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Speckled bamboo
Among all bamboos, it is speckled bamboo that is most linearly and most sentimental because it links closely with a beautiful, touching and tragic story in Chinese national legend. Purple spots appear on the green bamboo pole just like tear stains. According to Records in History of Natural Science by Zhang
Hua, the scientist in the Jin dynasty, Yao, the fourth emperor in Chinese history had two daughters: E Huang and Nu Ying. The two sisters married simultaneously to Shun. Who was the then successor to the throne. Later he became Shun
Di. After the emperor passed away, the two sisters were bereft of their husband, weeping day and night. Their tears became blood which fell on bamboos. The newly oozed bamboos were dotted with spots .Since then, People named these bamboos speckled bamboos. Later, after they cried their eyes dry, they jumped into the Xiang River and were drowned. The legend has it that they became the Goddess of the Xiang River and the bamboos were also called Bamboos of Xiang Queen Consorts.
Speckled Bamboos are well known for its appreciative value. Actually, from biological point of View, the mottles on the bamboo are caused by corroding the young bamboo of fungus. However, people would rather think that the two sisters’ tears dyed the bamboos. “Once they speckled the bamboos with myriad tears” is a praise of faithful love which invites people’s imagination.
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