Childhood Memories: Bamboo Joint Man

It's not that childhood left us; it's that we left childhood. Childhood is always there, waiting for us to remember.

——Wozki

As I picked up a few segments of PETG filament and tried to draw "bamboo" joints on the computer, I suddenly smiled: back then, who had ever seen 3D modeling?

The bamboo joint figures back then were made from green bamboo cut in summer, a piece of shoelace thread, half a saw blade, and a dull pencil sharpener. We had to pick bamboo with flat nodes, saw it into thumb-length segments, hollow out the joints in the middle, and then string them together with strong thread—head, body, two arms, two legs. The thread went in through the top of the head and came out through the feet. With a pull and a release, the bamboo joint figure came to life: standing crookedly, like a tipsy little soldier.

The coolest part was "equipping" the bamboo joint figures with weapons. Richer classmates would bend a wire into a long spear, while those without would just snap off an popsicle stick. I once gave my bamboo joint figure a "Green Dragon Crescent Blade"—it was actually just cut from cardboard, painted with blue ink for the blade, and after drying, it was quite stiff and looked pretty legitimate.

The gap in the middle of the classroom desk was our arena. Two people would jam their bamboo joint figures into the gap, squat under the desk, and frantically pull the strings. You'd jab me, I'd shove you. If the string was pulled too hard, the bamboo joint figure would fly off and break apart. The two of us would first freeze, then burst into laughter as we sprawled on the desk picking up the pieces.

Back then, we didn't know what "leaving childhood" meant. We only knew that when the school bell rang, we'd stuff our bamboo joint figures into our school bags, and we could continue the fight tomorrow.

And now? I sit in front of my computer, spending an hour drawing a 3D version of the bamboo joint figure. The joints are smooth and flexible, the weapons are full of detail, and I can even start printing with one click. But when I actually held it in my hands, I suddenly realized something was missing.

Missing was that fresh, green smell when sawing bamboo, the red marks worn on my fingers by the string, and that goofy energy of squatting under the desk, bumping heads with my deskmate.

It turns out childhood hasn't disappeared; it's just hidden in a certain string, a certain joint. Move it, and it comes to life.

——Just like now, I gently pull the string, and this PETG printed bamboo joint figure also crookedly raises its "broadsword," as if saying:
"Old friend, you're finally back."