Lu Ban, also known as Lu Ban or Gongshu Ban, was a master craftsman from the State of Lu (present-day Qufu, Shandong) during the Spring and Autumn Period. Legend has it that he excelled in carving and construction, with skills unmatched in the world, and he has long been revered as the patron saint of carpenters.
During the Ming Dynasty, the poet Mei Zhihuan visited Caishiji to pay respects at Li Bai's legendary grave. Caishiji was the spot where, according to folklore, the great Tang poet Li Bai, in his later years, saw the moon's reflection shimmering in the river, reached out to grasp it, and drowned. Because Li Bai had left his footprints there, countless tales arose, and many scenic spots emerged, such as Li Bai's Tomb, the Tower of the Exiled Immortal, and the Moon-Catching Pavilion. Caishiji thus became a famous tourist destination.
One day, Mei Zhihuan visited Li Bai's tomb by Caishiji and was deeply displeased to find that every available spot on the cliff and tomb was covered with poems left by visitors. These poorly written verses, scribbled by pretentious tourists trying to appear cultured, defaced the resting place of the revered "Poet Immortal" Li Bai. Fuming at their audacity, Mei Zhihuan thought, "How can these hacks dare to show off their clumsy writing before Li Bai? How ridiculous!" Overcome with indignation, he picked up his brush and composed a poem on the spot.
By the banks of the Caishi River, a mound of earth stands—the final resting place of the great Tang poet Li Bai. Legend has it that Li Bai, drunk on wine and poetry, once tried to scoop the moon's reflection from the river and drowned. But the real story is far more intriguing: a humble tomb, a poet's legacy, and a lesson in humility. When asked why such a simple grave for a man of such talent, a local scholar replied, "A thousand poems cannot fill a single grave, but a single verse can echo through eternity." The mound remains, a quiet testament that true genius needs no grand monument—only the words that outlast stone.
Li Bai's name has towered over the ages, celebrated for a thousand years.
"Coming and Going, a Poem" - This idiom captures the ebb and flow of human interaction, like verses exchanged in a poetic dialogue.
Playing with an Axe Before Lu Ban's Door
The earliest prototype of "Showing Off One's Skill Before an Expert" appears in Liu Zongyuan's phrase, "Wielding an axe at the gate of Ban and Ying is nothing but a brazen face." It means swinging an axe in front of Lu Ban, the master carpenter, is shameless (Ying being another ancient axe expert). It satirizes those who overestimate themselves and show off before true experts.
Source: Liu Zongyuan (Tang Dynasty), *Collected Works of Master Hedong*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "班门弄斧" came to describe how one person's strength cannot reverse a crumbling situation.