Lu Ban was a native of Dunhuang. Even as a child, his hands were remarkably skillful, and he could make all kinds of beautiful kites. As he grew up, he learned carpentry from his father and became exceptionally talented at building bridges, constructing houses, erecting temples, and crafting pagodas. He was well-known throughout the Hexi region for his craftsmanship.
That year, shortly after his marriage, he was invited by a senior monk in Liangzhou (modern-day Wuwei) to build a Buddhist pagoda, a project that took two years to complete. Though physically in Liangzhou, he worried constantly about his parents at home and deeply missed his newly-wed wife. How could he visit home without delaying the pagoda construction? Inspired by birds circling in the sky, he crafted a delicate wooden kite, fitted it with a mechanical mechanism, and tested it by riding it. It flew smoothly and maneuvered well. From then on, every evening after work and dinner, he would mount the wooden kite, strike the mechanism three times, and soon fly back to his home in Dunhuang. His wife was naturally overjoyed to see him return, but to avoid startling his parents, he said nothing. The next morning at dawn, he would ride the kite back to Liangzhou. Before long, his wife became pregnant.
Lu Ban’s parents, who went to bed early and rose late, had no idea their son was returning home. When they saw their daughter-in-law was pregnant, they suspected her of improper conduct. When questioned by her mother-in-law, the daughter-in-law explained that her husband rode the wooden kite home every night. However, the elders refused to believe her and decided to verify the truth for themselves that very night.
At dusk, Lu Ban indeed rode the wooden kite back home. Seeing this with their own eyes, the elders’ doubts vanished. His father, delighted, said, “Son, don’t go back to the construction site tomorrow. Stay home and rest. Let me ride the wooden kite and see the world from above.” The next morning, his father mounted the kite. Lu Ban gave him instructions: “If you fly to a nearby place, strike the wooden peg in the mechanism only a few times. If you want to fly far, strike it many times. Go and return early—don’t make me late for work tomorrow.”
Remembering his son’s instructions, the old man rode the kite into the sky. Wanting to travel far for an adventure, he struck the peg more than ten times. Immediately, he heard wind roaring past his ears, terrifying him so much that he shut his eyes tightly and clung to the kite, letting it fly wherever it would. When the kite finally landed, he opened his eyes and found he had flown all the way to Wu territory (modern-day Jiangsu and Zhejiang). The locals saw a strange object descending from the sky with a white-bearded old man riding it, mistaking him for a demon. They surrounded him, attacked without question, beat the old man to death with clubs, and hacked the wooden kite to pieces with knives.
Lu Ban waited at home for many days but saw no sign of his father’s return. Fearing something had gone wrong, he quickly built another wooden kite and flew around searching. When he reached Wu territory and made inquiries, he learned his father had already been killed. Overcome with rage, he returned to Suzhou (modern-day Jiuquan) and carved a wooden immortal, pointing its finger toward the southeast. The wooden immortal possessed great supernatural power. As it pointed toward Wu territory, a severe drought struck—no rain fell, and that year’s harvest was completely lost.
Three years later, the people of Wu territory learned from western merchants that the prolonged drought was Lu Ban’s magical revenge for his father’s death. They brought generous gifts to Suzhou to apologize to Lu Ban and explained how his father had been mistakenly killed. Upon learning the truth, Lu Ban felt deep remorse for his act of vengeance. He immediately chopped off the wooden immortal’s arm. At once, heavy, nourishing rain fell over Wu territory, ending the drought.
After much reflection, Lu Ban concluded that building the wooden kite had led to his father’s death, and creating the wooden immortal had caused a terrible drought, bringing suffering to the people. He realized he had committed two foolish acts. So he threw both creations into a fire and burned them. Thus, the wooden kite and the wooden immortal were lost to history.