What are the symbolic meanings of bamboo? Latest cultural interpretation
Bamboo is the general name for perennial plants of the genus Bamboo in the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Through the ages, many men of letters have loved and praised bamboo. Chinese men of letters have personified bamboo's growth characteristics - its hollow stem, uprightness, and year-round greenness - into spiritual and cultural symbols such as elegance, purity, open-mindedness, integrity, and uprightness. Now let us take a look at the symbolic meanings of bamboo!
The Symbolic Meanings of Bamboo
Bamboo carries an extraordinary meaning in traditional Chinese culture. Its year-round greenness symbolizes tenacious vitality and everlasting youth; its hollow stem represents a modest and receptive character; its branches bend but do not break, which is the principle of being gentle yet firm within; it grows with nodes and its nodes are always visible, which is a symbol of lofty integrity; and bamboo's uprightness and free spirit, its honesty and loftiness, and its delicate elegance are also the personality pursuits of Chinese men of letters. The earliest Chinese attachment to bamboo can be traced back to the Wei and Jin dynasties, after which bamboo evolved from a cultural meaning into a folk image; for example, “bamboo reporting peace” is often used to wish for peace and good fortune.
The Spiritual Qualities of Bamboo
Bamboo is the incarnation of the gentleman and one of the “Four Gentlemen”; together with plum blossom and pine it forms the “Three Friends of Winter” - pine symbolizes evergreen longevity, bamboo symbolizes the way of the gentleman, and plum symbolizes icy purity and jade-like cleanness. As for the spiritual qualities of bamboo, there is “The Ten Virtues of Bamboo”: “Bamboohas an upright body that would rather break than bend, called uprightness. Although bamboo has nodes, it does not stop advancing, called enterprise. Bamboo is straight outside and hollow within, with a mind as broad as a valley, called open-mindedness. Bamboo has flowers deeply buried and faces the sky plainly, called simplicity. Bamboo blooms once in its life and has no regret even in death, called dedication. Bamboo stands graceful in the wind, holding up heaven and standing on 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, so it can be made into vessels, called firmness of nature. Bamboo becomes a tally of authority, held by Su Wu, called integrity. Bamboo carries writing and passes it down through the ages, bearing hardship without complaint, called responsibility.”
The Cultural Implications of Bamboo
1. Bamboo reporting peace: bamboo refers to bamboo slips, and “bamboo report” is another name for family letters in old times, meaning a letter reporting safety. Duan Chengshi of the Tang dynasty, in “Youyang Zazu Continued Collection, Zhi Zhi Xia”: “In the north only the Tongzi Temple had one clump of bamboo, only a few chi tall. It is said that the temple's supervisor reported the bamboo's safety every day.”
2. Bamboo lush and pine flourishing: roots as firm as bamboo and branches and leaves as luxuriant as a pine tree; used as a congratulatory phrase for longevity or the completion of a palace or house, and also as a metaphor for a prosperous family. “The Book of Songs, Minor Odes, Si Gan”: “Like bamboo's lushness, like pine's flourishing.” Fan Shiyan of the Ming dynasty, “Mo Zhong Ji”: “Wishing long life and enjoyment, may bamboo be lush and pine flourishing, and may the days and months be long.”
3. Green plums and bamboo horse: green plums refers to green mume fruit, and bamboo horse refers to a bamboo pole ridden as a horse by children; it is a metaphor for boys and girls playing together in innocent, guileless affection. Li Bai of the Tang dynasty, in the poem “Changgan Xing”: “My lord came riding a bamboo horse, circling the bed and playing with green plums. Living together in Changgan Lane, two little ones without suspicion.”
4. Dense woods and tall bamboo: “tall” means long; dense, tall woods and bamboo groves. Wang Xizhi of the Jin dynasty, “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 - once the upper end is split open, the lower part follows the blade apart; it describes winning victory after victory without obstruction, and also describes an irresistible momentum. “The Book of Jin, Biography of Du Yu”: “The military prestige has already been aroused; it is like splitting bamboo - after several nodes, it separates as the blade meets it.” Shi Naian of the Ming dynasty, “Water Margin” chapter 99: “Guan Sheng and the others took advantage of the momentum and drove straight on, as unstoppable as splitting bamboo, and captured Dagu County again.”
6. Too numerous to record: “qing” means to use up; bamboo was made into bamboo tubes in ancient times for writing, and “write” means to write; the original meaning is that even using up all the bamboo, it would be hard to finish writing it all; it originally metaphorized that crimes were so numerous they could not all be written down, and also refers to there being so many facts that it is hard to write them all. “Old Book of Tang, Biography of Li Mi”: “Use up the bamboo of the southern mountains, and the crimes still cannot be fully written; breach the waves of the eastern sea, and the evil still cannot be fully washed away.”