Bamboo
The bamboo, a tall plant of the grass family thrives in the tropical climate of Thailand, Burma and China. Its hard, jointed stems are used for making furniture and in building houses. As a bamboo grows, it absorbs silica from the soil. The silica is stored in the hollow, jointed stems and this makes it hard. Fence posts, bridges, fishing poles and parts of musical instruments are also made from bamboo. When the stem is split into stripes, it can be woven into rugs, mats and fishing nets.
Every once in a long, long while – every thirty-three to sixty-six years, or in fact every one or two human generations, bamboos commit suicide for reasons we do not understand (some say it is sunspots), but this is no more than a guess. The giant bamboos burst into bloom, sending up enormous flowering shoots which take the place of the ordinary leafy shoots. These flowers use up all the plants’ reserves of food and the result is that the plant dies.
We must also not forget that the leaves of the bamboo plant are also used to wrap dumplings for the Dumpling Festival. The Dumpling Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Its origin dates back to the death of the poet cum patriot Qu Yuan around 278 BC. He was an honoured minister who was undermined in his efforts to fight corruption in the state of Chu. Slandered by false accusations, he was disgraced and banished. In his twenty years of exile, the heartbroken Qu Yuan helplessly observed the state being destroyed from within. In despair, he drowned himself in the Mi Luo River, but not before writing some of the finest poetry in Chinese Literature. After learning of his death, the villagers immediately searched for his body. They threw rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves for the fish, to prevent them from eating the poet’s body. Today, the Chinese hold the dragon boat races to remind them of this tragic event. But more importantly, they remember Qu Yuan and the importance of loyalty and commitment to the community by eating dumplings filled with meat, duck’s eggs, lentils, chestnuts and spices during the Dumpling Festival. The pyramid-shaped dumplings of today include different varieties – the bean variety, the glutinous rice with meat and mushrooms type, the Peranakan version which is sweeter and the alkaline dumplings which are normally eaten with sugar or honey.
The bamboo plant is elegant and graceful. It is the subject of much interest to nature lovers and painters. The bamboo has its functional use and is also edible. The Japanese value and relish bamboo shoots as delicacies. The Japanese are basically seasonal people. During spring, the bamboo shoot is eaten with reverence as appetizer or vegetable that goes with the main dish.
There is also a romantic view of the the bamboo, of how ill-fated lovers meet under a lump of bamboo and sing songs to each other. There is no doubt the bamboo has a lot of significance for the Asians.
Communist China sealed herself from the Western world in 1949. The term “bamboo curtain” was used to describe the imaginary barrier that prevented communication and contact between Communist China and the West. A closer look at the bamboo will reveal that it is hard on the outside – just like the rigid and inflexible communist regime. Yet it is hollow inside. This directly reflects a heartless approach in the way she settles her political problems.
The latest and perhaps most powerful attack on Chinese tradition was mounted by the Cultural Revolution which started in 1966 and ended in 1976. The Cultural Revolution aimed to root out both customs and habits from China’s past and foreign way of life.
04 June 1989. Tiananmen Square. The day when a bloody crackdown by the military authorities on the pro-democracy protests took place. For forty years, China’s reflexes had been conditioned by authoritarian rule. For the late paramount leader of Communist China, Deng Xiaoping, the students overrunning the streets in Tiananmen Square spelt terror and chaos and they must be brought to heel. The authorities were in great fear that decision making would be transferred from the corridors of power to the streets of Beijing. And the pride of China – its troops were called in to suppress the student masses! The army tanks overran many students, killing thousands and injuring hundreds.
It appears that the bamboo curtain has been lifted a little. China has now opened her doors to foreign investors and is actively encouraging them to invest in joint partnership projects. However, will she allow the winds of change to blow into her corridors?
