Bamboo Leaves

Bamboo, one of the four gentlemen (bamboo, orchid, plum blossom and chrysanthemum), plays such an important role in traditional Chinese culture that... more

by Jenny Rainbow

Title

Bamboo Leaves

Artist

Jenny Rainbow

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Bamboo, one of the "four gentlemen" (bamboo, orchid, plum blossom and chrysanthemum), plays such an important role in traditional Chinese culture that it is even regarded as a behavior model of the gentleman. As bamboo has some features such as uprightness, tenacity and hollow heart, people endow bamboo with integrity, elegance and plainness, though it is not physically strong. Ancient Chinese poets wrote countless poems to praise bamboo, but actually they were truly talking about people like bamboo and express their understanding of what a real gentleman should be like. According to laws, an ancient poet, Bai Juyi (772-846), thought that to be a gentleman, a man does not need to be physically strong, but he must be mentally strong, upright, and perseverance. Just as a bamboo is hollow-hearted, he should open his heart to accept anything of benefit and never have arrogance or prejudice.

Uploaded

January 7th, 2013