It is a little known fact that within the mythology of Chinese deities there is a god of artisans, concerned with bricklayers, painters, carpenters - and stonemasons. This god is particularly revered in Hong Kong, and is called Lu Ban or Lu Pan.
    According to tradition, Lu Ban was born Kung-shu Tze in 506 BC in the Kingdom of Lu where he became a skilled carpenter. Becoming a recluse on the Shi Lan mountain, he perfected his skills. He is reputed to have constructed the palace of the Queen of the Western Heaven, Xiwang Mu upon the K’un Lun mountains from pure gold, with walls 333 miles in circumference. Envied for his knowledge and powers, Lu Ban, the invoker of harmonious relationships, was murdered.
    His festival takes place on the sixth lunar month, when the rains are due. His attributes include a set-square and carpenter’s plane, but he is sometimes depicted with an axe, the symbol of a marriage go-between. Most stories show his skill as a mechanic, ascribing to him the invention of everyday utilities and other marvels. Usually depicted as a wandering artisan, an old man travelling incognito, he is said to appear mysteriously with inspired advice to master builders faced with insurmountable problems. Lu Ban was awarded the title Grand Master, Sustainer of the Empire by the Yung Lo Emperor (1403-25).
    One story about Lu Ban tells of a poor girl, Tsui-erh, who was in love with Li Ching, but though due to marry, her widowed mother could not afford a wedding dress. A passing traveller asked if he could lodge with the women while seeking work. Taking pity on him, they gave the aged man shelter. The man then offered his services to a master mason who was building a bridge nearby, and the mason, somewhat sceptical, let the old man dress some blocks. But to the annoyance of the master mason, and the ridicule of his men, the stranger spent all his time chipping at one discarded stone. Finally dismissing the man as an eccentric, the master let him keep the rejected stone in lieu of wages. Before saying his farewell to the women, the man presented the stone to his hostesses, saying they could use the stone as a trough, but cautioned them that if anyone wished to use it, they should first pay for Tsui-erh’s wedding dress.
    Eventually the bridge was to be opened and a great procession of dignitaries, banners and musicians made its way to the riverbank. The women joined the throng which, however, was soon in confusion, for the bridge was not ready. The keystone for the arch did not fit. It then dawned on Tsui-erh and her mother that their ‘trough’ was of the same size as the missing stone. Giving it to the master mason, he was astonished to find the cast-off fit precisely, and was only too happy to pay the requisite price. As the stone was lowered, the master mason realized that the strange old man whom he had dismissed was none other than the grand master mason himself, Lu Ban.
    A recent paper (The Influence of Operative on Speculative Freemasonry. 1995) from the Transactions of the Manchester Association for Masonic Research, written by Bro The Rev. Neville Barker Cryer, mentions that in the ritual for operative masons’ promotion to the rank of Erector, it is found for Square Masons that the chief cornerstone is missing, while for Arch Masons, it is the keystone that cannot be found. Resonances with the Chinese story are striking. The charity shown by the mother and daughter reminds us of a major tenet of our Craft, while the significance accorded to the old man’s travelling incognito, and the description of Lu Ban as an invoker of harmonious relationships, gives us a strong sense of the almost romantic value of giving and serving without notice, a position which in its best sense should serve to enact spiritual blessings on the downhearted. Masonic goodness should perhaps be like the wind : you can’t see it, but when it passes, the trees bend.
    Lu Ban’s set-square and plane are also suggestive and one cannot help noticing his demise by murder, reminiscent of the Third Degree. The essence of the Craft may be of an even more universal substance than we are accustomed to recognise, the providence of the Great Architect of the Universe finding an outlet in all cultures by different means: the welcome stranger indeed. In that regard, Lu Ban may be considered as a manifestation of a greater whole, as we may likewise yet come to see the Craft.