Lu Ban[a] (c. 507–444 BC)[1][2] was a Chinese architect or master carpenter, structural engineer, and inventor, during the Zhou Dynasty.

[1] The great demand for his work supposedly compelled him to invent or improve several carpenter's tools—the saw, the square, the planer, the drill, the shovel, and an ink marking tool—to complete his many projects more quickly.

[1] His wife was also credited with inventing the umbrella in order to permit him to work in inclement weather.

[1] According to tradition, he was responsible for several inventions:[4] Other inventions were also attributed to him, such as a lifting implement to assist with burial,[9] a wooden horse carriage and coachman,[10] a pedal-powered cycle,[11] and other woodworking mentioned in various texts, which thereafter led Lu Ban to be acknowledged as a master craftsman: Lu Ban is revered as the god of carpentry and masonry in Chinese folk religion.

The Chinese equivalent of "teaching one's grandmother to suck eggs" is to "brandish one's axe at Lu Ban's door"[14] (班门弄斧[15]).