Introduction to Bonsai and Penjing 

What are bonsai and penjing?

Bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees in pots as practiced in Japan.
Penjing is the art of growing miniature trees in pots as practiced in China.
It is easier to say that ‘bonsai’ is the Japanese form of the Chinese art of penjing. See the cultural aspects section below for further details.

Bonsai is the best known term worldwide because of the way that the art form extended beyond the boundaries of Japan after the middle of the 20th century.

Historical roots
The practice of growing miniature trees in pots is known to have existed as a high form of art at the beginning of the 8th century CE (early 700s) in China, where a painting records the presentation of such trees to the Emperor in the Tang dynasty (http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/Paintings/ChinaPortrayals.html#PreSong).

We also know that across China miniature landscapes, in the form of ‘gardens’, were being produced several centuries earlier.

The miniature-tree art form is known to have moved to Japan around the 12th to 13th centuries CE, as part of the major borrowing of Chinese culture by the Japanese during this period (see: http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/Paintings/Japanto1600.html).

The development of the form then proceeded more or less independently until the modern era.
The ‘Western’ cultures are known to have heard about miniature trees at least as early as the start of the 17th century, as seen in a Portuguese-Japanese dictionary (http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/pre1800Refs/Japan1603.html).

Bonsai were displayed at the world fair in Philadelphia, USA in 1876.
After American troops began returning home in the early 1950s the practice of ‘bonsai’ became widely known in the USA and then spread rapidly around the world. Returning Australian soldiers also brought the practice of bonsai back with them, even though it was not on the same scale.
There are records of ‘penjing’ being practiced in Australia as early as the beginning of the 20th century, but it was not until the 1970s that growing of miniature trees suddenly became widely practiced.

The art of illusion: miniature tree in a pot

Art
Bonsai and penjing are seen as a visual art form because of the way that the artist sculpts the living plant, using horticultural techniques to achieve a particular artistic outcome. It is different from the widespread practice of growing plants in pots, where the focus is generally on producing a mass of foliage or flowers in an attractive setting. The care and maintenance of potted plants is aimed at producing healthy plants that are only shaped enough to keep them under control within the pot, as well as continuing to produce the foliage or flowers. With bonsai and penjing, the goal is to combine horticultural and artistic practices to produce a plant that creates the illusion that it is a miniature version of a full-size tree growing in a pot. All the usual artistic considerations of line, mass and proportion are important in bonsai and penjing. Asymmetrical balance and use of negative spaces are also significant elements. Colour and texture are important too. Creativity and aesthetics are part of the art form.

In most bonsai and tree penjing, the focal point is firstly the tree trunk, then branches and then the foliage masses. Miniature landscapes are more complex forms of the art.

Artistic elements
A bonsai artist learns about which qualities, in particular ‘line’, convey the sense that a tree is ‘old’. A tree does not have to be very old to look old. There are characteristics of the trunk, branches and foliage distribution that can be altered to create the illusion of great age.
Artists may choose to have their trees tell different stories. It is always good to look for the ‘story’ being told by the tree.
Bonsai and penjing can be used to develop or expand artistic appreciation in an art student.
Learning how to look at the miniature trees, learning what to look for to help interpret the meaning that the artist may have intended to show is as much a part of bonsai and penjing art appreciation as it is of other forms of art.

Essential to art appreciation, including in bonsai and penjing, is the development of the capacity to identify ‘line’ and how to follow it, or how to ‘read’ the values that the ‘line’ displays. Identifying structural balance: what it is, how it is achieved, and how it can influence the composition of the miniature tree are also good skills to learn.

Cultural aspects of the art of miniature trees
Bonsai and penjing come out of Chinese and Japanese cultures. There they are imbued with concepts linked to Tao, Confucian and Buddhist ideals. The austere simplicity of Zen aesthetics is often practiced and expressed in ideas like ‘less is more’. In ‘western’ cultures, the deeper significance of bonsai and penjing is still very fluid and evolving – some look to the ancient ideals, while others focus on artistic form, horticultural craftsmanship and appreciation alone.

An important philosophical idea throughout much of the east Asian aesthetics of bonsai and penjing is that of ‘reverence’ for old age – of respect for the elderly; of recognising that individuals that have survived life’s difficulties with humility and dignity are due respect from those younger, who may be able to learn from them. The trees are often designed to show great age and stature yet humility.

Penjing artists will sometimes place small figurines, bridges, boats or animals in their settings with the miniature trees. These are often included to enhance the sense of perspective and proportion. As the figurines are usually quite small, they are intended to show the place of people within a landscape: making use of it, living within it, but not dominating it. They are often misunderstood as being just ‘decorative’ or kitsch.

Western aesthetics in bonsai and penjing often focuses on the beauty of the miniature tree. This can include trees that indeed look like miniature versions of those found in nature; while at other times can focus on exciting line-movement or colour of leaf or flower.

Horticultural values in modern Australia
Gardening and landscape design are growing in importance in Australian society, although they have been around for a long time. With an increasing emphasis on smaller living spaces, there are heightened demands on the horticultural industry to provide plants and designed spaces appropriate to small areas and that are water efficient. Bonsai and penjing readily meet these needs.
There are bonsai specialist nurseries in most large cities, and there is a demand for technical help to maintain and develop bonsai amongst other gardening tasks.

A horticultural student could do well to have a grasp of the basic needs and procedures for growing bonsai and penjing.

Horticultural practices
Achieving the goal of a miniature, very healthy tree in a pot requires a considerable knowledge about how to grow the plant. The basic techniques focus on pruning of the branches, which is done annually or more frequently, and replacing the soil and pruning roots, which are usually done on a 2-5 year cycle.
Watering and fertilising are important in keeping the trees alive, in good condition, and encouraging flowering and fruiting in certain species.

Shaping the trees is done by either ‘wiring’ or by ‘clip and grow’ techniques.

Feedback
We are a small organisation, but will be progressively working to make the experience of seeing exceptional bonsai and penjing something worth doing in an educational visit to the national capital.
We welcome feedback on what you would like from us, as well as ways that we can improve what we produce.
Email us on: npbca@bigpond.com

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