"Lotus Noisy" by Xialiba people in Qing Dynasty describes the carpenter's cloud: "Not light. Jia Min, please get up from the concierge. The housekeeper asked you to get up from your official position. A saw saws thousands of roads. The plane is flat. The axe is a cash cow. Mo Dou is a cornucopia. Three meals a day, white rice Sweet wine is too long to eat. Carpenters can learn from the truth. " Visible carpenter's status.
For thousands of years, because of its complicated carpentry skills, it is the most difficult to learn in all industries. As the grandfather of masons and plasterers, Lu Ban has always been called the top of the five craftsmen (carpenters, plasterers, blacksmiths, masons and carpenters) among the people. From repairing cars and building houses to small agricultural appliances and daily necessities, almost all carpenters can be seen shuttling among them.
Although the status of craftsmen in feudal society is not high, and scholars, agriculture, industry and commerce rank third, the status of carpenters in employers' homes is unmatched by other craftsmen. In ancient times, no matter the poor or the rich, as long as they built a house, even the stingy host family should be respectful to the carpenter. Generally speaking, they not only enjoyed delicious food and warm hospitality, but also dared not default on their wages for no reason. What is the secret?
According to the older generation, there are three kinds of people in this life, so don't offend them. Besides midwives and grave diggers, the third kind is carpenters who build houses. If they do something a little, it will make your house restless, from disaster to wealth to family destruction and pain! Because most old carpenters know some Yin and Yang Feng Shui. As disciples and grandchildren of Lu Ban, they not only inherited the crafts of their ancestors, but also learned many spells from legends.
Due to the lack of historical records, there is no textual research. China's ancient architectural techniques are rarely recorded in the official history, and most of them are handed down from generation to generation by craftsmen in the form of dictation and notes. There are few special books compiled by craftsmen themselves. Only "Lu Ban Jing" in the Ming Dynasty is a special book for the folk woodworking industry, and there are several versions with important historical value, which can be seen from the mysterious magic of ancient carpenters.
The full name of Lu Ban Jing is the official mirror image of Lu Ban Jing, also known as Lu Ban Jing Jiang Jing Jia Jing and Lu Ban Fu Jing. The original work is hidden in the Forbidden City. It was first written in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and a new version was made in the Chongzhen period. The signature is "compiled by the Royal Craftsman of the Ministry of Industry of both capital city at noon, and the general chapter is strictly collected by the Bureau Craftsman, and the Nanjing Royal Craftsman is supplemented by Zhou Yan". "Lu Ban Jing" is a collective compilation, which integrates the technical knowledge of building construction, carpentry operation, furniture manufacturing and daily utensils placement, carpenter's good or bad days of building, geomantic spells, yin and yang elements, etc., covering a wide range, and is the "operation guide" for carpenters throughout the process. This book is divided into four volumes, including three Chinese versions and one photo version. A brief introduction is as follows:
The first volume, from "logging started by others" to "pavilions", describes the construction methods of halls, small doors, gatehouses, halls, Wang Fu Palace, temples, ancestral halls and other buildings in the form of verse and poetry, and introduces the carpenters' preparation for logging, starting to break wood, breaking ground to level the foundation, drawing pictures to build houses and demolishing houses with beams.
The second volume, from "Cang 'ao style" to "plaque style", introduces the methods and matters needing attention in building Cang 'ao, temple corner, bell tower, bridge, cowshed, stable, pigsty, chicken, duck and goose residence and other ancillary buildings. In addition, this volume begins with "screen style" and talks about the production of furniture and wood products, respectively introducing "screen, sedan chair, bed, table, chair, stool, shelf, face shelf, flower shelf, drum shelf, box, cabinet, candlestick, incense burner, tea tray, fire bucket, bath board, signboard, plaque and cart.
The third volume, also known as "Lu Ban Jing Xiang Zhai", introduces 72 examples of house orientation, site selection and Xiang Zhai. Its composition is a picture with a poem. The picture shows the shape and location of the house, while the poem is an interpretation of the shape and location of various houses, with pictures and texts, which is very clear to read. For example, the first picture in this volume is a picture of a house with a high door. I feel a little embarrassed after reading it. The attached poem says: "The door is higher than the hall, and the descendants will be exhausted." The door is higher than the wall and cries a lot. "It is catchy to read, which makes this knowledge easy to recite and remember.
The fourth volume is an appendix, including The Secret Fairy Machine, The Secretary of Spiritual Driving Dafa Tells the Truth, The Secretary of Luban, etc. It introduces the application of some symbols and spells and many town maps. If there are some contents, such as The Position of the Crane God, XiShen Folk Songs, Unlocking the Curse after Work, General Wa, Mount Tai Shi Gandang, these contents are especially valued by the people.
The mysterious "Lubanchi"
A ruler called "Luban True Ruler", commonly known as "Lu Banchi" or "Door Lamp Ruler", was introduced in Luban Jing, which was regarded as the golden rule by ancient carpenters. To this day, houses can still be built by traditional methods. This ruler is very mysterious, which shows the profundity and greatness of Lu Ban Jing from one side, so this paper also makes a brief introduction.
The original text of the "true ruler of Lu class (class)" in Lu Ban Jing is: "According to the ruler of Lu class, it is one foot, four inches and four quarters, with eight inches between the rulers, and one inch is an eight-tenths accurate ruler. There are wealth, illness, divorce, righteousness, official, robbery, harm and origin. People make doors with a ruler. If there is a single door, the small door opens two feet and one inch, and the white door is the same as' righteousness'. A single door opens two feet, eight inches and eight hundred miles, just like a ruler on "auspiciousness" ... all of them are used according to law, and a good craftsman is foolproof. "
The "Lu-like ruler" mentioned in this paper, one foot is equal to one foot, four inches and a quarter of a curved ruler, is also called "door light ruler" because the ancients thought that determining the portal according to this ruler can ward off evil spirits and make money. This ruler is divided into eight inches, which is the unit of measurement. Taking eight inches as a ruler, each inch is famous, that is, "wealth, illness, divorce, righteousness, official, robbery, harm, and capital (auspicious)." Each inch is divided into five squares, each with the names of various astrology written in red or black. It is a ruler specially used for measuring and cutting doors and windows.
The ancients paid great attention to the structure of doors and windows, and thought it was a key to the geomantic omen of houses. The Lu Banchi should be used to measure the orientation length of doors and windows. Ten Books of Yangzhai, a famous book devoted to the integrity of residential buildings in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, records: "There are several kinds of door rulers in China, which have been tried and tested, but this ruler is true. There is no difference between good luck and bad luck. Gai Xi lost his class, made good use of holy trees, and learned to be poor, so creation was the ruler. Later, people named it' Lu Banchi'. There are uninterrupted measuring doors, and all beds and room appliances should use this. " Lu Banchi was created by Lu Ban, the founder of the carpenter, after "doing everything in his power, doing poor research and being small in nature". Therefore, using Lu Banchi as doors and windows has always been regarded as a standard by carpenters. This Lubanchi is ingenious and contains the theory of "Five Elements, Eight Diagrams, Luo Shu, Nine Planets and Bai Zi". Today, it is a very mysterious ruler.
Besides Lubanchi, other carpenter's tools are also considered as tools to ward off evil spirits.
"I have a room where I rent and live with the king of the wheel, and sometimes I shoot a ray of light to drive away the evil spirits in the world. (Artisan) A: Mo Dou. " According to legend, this is a riddle given to Su Dongpo by Qin Shaoyou, a poet in the Song Dynasty. It also shows the past elegance of craftsmen for future generations and proves the evil spirits of the legendary carpenter's tools. Song formula is as follows:
Mo Dou, a ghost golden goat, has a handsome palm. Kang Jinlong is a winding man who wriggles around to make a fortune.
The name of the hook is Lou Jingou, and your family's fame is yours. The water snail is the Mo Dou line, which goes straight to the sky without the curve.
Paint your teeth with water, your family is rich for a long time Ding Zhu is a leopard, and both the owner and the victim have made a fortune.
Alnilam is a pool of ink, and the dyed ink lines will be straight. Corner, it's a bag. I will take it first when I open the business.
Kuimu Wolf, it is flat, holding the plane and staring blankly. This ruler is called Muan Jing, and its size is fixed.
Unicorns, hand axes, any wood try first. Next year, you can take salamanders, saws and cutting plates at will.
The chisel is a house fire pig, piercing the riveting hole and exerting force. Tail fire tiger, it's a chisel, not a bend.
The fire monkey is a pusher. He walked safely.
Time flies. With the development and changes of the times and history and the rise of modern electrified tools, the carpenter industry is gradually declining and the scenery is no longer there. Carpenters don't follow in their father's footsteps or master's dictation as before. After studying for several years, the legendary secret of Lu Ban has long been lost among the people, and many young carpenters have never even heard of it, let alone passed it on. As for whether the carpenter's tools really ward off evil spirits, different people have different opinions.