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大至房子椅子、小至筷子牙籤，幾乎一切建築和器物都可以用竹來製造。即使純粹把竹子栽種在庭院裡，也可帶來視聽的享受⋯⋯看來只要大家願意，竹子也樂於為我們提供第一千零一種嶄新的用法呢!
Almost any structure or object could be made of bamboo — from as large as a house or a chair, to as small as chopsticks or toothpicks. Even if one only plants the bamboo in their garden, it appeals to the eye and the ear…It seems that bamboo is still eager to suggest the 1001st use of itself as long as we agree!
竹汗衣附絹布綁帶 Bamboo undergarment with silk ribbon 清代 Qing dynasty (1644 – 1911) C1977.0013 香港藝術館藏品
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  一竿竹，從根到葉都可以吃。好吃的吃下肚，難吃的當藥物，吃不下的也變成食具幫着吃⋯⋯原來我們比熊貓更貪吃！
The whole bamboo plant is edible, from the roots to the leaves. We eat the delectable bits, while the less palatable parts become medicine; even the inedible parts are turned into cooking and eating utensils... We are actually greedier for bamboo than pandas!
淺浮雕竹篾圖案杯 Small vessel carved in low relief with basketwork design 十八世紀 18th century 葉義醫生捐贈 Donated by Dr. Ip Yee C1985.0226 香港藝術館藏品
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誤會
在中國，竹子主要生長於南方，因而鬧出了
「食筍煮簀（竹席）」的笑話。話說有位北方人到吳國 （今蘇州） 赴宴，第一次吃到竹筍，並獲告知是竹子。 回家後，他竟嘗試煮竹席來吃，失敗後對妻子說: 「吳國人真是詭詐！」 Northern ignorance on bamboo shoots
Grown mainly in the southern part of China, the bamboo
has given rise to jokes: During the Three Kingdoms period (220 – 280), someone from the north tasting bamboo shoots for the first time at a feast in the State of Wu (present-day Suzhou), was told they were bamboo. Once home he then tried cooking his bamboo mat. 朱竹
有次蘇東坡見宮廷畫家在畫墨竹，於是用朱砂畫起了紅色的竹子。
當大家驚嘆不合常理時，東坡卻不徐不疾地說﹕ 「世間也沒有黑色的竹子。」一點朱紅，有力地申明藝術創作的自由。 Bamboo in red
Su Shi once painted bamboo in red after seeing court painters
painting bamboo in ink. People were amazed by the abnormality of his painting, yet Su replied at ease, 'Black bamboo doesn't exist either,' A tinge of red powerfully asserted artistic freedom. |
竹子橫挑民間百業，直撐傳統文化精神；從竹梢、竹實到竹斑、竹筍都有故事。
A bamboo yoke shoulders numerous folk industries, upholding traditional culture and mentality; no matter be it the branches, fruit, grain or shoots, there is always a story.
透雕竹林七賢香筒 Incense holder carved in openwork with scene The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove 清代中期 Mid-Qing dynasty 葉義醫生捐贈 Donated by Dr. Ip Yee C1985.0131 香港藝術館藏品
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竹影
五代西晉李夫人知書識禮，
卻不幸錯配武夫而終日鬱鬱不歡。 有一晚，她偶然看到映在紙糊窗上的疏落竹影， 下意識便拿起毛筆， 在紙上描繪出一「个个」愁腸百結的墨竹。 這個帶點詩意的故事，是墨竹畫起源的其中一個說法。 Shadow of bamboo
Madam Li of the Western Jin dynasty (265 – 316) was an
ntellectual who was depressed about having to marry an unlettered man. One night, she saw the sparse bamboo shadow against the paper window, whereupon she painted a melancholic bamboo. This poetic story is one of many from which the ink bamboo painting originated. 情深
文人愛好「湘妃竹」製成的器具，在欣賞天然紋理之餘，不免會想起
一則寓意「堅貞」的傳說﹕舜帝的兩位妃子娥皇、女英投入湘水為夫 殉情，死前淚灑竹子，形成點點斑紋。 An eternal love
The literati loved spotted bamboo ware;
they appreciated the rare natural colouration, and liked to revisit its legend of faithfulness: Emperor Shun’s two widows died for their love of him, their tears forming spots on the bamboo. |
