Chinese culture considers Bamboo lucky because Bamboo is the Chinese symbol for strength.
Bamboo demonstrates strength by growing fast and adapting to new environments. Because of this, many in China see Bamboo as a symbol of luck, which explains why Bamboo is often given as a gift.
Bamboo Flute Music & Beautiful China
In fact, Bamboo is the most popular plant in China. Most Chinese, even in high-rise apartments, have Bamboo plants around in small pots.
Bamboo represents the spirit of summer, simplicity and humility, and respect for elders among other things.
Painting Bamboo goes back centuries. Musical instruments have been made of Bamboo.
China’s first cannons were made of Bamboo.
Painting Chinese Bamboo
My wife has planted Bamboo in the yards of every house we’ve lived in. When my father-in-law visits from China, he has his picture taken in front of the healthiest, tallest stand of Bamboo in the yard.
In Feng Shui, Bamboo is a symbol of strength, fortitude, and rapid growth. When given as a gift, Lucky Bamboo is said to be at its luckiest.
Chinese tradition also gives meaning to the number of stalks given as a gift. Two stalks is a symbol for love, three or six represent happiness while five or seven impart health. The more stalks there are, the more luck there will be.
Sources: The Feng Shui meanings of lucky Bamboo and Living Arts Originals
Discover Fifteen Facts that will Blow Your Mind about China
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.
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