bamboo curtain

proper noun

The political and ideological barrier between the communist and capitalist states of Asia during the Cold War.

Meanings

bamboo curtain1

proper nounthe bamboo curtain
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Bamboo Curtain.

Bamboo Curtain2

proper nounthe Bamboo Curtain

alternative bamboo curtain

  1. historicalThe political and ideological barrier between the communist and capitalist states of Asia during the Cold War.

    “A new bamboo curtain may be coming down on Southeast Asia,” he worried. This would not be a hard-and-fast wall like the Iron Curtain; nor would it be part of some newly imagined Asian domino theory.

    2008 September, Robert D. Kaplan, “Lifting the Bamboo Curtain”, in The Atlantic
    2 more examples

    Gen. Wego Chiang, commander-in-chief of the Combined Service Forces, called on leaders of the free world to design an effective global strategy to safeguard world peace and to rescue the enslaved people behind the Bamboo Curtain.

    1982 November 7, “ROC to aid joint security”, in Free China Weekly, volume XXIII, number 44, Taipei, page 1

    As it had been for other Western reporters getting their first look behind the Bamboo Curtain, it was all a marvel for Payne. After all, here was a country that less than a quarter of a century ago had been destitute after three decades of revolutionary warfare.

    2015, James McGrath Morris, Eye on the Struggle, Amistad, →ISBN, page 321

Origin

After iron curtain, the original Cold War “curtain” (in Europe). First use appears in Time magazine in 1949.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 竹幕
  • 竹幕 (zhúmù)political barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Danish Bambustæppet
  • Bambustæppetpolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Finnish bambuesirippu
  • bambuesirippupolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
French Rideau de bambou
  • Rideau de bamboupolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Indonesian tirai bambu
  • tirai bambupolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Japanese 竹のカーテン
  • 竹のカーテン (take no kāten)political barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Korean 죽(竹)의 장막
  • 죽(竹)의 장막 (jugui jangmak)political barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Norwegian Bambusteppet
  • Bambusteppetpolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Persian پردهی خیزرانی
  • پردهی خیزرانیpolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Polish Bambusowa kurtyna
  • Bambusowa kurtynapolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Portuguese Cortina de Bambu
  • Cortina de Bambupolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Russian Бамбуковый за́навес
  • Бамбуковый за́навес (Bambukovyj zánaves)political barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Spanish Telón de Bambú
  • Telón de Bambúpolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Swedish Bamburidån
  • Bamburidånpolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Thai ม่านไม้ไผ่
  • ม่านไม้ไผ่ (mâan máai pài)political barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Vietnamese bức màn tre
  • bức màn trepolitical barrier between communist and capitalist in Asia
Cite this entry
APA

bamboo curtain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bamboo%20curtain

MLA

“bamboo curtain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bamboo%20curtain. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bamboo curtain,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bamboo%20curtain.

Source: bamboo curtain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.