Summertime at a mountain bamboo grove.

Bamboos are beautiful plants widely found in countries in Asia. There are large bamboo forests in China, Japan, Korea, and many Southeast Asian countries. The cultivated bamboo groves in China and Japan are particularly magnificent and captivating. My painting shows a scholar studying in a mountain abode among beautiful bamboo groves on a summer’s day. All parts of the bamboo can be used. It is therefore a plant very much liked and valued by Asians. Young bamboo shoots serve as nutritious food in Asian meals. Soft bamboo shoots, stems, and leaves are major food sources not only for the giant panda of China, but also for other animals such as the red panda of Nepal, the lemurs of Madagascar, and chimps and elephants. The trunk can be used for building houses, furniture, river rafts, musical instruments, household utensils, decorative arts, and craft items, as well as weapons. When cut and sliced into thin long strips, bamboo trunks are used for weaving. Bamboo fibers from leaf and stem extracts are used for making paper and in the manufacture of textiles. Bamboo cannot be bent easily, like an upright person with a strong backbone who cannot be easily persuaded to change his stand or principle of righteous behavior. Thus, the bamboo signifies the