Bamboo Uses Throughout History
We love to use bamboo to create beautiful and durable structures, whether to accent your home or garden, or create a fun, themed restaurant, hotel, or other business. But throughout history, bamboo has been used for a huge assortment of different products — some are pretty surprising! Bamboo uses has a very rich history, particularly in China, where it is believed to have originated around 5,000 years ago. If you are contemplating adding some bamboo in your decor, check out the different uses of bamboo since 23,000 BC!
12,000 – 2,000 BC
During these Neolithic times, bamboo uses were found throughout Asian countries to make chopsticks and other eating utensils. Much like today, it was also an extensive part of the human diet. It is believed that bamboo leaves soothe body heat and excess phlegm while the root stimulates the vital energies. Ancient Chinese people also believed that the juice from the bamboo plant cured asthma. Bamboo shoots contain a good amount of fiber and potassium, so they were an integral part of the diet between these centuries.
16th – 17th Centuries BC
Around this time, bamboo was being used to manufacture bows, arrows and other hunting materials as the wood is plentiful and extremely durable. Of course, bamboo was also being used to create household items and even the structure of the house itself.
256 BC
The Duijang Dam and Irrigation System was built in China in 256 BC. The levee portion of the structure was constructed using long, sausage-shaped baskets of woven bamboo filled with stones. Since then, this has been replaced with a more modern concrete.
140 -118 BC
In 1972, the Yingushan Han Slips were discovered in ancient Chinese burial chambers. The slips are writing tablets made out of bamboo slips created back in the Western Han Dynasty. The documents they found were actually very important — one of them was Sun Tzu’s Art of War!
1037 – 1101 AD
Around this time, bamboo was being used for all kinds of items essential for living. Su Dongpo, a literary giant in China at this time, featured bamboo in many of his poems and paintings, and even said that life could not be lived without bamboo. It was being used for firewood, tiles, paper, rafts, hats, capes, shoes and much more!
1486
During the Ming Dynasty, bamboo charcoal was created, which is a much more sustainable and healthy alternative to traditional coal. Bamboo charcoal is made from pieces of the plant that are at least 5 years or older. They are then heated to a temperature of around 120 degrees. Bamboo charcoal creates much purer air and reduces pollutant residue. It also has a very high porosity, so it absorbs many of the impurities and foreign matter that would be burned up and sent into the air.
1711-1715
The Japanese fighting art, Kendo, created practice swords (Shinai) from bamboo!
1894
The first bamboo bicycles are patented and revealed in England. These are still manufactured and used today, and are said to provide a much more comfortable and smooth ride than average bicycles.
1947
Because of a lack of available resources from WWII, designers at Gucci had to get creative with their handbags, using bamboo and creating that iconic bamboo-handled bag we still know and love today. The Gucci craftsmen developed a patented method to heat and bend the bamboo so that it would retain its shape once cooled and fixed to the handbag.
1997
The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan exists to develop and promote innovative solutions to poverty and environmental sustainability using bamboo and rattan. It was founded by treaty in 1997, and believes that by finding ways to creatively utilize these plants, economic stability can be achieved in impoverished areas throughout the world.
Bamboo uses can be found all over the world! Bamboo can be used for a wide assortment of different uses and throughout a variety of industries, and new innovations are still popping up today! We love using bamboo. Two of our favorite natural bamboos are solid bamboo poles and Tre-Gai bamboo. But don’t think synthetic bamboo is unworthy. Any of our available bamboo products are ready to enhance the decor of your home or business. Bamboo is not only beautiful but durable and extremely strong as well, making it a great building material. Bamboo is one of the oldest building materials available to us today. Not only does it have a rich history, but a rich future as well.
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If you’re interested in integrating bamboo into your home or business, give us a call today at 877-243-5309 or contact us for more information.
