Bamboo Rendered in Ink, Hanging Scroll

Zheng Xie (Zheng Banqiao), was world-renowned for his bamboo paintings and created countless bamboo artworks throughout his life. In this painting, several stalks of lush bamboo occupy the center—some are sturdy and upright, their trunks extending across the entire composition; others are slender and graceful, with leaves swaying gently in the breeze; and a few depict bamboo shoots just emerging, their tender leaves still wrapped around the young stalks, seemingly ready to sprout. The ink bamboo is arranged with balance and rhythm, showing a natural liveliness and harmonious spacing. Brushwork varies between firm central strokes, side strokes, and combinations of both, while the ink tones range from dense to light and from wet to dry. Each bamboo form perfectly captures both spirit and vitality, evoking rich imagery.

Along the left side of the painting, Zheng inscribes a poem in his self-invented “Six-and-a-Half Calligraphy” style, explaining that his approach to painting bamboo draws not from formal masters but from observing the shadows of bamboo cast by paper windows, walls, sunlight, and moonlight.