Lu Ban (–444BC). was a Chinese architect or master carpenter, structural engineer, and inventor, during the Zhou Dynasty. He is revered as the Chinese

Deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

(Patron) of builders and contractors.

Life

Lu Ban was born in the

state of Lu Lu (; 249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji () that ruled the Zhou dynasty. The f ...

; a few sources claim he was born further to the west, in

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...

, to a family of carpenters or artisans during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. His original name was He was also referred to as or Pan. He was supposed to have been an indifferent pupil until his love of learning was kindled by the scholar Zi Xia. He later learned woodworking from Bao Laodong. The great demand for his work supposedly compelled him to invent or improve several carpenter's tools—the

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

, the

square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

, the planer, the

drill A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners. Historically, they were powered by hand, and later mains power, but cordless b ...

, the

shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made ...

, and an ink marking tool—to complete his many projects more quickly. His wife was also credited with inventing the

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

in order to permit him to work in inclement weather.

Inventions

According to tradition, he was responsible for several inventions: * Cloud ladder—a mobile, counterweighted siege ladder. * Grappling hooks and ram—implements for naval warfare. * Wooden bird—a non-powered, flying, wooden bird which could stay in the air for three days. It has been suggested to be a prototype of a kite. *The

—legend has it that when Lu Ban was grabbing hold of tree trunks in order to climb a steep slope while gathering firewood, his hand was cut by a leaf with spiny texture. He then realized that he could turn the leaf's texture into a more efficient tool for tree-cutting, namely the saw. *The Lu Ban lock— a toy made of six interlocking wooden sticks using mortise techniques. Other inventions were also attributed to him, such as a lifting implement to assist with burial, a wooden horse carriage and coachman, a pedal-powered cycle, and other woodworking mentioned in various texts, which thereafter led Lu Ban to be acknowledged as a master craftsman: * ''The Book of Lineages'' ('' Shiben''), written c. the 3rd century BC. * ''The Tales of the Marvelous'' (), by Ren Fang, written c. the 5th century AD. * ''The Records of Origin on Things and Affairs'' (), by Gao Cheng, written c. the 11th century. * ''The Origin on Things'' (), by Luo Qi, written c. the 15th century. * ''The Treatise of Lu Ban'' (), attributed to Lu Ban, written in the 13th, 14th, or 15th century.

Legacy

Lu Ban is revered as the god of carpentry and masonry in

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

. His personality is assumed by the master carpenter involved in the construction of houses among the Kam people. He is sometimes counted among the

Five Kings of the Water Immortals The Shuixian Zunwang are five Chinese folk religion, Chinese Shen (Chinese religion), Deities worshipped as water gods, water and sea deities. They have various names in English including the Honorable Water Immortal Kings and the Lords of t ...

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

water gods A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with Water and religion, water or various Body of water, bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a gr ...

invoked by sailors for protection while carrying out journeys.. & He is referenced in a number of Chinese idioms. The Chinese equivalent of " teaching one's grandmother to suck eggs" is to "brandish one's axe at Lu Ban's door" (班门弄斧). His cultural companion is the stone worker Wang Er, who lived around the same time. The Lu Ban Ruler (魯班尺) is used in

feng shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

practices. The modern artist Shi Lu has claimed that Lu Ban was an alias of his contemporary

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

, but this seems dubious..

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . * .

External links

A Restoration of Lu-Ban's Wooden Horse Carriage
(PDF)
Mozi (Chinese text and Mei translation)
- Chinese Text Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Ban 507 BC births 444 BC deaths Year of birth uncertain 5th-century BC Chinese people Chinese carpenters Chinese gods Construction deities Chinese inventors Chinese structural engineers Deified Chinese men Engineers from Shandong Lu state people Water gods 5th-century BC architects Mohism