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Bamboo washbasin stand (From the collection of Patrick Lee)

The beauty of bamboo lies in the strong, tall, and dignified sections of the stalk, as well as in its straight, smooth, and elegant appearance. Its leaves toss in the wind, yet retain their sternness and sharp edges. Although hollow inside, it has strong joints. It can tolerate severe weather and stay green throughout the year. Moreover, its “upright” shape, “unoccupied” interior, and “restraining” joints have made it symbolic of noble character and sterling integrity. During the Lunar New Year, people express wishes with the word bamboo, such as zhu bao ping an 竹報平安 (report home in a letter written on bamboo slips that everything is well) and bao zhu yi sheng chu jiu sui 爆竹一聲除舊歲 (to send off the old year with the sound of bamboo firecrackers). Another saying, qing mei zhu ma 青梅竹馬 (literally, green plums and bamboo horse) describes friendship from childhood.

Taiwan’s geographical location is ideal for growing bamboo. Both tropical Pachymorph-rhizomes bamboo (Taiwan Giant Bamboo, Oldham Bamboo, Thorny Bamboo, Long-branch Bamboo, and Hedge Bamboo) and cold-resistant Leptomorph-rhizomes bamboo (Moso Bamboo, Makino Bamboo, and Kunishi Cane) are grown on the island. Overseas as well as native varieties thrive, from the short ten-centimeter or more Dwarf White Stripe Bamboo, to the 40-to-50-meter-tall Giant Bamboo. Lush greenery and bamboo thickets are typical farming village scenes in Taiwan. Many urbanites hemmed in by cement, steel, and glass buildings still aspire to the comfort of a “house adorned with bamboo.”

Taiwan’s bamboo resources are rich. In the past, bamboo was intimately connected with people’s lives: in woven objects and furniture, bamboo-made “ghost money” burned as offerings to gods and spirits, divination blocks, or in scaffolding used in the construction of tall buildings. Government research and promotion of bamboo cultivation and processing techniques once made bamboo materials and products an important export handicraft during Taiwan’s rapid economic development. For example, Taiwan once manufactured more than 90 percent of the world’s proportional rulers used in engineering (its triangular axis joint is made of bamboo). Today, new technology, compound materials, or low-cost imports of bamboo, rattan, and wood products have replaced Taiwan’s commercial bamboo production. However, in cultural and artistic areas, constant innovation has maintained Taiwan’s traditional essence while embracing creative diversity, freedom, and renewal, making the island an important center for bamboo culture in the world.

Before the Han Chinese pioneers came to open up Taiwan in the 17th century, the aborigines who had been living on the island for generations were already skillful in using bamboo and wood to build ancestral shrines, meeting houses, dwellings, granaries, and watchtowers. Fish traps, storage containers, baskets carried on the back, round shallow baskets for sifting and containing food, armor, and rain coats were mostly made of bamboo. The spiral weaving method is a handicraft characteristic of peoples of the Austronesian linguistic family. Bamboo musical instruments such as the mouth organ, nose flute, and bowed violin are considered gems of folk music.

Bamboo lot holders and rounded bamboo divination blocks are found in temples throughout Taiwan.  (From the collection of Patrick Lee)

In the past, Taiwan’s high-ranking officials, gentry, merchants, and farmers valued the importance of knowledge. Renowned for their avid appreciation of literature, scholars also enjoyed poetry, writing, calligraphy, and painting, and attached importance to the refined enjoyment of gardening. They often used the word “bamboo” as an alias, or gave their residences or studies such names as bamboo slope, bamboo forest, bamboo study, bamboo hut, bamboo veranda, bamboo hermitage, and bamboo stream. On the sides of the back wall of the main hall of a traditional Taiwanese house, there was often a couplet with the inscription “Bamboos and Pines Growing in Profusion,” an expression of the family’s wish for prosperity, stability, and filial piety. A bamboo grove was often planted next to the entrance to add elegance and beauty to the house. A potted landscape of pines, bamboo, and plum trees was also placed to symbolize their resilient ability as the “three friends of winter.” Old Buddhist temples in forests of bamboo attached more importance to the placement of bamboo and stones, because they symbolized refreshment, solemnity, and dignity. Plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo are called the “Four Gentlemen”; pine, bamboo, plum, and orchid, the “Four Friends”; and plum, bamboo, and stone, the “Three Purities and Three Benefits.” They were popular subjects for paintings as well as carvings for walls, windows, doors, lattice-window doors, and furniture. In traditional buildings, it is common to find walls, railings, or short posts in winding corridors made of green glazed pottery in the shape of bamboo. Stone pillars are often carved with bamboo designs, and windows made in different bamboo shapes. Such ingenious expressions reflect a sincere appreciation of bamboo.

In birthday prayers for longevity, a bamboo frame draped with noodles takes the place of a living animal sacrifice.  (From the collection of Patrick Lee)

Bamboo is used to produce an astounding variety of goods:

Writing Materials: writing brushes, brush racks, and rolling paper curtains

Traditional Musical Instruments: bamboo flutes (both horizontal and vertical), reed pipes, bamboo clappers, castanets, and mallets

Childhood Toys: bamboo dragonfly, squirt guns, kites, humming top

Personal Articles: ear picks, back scratchers

Entertainment: pigeon bells, bamboo mahjong tiles

Farm Implements: bamboo hats, carrying poles, cattle poles, cattle mouth bits, various bamboo baskets, rice sifters, tea picking baskets, drying baskets, dustpans, bamboo scoops, banana baskets, rice seedling wrappers, watering buckets, and bamboo rakes

Ink painting of bamboo by Zheng Banqiao  (From the collection of the National Palace Museum)

Fishing Equipment: fishing rods, fish traps, fish cages, and fish fingerling creels

Family Utensils: bamboo poles, bamboo ladders, bamboo fans, bamboo brooms, charcoal baskets, bamboo steamers, strainers, rice strainers, rice ladles, chopsticks, bamboo toothpicks, bamboo forks, and tea trays

Daily Utensils: bamboo beds, bamboo tables, chairs, cupboards, stools, sedan chairs, children’s stools, and cradles

Ceremonial or Traditional Articles: spirit money baskets, gift baskets, betel nut baskets, and rice noodle baskets

Wedding and Festival Articles: firecracker baskets, matchmaker baskets, “double happiness” rice sieves, folding fans, surname lanterns, and “livestock prosperity” lanterns

Bamboo shrimp baskets  (From the collection of Patrick Lee)

These various articles not only are useful in daily life, but also embody a closeness to nature and thankfulness to heaven. They also express a special sense of aesthetics.

From the perspective of handicrafts, bamboo furniture is classified as “coarse” bamboo work, as opposed to “fine” bamboo work made of fine bamboo strips. The skill for making bamboo furniture is unique to the Han Chinese people. Special skills include drilling mortises in bamboo sections, heating the bamboo to bend, inserting tenons, bamboo nails, and bolting. Every part of a piece of bamboo furniture is firmly connected to each other, making it very sturdy.

A matched set of bamboo armchairs exhibits refined workmanship and elegant design.  (From the collection of Patrick Lee)

The contemporary art of bamboo in Taiwan has attained great achievements. Working on the solid foundation of traditional bamboo art, artists collect information, create new ideas and designs, and develop new skills. When choosing materials, they are more cautious than in the past. Bamboo artists today are not only making something for a practical purpose, but also creating works with personal styles to be exhibited in art galleries.

Even infants can appreciate the usefulness of bamboo in this bamboo stroller.  (From the collection of Patrick Lee)

The response from academic circles to bamboo handicrafts has been warmer than ever before. There is an increasing number of scholars researching and writing on handicrafts. Generally speaking, bamboo products are enjoying greater success as many artisans weaving bamboo products are appearing. The level of skill of artists as well as the styles of work far surpasses those in the Ching (Manchu) dynasty or during the period of Japanese occupation. Coloring and paints are more colorfast and much more diverse.

Bamboo carving is not limited to the traditional sculptures and paired couplets written on pen containers, arm rests (used when writing calligraphy or painting), and fan frames. Modern artists are innovative, not limiting their creative designs to the long shape of bamboo. Thanks to new kinds of knives and carving tools, artists are able to express their creative ideas more freely covering a wide range of themes from subjects that interest the literati to local literature, folk customs, and religion.

A noteworthy recent development is basket lacquer ware, which requires the skills of bamboo weaving and lacquer coating. Consequently, it is more difficult to make and has fewer artisans. Basket lacquer ware is a late development and is bounded by the least number of traditional restrictions, allowing artists to give full play to their creative ideas. Basket lacquer ware has brought a new atmosphere to Taiwan’s bamboo art.