NOTES AND QUERIES
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LU PAN―The God of Carpenters. President of the Celestial Ministry of Public Works. Family name Kung-shu, personal names Pan and I-chih. Born at Yen-chou Fu, Shantung, the ancient feudal kingdom of Lu, whence his name Lu-Pan, i.e. Pan of Lu. His father was Kung-shu Hsien, his mother being of the Wu family. He was born in 506 B.C. As a youth he practised and became skilled in all kinds of metal, stone and wood work. At 40 years of age he retired to live the life of a hermit on Li Shan, Mount Li, in Shantung, and was initiated into miracle-working, being able to rise into the air and ride on the clouds. In the reign of Yung Lo (A.D. 1403-25) of the Ming dynasty he received the title of Grand Master, Sustainer of the Empire. Artisans who pray to him have their requests granted immediately.
C
Another biography gives his name as Kung-shu Tzu, adds that he was called Pan and describes him as a clever man of Lu. Some say he was the son of Mu, duke of Lu. He carved wooden magpies which could float in the air for three days, and constructed a wooden coachman which drove an automobile, as well as engines of war for battering down the walls of cities.
Still another account of his life states that Lu Pan belonged to Tung-huang Hsien, Kansu. He made a wooden kite, on which his father could fly long distances in the air. When he flew to Wu-hui, Kiangsu, the people mistook him for a devil and killed him. Angered at this, Pan constructed an Immortal in wood which, on pointing its finger in the direction of the town, caused a drought which lasted three years. When the inhabitants ascertained the cause, they sent him presents to appease him and he cut off the image's hand, whereupon copious rain fell in Wu.
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These differences can only be reconciled by concluding that Lu Pan and Kung-shu Tzu were two different persons, the one having lived in Shantung in the time of the Six Kingdoms (3rd cent. B.C.), and the other in Kansu after the time of the Emperor Ming-ti (A.D. 58-76) of the Han dynasty, when Buddhism was officially recognised in China. At the present day, Lu Pan is worshipped, without regard to the question whether the name belongs to one man or to two. Temples dedicated to Lu Pan are still maintained. He is especially worshipped (on the thirteenth day of the fifth and on the twenty-first day of the seventh