What Is the Meaning of Bamboo? An Analysis of the Symbolism of Its Flowering and the Time It Takes to Reach Maturity

Bamboo is a fast-growing herbaceous plant. Its bamboo leaves are narrowly lanceolate, dark green and hairless on the upper surface, lighter in color beneath with fine hairs at the base; the texture is thin and rather brittle. So what is its meaning? What does flowering mean? How long does it take to grow into usable timber?

What is the meaning of bamboo in China?

1. Bamboo stays green through all four seasons, symbolizing tenacious life and eternal youth; the hollow interior of bamboo represents the character of a humble mind that is open to all; its branches bend but do not break, embodying the principle of being gentle yet firm within; growing with joints and always showing its nodes is a symbol of noble character and integrity. Bamboo's upright and uninhibited bearing, its honesty and lofty detachment, and its delicate elegance are also the personality pursuits of Chinese literati.

2. Bamboo is the material carrier of Chinese virtues and the symbol of the gentleman, beloved by countless people of noble ideals and integrity. Writers and artists past and present have filled bamboo with praise, leaving behind a great number of poems and paintings about bamboo. The earliest Chinese attachment to bamboo can be traced back to the Wei and Jin periods, after which bamboo evolved from a cultural meaning into a folkloric image, for example “bamboo reports peace” is often used to wish for peace and good fortune.

3. In traditional Chinese painting, bamboo is often depicted in ink to express its image and spirit; ink bamboo painting occupies an important place in freehand flower-and-bird painting, and its brush-and-ink characteristics are based on calligraphy entering painting and the use of brushwork with bone method. To paint bamboo one must “have the bamboo fully formed in mind” so that when wielding the brush and ink one can move freely and express the spirit and integrity of bamboo.

4. Bamboo stands gracefully, sways with charm, fears neither frost nor snow, stays green through all four seasons, and “has joints before it emerges from the soil, and remains humble even when reaching the clouds” - it has the bearing of a gentleman. The key to painting bamboo lies in selecting and summarizing the branches and leaves, using the brush naturally and in one continuous flow, expressing the infinite vitality of bamboo, with light and dark setting each other off and charm abounding.

What does bamboo flowering mean?

1. Because bamboo reproduces asexually through underground stems, it flowers only when it is about to die or when water, drought, or insect pests run rampant, which easily leads people to associate it with famine years, disasters, and hunger. Therefore some people in Chinese folk tradition regard it as an omen of fleeing famine and troubled times, and consider it taboo.

2. In the subtropical regions of the south, bamboo is a fairly common plant, but although it is common, it is not often seen flowering. Because bamboo does not flower and fruit every year like ordinary flowering plants, some people mistakenly believe that bamboo does not flower. In fact, bamboo is a flowering plant, and when it reaches a certain age it too will flower and set seed; after bamboo flowers it dies off in patches, and when large areas of bamboo forest flower, it causes great losses.

How long does bamboo need to grow into usable timber?

Bamboo needs 3-5 years to grow into usable timber.

Bamboo grows fast, matures early, and easily forms forests. Moso bamboo is a typical fast-growing tree species; its diameter growth is basically set when the bamboo shoot emerges from the soil, and height growth from shoot emergence to full-grown bamboo generally takes only 50-60 days. After 3-6 years of reinforced growth, a bamboo forest can be harvested and used; if used as fiber for papermaking raw material, it can be cut and used in the same year. Newly planted moso bamboo generally forms a forest in 5-8 years, and degraded, low-yield stands can be improved and declining, abandoned bamboo forests rejuvenated, recovering production in 3-5 years and entering a high-yield state.

Newly planted moso bamboo can go into production in 3-5 years, and improved low-yield stands can show results in the second year; plant bamboo once and use it continuously year after year, managing it for a hundred years without decline. Moso bamboo yields are high; the annual biomass of culms in a high-yield moso bamboo forest generally reaches 5500-6000kg/mu, with the highest reaching over 9500kg/mu; the growth of new culms and bamboo shoots per cycle is 3000-4000kg/mu, with high yields reaching 5000-6000kg/mu, and the input-output ratio is between 1:2 and 1:4, which can raise economic benefits by 2-3 times compared with managing ordinary timber forest tree species; if intercropping and three-dimensional management on forest land and comprehensive development and utilization of the whole bamboo are carried out, the benefits are even more considerable.