Chinese loves bamboo, there is a saying that "you can eat without meat, you cannot live without bamboo". The mainland is one of the largest bamboo producing countries in the world and has rich bamboo and rattan biological resources. INBAR also became the first international organization headquartered in China.
So, do you know what kind of history the mainland has on the use of bamboo? In the new era, what role can the bamboo and rattan industry play?
Where did the "kingdom of bamboo" come from
China is the first country in the world to recognize, cultivate and use bamboo, known as the "Kingdom of Bamboo".
On the mainland, the exact record of "bamboo" dates back to the Neolithic period. In 1954, in Banpo Village, Xi'an, in the Yangshao cultural site about 6,000 years ago, archaeologists identified the "bamboo" character on the unearthed pottery.
During the Zhou Dynasty, bamboo began to be used in the construction of royal gardens. King Wen of Zhou used bamboo as a material when he "built the Spirit Platform, the Spirit Marsh, and the Spirit Temple". Later, the bamboo palace in the Ganquan Palace in the Han Dynasty and the Huanggang Bamboo Building in the Song Dynasty both used bamboo as a building material.
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, people made bamboo tools "oranges" and "high-drum carts" that used bamboo tubes to carry water for irrigation, which greatly improved the level of agricultural technology. During this period, bamboo was also widely used in the military, and bamboo bows and arrows were the main weapons of the time.
Bamboo cloth appeared in the Qin and Han dynasties, which is not easy to deform, has high strength, good toughness, and is moisture-proof, but its warmth is weak, so it is usually used in the production of summer clothing. At that time, people also took bamboo crowns to make bamboo shoes, bamboo buckets, bamboo umbrellas and other rainproof products.
In cultural preservation and development, bamboo has always occupied an important position.
As early as the Shang Dynasty, people would write words on bamboo pieces to become "bamboo Jane", and then string them together to form a "book". Before the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of precious documents were preserved by bamboo simplifications, such as the Book of Shang, the Book of Rites and the Analects. It was the "bamboo pen" that recorded these, which later also developed into a brush and undertook the heavy responsibility of writing records.
After bamboo Jane, the mainland began to use bamboo to make paper, and bamboo was first used as a tool to make paper, and later became a raw material for making paper. By the 9th century, bamboo paper appeared, later flourished in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty.
Therefore, as an indispensable tool in production and life, the relationship between the ancients and bamboo is as Su Dongpo said: "The eater's bamboo shoots, the shelterer's bamboo tile, the bearer's bamboo raft, the plower's bamboo salary, the clother's bamboo skin, the bookmaker's bamboo paper, the walker's bamboo shoes, it can really be said that one day can not be without this king." ”
Bamboo culture, from artifacts to spirits
With the deepening of people's use of bamboo, bamboo culture continues to develop and gradually connects with the spiritual world of Chinese.
In the early days, people's impression of bamboo only stayed at the level of practical utensils.
"Wuyue Spring and Autumn" records that the ancient ballads are: "Broken bamboo, continued bamboo, flying soil, and chasing the fall." "At this time, bamboo was used as a material for bows and used for hunting. In the Book of Poetry, "Juniper Qiao, green bamboo is like a qi", it is written that the mattress mat is woven from bamboo; "Bamboo poles to catch Yu Qi", writing that bamboo can be used as fishing rods for fishing, all reflect the practical value of bamboo.
By the Qin and Han dynasties, the spiritual connotation of bamboo began to germinate from poetry. "Nineteen Ancient Poems" Yun: "Ran Ran lonely bamboo, knot root Taishan A." Ban Gu's "Bamboo Fan Fu" says: "The bamboo shape of green is straight, and the long pole of Miaohua is full of solid wings." At this time, bamboo, like other animals and plants in poetry, plays the role of "rising".
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, bamboo gradually became a combination of material civilization and spiritual culture.
Southern Dynasty He Xun's "Fude Jia Chi Xiu Bamboo Poem" wrote: "Every autumn leaf does not fall, and it shifts through the cold. Bao Zhao's "Zhongxing Song" wrote: "Plum blossoms are bright for a while, and bamboo leaves are thousands of years old." May the heart of the pine and cypress shine infinitely. "At this time, the natural attributes of bamboo tall and multi-stemmed and evergreen were amplified, and the cultural symbols of bamboo were gradually formed.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, the number of Yongzhu-themed poems increased greatly, and about 220 Yongzhu poems in the Tang Dynasty alone remained. At this time, famous sentences such as "sitting alone in the fence, playing the piano and roaring" in Wang Wei's "Bamboo Pavilion", "Relying on a gentleman, no land is not suitable" in Liu Yuxi's "Ting Bamboo", and Bai Juyi's "Pond on the Bamboo Pavilion" "Water energy is weak as my friend, bamboo solution heart deficiency is my master" and other famous sentences have emerged one after another.
Bamboo is in the Song Dynasty. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Wen Tong founded the "Huzhou Bamboo School", and as a result, ink bamboo became a "frequent visitor" in painting. Su Dongpo, on the other hand, pioneered the painting of bamboo by Zhu Bi, and he summarized in "Wen and Can Draw the Notes on the Bamboo of the Jundang Valley": "To paint bamboo, you must first become a bamboo in your chest... If you are young, you will die", which has also become the source of "having a good heart".
In the long history process, the literati have given bamboo a rich connotation and character. Pine, bamboo and plum are collectively known as the "three friends of the cold year", and plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are collectively known as the "four gentlemen". In the end, the character of bamboo gradually became the representative of the spiritual temperament of the Chinese, and also became a symbol of national culture.
New era, new possibilities for bamboo
After the advent of the industrial age, bamboo was gradually replaced by other materials, and bamboo products gradually faded out of people's vision. Today, is there still new room for development in the bamboo and rattan industry?
At present, the threat of plastic products to the natural environment and human health is deepening, more than 140 countries around the world have clarified plastic bans and plastic restriction policies, and "replacing plastic with bamboo" has become the common expectation of many people.
As one of the fastest growing plants in the world, bamboo can grow quickly in 3-5 years, a tree 20 meters tall can take 60 years to grow, and a 20 meters tall bamboo takes about 60 days, making it an ideal source of renewable fiber.
Bamboo's carbon absorption and carbon sequestration function is also very powerful. Data show that the carbon sequestration capacity of bamboo forests far exceeds that of ordinary forests, and is 1.33 times that of tropical rainforests. Mainland bamboo forests can reduce carbon emissions by 197 million tons and sequester 105 million tons of carbon every year.
The existing bamboo forest area in the mainland exceeds 7 million hectares, with rich varieties of bamboo resources, a long history of bamboo product production, and a deep bamboo culture, and the bamboo industry spans primary, secondary and tertiary industries, including tens of thousands of varieties. Therefore, among all plastic substitute materials, bamboo has unique advantages.
With the development of science and technology, the application field of bamboo is also expanding. In some market segments, bamboo products have become an ideal alternative to plastic products.
For example, bamboo pulp can be used to make environmentally friendly and degradable disposable tableware; Film made of bamboo fiber can replace plastic greenhouses; Bamboo winding technology can enable bamboo fiber to replace plastic pipes; Bamboo packaging is also becoming the new favorite of some courier companies...
In addition, some experts believe that bamboo is the most sustainable building material and has great application potential in countries around the world.
In Nepal, India, Ghana, Ethiopia and other countries and regions, INBAR has organized the construction of a large number of model bamboo buildings suitable for the local environment, supporting underdeveloped countries to build sustainable and resilient buildings using local materials. In Ecuador, the innovative application of bamboo architecture has also greatly increased the influence of modern bamboo architecture.
"There are many more possibilities with bamboo." Dr. Shao Changzhuan of Hong Kong Chinese University once proposed the concept of "bamboo living city". He believes that in the field of urban public buildings, bamboo can have its own place, thereby creating a unique city image, expanding the market and increasing employment.
With the in-depth development of "replacing plastic with bamboo" and the further application of bamboo materials in new fields, a new life of "not living without bamboo" may be coming.
Editor-in-chief: Gong Danyun Photo editor: The pictures are all from Xinhua News Agency
Source: Author: Xiao Yawen