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Fish heads solve too-short crossbeam dilemma
December 26, 2011, Monday
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IN Anting area of Jiading District there is a big Buddhist temple. Legend has it that while the Great Buddha's Hall was under construction in ancient times, the workers made a mistake. When they were measuring wood for the fourth crossbeam, they failed to allow extra length for the beam section that would anchor in the wall, resulting in the cut material to be too short. When they realized it, there was no wood left to make a new beam.
The carpenter thought a long time, but still could not figure out a solution to the dilemma, and finally resorted to drink to get rid of his worries. While he was trying to soak away his troubles in alcohol, an old man sitting at the next table saw the carpenter looking very worried. The old man asked why he was so worried, and the carpenter told him about his problem.
"It's not a problem at all," the old man said, and asked the carpenter to buy him two fish and a bottle of wine. "Let me finish it first then I will tell you what to do."
The carpenter sat aside the table and waited silently. However, the old man didn't say a word, and ate as if no one was sitting next to him. Soon, only the two fish heads were left.
The old man finished the last drop of the wine, and put one chopstick between the two fish heads, each end of the chopstick resting in a fish mouth. Then the old man left with a smile without saying a word.
The carpenter stood up and followed the old man. He tried to talk to him but got no answer. Then he returned to the table and felt unhappy. But when he looked at the table again, he saw the chopstick lying across the two bowls with each end inserted in a fish mouth, and it was a pretty stable structure. He suddenly realized that it was a perfect way to solve the problem of a too-short crossbeam. He rushed out to catch up the old man and learned that his name was Lu Ban, a great master of Chinese carpentry.
The carpenter then went back to the construction site and made two wooden fish heads with gaping mouths just big enough for the beam to fit in. He then placed the two ends of the crossbeam into the two mouths to make it longer and it fit perfectly into the wall. The structure was really stable and the design looked very good. From that time on, rich people installed wooden fish mouths on their crossbeams, no matter if the beams were long or short. The design not only protects the crossbeam, but the fish head pattern also serves to decorate a building like an exquisite piece of art.
(Translated by Pan Zheng)
The carpenter thought a long time, but still could not figure out a solution to the dilemma, and finally resorted to drink to get rid of his worries. While he was trying to soak away his troubles in alcohol, an old man sitting at the next table saw the carpenter looking very worried. The old man asked why he was so worried, and the carpenter told him about his problem.
"It's not a problem at all," the old man said, and asked the carpenter to buy him two fish and a bottle of wine. "Let me finish it first then I will tell you what to do."
The carpenter sat aside the table and waited silently. However, the old man didn't say a word, and ate as if no one was sitting next to him. Soon, only the two fish heads were left.
The old man finished the last drop of the wine, and put one chopstick between the two fish heads, each end of the chopstick resting in a fish mouth. Then the old man left with a smile without saying a word.
The carpenter stood up and followed the old man. He tried to talk to him but got no answer. Then he returned to the table and felt unhappy. But when he looked at the table again, he saw the chopstick lying across the two bowls with each end inserted in a fish mouth, and it was a pretty stable structure. He suddenly realized that it was a perfect way to solve the problem of a too-short crossbeam. He rushed out to catch up the old man and learned that his name was Lu Ban, a great master of Chinese carpentry.
The carpenter then went back to the construction site and made two wooden fish heads with gaping mouths just big enough for the beam to fit in. He then placed the two ends of the crossbeam into the two mouths to make it longer and it fit perfectly into the wall. The structure was really stable and the design looked very good. From that time on, rich people installed wooden fish mouths on their crossbeams, no matter if the beams were long or short. The design not only protects the crossbeam, but the fish head pattern also serves to decorate a building like an exquisite piece of art.
(Translated by Pan Zheng)
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