Lu Ban, surnamed Gong Bo, also known as Gong Bozi and Bo Ban. Lu Ban was born in the family of a generation of craftsmen in Lu State. He lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period and the early Warring States Period. This period is the period when slavery in China collapsed and new relations of production emerged. At that time, a large number of "hundred workers" and slaves engaged in various handicrafts were reborn through escape and riots, many craftsmen who had been slaves for generations were liberated, and independent individual craftsmen appeared in society.
It is said that Luban was influenced by his family environment since he was a child, and he likes to ponder handicrafts and civil architecture. When he was a child, he took part in many civil engineering jobs with his family. During his work, he humbly consulted experienced masters and their families, learned their advanced technology and experience, and carefully observed their superb operation skills in various jobs. With long-term production practice and his continuous efforts, Luban gradually mastered many skills needed by ancient craftsmen and accumulated very rich practical experience, becoming a famous craftsman at that time. According to legend, some tools and appliances we use, from saws, planers and Mo Dou for carpentry to keys, locks and shovels used in people's daily life, and even ladders used by the army to attack the city in the war, are all his inventions. And behind every invention, there is also a beautiful and moving story.
We might as well tell the story of the birth of a saw. One year, Luban wanted to build a huge palace for others. The palace needed a lot of wood, so Luban sent his disciples up the mountain to cut down trees. At that time, the saw used in our daily life had not been invented, and people could only cut trees with axes, but it was very inefficient. Luban's disciples work hard every morning. Although they are exhausted, they don't cut too many logs. The progress of the project was delayed because the cut logs were far from meeting the needs of the work. Seeing that the project deadline is getting closer and closer, Lu Ban is anxious. On this day, Lu Ban decided to go up the mountain to see the situation of cutting down trees himself. On the way up the mountain, Lu Ban accidentally grabbed a handful of weeds growing on the mountain and cut his finger. Lu Ban quickly put his finger in his mouth and sucked out the blood. While sucking, he thought, "This is so strange. Why is a small leather so sharp? " Thinking about it, he leaned forward, picked a weed and looked at it carefully, regardless of the pain in his fingers. Lu Ban found many tiny teeth on both sides of this leaf. It feels very sharp when he touches it gently. He knew that his finger had been cut by these tiny teeth. While Lu Ban was meditating, he suddenly found a big locust squatting on a grass and eating leaves. The worm's two teeth are also very sharp. As soon as it opened and closed, it quickly ate a large area of weeds. Lu Ban is very curious. He caught the locust again and carefully observed its teeth. If you don't look, you will. In this view, Lu Ban found a fine tooth structure similar to the leaves of weeds. It turns out that locusts bite off grass leaves by these small teeth.
Looking at the grass and locusts in his hand, Lu Ban suddenly had a flash of light. He thought, if the tool for cutting wood is serrated, isn't it sharp? It must be much easier to cut down trees. So, he immediately went down the mountain and went home. He made a bamboo slice with many small serrations from a big bamboo, and then went to a small tree to do experiments. The result is extraordinary. It's useless. He pulled the bark a few times, and then pulled it hard, and the small trunk was pulled into the deep ditch. Seeing this scene, Lu Ban was extremely happy. However, not happy for a while, he lost in thought again. It turns out that Lu Ban also discovered the weakness of bamboo. Bamboo is soft and weak and can't be used for a long time. After pulling for a while, some small serrations are broken and some are dull, which need to be replaced. This affects the speed of cutting down trees, and it is also a great waste to use too many bamboo chips. It seems that bamboo chips are not suitable for sawtooth, so we should find a material with higher strength and hardness instead. Lu Ban thought about it, suddenly patted his forehead, and made a zigzag membrane out of iron. He immediately asked the blacksmith to help him make small serrated iron sheets, and then went to the mountains to experiment. Thus, a new tool was invented. Lu Ban and his disciples went up the mountain and found a big tree. Each of them holds one end of the saw, and you send me to collect it. In a short time, the tree was sawed off, which was quick and labor-saving. Since then, saws have spread among carpenters and have been widely used by ordinary people. It is precisely because of Lu Ban's strong curiosity about things and his attitude of observing, thinking and studying some small things in life that creative inventions can be produced.
Although Lu Ban invented many useful tools for people's lives, it was inevitable that he would do something that might "endanger" others' lives. This should also start with a debate between Lu Ban and Mozi. One year, Lu Ban came to Chu from Lu to help Chu make weapons. At that time, when countries were conquering each other, soldiers found that if they attacked a country's city, the most difficult thing was how to break through the tall and big walls. When Lu Ban came to Chu, it happened that Chu was going to send troops to attack Song, so the minister of Chu asked Lu Ban to help them design a siege equipment. Luban thought for a while and invented a movable high ladder-ladder. With this equipment, Chu Jun will be even more powerful. When Chu soldiers fight, they can climb the ladder to check the defense of the enemy city, or they can climb the wall with the ladder to fight with the enemy. Soon, Lu Ban discovered that Mozi knew about the ladder. As soon as he heard that Lu Ban had invented a tool of war, he was very depressed, so he came to Chu from his own country day and night. Because Mozi also had high attainments in engineering technology, he advocated the development of production and opposed the war politically, so he was somewhat dissatisfied with Lu Ban's use of invented equipment in the war.
When Lu Ban saw Mozi who came in a hurry, he asked, "Laojun, you are from Qi. What do you think? "
Mozi paused and said, "Someone insulted me in Qi. I beg you to help me kill him. "
Lu Ban lost his voice and said, "Sir, how can you say such a thing!" "
Mozi said unhurriedly, "I will give you your daughter as a reward!" " "
Lu Ban said angrily, "I, Lu Ban, will never kill for injustice."
On hearing this, Mozi immediately stood up, made two obeisances to Lu Ban, and said, "But I heard that you built a ladder for Chu, and Chu is going to use it to attack the State of Song. In this way, it is the people of the Song State who suffer. What is the crime of the people of the Song State to be killed innocently? It is also unjust for Chu to conquer the Song State for no reason in order to compete for the land of the Song State! Song Guo is innocent, and it is ruthless to attack for no reason. And why did you, Lu Ban, know these truths clearly, but didn't dissuade the King of Chu? "
Mozi's words made Lu Ban speechless, but he was still unconvinced. Mozi read his mind and said, "You haven't figured it out yet. Let's have a competition. I made some tools to defend the city. Now we can use belts as walls and small pieces of wood as weapons. How about playing a few games of offensive and defensive confrontation? " Luban agreed at the moment, so the two men launched a "simulated" offensive and defensive war. Lu Ban-jiu changed siege weapons and attacked Mozi's defensive positions many times. Mozi was able to defuse his attack every time. Luban was too anxious to win. Finally, Lu Ban used up all the siege equipment, but Mozi's methods of guarding the city were still endless. Seeing Lu Ban's helplessness, Mozi told him that since playing games can't even beat himself, let alone fighting with real swords and spears. Mozi also told Lu Ban that his 300 disciples had prepared the tools for guarding the city and went to Song State for support. He hoped that Lu Ban could retreat and persuade the King of Chu to give up the idea of attacking the State of Song with himself. Lu Ban saw that Mozi was really better than himself, and he regretted his behavior. Later, he accepted Mozi's suggestion. Finally, the king of Chu learned the result of the "war" between Rumo and Mexico, and felt that he was not sure to win the attack on Song, so he gave up this unjust war.
The reason why the story of Lu Ban and Mozi is told is to show that at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the productivity level of China society has developed to a new stage. The development of handicraft technology in this period laid the foundation of the traditional handicraft technology in ancient China, which was actually used in the military field first and then popularized among the people. This is also the consistent law of the emergence and development of "new technology".