There is an idiom called "Banmen axe", which means to manipulate the axe in front of luban's door, which is metaphorically not measuring one's own strength. Speaking of Lu Ban, everyone knows that he is a skilled craftsman. Not only that, Lu Ban is also known as the "ancestor" of carpenters.
It is rumored that Lu Ban invented and created many things in his lifetime. For example, the saw was also created by him, but there was no steel at that time, so what did he rely on to make a saw blade?
Photo: Stills of Lu Ban, a skilled craftsman
When you were a child, everyone should have heard the story of Lu Ban's invention of the saw. It is about one time on a hillside when his hand was cut by thatch. Looking closely, Lu Ban found that the edges of the thatch were jagged and very sharp. Inspired by this, Lu Ban invented the saw after he returned.
Many people are convinced of this, believing that the saw is from Luban's hand. In fact, the truth is not like this. For example, "Cangjie Created Characters" is also a story handed down in ancient times, and Cangjie invented Chinese characters during the Yellow Emperor period, which has been used to this day. Do you think this legend is true?
You know, Chinese characters are broad and profound, and they cannot be created overnight. According to historians' research, the emergence and evolution of writing is a very long period.
First the hieroglyphs of primitive society, then the oracle bone script, and then slowly evolved into the Jinding script, all the way to today's simplified Chinese characters. This has been going on for thousands of years.
Similarly, the invention of the saw was not a "one-day effort", but a long evolution that formed the final saw.
Later generations believe that Lu Ban invented the saw because
The ancients did not have "humanities and social sciences" and it is difficult to trace the original origin of the saw. So, it was decided
See the saw
For the product of Lu Ban's labor. Because Luban carpenter is skilled, it is reasonable to attribute the saw to him.
Photo: Stills of the evolution and development of Chinese characters
In fact, the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic" is the same, which is also entrusted to the Yellow Emperor. The true author of this book is also long gone. But for saws, its origins can be traced back. It is generally believed that the earliest saws were produced in the primitive social period.
At that time, when the ancestors were carrying out labor production, they slowly realized the importance of tools. The ancestors were inspired by jagged substances, such as sharp thatch or sharp stones.
Therefore, people use animal bones or stones to polish and make them sharp. In this way, the first saws appeared.
So in Luban's time, what materials were the saws made of?
After experiencing the Stone Age, by the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period has entered the Bronze Age, and iron agricultural tools have also appeared and been widely promoted.
According to historical records, during the Shang Dynasty, people had already mastered the "copper smelting technology", such as the well-known post-mother Pengding is the best proof.
This copper smelting process has developed to the spring and autumn, and it has been very mature. If Luban wants to make a saw, he will choose copper or iron as a material to make a saw.
However, although iron appeared in this period, the popularity was not high, so copper was more likely. Archaeologists have found copper saws from the Warring States period in the Bashu region.
Image from the Internet: Saw
Therefore, the saw was not invented by Lu Ban, and it was only because his fame in carpentry craftsmanship was so great that people gave him the honor of "inventing the saw".
Or maybe Luban had improved the original saw and made it more practical.
In ancient times, it was common for every household to have a saw, but in modern times, the saw almost disappeared from the vision of ordinary people. Because in modern society, the role of the saw on ordinary families is already very small, and it is naturally eliminated when it is not used.
Article author: Dahui
The entire graphic was produced by the team of the Big Cafe Say History Studio!