Lu Ban

Lu Ban (simplified Chinese: 鲁班; traditional Chinese: 魯班; pinyin: Lǔ Bān; Wade–Giles: Lu Pan) (507–440 BC) was a Chinese carpenter, engineer, philosopher, inventor, military thinker, statesman and contemporary of Mozi, born in the State of Lu, and is the patron Saint of Chinese builders and contractors. He was born in a renowned family during the Spring and Autumn Period when China was suffering from the chaos of civic wars between kingdoms. His original name was Gongshu Yizhi (Chinese: 公輸依智). He was also known as Gongshu Ban (公輸班), Kungshu Pen (公輸般) and Kungshu Pun (公輸盘). But he was more commonly known as Lu Ban.

Lu Ban is well notable for his achievements after his subject to the State of Chu.

According to the tradition, he was responsible for several inventions as seen on Mozi chapter 49 and 50:

• Cloud ladder – a mobile counterweighted siege ladder.
• Grappling hooks and ram – boat implements used during on a naval warfare.
• Wooden bird – a non-powered flying wooden bird which could stay in the air for three days, and had been suggested to be a proto-kite.

There were also others inventions that contributed to him, such as lifting implement for burial, wooden horse carriage and coachman, and some other woodworking that can be see from various texts which thereafter led Lu Ban to be acknowledged as the master craftsman:

• The Book of Lineages (世本), written in about 3rd century BC.
• The Tales of the Marvellous (述异记), written in about 5th century by Ren Fang.
• The Records of Origin on Things and Affairs (事物纪原), written in about 11th century by Gao Cheng.
• The Origin on Things (物原), written in about 15th century by Luo Qi.
• The Treatise of Lu Ban (鲁班经), an attributed texts to Lu Ban written between 13th to 15th century.