Bamboo in China: Arts, Crafts and a Cultural History

An exploration of Chinese art and culture, Bamboo in China shines a light on this relatively unknown craft.

The noted British scholar Joseph Needham concluded from his thorough study of the history of Chinese science and technology that the "East Asian civilization is none other than a bamboo civilization" and China is just the cradle of that bamboo civilization. Since bamboo has been used for thousands of years in China and in many aspects of daily life, it became an influential part of the Chinese culture. With the tributes to bamboo and the extolling of its strengths, it was further blended into China's Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist thinking to give birth to a cultural phenomenon uniquely Chinese that has since spread far and wide. This beautifully illustrated book presents a vivid history of bamboo in China, including the uses of bamboo in daily life, production, musical instruments, transportation, architecture and landscaping, hydraulic engineering and the military; Traditional treatments of bamboo by Chinese artisans, including two main artistic processing techniques; and bamboo wares with a unique Chinese flavor such as fans, oilpaper umbrellas, and mats and curtains.