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What are Bonsai and Penjing?
History | Understanding bonsai and penjing | Tree care | Styles
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The Chinese art form of penjing has been around for thousands of years, long before its Japanese relative bonsai. Penjing and bonsai reflect the natural world and the interrelatedness that humans feel with it. Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) and penjing (pronounced pen-jing) are both singular and plural. In Chinese "pen" means pot or container and "jing" is translated as landscape or scenery. The three types of penjing are: tree penjing, landscape penjing, and water and land penjing. The elements that make up this art form are the container/tray, rocks, plants, soil, water, grasses, and figures (which can be human, architectural, or animals). While these elements are not always physically present, they are often inferred by the composition. Some penjing, typically distant landscapes, primarily use rock in their design. The artist is not trying to copy an exact landscape, but to create an ideal image that conjures up different emotions, depending on the viewer's experiences in nature. 
In Japanese "bon" means plant or tree and "sai" means pot or tray. Bonsai is an ancient Japanese art form, related to tree penjing, in which woody plants are grown in containers as representations of aged or interesting trees. The three expressions of bonsai are: single tree, multiple tree, and forest. Like penjing, bonsai has never been an attempt to create scale models of trees. Rather, living material is grown as a "statement" about trees and about interaction between people, trees, and nature's cycles. In summary, both bonsai and penjing involve horticultural and aesthetic techniques of miniaturizing trees to embody the principles that govern nature, both convey reverence for nature, and both are deeply embedded in the histories and cultures in which they originated.
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History
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Copy of scroll image on display at Shanghai Botanic Garden Photo: David Michener |
The practice of growing stylized, transportable plants probably began with Buddhist monks traveling from ancient India. The first historical reference to penjing is a scroll (see picture at left) from 1200 years ago, documenting a well-developed art form that can be traced back as far as the Han and Qin Dynasties (221 BC to 220 AD). Growing miniature trees in pots and landscapes developed during a time of great wealth of art, architecture, and gardens. A classic period in penjing practice occurred during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD), at a time when Chinese landscape painting was also at its height. The publication of many penjing manuals during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD) attests to the popularity of the art form. It is thought that Buddhist monks from China brought penjing with them as they traveled to Japan. Beginning by the 6th century AD, many cultural ideas from China were incorporated into Japanese court life, and for many centuries penjing in Japan retained its Chinese influence. By the 13th century penjing was practiced by many of the Japanese aristocracy and Samurai. As the art form assumed a Japanese identity it became known as hachi-no-ki, which translates as "tree in pot". It wasn't until the 1800's that the term bonsai was adopted in Azakusa Park, a now famous bonsai center near Tokyo. China had the important role of developing the art form of miniature trees and landscapes but it was the Japanese who introduced this art to the rest of the world. The first western public exhibit of bonsai was in London in 1909. The significant impact of this art on America was in the 1950's when American military and civilian personnel were stationed in Japan. Bonsai then spread rapidly in American culture. During this period Japan was the prime influence on the rest of the world for this art form– China was in political and cultural upheaval. Today, miniaturizing trees is an art form practiced in all parts of the world. Although the primary influence in most countries is classical bonsai, each culture tends to exert on the art its own heritage and draws inspiration from its indigenous environment, landscapes, and plants. View maps depicting the historical spread of bonsai and penjing
Understanding bonsai and penjing
Bonsai and penjing are a living art form to be viewed, contemplated, and enjoyed. Bonsai and penjing specimens are trained primarily with a front view, but all sides should convey the spirit of a realistic tree or landscape. Appreciation is enriched by understanding the intent of the style as well as the meticulous attention given to care and training. The pot or tray is carefully selected to complete the composition: in penjing, figurines and landscape elements may also be introduced. The trees, front, style, training, and pot/tray can change through the years: plants grow, branches die, artistic intent changes, and the trees easily outlive their original artists.
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Tree care
Trees in bonsai and penjing have the same requirements as trees in our natural environment. That these specimens are starved or tortured is a common misconception: having a healthy tree is essential. Miniaturized trees have to be in near perfect balance with their resources. Critical horticultural practices focus on pruning, special soils, and fertilization. Regular pruning of limbs styles the tree. Periodic pruning of the roots reinvigorates the specimen while keeping it small. Special soil mixes allow for excellent drainage and modest water retention. As a result, this soil requires frequent watering, often daily. Careful fertilization adds essential elements to the soil without over stimulating growth. Most enthusiasts inspect their trees daily during the season of active growth. Learn more about bonsai and penjing tree care.
StylesStyle names are used in discussing bonsai and penjing. There are three fundamental types: single tree, group tree, and landscape styles. Single tree styles (shared by bonsai and penjing)There are many styles of single tree bonsai and penjing. Most single tree bonsai and penjing can be categorized as one of five basic styles based on the trunk's posture. The artist's focus is on revealing the inherent nature of the plant material rather than forcing a tree to exemplify a certain style.
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Drawings by Connie Crancer Group and forest styles (shared by bonsai and penjing)
Trees can be grouped two, three, five, or more into a pot to convey a natural and subtle relationship between each tree in the design. These compositions usually contain a single species, but there are compositions that have two and three species. The movement of line of each tree relates to the others. Typically, a hierarchy is developed with one dominant tree and each other subordinate in turn. They are designed to convey the natural development of a stand of trees or forest. However, forests and groupings that convey a clonal growth pattern will have all the trees in the composition of the same relative height and girth. The styles of formal upright, information upright, and slanted can be used to advantage and the trees can be windswept, placed on rock, or developed from a raft (placing a stem down in the soil material so that each vertical branch becomes a separate tree). Trees are arranged in such a manner that each tree can be seen from the front. Typically, subtle vertical triangles develop in the placement of the trees with horizontal triangles in the canopy. Because of the added challenge of relating each tree to each other to make a congruent composition, this style of design is not usually taken on by beginners. A very good book on this subject is Forest, rock planting & Ezo spruce bonsai: a gift from Saburo Kato to present and future generations, by Saburo Kato, published in 2001 by the National Bonsai Foundation. Landscape styles (only seen in penjing)
Landscape penjing is the oldest style of penjing. It resulted from a desire to be close to China's mountainous landscapes while experiencing the constraints of little personal living space in which to create such a landscape design. The size of penjing landscape allows the viewer to contemplate and appreciate an expanse of scenery in a tiny space. This style of penjing conveys the feeling of a distant natural, wondrous, mountainous landscape. The emphasized element is rock, which is complemented with plant material, figurines, and accessories scaled to the rock composition. These landscapes can be furthered categorized as single peak, twin peak, multiple peak, cliff, canyon, and horizontal layer styles. If the composition incorporates soil then the design is called "land penjing." If water is incorporated along with soil then it is referred to as "water-and-land penjing." If water is not physically present but is suggested by fine white pebbles or sand, it is referred to as "land penjing with a suggestion of water." In all cases the composition is arranged upon a tray. | |||
