People learn about history through books, but history always shows a more dazzling side selectively. For example, when Su Shi is mentioned, people think of a great calligrapher, a gourmet and a great poet, but they don't know that he is also an engineer full of whimsy. When it comes to Wang Xizhi, he is a great calligrapher. His first association is Preface to Lanting, which has the reputation of "the best running script in the world", but I don't know that Wang Xizhi is still a Taoist. Speaking of Lu Ban, I will not hesitate to equate him with the carpenter's grandfather, but for Lu Ban who has passed away, he is actually more than a carpenter. It was not until more than 2000 years later that his other identity was revealed.
Genius works, genius creates.
Lu Ban was a native of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period. As the most famous craftsman in the Spring and Autumn Period, he was born in a carpenter's family. It can be said that he has been in contact with carpentry since childhood.
As Han Yu said in the inscription on the cemetery of public houses in Qinghe County, "learn without learning." . He was not only given a good environment as a carpenter's family, but also was taught by his father when he showed his interest and talent in carpentry.
It is said that when he was 15 years old, he had mastered all the skills of his parents, which can be said to be the end of family inheritance. However, he was not satisfied with his parents' wisdom, but began to explore more unknown fields. In the process of pursuing Excellence, he created many carpentry pioneers and made many woodworking creation tools by himself, which brought unimaginable improvement and change to the woodworking industry and still has far-reaching influence.
For example, the tools such as ruler, Mo Dou and saw created by Lu Ban in those days are still used by people and still occupy a very important position even in the modern era of automation and mechanization. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that the invention and use of these tools at that time not only liberated the carpenter from heavy labor, but also improved the work efficiency and cost, and even opened up a new look for woodworking technology, thus establishing his position as the ancestor of China craftsmen.
What is good for people is called cleverness, and what is not good for people can only be called clumsiness.
At the same time, in addition to the invention and creation of various tools, Lu Ban also made great achievements in organ art. According to Mozi Gong Bo, "Gong Bo built a ladder for Chu and attacked the Song Dynasty after its completion". In the book Mozi Lu Wen, the hook gun channel is expounded: in the decisive battle between Chu and Yue, the Chu people advanced downstream and retreated against the current, and chose their own marching methods according to the war situation. So the Vietnamese were defeated by the Chu people, and the name of Hook Strong Sailor came from this.
Invented weapons that glow on the battlefield, ladders to attack the city, and hooks to break the sea. At that time, it was recognized and appreciated by the rulers. As the name implies, the ladder is easy to understand, and the hook is also called "hook rejection". It is said that when the opponent is at a disadvantage, the hook can "hook" the opponent and further control the situation, while when the opponent is at an advantage, it can resist the opponent's attack by "rejecting", so that both advantages and disadvantages can have corresponding contingency methods, thus being invincible.
Therefore, there is even a story about the karma between Lu Ban and Mozi. As an excellent military expert, Lu Ban was born in the thought of opposing Mozi's peace and war all his life. Therefore, when Lu Ban used the ladder to help Chu attack the Song Dynasty, Mozi led troops to stop the other side, and represented the city with clothes and bamboo pieces in the palace to conduct simulated battles. Finally, Lu Ban's siege methods were exhausted, and Mozi still had many ways to defend the city, and finally let the king of Chu.
The truth hidden in the legend
In carpentry, it can be said that Lu Ban's achievements are unprecedented. He is very creative. Among the known "ancestors of craftsmen", he has another very secret identity. If we want to explore his other identity, we have to say that he wrote a wonderful book "Lu Ban Shu". It is called a wonderful book because there is a legend that has to be mentioned.
It is said that when Luban's wife was pregnant, she was recruited to work in Wangcheng. Because he missed her so much, Lu Ban made a wooden kite, which can be said to be the predecessor of today's plane. When she started it with a switch, she could fly in the sky like an airplane, which made her very curious. When Lu Ban was not at home, he couldn't help turning on the switch and flying in the sky by wooden kite, but his wife was not familiar with the operation and fell off the wooden kite and died. At this time, his wife was pregnant with an unborn child. This accident made Lu Ban feel very sad and guilty. He thought that his own skill led to the death of his wife and children, so he wrote a vicious curse on the title page of the book: it is said that anyone who studies Lu Ban's book will inevitably get one of "loneliness, widowhood, loneliness and disability".
Therefore, people who have studied "The Book of Lu Ban" in the past dynasties will have a lingering fear when they see the words on the title page, and even many people give up their research because of this, which also casts a more mysterious veil on this mythical "The Book of Lu Ban". Lu Ban Shi Lu is divided into three volumes, mainly involving the skills of craftsmen such as civil construction. The core content of this book can be expounded from two aspects and divided into two parts. The first part mainly involves houses, buildings and other buildings, as well as the strange skills of structure and construction in houses. However, the latter part has little to do with civil architecture, but more about Yin and Yang gossip and geomantic metaphysics. It can be said that Lu Ban changed from a preacher to a master of Feng Shui here.
Of course, the original purpose of "The Book of Lu Ban" is not the so-called shocking content such as spells, but the hope that each generation of craftsmen can consider a more comprehensive direction while learning their own skills, and abide by the laws of nature while learning architectural skills. Generally speaking, it is to look at "Feng Shui", but under the extraordinary creativity and wisdom of Lu Ban, it is even more ingenious to integrate natural sciences such as Yin and Yang gossip into the book.
Maybe now it seems that craftsmen and feng shui are completely different things, but going back to the past makes sense. At that time, people were superstitious and recognized geomantic metaphysics. From dignitaries to ordinary people, Feng Shui masters are invited to make a special survey to see if their homes can be built into a treasure house of Feng Shui, and they are convinced that Feng Shui will affect their families' careers or health. As a craftsman, if you want to build a satisfactory tool or house, you can't meet their needs only by outstanding craftsmanship without knowing anything about Feng Shui, let alone realize that your work will last forever and become a great craftsman.
Conclusion: We may be biased, but fate is not biased.
As we all know, reading should not be biased, but people often have a fixed impression on a thing or a person, and then it is difficult to change it. For Luban, even if you know today that he is not only a carpenter's grandfather, but also a warlock of yin and yang, tomorrow you will think of the originator of a carpenter.
Although countless experts and scholars have corrected the name of his book "Lu Ban Shu", there are still many people who misrepresent it, not only ordinary people, but also focus on the words on the title page in some legendary film and television dramas, which makes the book more mysterious. Some people even regard him as a book of cultivating immortals and monasteries, which is ironic. However, due to the particularity of Lu Ban Shu itself, it was banned after many dynasties, which also led to the fact that its original text could not be verified, thus becoming a generation of wonderful books. Even if it is only circulated a few words, it will not prevent us from re-recognizing his identity as a teacher of Yin and Yang more than two thousand years ago.