Chinese idiom · 成语
漏网之鱼
Meaning
Fish that slipped the net; an escaped culprit.
Character by character
Origin and story
Historical metaphorIn the preface to the Cruel Officials biographies, Sima Qian reflects on government and punishment. He contrasts an oppressive network of laws with the relative simplicity of the early Han, saying its net was loose enough for an enormous, boat-swallowing fish to escape, yet administration and ordinary life could remain stable.
The original wording is 網漏於吞舟之魚, not the exact modern idiom. Its point is that good government does not depend solely on ever-tighter punishments. Later literature uses 漏網之魚 for someone who escapes capture, or someone fleeing danger in panic. The fish is a metaphor, not a character in a fishing anecdote.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
警方继续追查转账记录，寻找诈骗团伙里的漏网之鱼。
The police are still tracing transfers to find members of the fraud ring who escaped capture.
Usually someone who evaded capture; older literary usage can describe escape from danger.