Many people are familiar with the character of Lu Ban, and his most well-known identity is that of a carpenter. Lu Ban did indeed have many inventions and creations, and was praised by later generations as the pioneer of the construction industry and carpenters. This shows the high status of Lu Ban in these areas. However, Lu Ban has another hidden identity that few people know. Do you know what this identity is? Why does Luban still have a hidden identity? What other identity does he have? Now let the editor of Wuai Shijing website introduce it to you.
When a person achieves something that others cannot, history will write about them. However, when recording these stunning and brilliant figures in history, only the most outstanding aspects of the other party are recorded, thus ignoring other things. For example, the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, people only know that he is very skilled in poetry, but they do not know that his swordsmanship is equally outstanding. Due to historical records, many people now only know that Li Bai was a great poet. Besides Li Bai, there are many other characters in history that have been recorded in this way, causing others to overlook them. Today we are going to introduce the carpenter Lu Ban. In fact, Lu Ban is not just a simple carpenter. Today, more than 2000 years later, another hidden identity of Lu Ban has only been revealed.
1. Why is Lu Ban called the ancestor of carpenters
Lu Ban lived in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period for over two thousand years. As his father was a carpenter, Lu Ban was exposed to these skills from a young age. When Lu Ban was not yet an adult, he learned most of his father’s skills, so Lu Ban could only explore unknown fields. Due to Lu Ban’s pursuit of perfection, he created many tools used by carpenters and invented many new wooden products. Under the leadership of Lu Ban, the woodworking industry has developed rapidly, and Lu Ban’s influence on woodworking is truly significant.
Like the ink fountain invented by Lu Ban, even in today’s advanced science and technology, there are still many construction industries that continue to use it, which is really unimaginable. In fact, the original purpose of Lu Ban’s invention of these tools was very simple, which was to improve work efficiency and make it easier for carpenters. It is precisely his idea that is why he is called the ancestor by all carpenters.
2. What is Luban’s other identity
In addition to being good at inventing various tools, Lu Ban was also a renowned master of mechanical engineering at that time. At that time, Lu Ban invented the attack ladder and other devices, which were very popular among the rulers at that time, so Lu Ban’s reputation could be widely spread. In the field of woodworking, there are basically no people who can surpass Lu Ban’s status. Nowadays, many carpenters call Lu Ban their ancestor. In fact, besides his identity as a carpenter, Lu Ban also kept another identity very hidden. As for how this identity was discovered, we have to mention a strange book – the Book of Luban.
The Book of Luban is divided into two parts. One part teaches others how to do woodworking and some principles of woodworking. The other part is about Yin Yang and Eight Trigrams, which means that Lu Ban’s other identity is actually a feng shui master.
3. Why is Lu Ban’s other identity rarely known
The reason why Lu Ban studied these things related to yin and yang is that he hopes that future generations can follow the laws of nature when studying woodworking techniques, in order to build buildings. It has to be said that Lu Ban is indeed impressive, perfectly integrating the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams into woodworking. Perhaps in the eyes of modern people, carpentry is just about making furniture, why is it inexplicably related to feng shui yin and yang?
Looking back at the era when Lu Ban lived, this is actually quite reasonable. After all, ancient science and technology were not developed, and people were generally superstitious, fascinated by feng shui. As a carpenter, whether it’s for the convenience of selling things or catering to customers, understanding feng shui is not a bad thing. Perhaps Lu Ban thought of this in the first place and went to study feng shui. In ancient feudal dynasties, due to the hostility of rulers, the Book of Luban has always been a banned book. It is not until modern times that we can recognize another identity of Luban through this book.
