Chinese painting and painting in Wu Xing style: Main themes of Chinese and Wu Xing painting: bamboo

Video from art-trip to China held in spring 2011

Author of the picture: Olga Kinyova

Bamboo is a constant hero of Chinese painting. If you go to China the variety of bamboo types amaze! You can find thick tall bamboo up to 20 meters high. Such bamboo forms forests on the hill-sides. There is another type of bamboo with thin stalk and wide leaves, it is not taller than a usual bush. You can also find bamboo with violet-black stalk or with leopard spots.
Bamboo is a cult plant for Chinese painting and for people who live in Southern China.
Bamboo is a symbol of a noble man, a symbol of Confucian gentleman: it is straight, empty inside, if heavy snow falls on it sooner or later it becomes straight again. Bamboo is very useful for people, it is used to build houses, to make brushes and tools, to sew clothes and so on. It is also a great bactericidal agent, that’s why in China you can find a lot of dishware made of it. Moreover bamboo is very tasty. There are a lot of dishes based on bamboo. Young cops of bamboo are cut and fried straight away or dried and then used in cooking. There is a special bamboo which is hold in water and then fried with pork. The further you go to the South of China the more dishes with bamboo you’ll find.
In traditional Chinese painting bamboo is one of the main themes for 1000 years! At our school bamboo is the theme of the first lesson, we paint its stalk using strong straight movement from the Wood element and leaves using the element of Fire.