Spotted bamboo refers to several types of
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
with stems that are mottled by dark spots, sometimes considered to be within the genus ''
Phyllostachys
''Phyllostachys'' ()
is a genus of Asian bamboo in the grass family. Many of the species are found in central and southern China, with a few species in northern Indochina and in the Himalayas. Some of the species have become naturalized in part ...
'' and forms of ''Phyllostachys bambusoides'', also known as teardrop bamboo and as mottled bamboo. ''Phyllostachys bambusoides'' forma. ''lacrima-deae'' is widely encountered.
Distribution
''Phyllostachys bambusoides'' forma. ''lacrima-deae'', is native to
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
,
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...
and
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...
, and especially the
Jiuyi Mountains areas of
China.
Uses
The stems of the spotted bamboos are esteemed and cost-effective for making the handles of
Chinese brushes, used for calligraphy and painting.
Examples of brushes from the eighth century CE (corresponding to the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
, in China) are preserved in the
Shōsōin
The is the treasure house of Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. The building is in the '' azekura'' (log-cabin) style with a raised floor. It lies to the northwest of the Great Buddha Hall. The Shōsō-in houses artifacts connected to Emperor Sh� ...
, in Japan; in fact, the prestige value of this type of bamboo was evidently so high at the time that among the Shōsōin treasures are preserved objects made out of some sort of imitation spotted bamboo.
[Schafer, 134]
Legendary origins
Legend has it that when
Emperor Shun
Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition al ...
died suddenly during a trip to
Cangwu
Cangwu County (; Zhuang: ') is a county in eastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, bordering Guangdong province to the east. It is under the administration of Wuzhou
Wuzhou (, postal: Wuchow; za, Ngouzcouh / Ŋouƨcouƅ), formerly N ...
, the tears of his two concubines, (the
Xiang River goddesses
The Xiangshuishen or Xiang River Goddesses are goddesses (or spirits and sometimes gods) of the Xiang River in Chinese folk religion. The Xiang flowed into Dongting Lake through the ancient kingdom of Chu, whose songs in their worship have been rec ...
Ehuang (娥皇) and Nüying (女英)) dropped onto surrounding bamboo and stained it forever. Mottled bamboo is known for being a decorative plant. The Chinese name of originates from the legend. ''Xiang'' (湘) refers to the
Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River) in terms of surface runoff, the 5th largest tributar ...
, where the story supposedly took place, ''fei'' (妃) means "concubine" and ''zhu'' (竹) means "bamboo", thus the "bamboo of the concubines by the Xiang River".
The term "mottled bamboo" is also used to describe online discussion board moderators in
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...
, because when the word for moderator (版主) is entered using the keyboard in
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...
, the word for mottled bamboo (斑竹) appears as the first option, as they sound very similar. Hence, mottled bamboo gradually became another way of calling a moderator.
See also
* ''
Cosmopterix phyllostachysea
''Cosmopterix phyllostachysea'' is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from China ( Jiangxi) and Japan.
The length of the forewings is about 6 mm.
The larvae have been recorded feeding on Poaceae
Poaceae () or Gramineae ...
''
*
Bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
*
Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the l ...
*
Four Treasures of the Study
Four Treasures of the Study, Four Jewels of the Study or Four Friends of the Study is an expression used to denote the brush, ink, paper and ink stone used in Chinese and other East Asian calligraphic traditions. The name appears to originat ...
*
Mottled Bamboo
Spotted bamboo refers to several types of bamboo with stems that are mottled by dark spots, sometimes considered to be within the genus '' Phyllostachys'' and forms of ''Phyllostachys bambusoides'', also known as teardrop bamboo and as mottled ba ...
*
Xiaoxiang
Xiaoxiang (), also transliterated ''XiaoXiang'', ''Hsiao Hsiang'', and ''Chiu Chiang'', in some older sources, refers to the "lakes and rivers" region in south-central China south of the middle-reaches of the Yangtze River and corresponding, more ...
*
Xiaoxiang poetry
Xiaoxiang poetry is one of the Classical Chinese poetry genres, one which has been practiced for over a thousand years. It is a poetry of scenic wonders, a poetry of officials exiled for their views and beliefs, and a poetry of dissent against sub ...
*
Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River) in terms of surface runoff, the 5th largest tributar ...
*
Xiang River goddesses
The Xiangshuishen or Xiang River Goddesses are goddesses (or spirits and sometimes gods) of the Xiang River in Chinese folk religion. The Xiang flowed into Dongting Lake through the ancient kingdom of Chu, whose songs in their worship have been rec ...
Notes
References
*Cherrett, Pauline (2003). ''The Practical Art of Chinese Brush Painting''. (Leicester: Silverdale Books).
*
*
Schafer, Edward H. ''The Golden Peaches of Samarkand''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985. {{ISBN, 978-0-520-05462-2.
Bambusoideae
Bamboo
Chinese poetry allusions
Plant common names