Though well-known worldwide, the hairy crab from Yangcheng Lake appears terrifying. Then who was the first man to eat the crab?

Thousands of years ago, as legend has it, ancestors of the human race had already settled down to the south of the Yangtze River. In a low-lying area like this with abundant rainfall as well, floods frequently took place. Out of rivers and lakes, from time to time, came shelled creatures which were inclined to creep towards light. They were fiendish-featured with a pair of pincers and four pairs of claws. Not only did they eat grains in the paddy field, but they also attacked people with sharp pincers. Intimidated as if they were tigers and wolves, the forefathers called them the clamping pest. Since disturbance by these pests gravely impeded the farmer's harvest, people boiled them to death on a fire. The dead pests, bright red all over, piled up mountain-high, smelled delicious and appetizing. Out of curiosity, a man named Ba Jie took a pest and closely examined it. Then he broke off the shell and ate it fearlessly. It seemed that he was enjoying it, so others followed his example. Ever since then, the ancestors had no longer been afraid of the clamping pest and the once scary pest had become a household delicacy.