Archives for category: bamboo

bamboo steamer bamboo steamerDIA340xH120mm, China

Food steaming has become one of the way to a healthier lifestyle; food is cooked at 100c over boiling water killing germs and the add of oil is not essential hence avoiding trans fat.  Typically, the steamer would be placed over a wok filled with boiling water, the steam from the water would filled the steamer through the gaps at the bottom, the food would be cooked with all the juices and flavor retained.

It was said that the method was first invented for the Han dynasty army for rejuvenating their dried ration, the steamers can be stacked up to heat up large quantity of food.  The elimination of oil used in this method also made the enemy harder to detect the location of the camp.  However, with archaeological discovery the steamer seems be have appeared long before, to be as far back as the Zhou dynasty, some 2000 year ago.

Tomb cave painting of the Jin dynasty

Unfortunately, though the method lives on with the high tech electrical steamer, the age of the bamboo steamer is on its last legs, their used to be streets filled with artisan making bamboo steamers, now there is only a couple in the city.  It seems like its ancestors, the bronze and the ceramic steamer, the bamboo version is replaced by the stainless steel and the plastic version.

bamboo boxDIA95xH110mm, China

Bamboo is a plant that can be found in most part of China, not only is it a source for food, it is also used from scaffolding for architecture, to delicate weaved containers and nowadays for flooring and even clothing.

This bamboo box, I found is one of those back to the basic ideas.  Making use of the culm (the main shaft) and the nodes (the horizontal structure), a container is naturally form, the fibrous culm gives the box its texture.

basket basketDIA300xH450mm, China

 A traditional Chinese hamper for delivering delicious goodies.  Unlike the gift hamper that one receive nowadays, the hamper is not a part of the gift and would need to be return to the owner.  Not only is it return but it is also expected to contain a red packet, a return gift in monetary form, “砸籃” (weighting the basket).  In the traditional Cantonese gift etiquette, when receiving a food item as a gift, one would give a red packet to the giver, this is known as “砸” (za), the term that originate from the gift basket.

fan

DIA600mm, Hong Kong

心經  The Heart Sutra

bō rě bō luó mì duō xīn jīng
般若 波羅 蜜多心 經
guān zì zài pú sà, xíng shēn bō rěbō luó mì duō shí,zhào jiàn wǔ yùn jiē kōng
觀自在菩薩, 行深般若波羅蜜多時, 照見五蘊皆空,
dù yī qiē kǔ è 。 shè lì zǐ, sè bú yì kōng ,kōng bú yì sè,
度一 切苦 厄。舍利 子,色不 異空, 空不 異色,
sè jí shì kōng ,kōng jí shì sè。 shòu xiǎng xíng shí, yì fù rú shì
色即 是空, 空即 是色。受想 行識, 亦復 如是。
shè lì zǐ, shì zhū fǎ kōng xiāng, bù shēng bú miè, bú gòu bú jìng,
舍利子, 是諸法空相, 不生不滅, 不垢不淨,
bù zēng bù jiǎn, shì gù kōng zhōng wú sè, wú shòu xiǎng xíng shí, wú yǎn ěr
不增不減, 是故空中無色, 無受想行識, 無眼耳
bí shé shēn yì, wú sè shēng xiāng wèi chù fǎ, wú yǎn jiè, nǎi zhì wú yì shí jiè,
鼻舌身意, 無色聲香味觸法, 無眼界,乃至無意識界,
wú wú míng, yì wú wú míng jìn, nǎi zhì wú lǎo sǐ, yì wú lǎo sǐ jìn
無無明, 亦無無明盡, 乃至無老死,亦無老死盡。
wú kǔ jí miè dào, wú zhì yì wú dé,yǐ wú suǒ dé gù
無苦集滅道, 無智亦無得,以無所得故。
pú tí sà duǒ, yī bō rě bō luó mì duō gù, xīn wú guàài。 wú guà ài,
菩提薩埵,依般若波羅蜜多故,心無掛礙。無 掛礙,
gù wú yǒu kǒng bù, yuǎn lí diān dǎo mèng xiǎng, jiū jìng niè pán
故無有恐怖, 遠離顛倒夢想, 究竟涅槃。
sān shì zhū fó, yī bō rě bō luó mì duō gù, déā nòu duō luó sān miǎo sān pú tí
三世諸佛, 依般若波羅蜜多故, 得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
gù zhī bō rě bō luó mì duō, shì dà shén zhòu, shì dà míng zhòu
故知般若波羅蜜多, 是大神咒, 是大明咒,
shì wú shàng zhòu, shì wú děng děng zhòu。 néng chú yí qiè kǔ, zhēn shí bù xū
是 無上 咒, 是無 等等 咒。能除 一切 苦, 真實 不虛。
gù shuō bō rě bō luó mì duō zhòu。 jí shuō zhòu yuē
故 說般 若波 羅蜜 多咒。即說 咒曰:
jiē dì jiē dì,bō luó jiē dī,
揭 諦揭 諦, 波羅 揭諦,
bō luó sēng jiē dī, pú tí sá pó hē
波羅 僧揭 諦,菩提薩 婆訶。

The heart Sutra is about emptiness;  things exists only through our minds… Thoughts, ideas, names, concepts. Nothing really exists on their own sides.

Here is the Dalai Lama’s teaching on the Heart Sutra and the 37 Practices.

umbrella

DIA990xH650mm, China

Typhoon Usagi just departed and its raining cats and dogs but this umbrella is probably too delicate to embrace the serve weather – a paper umbrella!

The paper is made from mulberry tissue paper coated with tung oil (oil extracted from the fruit of tung tree, Aluerites fordii Hemsi).  The structure is made delicately with bamboo.  These umbrellas are very durable, I had a plain dark blue one which lasted through my teen years.

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charcoal basketDIA230xH120mm, China

This bamboo weaved basket is known as a Wu Fu, a basket for storing charcoal for brewing tea.  It use can be dated back to the “Book of Tea” by the Tang Dynasty scholar Gu yuan Qing.  The name Wu Fu is sophisticated way of refer to the charcoal basket, the word “wu” means black, dirt – which is the charcoal, the word “fu” is a grand mansion – the humble basket.

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DIA260xH320mm, China

A lacquered bamboo weaved basket which forms part of the dowry of the young bride and an essential household object.  These form of baskets are used for storing food before the arrival of the refrigerator.  Precious food item like fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, would be placed inside the basket and hung under the beam of the kitchen.  The basket provide good airing and being suspended will stopped vermin from reaching the food.

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chabana

DIA100xH400mm, China

This is a bamboo weaved basket used for chabana, flower arrangement for tea ceremony.  The flower arrangement would be placed in the alcove of the room, using a seasonal flowers, narrow and tall vase made of natural material such as bamboo, ceramics or metal.  The flower arrangement is also less formal than Ikebana, using little or decorative fillers material.  Chabana developed from the Ikebana style Nageire, where flowers are thrown into the vase giving the viewer the same impression as they would have if they had been in the wild.  The simple arrangement would have one single blossom, arranged to be leaning toward the guest.

bamboo basketbamboo basket

DIA320xH120mm, China

A moving film about the master bamboo artistan, Hiroshima Kazuo, about being an artisan, about crafts.

W270xD270xH280mm, Thailand

This bamboo weaved basket is known as a kratip, a container for cooked sticky rice.  They are a common item owned by every household.  The kratip is double weaved, acting as a insulator for keeping the rice warm.  Kratip comes in different shape and sizes, here is a smaller version.

Come and see the Asian Folkcraft Collection!