Chinese & bamboo

CHINA is known as the Kingdom of Bamboo because it has

the most bamboo of any country in the world. More than 400

species of bamboo. One third of all the known species in the

world. Grow in China. China leads the world in the amount of

area planted with bamboo, the number of bamboo trees, and

the amount of bamboo wood produced every year. The areas

that produce the most bamboo are south of the Changjiang

(Yangtze ) River, and the biggest producers are Sichuan, An

hui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Jiang-

su provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The oldest archaeological finds of bamboo articles in China were unearthed from the remains of a primitive society that existed some 7,000 years ago in what is now Hemudu, Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province. As early as the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century B.C.).Chinese people used bamboo for making household articles and weapons, such as bows and arrows. Before paper was invented, slips of bamboo were the most important writing medium. More widely used than silk, for example, bucause they were cheaper, resistant to corrosion, and more abundant. Bamboo has thus played an important part in the spread and development of traditional Chinese culture.

Bamboo was closely connected with the daily lives of people in ancient China. Su Dongpo (1037-1101),a literary giant of the Song Dynasty (960-1279),said that people could hot live without bamboo, and people of the time used bamboo as firewood and to make tiles, paper, rafts, hats, raincapes, and shoes. At that time, as today, bamboo shoots were eaten as a popular dish because of their crispness and fresh, sweet taste. Bamboo shoots also contain vitamins. Sugar, fat, and protein.

In the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D.220) bamboo was used for papermaking because it produced high-quality paper and was inexpensive: three tons of bamboo could yield one ton of paper pulp. And bamboo is still an important raw material for papermaking today. Some 1,600 years ago. People wrote with brushes on xuan paper made from young bamboo. And xuan paper is still popular for Chinese calligraphy and paintings.

Today, bamboo is widely used for household articles such as mats, beds, pillows, benches, chairs, cabinets, buckets, chopsticks, spoons, baskets, and handheld fans. It is also used to make traditional Chinese musical instruments such as the

sheng, a reed instrument; the di, a flute; and the xiao, a flute held vertically.

Woven bamboo arts and crafts come in a wide variety, including toy animals, lanterns, flower baskets, trays, tea boxes, screens, and curtains. Bamboo weaving is popular in the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Sichuan, and Anhui as well as Zhejiang which has a history of bamboo weaving going back more than 2,000 years.

Bamboo is also used in Chinese medicine. The leaves eliminate heat and phlegm; the juice cures strode, insanity, and a kind of asthma caused by excessive phlegm; and the root can stimulate the vital forces, quench thirst, and promote lactation.

Bamboo's resistance to stretching and its ability to support weight are at least double those of other kinds of wood, making bamboo an ideal material for houses, scaffolding, supporting pillars, and work sheds.

Tall and graceful with luxuriant foliage, bamboo is an ideal plant for household courtyards and parks. It tolerates the heat of summer and the cold of winter, it grows on unfertile land, and it regenerates after being cut.

Throughout the centuries, bamboo has inspired the imagination of artists, while men of letters have written poetry and prose to express their admiration for the purity and elegance of bamboo. They compared the qualities of bamboo to those of man, and Su Dongpo attributed his literary inspiration to bamboo. Bamboo was also a favorite subject of noted Chinese painters of past dynasties.

Bamboo, a material for arts and crafts and a symbol of integrity, has enriched the traditional Chinese culture, and become an everlasting subject for scholars and artists.

Square bamboo,

tortoise-shell

bamboo, and

purple bamboo.

Cultivating bamboo

in a mountainous

area.

Bamboo corridors

surrounded by bamboo

groves.

Bamboo rafts.

Woven-bamboo

household articles and

decorations.

Bamboo shoots, like

all newborn things,

grow fast.

Eating glutinous rice

cooked in bamboo

sections, a traditional

preparation.

The bamboo

slips unearthed

in Hunan

Province in 1966

contained

historical

records.

Five hundred

years ago,

bamboo mats

like this one

were offered in

tribute to the

imperial court.

Bamboo leaves

are the favorite

food of pandas.

Woven-bamboo baskets.

A painting of

bamboo with a

poem by

Zheng

Banqiao

(1698-1765), a

distinguished

artist of the

Qing Dynasty

(1644-1911).

Jumping over bamboo

poles, an ancient

ceremony of the Li

people, has become a

sport today.

A craftsman

makes a kite frame

of bamboo.

Making bread in a

bamboo steamer.

The lusheng, a

reed instrument,

is popular

among the Miao,

Yao, and Dong

peoples in

southwestern

Yunnan

Province.

Woven-bamboo

animals.