Unveiling the Culture of Bashu Bamboo

Author: Qu Xiaoqiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: China is a "land of bamboo." Everywhere you look, you see the elegant and towering posture of bamboo groves, and everywhere you find traces of bamboo culture. As one of the densest and native regions of bamboo, the Sichuan Basin has these traces more concentrated, vivid, profound, and diverse. It can be said that bamboo has been inseparably linked with the Sichuan ancestors since the primitive era. As history developed and progressed, it almost covered every aspect and level of the material and spiritual life of the Sichuan people, forming the magnificent Sichuan bamboo culture. If the activities of Sichuan literati stem from a strong bamboo culture mindset, then the roots of this mindset are deeply rooted in the enthusiastic bamboo totem activities and the profound bamboo worship consciousness among the people of Sichuan. A vast number of ancient books from the Han and Jin dynasties to the Qing dynasty prove that during this period, numerous bamboo king temples with varying names were worshipped in various parts of Sichuan, and many beautiful and moving legends about the bamboo king, bamboo ancestor spirit, and bamboo mother god were passed down. These legends embody the great wisdom, diligence, capability, and the spirit of pursuing freedom, happiness, enlightenment, resilience, and relentless forward struggle that the people of Sichuan have achieved over thousands of years in their historical activities.