum Chi. The people there were happy for the most part except for one horrible recurring problem. Every seven years on midsummer's eve a giant bird would attack the town, destroying buildings and crops in the field. The bird was beautiful, with chromatic plumage that shimmered in the sun, but trying to fight off the creature was impossible. Those feathers were hard as bronze and deflected spear heads and arrows as well as the simple farm implements the peasants had at hand.

One day soon after the attack two friends, Hing and Ming, decided that something had to be done to stop the rampages. They decided to visit the Old Man of the Mountain, who was fabled to be the wisest in all the land, to seek a remedy to their problem. They made up their packs and bedrolls and set off on the arduous trek. For two days they climbed the mountain until they came to a small but tidy hut at the top. The holy hermit came out and welcomed them and offered them tea as they explained their sorrows.

"Ah, you have run afoul of the Huang bird. She is a mystical creature, usually very kindly disposed towards men, but when she is in her mating cycle she builds a nest and attacks anyone or anything that might pose a threat to her eggs. Your village is too close to her home. The answer is simple: you must move your village."

"But we can't do that," Ming protested. "We are where the river branches and the land is most fertile. Is there nothing we can do to appease the Huang?"

"No, the only relief for her is when the male Feng bird arrives to mate. But there is one other possibility. Perhaps you can restrain her when she comes to the village until her mate arrives. Then she would be unable to attack, and once she has mated she will return to her nest calmly."

"But she is so strong! How can we restrain her?" asked Hing.

"You will need a net, made of the strongest ropes, and tied by a master knot expert. The whole village will be needed to overcome her mystical strength and subdue her."

The two friends thanked him for his advice and hospitality and set off back down the mountain, dejected. They didn't have any strong ropes and did not know a master of the knots. But as they walked they talked and thought. Then they remembered a traveling merchant who had told stories about the Emperor's shipyards and the massive ropes that were used on his sailing fleet. They decided that one of them would go to he capitol and learn all there was to know about ropes and knots and return before the Huang came again. But who would go?

"I shall go," Hing announced. "I am an orphan and the village raised me, fed me, gave me clothing and shelter and education. I will go and learn what must be learned."

"And I shall stay and work my family's farm until you return. And together we will save our village from this curse!" And so that is what happened. Hing set off to the capitol to apprentice himself to the master ropemakers. They welcomed such an eager student and taught him well. Each ropemaker was amazed at how quickly and well Hing learned their craft. The head shipbuilder took notice and had special classes set up for Hing with all of the ropemakers until he had mastered every technique and knot that there was. Hing invented a new kind of rope, stronger and lighter than any other, though his goal was not to please the emperor but to save his people. He was made master ropemaker to the Emperor for his innovations.

Ming worked on his farm just outside of Lum Chi, reminding everyone that Hing would return to save them from the ravages of the bird. But the villagers did not believe him, thinking it all the wild tale of a young man. And as the fateful midsummer day approached they packed up and headed to the hills to try and hide from the coming attack. Only Ming's family stayed behind. Then on the morning of midsummer's day a horse-drawn wagon came into the square of Lum Chi. It was Hing, and he had brought a net made from his miraculous rope! Ming told his family to run to the hills and gather the village so they could capture the Huang bird. But none of the villagers believed them and all refused to come help. Hing and Ming, with his family, managed to get the net over the bird when she came tearing through the village but they were no match for her strength. She destroyed Lum Chi once again. Afterward, Hing left the village in disgust to return to the capital and never returned. Ming was badly injured and lived the rest of his days tending his farm. It is a sad ending to such a story, since all of Hing's courses and all of Ming's kin couldn't get Lum Chi to tether a hen.