Understanding Chinese Characters:竹

By Wang Xiaoke

Among the many pictographic Chinese characters,竹 (zhú,literally meaning “bamboo”)is especially easy to locate its meanings.You don't need to go so far back to the word's most original form,just the modern form,竹,is distinct enough for you to see its stems and leaves.And when you appreciate a Chinese calligraphic work with this character (sometimes written on the blank part of an ink painting),you can feel the enormous vitality and great charm of it.

The stem of bamboo is hollow,and this makes the plant much lighter than any tree of a similar size.However,it is dense and very difficult to break,and has thus become a widely used material for making furniture and daily necessities since ancient times.Nowadays,you can still find bamboo-made commodities such as sleeping mats,chairs,and fishing poles everywhere in East Asia.

Bamboo is also well known for being the staple food of the panda.As a matter of fact,it is a popular food for human beings as well.In Sichuan and some other provinces in China,people consider bamboo shoots as a delicacy,and they have developed dozens of cooking methods including stir-frying,boiling,stewing,braising,deepfrying,and pickling.Other bamboo-related dishes,such as bamboo fungus (竹荪) soup,are also popular in restaurants and household kitchens.

Although bamboo is quite useful,East Asian people not only see it as tool and material,but also view it as art—it serves as a symbol of noble character and sought-after lifestyle.Along with wintersweet,orchid,and chrysanthemum,bamboo is generally honored by the Chinese as one of “the Four Junzi(gentlemen or cultured persons)in Plants.”

For generations,artists and scholars have completed thousands of poems,paintings,and calligraphic works to praise this very plant.One of the greatest poets of China,Su Shi(1037-1101) composed,“I would rather eat no meat than live without bamboo,for a poor spirit is worse than a skinny shape.”Zheng Xie (1693-1766),an inkpainter and a poet also wrote a portrait for this “gentleman in plants”:

He clings firmly to the green mountain

By planting his root in the chasm of rock.

However the winds from all directions blow,

The bamboo stands there,sturdy and still.

However,there are also some literati who dislike bamboo.A well-known couplet wrote by Xie Jin (1369-1415) gives a totally different depiction of the plant.

(A mean person is like...)

A reed on a wall,as his upper part is heavier,his lower part lighter,and his root shallow.

A bamboo in the mountain,as his tongue is sharp,his skin thick,and his brain hollow.

It is interesting that some people think the “hollowness” of bamboo represents ignorance,while others think it implies modesty.Despite the differing opinions,the bamboo forest is definitely a good place for relaxation,where you can clear out your mind and forget all the annoying trifles of the world.At least in this sense,the hollow internal state is something we can surely learn about from bamboo.