Yeh Ying-chin's life philosophy is to study something zealously and to never stop learning. At the age of 70, Yeh published his first photography collection, which teaches people about the grace and cultivation of bamboo. He has been chasing bamboo all his life. He loves bamboo and people. His current goal in life is to learn to be a dedicated volunteer.

The sun had disappeared behind the clouds and the sky was dark. The weather was so cold that people just wanted to stay home and snuggle in their warm beds.

In a dark gray jacket and a hat, Yeh Ying-chin walked to the Ta-An Forest Park in Taipei with his camera and tripod.

It might sound like Yeh is a young photographer, but he is in fact a 70-year-old man. As I followed him, I could hear him panting slightly because he had had heart surgery not long before. Nevertheless, he can still carry heavy photography equipment throughout Taiwan's mountains to take pictures of bamboo.

Shortly afterwards, a bamboo forest appeared before us in the park. Yeh put down the equipment and opened his backpack. The backpack was small, but it still contained four camera lenses. One long lens was wrapped in an old torn sock. Yeh explained that by using the sock to protect the lens, he was also recycling material resources.

He slowly set up the tripod, focused it, and took a picture. Yeh may not work as fast as a young person, but he pays more attention and usually takes many pictures of just one bamboo joint in order to catch the right moment. Not many people noticed this part of the forest, so it was beautiful in his heart. If the bamboo had a soul, it would have been delighted to know that too.

Living with bamboo

I became acquainted with Yeh through his book, Good Bamboo throughout the Mountains. Yeh spent five years traveling throughout Taiwan's mountains to photograph bamboo for his book. He captured the plant in depth from every angle of its beauty, life cycle and environment. I thought the author of the book would be some forestry expert, but then I discovered that in fact he was a retired old man.

Most retired people stay at home with their families, but Yeh became even busier. He has published a book and is volunteering at the Tzu Chi Taipei branch office as a Japanese translator. He is also a volunteer pottery instructor at the psychiatric ward of Taipei Jenai Municipal Hospital. He has lived such a wonderful life that I decided to visit him and learn more about him.

When I arrived at his house, I was attracted to the roomful of bamboo products: bamboo chairs, bamboo lamps, eating utensils made from bamboo, etc. His house was filled with graceful good taste.

Yeh explained, "Bamboo is called 'te' in the Taiwanese dialect, a homophone to another word, 'virtue.' The hollowness of bamboo symbolizes humbleness and integrity in Chinese culture. Therefore, I like to have bamboo products at home because they create an atmosphere of elegant simplicity."

Yeh fell in love with bamboo when he was a child. Since second grade, he would spend his summer holidays at his grandmother's home. He especially enjoyed walking in the huge bamboo forest on the hill behind the house to experience the wind, the fragrance of bamboo, the sound of bamboo leaves waving in the wind, the whir of insects, and the chirping of birds.

Listening to his description, I felt as if I were also trekking through a bamboo forest. His grandmother's home was in Tucheng, Taipei County. Public transportation wasn't that convenient back then; if one took the train from Taipei to Panchiao, one still had to walk two hours to arrive in Tucheng. Yeh was only nine years old at the time, but despite all the difficulties he still went to his grandmother's home during the holidays.

Another reason why Yeh loved going to his grandmother's home was that he liked to eat bamboo shoots. His grandmother would cook soup with bamboo shoots that had just been dug up. The soup was so tasty that he would drink large bowls of it. "My mom said I was raised on bamboo shoots," Yeh smiled.

While staying at his grandmother's home for long periods of time, Yeh discovered that bamboo had many uses. In the past, there wasn't any piped-in running water in rural homes. So his uncle would hollow out the bamboo joints and link bamboo stalks together to make an aqueduct to bring clean water to the house from a nearby stream. Narrow stalks of bamboo were used as boat poles. Yeh's aunt made bamboo baskets, wickers, and other farm utensils. His uncle taught him to use the leftovers for toys such as stick horses and kites.

Farmers were very frugal. They often used bamboo leaves as toilet paper; the used leaves then became fuel for kitchen stoves. The ashes were mixed together with compost to use as fertilizer for growing bamboo. Thus in the end bamboo was recycled back into nature. Yeh highly admires bamboo for its practical and environmentally friendly qualities. These are reasons why he likes to have bamboo products in his home.

Good bamboo throughout the mountains

Yeh studied visual arts in college. In his fourth year, he and some classmates stayed in a hostel in the National Taiwan University experimental forest in Hsitou for a week. Being there reminded him of his childhood and motivated him to take pictures of bamboo.

Later, he went to work for the tourism bureau, editing a foreign language magazine that introduced Taiwanese folklore and arts to foreigners. During that time, Yeh also studied photography by himself so he could take pictures for the magazine. Sometimes when he went on business trips, he would take pictures of bamboo whenever he saw it. However, he became serious about photographing bamboo only after he retired in 1996.

He was already 66 years old, but he started carrying his photography equipment all over Taiwan to take pictures of bamboo. After a year, he became more professional and started thinking about publishing his first book on bamboo. Therefore, he mustered up enough courage to introduce himself to Taiwan's Great Earth Magazine. He told them that he didn't want to publish a collection of pictures; he wanted a book. And he also wanted to take all the pictures and to write the text himself.

The managing editor became very interested after seeing Yeh's slides of bamboo, and he suggested that he write about the ecosystem, culture, and life cycle of bamboo. Yeh said he could write the last two parts, but they had to get an expert to write about the ecosystem of bamboo. The managing editor replied that Yeh would have to study hard in order to write about the ecosystem himself from the viewpoint of an ordinary citizen so that the book could be understandable to general readers.

This was a major challenge to Yeh. He began reading in libraries and bookstores; he even went to Japan to dig out many research papers. He showed me a thick stack of research papers and told me that after digesting the huge pile of information, he was able to write his 144-page book, Good Bamboo throughout the Mountains.

Photographing, writing, and producing

Going into the mountains to take pictures of bamboo is quite a physical challenge to Yeh. He often leaves home before sunrise and continues working even after sunset. Sometimes he has to carry heavy photography equipment into the mountains. Yeh said humorously, "If a place is too far, I take a taxi. Some taxi drivers are so wonderful that when they see how old I am, they help me carry the equipment."

It rains a lot in the mountains, so he has to take an umbrella too. Still, he is soaking wet when he gets home. It takes sharp observation and patience to photograph bamboo. Sometimes he has to wait several hours to get a picture of a bird flying over some bamboo. Sometimes he has to press the shutter immediately in order to capture a moment of beauty.

One time, he took a taxi into the mountains. When he noticed the sun casting a beautiful light on some bamboo, he told the taxi driver to stop the car so he could get out to take a picture. By the time he was about to take a second picture, the sunlight had already disappeared. An opportunity can disappear in an instant. In the same way, Yeh feels he should do more good deeds while he still has the chance.

In order to write about the relationship between bamboo and human beings, Yeh takes an early train every week from Taipei to Miaoli to study how to make bamboo products. Most of the bamboo products in his home were created by his own hands.

"When you make your own bamboo products, you learn that bamboo has many functions," said Yeh. He quoted Su Tung-po [Chinese poet, 1038-1101], who wrote:

Bamboo can be food.
Bamboo roof tiles can shelter people from rain.
Bamboo rafts can carry people over water.
Bamboo can be used as fuel for cooking.
Bamboo skin can be made into clothes.
Bamboo paper can be made into books,
Bamboo can also be made into shoes.
Bamboo has many uses every day.

After five years of hard work, Yeh finally published his book at the age of 70. The book used fewer than 100 pictures out of more than 10,000 that he took. Yeh said, "I like each picture because it contains many wonderful memories."

Yeh told me his expectations about the book. "I published this book in the hope that everyone will use bamboo to raise their quality of life, because bamboo is environmentally friendly."

Yeh commented that much of our furniture made from trees is not environmentally friendly. A tree usually needs more than 10 years to grow, but a stalk of bamboo needs only three months. Using bamboo products can reduce the number of trees being cut down. Furthermore, bamboo absorbs water well to help with soil conservation.

Loving bamboo and people

Yeh became a Tzu Chi volunteer by chance. At the time, he was a member of a club whose members were interested in studying Japanese. He once presented his slides on bamboo to the club. Another member, who happened to be a Japanese translator for Tzu Chi, liked the slides and invited Yeh to become a Japanese translator for Tzu Chi as well. Yeh recounted this event, "I had been wanting to join Tzu Chi because they do things quite well. Also, I am able to contribute my Japanese-language skills and Tzu Chi is a good place to bring peace to my mind."

After a heart attack many years ago, Yeh was hospitalized and miraculously cured. Now he knows it is important to do good deeds immediately.

Since 2001, he has been coming to the Tzu Chi Taipei branch office every Tuesday to join the gathering of Japanese translators who translate articles from Chinese to Japanese. Yeh voluntarily designs the cover of the Tzu Chi Japanese Monthly, using bamboo slides he took in the last five years. He also contributes articles on Taiwan's beauty, which have all received good responses from readers. One reader in southern Taiwan even phoned Yeh to tell him his thoughts. That really touched him.

Yeh said, "Coming here gives me a chance to learn, and I learn more than I give." One volunteer translator has back pain and can hardly walk, but he still comes to the gathering regularly. Another translator is a mother, but she still gives up her free time to volunteer. Each and every story Yeh sees touches him deeply, so he also contributes happily from his heart. He often says to other people, "If Tzu Chi needs anything, let me know and I will come at once."

Before joining Tzu Chi, Yeh was already volunteering at the psychiatric ward of Taipei Municipal Jenai Hospital as a pottery instructor. Rain or shine, he is always there on Friday.

"You don't need to copy my work. Just think and be creative!" In a red hat and an apron, Yeh urged hospital patients to create their own products. He was like their grandfather.

"Actually, psychiatric patients are not as horrible as most people think. They have child-like hearts and some even have artistic talent," said Yeh as he pointed out their products. Indeed, every product was quite creative. If he hadn't told me, I would have thought that these products had been made by professional artists.

"Coming here is also a kind of learning experience for me: I learn how to interact with them," added Yeh. To him, life is learning and his motto is "It's never too late to learn." Some time ago, he spent two months reading materials in order to write an article on children's art museums. He did this because writing articles is a way to learn new things.

Suggestions to young people

Not everything in life goes as one wishes. When Yeh was young, he had problems with his job, but he feels that any kind of obstacle is a good chance to learn. He told me, "Nothing but obstacles in life can teach us many things. Young people shouldn't be afraid of taking on challenges and doing more work than other people! Your work pays you money, but it also gives you a chance to learn."

I believe this kind of zeal and spirit has enabled Yeh to carry heavy photography equipment without worrying how long the journey might be.

The streetlights had come on and the weather had become colder. I was overwhelmed as I watched Yeh walking away, carrying his heavy equipment across a busy street. But what I saw wasn't the back of a frail, old man. It was the image of one filled with youth and vibrant energy.