Nan Bamboo

Nan Bamboo

　　Legend has it that the cultivation of Nan Bamboo in Xianning dates back 5,000 years. As early as the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, the Xianning local chronicles recorded poetic lines such as "Bamboo shadows and moonlight are pure, osmanthus shadows cast lingering glow" and "The moon writes bamboo upon the window, the wind combs through the reeds." From the late Qing Dynasty to the early years of the Republic of China, Nan Bamboo had spread throughout Xianning. During the First Revolutionary Civil War, Xianning’s Nan Bamboo made contributions to the revolution. After the Beiyang warlords were defeated at Tingsi Bridge, they retreated northward to Xianning City. Due to the flooding season, the Xishui River surrounding the city was deep and wide, posing significant challenges for the Northern Expeditionary Army’s assault on the city. At that time, under the leadership of Nie Hongjun, the Xianning Workers’ and Peasants’ Association built hundreds of bamboo rafts to construct a pontoon bridge; used bamboo tubes to carry water and deliver meals; crafted straw shoes from bamboo sheaths to send to the Northern Expeditionary soldiers; and carried wounded soldiers on bamboo stretchers, creating favorable conditions for the army’s capture of Xianning City. After the Japanese invasion and occupation of Xianning in 1938, the bamboo forests in the flat hilly areas of Hesheng, Henggou, Guanbu, Zhanggong, and Gantang in the northwest of the region—located along railways and highways—were completely destroyed. The surviving Nan Bamboo forests were mainly found in the low mountainous areas of the southeast and southwest. By 1949, on the eve of liberation, the total area of Nan Bamboo groves was less than 100,000 mu, with a stock of 6.81 million poles.