IN THE STEPS OF LU PAN:
REMINISCENCES OF BUILDING IN HONG KONG
DAN WATERS
Lu's architectural precepts hold good forever;
His methods of computation will endure a thousand years.
Translation of inscription at Lu Pan Temple, above Kennedy Town, Hong Kong Island.
Parts of Hong Kong give the impression of being one gigantic building site, and a visiting schoolboy, on being asked what he thought of the Territory, replied, "It will be nice when it's finished!"
There have, of course, been recessions, and those brought about by the 1967 Disturbances in the Colony, and the world shortage of oil in the mid-1970s, spring to mind. Yet all employed in the construction industry in Hong Kong, with its unrivalled prosperity which provides a barometer of the economy, have a great deal to thank Lu Pan, master builder and patron saint of the industry, for.
He was born in 606 BC, and was a leading technical innovator in the era of Confucius (551-479 BC). Besides being credited with creating the handtools that revolutionised carpentry, such as the saw, the plane and the chisel, he also invented, among other things, a kite which took him up to the sky. Homage is paid to this early "Leonardo Da Vinci" on the 13th day of the Sixth Moon, his birthday, when banquets are held.
The author first attended a Lu Pan dinner, hosted by the Hong Kong Building Contractors' Association, in 1955. This was held at the old Kwong Chow restaurant in Western. It was the close of the period when Western was the entertainment district of the Territory. Large gatherings could be hosted at the Kwong Chow and the Kam Ling, each of which were capable of providing 100 tables (a circular Chinese table normally seats 12 or so persons). In the late 1950s a few Sing Song girls, the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese Geisha, were still active.
The writer attended the Lu Pan dinners from 1955 to 1975 (except
IN THE STEPS OF LU PAN:
REMINISCENCES OF BUILDING IN HONG KONG
DAN WATERS
Lu's architectural precepts hold good forever;
His methods of computation will endure a thousand years.
Translation of inscription at Lu Pan Temple, above Kennedy Town, Hong Kong Island.'
Parts of Hong Kong give the impression of being one gigantic building site, and a visiting schoolboy, on being asked what he thought of the Territory, replied, "It will be nice when it's finished!"?
There have, of course, been recessions, and those brought about by the 1967 Disturbances in the Colony, and the world shortage of oil in the mid-1970s, spring to mind. Yet all employed in the construction industry in Hong Kong, with its unrivalled prosperity which provides a barometer of the economy, have a great deal to thank Lu Pan, master builder and patron saint of the industry, for.
He was born in 606 BC, and was a leading technical innovator in the era of Confucius (551-479 BC). Besides being credited with creating the handtools that revolutionised carpentry, such as the saw, the plane and the chisel, he also invented, among other things, a kite which took him up to the sky. Homage is paid to this early "Leonardo Da Vinci” on the 13th day of the Sixth Moon his birthday when banquets are held."
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The author first attended a Lu Pan dinner, hosted by the Hong Kong Building Contractors' Association, in 1955. This was held at the old Kwong Chow restaurant in Western. It was the close of the period when Western was the entertainment district of the Territory. Large gatherings could be hosted at the Kwong Chow and the Kam Ling, each of which were capable of providing 100 tables (a circular Chinese table normally seats 12 or so persons). In the late 1950s a few Sing Song girls, the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese Geisha, were still active.
The writer attended the Lu Pan dinners from 1955 to 1975 (except
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