Seven Castles

Bamboo

                                      

June 23, 2008

 

China, the hometown of bamboo, boasts the richest resource of bamboo forest in the world, hence its title as the "kingdom of bamboo". The beautiful plant has forged an indissoluble bond with man's cultural life. As early as 7,000 years ago, Chinese ancestors used bamboo to make arrowheads, bows and arrows for entertainment, hunting and war. Since ancient times bamboo has been widely used in the daily life of the Chinese people.

 

Bamboo formed the earliest ties with Chinese characters, which can be traced back to the New Stone Age 6,000 years ago. The pictographic symbol of "bamboo" was found on the potteries unearthed, and the symbol was also discovered in oracle bone inscriptions and inscriptions on ancient bronze objects. During the period from the Warring States Period to the Jin Dynasty, the people wrote on "bamboo slips". Many of the earliest Chinese historical documents, such as the Book of History, The Book of Rites and Analects of Confucius, were recorded on such material，making great contributions to the development of Chinese culture.

 

The application of bamboo in science and technology is really thrilling. As far back as the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese invented a bamboo drill. In 251 BC Li Bing, Sichuan prefect, led the local people in building the Dujiang Weirs, the first irrigation network in the world, in which bamboo played an important role. The world's oldest water pipe was also made from bamboo. During the Han Dynasty the Sichuan people successfully sank a 1,600-meter-deep well with thick bamboo ropes. This technology did not spread to Europe until the 19th century, and in 1859 the Americans drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania by using the technology.

 

Papermaking is one of China's four ancient great inventions. In the Han Dynasty people began to use bamboo to make paper, which was of excellent quality and reasonable price. Even until now it is used as one of the important raw materials in papermaking. Some of the xuan paper for traditional Chinese painting also made from tender bamboo. The ancient Chinese people used bamboo chips for calculation before the invention of the abacus.

 

With the invention of gunpowder, the people wished to go onto space. In the Yuan Dynasty a man tied a big bamboo tube on each of the four legs of a chair filled with gunpowder. He wanted to send the person on the chair to space by reactive force after lighting the gunpowder. Although it seems somewhat absurd, no one can deny its value as the embryonic form of the earliest "manned rocket".

 

Bamboo has been used in architectural art since long ago. During the Han Dynasty skilful craftsmen built a magnificent palace for Emperor Hanwudi with bamboo. In southern China where bamboo is abundant bamboo stilt houses are common residences for the common people. Nowadays, some minorities in the Southwest China, like the Dai people in Yunnan, still live in the two-storied bamboo stilt houses - the upper floor of the house contains bedrooms, kitchens and balconies, and the ground floor is used to house poultry and domestic animals. It makes a lovely picture, the bamboo houses set off by green plantain trees.

 

As it is light and tough with elasticity and bearing capacity, bamboo is an ideal building material, which can be used to construct houses, scaffold and pillars. Enlightened by the Painting of Orchids and Bamboo, a masterpiece of the great Qing Dynasty painter and calligrapher Zheng Banqiao, I. M. Pei, the world-famous architecture-design master, designed a 315-meter high 70- storied mansion for China Bank. This magnificent building still stands lofty and firm in Hong Kong despite the horrible typhoons.

 

Bamboo also has close ties with Chinese music. Among the cultural relics unearthed, the 13-tube bamboo panpipe was the earliest one ever discovered. During the Tang Dynasty, performers of musical instruments were called "bamboo people", as most of the instruments were made of bamboo.

 

Bamboo is indispensable to many traditional Chinese musical instruments. China's first national bamboo orchestra has a great variety of bamboo musical instruments, such as a dozen kinds of bamboo flutes, bamboo dippers, a bamboo percussion instrument composed of five or six drums of different sizes, and the huge dragon drum made of the world's thickest bamboo.

 

The Chinese people first invented bamboo basketwork during the New Stone Age. Ancient people wore a large bamboo hat to protect them from rain and bamboo shoes to walk on muddy roads.

 

Bamboo cloth was invented in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and became a tribute for the emperors. With the development of the society and the progress in cultural life, there were an increasing variety of bamboo products including seats, such as bamboo chairs, bamboo stools and bamboo sofas; sleeping furniture, such as bamboo deck chairs, bamboo beds, bamboo mats and bamboo pillows. Clothing was also made of bamboo, including bamboo hats and bamboo shoes. Also decorations were made, including bamboo screens, bamboo curtains, bamboo vases and bamboo lanterns. As for containers, there are bamboo cupboards and bamboo cases; tableware, such as bamboo bowls and bamboo chopsticks; writing materials bamboo brushes and bamboo pen containers. Farmers use bamboo tools like bamboo baskets, bamboo brooms and dustpans, and bamboo poles, as well as fishing tools, means of transport and many other daily necessities.

 

As one of the special handicrafts of China, bamboo carving is favored by the people. This traditional art took shape in the Six Dynasties and became popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The intelligent ancients not only made various daily necessities and tools for production with bamboo, but also engraved them with beautiful decorative patterns. Bamboo carvings cover a wide range of subjects such as images of Buddha, figures, flowers, animals, landscape and pavilions.

 

Bamboo adds luster to Chinese food. The delicious and crispy bamboo shoot has won the people's favor since ancient times. People also use bamboo to make wine, which tastes mellow and savory.

 

Bamboo can also be used as medicine. In his masterpiece Compendium of Materia Medica, the famous Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen recorded the great medical value of bamboo.

 

The tall, straight and beautiful bamboo has been a favorite for Chinese scholars and artists since ancient times, who have sang high praises of its character. Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, compared bamboo to "virtuous man" in his article. Zheng Banqiao, a celebrated Qing Dynasty painter and calligrapher, devoted his whole life to painting bamboo.

 

Many ancient scholars chose to live in seclusion in deep mountains surrounded by bamboo forests, where they drank wine, wrote poems or painted pictures while enjoying the beauty of nature. By leading such a simple life they wanted to stay away from worldly affairs. Su Dongpo, a famous writer of the Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem, "I would rather eat no meat than live without bamboo."

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2008年06月23日 星期一 05:07】【注册】【打印】