Products made of "poor man's wood" hit upscale market

This article was written by Louise Liu and published by Taiwan Journal on October 22, 2004. It features products made from what was once considered the "poor man's wood" - bamboo. Specifically, the article introduces Bamboola Co. Ltd., a Taiwanese handicraft company established in 1980.

For thousands of years, bamboo has been widely used in Asia and has played an important role in everyday Chinese life. Bamboo is considered a symbol of nobility and integrity in Chinese culture, thanks to its upright posture, hollow interior and jointed segments. Together with the pine and plum, bamboo is considered as one of the "three friends of winter", as all three plants symbolize resilience. Bamboo also joins the plum, orchid and chrysanthemum to make up the "four gentlemen" of Chinese art. Each of them symbolizes characteristics such as solemnity and dignity.

Bamboola promotes its products as works of art, hand-made items that have a modern touch but retain a strong traditional Chinese flavor. More details are provided in this article.