Gu Wang (罟網)

Drawing of a Gu Wang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Gu Wang (罟網, net) was the Chinese term for fishing net and, in military context, also referred to anti-boarding net used to deter enemy boarders. Made of recycled fishing net, it was typically used on smaller warships not equipped with defensive parapets.

Chinese sailors sometimes wrapped their vessels with anywhere from a few dozens to sixty layers of netting, so that these fishing nets could also resist enemy arrows and firearms.