Chinese Bamboo Culture

Bamboo and Scholars and Artists

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 a "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 (960-1279), wrote in his poem, "I would rather eat no meat than live without bamboo."

Editor: Feng Hui