ABSTRACT
In Việt Nam, as in other countries, there has always been interaction between popular and elite cultures, as shown notably in the writings of the scholars Nguyễn Trãi and Lê Quý Đôn. As a result, the symbolism of bamboo tends to be somewhat ambiguous, oscillating continuously between Nature and Culture. Sometimes valued positively (representing rectitude and self-control), bamboo is also described negatively (as too common and widespread). In this chapter, this symbolism varies according to historical and literary sources but also appears in surveys of attitudes in popular culture. This chapter is based on the analysis of historiographic, literary and numismatic sources.
