生竹과 畵竹: 일제강점기 죽림조성과海岡 金圭鎭(1868~1933)의 묵죽화

Abstract

This study examines bamboo for growing (生竹) and bamboo for painting (畵竹) based on ecological environment-based interest in bamboo and observes the creative relations between the ecology of bamboo and bamboo paintings. After reviewing the growth and development conditions of bamboo and the utilizations and perceptions of bamboo in premodern and modern society, the study reconsidered the relationship among bamboo, the creative subject of bamboo paintings, and bamboo paintings. In premodern society, bamboo was a familiar plant with high utility. At the same time, it represented wise men of high class and elegance and individuals who were benevolent and kept integrity, becoming an object of respect. Bamboo paintings in Chinese ink were established as one of the representative styles in literati paintings. Under the meteorological conditions of the Korean Peninsula, however, the growth and development of bamboo were restricted to certain areas. After the Little Ice Age, bamboo forests were further devastated on the peninsula. Under this situation, the government took the lead in the bamboo plantation project during the Japanese colonial period with large-scale bamboo plantation businesses recommended in the Chŏnnam and Kyŏngnam regions. Both the public and private sectors including the Oriental Development Company led the management of bamboo forests by unfolding various policies with a prominent preference for the giant timber bamboo family, including Phyllostachys bambusoides, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, and Phyllostachys edulis, which recorded high industrial efficiency for their tall height and thick stem. This study found that the depiction of giant timber bamboo (Wangjuk), considered one of the representative features of Kim Gyu-jin's bamboo paintings, was linked to the real environment faced by his contemporaries, taking an opportunity to shed light on the colorful aspects of his creative world.