What are the spiritual qualities of bamboo? The latest interpretation is here
Bamboo is a perennial plant of the genus Bamboo in the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae, with upright, slender branches and culms, evergreen through the four seasons, and resistant to frost and rain. It is greatly loved by Chinese people and is called one of the Four Gentlemen together with plum, orchid, and chrysanthemum, and one of the Three Friends of Winter together with plum and pine. Through the ages, many men of letters and artists have loved and praised bamboo. Let us take a look below at the spiritual qualities of bamboo!
Spiritual Qualities
The British scholar Joseph Needham said that East Asian civilization is a “bamboo civilization.” Chinese men of letters and artists have personified bamboo's growth characteristics, such as its hollow interior, uprightness, and evergreen nature through the four seasons, into spiritual and cultural symbols of elegance, purity, open-mindedness, integrity, and uprightness. Painting bamboo became an important category in Chinese flower-and-bird painting, and Zheng Banqiao of the Qing Dynasty in China was famous throughout the world for painting bamboo. From ancient times to the present, “in life, what is valued is having bamboo in the heart” has become the preference of many literati and refined scholars, who often use plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum to express their noble and unconventional tastes, or as a mirror for their own moral character, such as the contemporary poet Zhou Tianhou's “Ode to Bamboo”: Bitter integrity is treasured by oneself, after rain there is even less dust. In the cold of the year, discuss the gentleman, emerald green weaves the new spring.
The Ten Virtues of Bamboo
Bamboo's form is upright, preferring to break rather than bend, called uprightness. Although bamboo has nodes, it does not stop advancing, called striving forward. Bamboo is straight outside and open inside, with a heart as broad as a valley, called open-mindedness. Bamboo has flowers deeply buried, facing the sky with a plain face, called simplicity. Bamboo blooms once in its life, without regret even in death, called dedication. Bamboo stands in the wind like jade, towering between heaven and earth, called excellence. Although bamboo is called excellent, it is not like pine, called good at gathering with others. Bamboo's texture is like stone, and only then can it become useful, called firm nature. Bamboo becomes a tally token, held by Su Wu, called moral integrity. Bamboo carries writing and passes it down through the generations, bearing hardship without complaint, called responsibility.
Cultural Meanings
1. Bamboo reports peace: bamboo refers to bamboo slips, and bamboo report was another name for family letters in old times, meaning a letter reporting peace at home. Tang Dynasty, Duan Chengshi, “Youyang Zazu Continued Collection, Branches and Plants Below”: “In the north, only the Tongzi Temple had one clump of bamboo, only a few chi tall. It is said that the temple's administrator would report the bamboo's peace every day.”
2. Bamboo thick and pine luxuriant: the roots are as stable as bamboo, and the branches and leaves are as luxuriant as a pine tree. It is used as a congratulatory phrase for longevity or the completion of a palace or house, and also as a metaphor for family prosperity. “Classic of Poetry, Minor Odes, Si Gan”: “Like bamboo's thickness, like pine's luxuriance.” Ming Dynasty, Fan Shiyan, “Record of Polishing Loyalty”: “Wishing long life and enjoyment, may it be like bamboo thick and pine luxuriant, with sun and moon long and enduring.”
3. Green plums and bamboo horse: green plums refer to green mume fruit, and bamboo horse refers to a bamboo pole that children ride as a horse. It is a metaphor for boys and girls playing together, with innocent and pure feelings. Tang Dynasty, Li Bai, “Song of Changgan”: “My lord came riding a bamboo horse, around the bed playing with green plums. Living together in Changgan Lane, two little ones without suspicion.”
4. Dense woods and tall bamboo: tall means long. Dense and tall woods and bamboo groves. Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, “Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering”: “This place has high mountains and steep ridges, dense woods and tall bamboo.”
5. As unstoppable as splitting bamboo: the situation is like splitting bamboo; after splitting the upper end, the lower part separates along with the blade. It describes winning victory after victory without obstruction, and also describes an unstoppable momentum. “Book of Jin, Biography of Du Yu”: “The military prestige has already been aroused, like splitting bamboo; after several nodes, it splits open at the touch of the blade.” Ming Dynasty, Shi Naian, “Water Margin” Chapter 99: “Guan Sheng and the others took advantage of the momentum and drove straight in, as unstoppable as splitting bamboo, and captured Dagu County.”