Lu Ban was born in Lu State (now Shandong Province), and his real name is Gong Bo, which is a nickname that is no longer used. He lived in the Warring States Period. Many books show that he was born in 507 BC, but earlier it was said that he was born in 606 BC. It is said that he gained the greatest influence between 490 and 420 BC. There are many stories about Lu Ban's deeds and inventions, some of which are true and some are obviously myths. In the construction industry, many stories of Lu Ban are handed down from master to apprentice, as are many skills of the construction industry itself.
Biography of Lu Ban, Invention of Lu Ban, Myth and Legend of Lu Ban Temple (originally published in Chapter 4 of Building in Hong Kong compiled by Hong Kong Construction Association, 1990)
Biography of Lu Ban
As a great era of social change, the record of Lu Ban's time is not complete, but he was one of the first people to respect the status of God, so these stories have the characteristics of combining legend with truth. Luban is a craftsman and architect (we will introduce his inventions below), but he is often regarded as a mechanic. Nevertheless, his education, if any, is very little. He works through rough estimation, intuition, brainwaves or simple general feelings. So his skills are based on his work experience and feelings, not any great theoretical research or thought. Of course, this good assembly skill, such as carpentry, is still suitable for teaching to apprentices. These skills can be learned, but they can't be conveyed in words: a craftsman can show what he has done, but he can't express his perception of the materials used and his intuition about the right things based on years of experience in logical terms. In today's era of mass production and well-planned systems, such technology is almost a lost process. The names of saints are also circulated in proverbs, such as "teaching people to use an axe", which means showing limited skills in front of experts. In English, we should give our elders a lesson. One of Lu Ban's important heritages is Lu Ban Jing or Lu Ban Guide, which was described by Joseph Needham in Volume 6, Part II of China Science and Culture. This is a skill guide, which provides craftsmen and builders with practical suggestions on comprehensive technology, geomantic omen and exploration. Joseph Needham described this book as follows: This book discloses a series of examples to show the construction of this structure, the carpenters in carpentry, all kinds of houses, bridges and pavilions, and the local construction or completion. Here we can make a comparison with the pavilions being built in the famous Dunhuang murals. There is a tower in this picture that once wanted to make it an observatory. Then, according to the legend, there are many stories about deforestation, erecting columns, unique single-column and double-column structure, building granaries, making bell tower buildings, shacks, furniture, trolleys, square plate chain pumps, piston bellows, abacus and other things. Exact specifications and dimensions are modified with empirical knowledge. The empirical knowledge here is about auspicious and unlucky days, the patterns of spells and the corresponding sacrifices. Because the magic in this book is much more than the technology itself, in this way, we finally feel a "distinctive" building, which is described by witchcraft and fixed blessing spells to drive away or bring good luck. Lu Ban lived in an era of change and technological revolution. At that time, mechanics and craftsmen only made products by their own personal feelings. Technicians are often laughed at by educated officials, but they can't answer many questions raised by detractors in words-they can only make them by hand. Scholars have many doubts about the invention of machinery, but Lu Ban and his colleagues have changed the status of craftsmen with handmade products.
Lu Ban's Invention "Planing"
Before Luban, carpenters only used axes and knives to level their building wood, and the result was not only good, but also difficult and satisfactory. Later, through long-term practice, Lu Ban found that the thinner the blade he used, the smoother the surface he made, and the easier it was to dry. In this way, this kind of plane gradually evolved from Luban's practice, first with a fine axe blade, then with the blade fixed on a piece of wood and then across the handle, and finally with the blade fixed on the wooden trough-this is the plane we are familiar with today. Lu Ban's wife is also an inventor, and she inspired her husband. When Lu Ban planed the wood, she would stand at one end of the wood and hold a rough thick plate. Because she has other obligations to do, it is not ideal to do such a thing, so she invented a wooden trough of the wooden plane workbench to resist the impact pressure of Luban's wooden plane, so that the wooden plane can be completed by one person. The wooden trough she invented is called the wife of the class.
Magic bean
Another very important tool invented by Lu Ban is the Mo Dou used by craftsmen (used to set up construction projects), which may be inspired by his mother. At that time, his mother was cutting and sewing clothes. Looking at all this, Lu Ban saw that she used a small powder bag and a thread to print out the desired cutting shape first. Lu Ban transferred this practice to Amodou. He pinched both ends with a thread (soaked in Mo Dou) and placed it on the material to be printed with the required lines. At first, Lu Ban and his mother had to grab both ends of the line. Later, his mother suggested that he make a small hook and tie it at one end of the line, thus freeing her from such chores and making it possible for her to do it alone. In memory of Luban's mother, craftsmen still call it Mo Dou Banmu.
pond
Another sign of Lu Ban's invention is that he can correctly draw a right triangle, also called a class ruler, and can tell craftsmen which sizes are irregular and which ones are unlucky according to the rules of divination (geomantic omen). These rulers are still available in Hong Kong today. Lu Ban attached great importance to the invention of the saw. Or inspired by a blade of grass with a toothed blade that cuts your finger, or seeing a cricket cut and eat food with its sharp teeth and leave. Anyway, most of them are described like this. Luban and craftsmen were asked to cut down a lot of wood. After chopping for several days, they were exhausted and their axes were dull. At this time, Lu Ban suddenly cut his finger by a blade of grass. He immediately thought: It must be a good way to make a tool for cutting wood. He chose a bamboo and cut a row of teeth on its edge with an axe. This new saw cuts bark easily. When he sawed the tree horizontally back and forth, the soft bamboo teeth were quickly polished. However, this proves the principle that a saw can cut wood. So Lu Ban put down his hand and went to the blacksmith to prepare an iron plate as hard and sharp as an axe, and then made it into a tooth shape. With this first-hand saw blade, Luban can use it to cut wood accurately and effortlessly on the wooden frame.
plug
Another sign invented by Lu Ban is the bolt. In ancient times, the latch used by people was made into the shape of a fish and hung on the door. Needham pointed out that Luban replaced these bolts with a key shaped like a rammer, depending on the function of accurately matching parts. Luban's skill can make such a device. It is said that he also invented the "lock tumbler", and many locks are still in use. The symbols of Lu Ban's other inventions are drills, wedges, pulleys, shovels and stone mills for rice milling. The invention of the stone mill was when Lu Ban saw an old woman using a rammer and mortar with great strength. After careful consideration, he made two thick stones, cut them into cylinders, and then dug holes and pits on their surfaces, one above the other, and put wheat and rice between them. When the pillars above them turn, powder (or flour) comes out.
umbrella
The invention was finally attributed to Luban's wife. In ancient times, rainy days and hot summers plagued people, and people had to hide under small pavilions and could not go out. There is a legend that Luban built many pavilions around his neighbors for everyone to use, but he still couldn't let people in and out freely in the stormy season. Lu Ban's wife made a lightweight bamboo pavilion out of oiled paper-an umbrella, of course, according to the style of her husband's pavilion. His wife said to Lu Ban, "The house you built can't be moved. My umbrella can be taken with me and can provide protection all year round. "
Lubansi
Built in memory of this architectural saint. Luban Temple in Hong Kong is located in ching lin terrace, above Kennedy Town on Hong Kong Island. It is an extension of Baolongtai. Luban Festival is held once a year, and builders and builders come to offer sacrifices. This temple has a very interesting history. Encouraged by the request of ten craftsmen to celebrate Lu Ban's birthday, people put forward a plan to build a temple for him in Hong Kong at the end of 19. They imagined that it would be a good idea to gather 25% of the total number of construction workers and let everyone in the construction industry remember and commemorate the saint's birthday. A Mr. Li was moved by their enthusiasm and donated a piece of land in the West District. After a period of time, he raised enough funds and finally built the temple in Guangxu ten years. The temple and its Federation are called "Guangyue Hall". Then, there was a little trouble. Mr. Li's son wanted to sell the land to Hexing Company, because his father had donated the land of Luban Temple, but it failed. Fortunately, HopHing sympathized with Luban's followers and eventually donated a lot of extra land to Guangyuetang, and invited an architect to draw a new floor plan for this part. The temple was rebuilt for some time. Today, this temple was built by Chin Chin Company in 1927. The conference hall adjacent to this temple was built with donations from Committee members, located at 1950. In the past 30 years, the construction industry in Hong Kong has developed rapidly, but it has not forgotten the ancient traditions and history. Every year in the hot and humid season, Luban Festival is celebrated, and all construction sites are closed for workers to participate in the celebration.
The spread of God's Word
There are many stories about Lu Ban, which are almost incredible to ordinary people, but they are very interesting to read. After a long process of evolution, a small number of stories may be true, and the rest are obviously fictional. Many stories are handed down from generation to generation by craftsmen on construction sites. This is an illusory world from possible, credible to incredible. Mo Zhai, a famous thinker, often appears in the stories of Lu Ban. One day, a craftsman invented a wooden bird (kite), which rose high into the sky and stayed in the sky for three days. Mo Zhai said, "Your achievement in building this wooden bird can't be compared with that of a craftsman who makes axle pins. In a short time, the craftsman cut out a piece of wood, although it was only three feet, it could carry at least 50 loads (about 3 tons). Indeed, any beneficial achievement can be said to be smart, while any unhelpful achievement is clumsy. " It is said that this argument made Lu Ban devote his life to serving people and making useful things. There is a second description of this history, which may be the envy of literati for the ability of craftsmen. According to this model, it took Mo Zhai three years to make a kite, but it was destroyed on the first day of flight. When his obsequious followers flattered him, he said, "It's as unwise as making a wooden yoke bolt."
Another story of Lu Ban is also related to the thinker Mo Zhai. King Hui of Chu is the best man. He is going to fight the neighboring Song State. He commissioned Lu Ban to design a gun to "climb the ladder" to climb the defense zone of the capital of Song State. At this time, Zhai Mo tried to persuade Hui Wang to give up his intention with clever language and sincere attitude. King Hui hesitated. In order to convince his argument, Mo Zhai had to simulate fighting and fight back against Luban and his equipment. Finally, he resisted Luban with the ninth counterattack. So King Hui finally agreed to give up the pursuit. There was a poor builder who was out of proportion when designing the roof of the Lama Temple. This mistake was exposed in the progress of the project. Faced with the increasingly serious engineering mistakes, he was so anxious that he just wanted to commit suicide. After he made up his mind to do so, he went to the canteen of the construction site for his last meal. After he went, he found that the cook had changed and the food was not delicious. When he complained about the chef, the only answer he got was "salt". After this sentence appeared repeatedly in his mind, the builder uttered a homonym: "Double eaves" and his construction problem was finally solved. Meanwhile, I saved my life. There is a similar story. There was an emperor of the Yuan Dynasty who wanted to build a novel refuge. He found a builder and ordered him to design a style he was satisfied with, otherwise he would be executed. The builder came up with many schemes out of thin air, but none of them met the requirements. In despair, he came to a teahouse. I found an old man sitting beside him. The old man took an extremely rare empty birdcage. The builder immediately felt that the birdcage just provided the design basis he wanted him to find. He offered to buy a birdcage, but the old man refused to sell it at the highest price, and then left the teahouse. When I got home disappointed, I was surprised to find that the birdcage had been left in his home by the old man, and provided the assembly drawing of the birdcage. This old man is the one he met in the teahouse. The next day, the novel "Summer Resort" began to work. This old man is Lu Ban.
In many such stories, Lu Ban is described as a powerful philanthropist who can help people in trouble. When putting beams on, people are used to decorating the main beam across the house with the word "Fu" with red cloth. This is because a bricklayer and craftsman mistakenly measured the size of the main beam when building a new house, and found that the beam they built was one foot shorter than the required size. Just as they were worried about this difficult problem, an old craftsman leaned in and proposed a solution. He said, "Cut the beam in half and I'll fit it for you." . They did as he said, so the old man climbed the ladder, installed each half of the beam, left a space in the middle, and filled it with a piece of red silk with the word "Fu" printed on it. No one can see that this bundle is separate. Craftsmen and masons are very happy to see this new way of dressing. When they turned to thank the old man, Luban had disappeared. The moral of this story is to be extra careful when making articles made by joiners, otherwise it will waste time and wood.
When building the East Palace, an old craftsman wanted to find a job, but the foreman said that he was too old to climb the height where he wanted to work. The old man said that he could do some simple work. At this time, another worker persuaded the foreman to leave the old man to work with them. The old man stayed there for two weeks and all he did was make a lot of irregular wedges. These wedges are obviously useless, and some people even use them as firewood. When all the beams and columns are assembled, the workers have no difficulty in connecting them. Later, a worker picked up Luban's wedge and found that every connected space was well connected, one by one. All ruban's wedges are used to build palaces. Since then, the old man has been respected.
The spirit of Lu Ban has always existed in his work and lived in the hearts of people engaged in the construction industry. The construction industry will continue to celebrate his birthday, and the whole society is grateful to Lu Ban. He created a lot of architectural skills for mankind.