Ode to Bamboo
“Bamboo staff in hand,
Straw sandals
Better than a horse.
What’s to fear?
Mist and rain,
One straw rain cape enough for a lifetime.”
These sentences are the famous rhesis in Su Dongpo’s poem-Claiming the Waves. From this we can see that bamboo was closely connected with the daily lives of people in ancient China and people could not live without bamboo. Throughout the centuries, bamboo has inspired the imagination of artists, while men of letters have written poetry and prose to express their admiration for the purity and elegance of bamboo. They compared the qualities of bamboo to those of man, and Su Dongpo attributed his literary inspiration to bamboo. Bamboo was also a favorite subject of noted Chinese painters of past dynasties. Bamboo, a material for arts and crafts and a symbol of integrity, has enriched the traditional Chinese culture, and become an everlasting subject for scholars and artists. According to the Chinese philosophy of geomancy (feng shui), bamboo is believed to be able to ward off bad spirits. The display of a bamboo painting in your home can create an kind of Eastern aesthetic atmosphere and ensure only good spirits enter your home.
Chinese Bamoo Painting
