Chinese Bonsai

Chinese Bonsai, also called Penjing, is about creating a miniature tree or a landscape in the container.

This beautiful art form was originated in China thousand years ago. Bonsai was created by highly educated aristocrats of China, inspired by nature, poetry and landscape paintings. These different art forms were linked closely together.

Chinese artists believed that by better understanding nature they will improve their spiritual development.

Each area of China had its own bonsai style, specializing in a certain species of tree, certain training techniques and certain type of design. There is a deep Chinese philosophy behind each bonsai tree and landscape scene. It is more about revealing an untold story and discovering mysteries of nature. Chinese bonsai is about chaos and creativity that is not trying to obey rules and reach perfection.

There are basic rules in Chinese bonsai, but its main goal is to create a beautiful journey that reflects different aspect of life and nature. Chinese bonsai tree often represents an animal or a Chinese character. One of the best examples of the distinctive tree representation is a Chinese Dragon, which symbolizes prosperity and good fortune. Sometimes in pursuit of unusual design concept, Chinese artists would create a “weird” or even “ugly” looking bonsai tree.

Some Chinese artists would refuse to use a wire, so popular these days, and prefer clipping technique, because they believed it requires more skills and patience. Wires were very expensive and hard to find in China, so most of the artist used "grow and clip" technique to style their bonsai trees. That is why this type of training is more developed in Chinese bonsai.

The beautiful picture of Chinese bonsai, that you see here, is one of the amazing art works of Robert Steven, a bonsai artist from Indonesia. Check out his blog: http://knowledgeofbonsai.org/robert_steven/  I hope this shows how different Chinese bonsai art can be. Have a wonderful day!

Susan Brian