Chinese Bonsai Blog

Many people already know that the art of bonsai can be an exercise in meditation. When you’re “in the zone” and trying to envision the most natural, harmonious composition for your beloved little tree, you’re in a different state of mind: one that is open and flowing. Through the “soundless poetry” of bonsai or penjing, we are able to express themes of universal beauty and timeless truth.

I just discovered Karin Albert, a Chinese bonsai (penjing) specialist who studied and researched penjing during a five-year stay in China in the 1980s. She has a really great (but old) website at http://www.venuscomm.com/. On her website, I was reading more about the spiritual aspects of Chinese bonsai.

Karin Albert says that in order to understand bonsai and penjing, you have to look at it with two things in mind: the two main Chinese traditions of Taoism and Zen Buddhism. Each philosophy contributes very important ideas to the whole practice of creating little trees and landscapes.

For example, Taoism emphasizes nature and creativity, and teaches us to forget about thinking “inside the box.” It’s important to understand that as long as you “edit” yourself and keep comparing yourself with established rules and conventions, you will not be free to be as creative as possible. Once you are able to liberate yourself, you can unleash your mind so that it is naturally able to create amazing art with your miniature trees or landscapes.

On the other hand, Zen Buddhism (remember, Buddhism originally came from India; Zen Buddhism came into existence once Chinese Taoists interpreted the sutras) emphasizes meditation as the best way to help the mind to become enlightened, able to flow without any blockage. Zen Buddhists believe that enlightenment is everywhere.

I think that we can find enlightenment even (especially!) when we experience “sudden awakenings” while styling our bonsai trees. What do you think?

For anyone who is just starting out in bonsai, you might appreciate this list of 5 easy-care bonsai. I found it at Ezine Articles.

The article says that the best trees for beginners should be easy to care for. I completely agree, because it can be hard to master skills like wiring, root pruning, etc., and it would truly suck to have all your hard work destroyed if your bonsai tree dies!

Luckily, there are several different varieties of trees that are relatively low-maintenance:

• Cherry blossom (can you imagine how lovely the tiny blossoms would be in the spring?!)
• Azalea
• Cottoneaster
• Juniper (although I’m not quite sure that I agree with this one, because I’ve killed MANY store-bought junipers…)
• Japanese Maple

Of course, everyone should ALWAYS do some research before actually buying a bonsai tree, no matter how “easy” they are supposed to be. You will definitely have your own list of priorities. Make them an important part of your decision!

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of research into the Chinese style of bonsai, also called “penjing.”  In my travels online, I found a useful webpage at http://www.fukubonsai.com/2a2.html.  This page gives us a peek into the origins of the Chinese bonsai style.

Penjing bonsai trees are VERY different from the ones that are usually found for sale throughout the world.  (Those are usually Japanese-style bonsai.)  For one thing, the creators of the Penjing style of bonsai just enjoyed growing plants in pots for fun.  They were even OK with growing ugly, “weird” trees because they were great conversation pieces.

I think that this is a great mindset to have when you’re starting your first beginner bonsai.  Too many times, we can suffer from “analysis paralysis,” where we are so overwhelmed by rules and styles and requirements that we just don’t know where to start.  I know that I’ve been very afraid of doing something “wrong,” so I ended up not doing anything at all!  Isn’t it liberating to think that the very first people who started cultivating bonsai trees, were not so overly concerned with details?
The authors of the Fuku Bonsai website have invented two “rules” for Penjing bonsai:

PENJING RULE #1:  “SMILE!”  Penjing is an art and a hobby to be enjoyed.  When you smile, your mind opens up, you create, and you enjoy!

PENJING RULE #2:   “DON’T LET ANYONE MAKE UP ANY MORE RULES!”

If you have ever found yourself “stuck” with your bonsai trees, try these Penjing rules!  You’re bound to come up with something original.  After all, part of the fun of bonsai is creating a tiny tree.  Let’s not forget the “creative” part of the process.

Hi all,

I was surfing around on my lunch break and found the COOLEST example of Chinese bonsai style!  These trees were made to look like Chinese dragons.  Take a look at this:

http://www.bonsaimalaysia.com/html/dragon_bonsai.html

I found a really informative article about the differences between Chinese bonsai and Japanese bonsai styles. It said that Chinese bonsai have a more “natural” look, while Japanese bonsai are more exact and “manicured.”

The guy who wrote the article thinks that the Japanese bonsai style might be more popular than the Chinese bonsai style because Japan has been more “open” to western countries than China has been (well, until lately). I think that he might have a point!

But the best part of the article talks about combining Chinese and Japanese styles of bonsai, pretty much inventing a new and unique bonsai style. I’m pretty excited about that idea and can’t wait to try it on my own trees.

This guy has a very excellent blog. Check out the article at http://practicalbonsai.blogspot.com/2008/05/chinese-bonsai-style-v-japanese-bonsai.html and then check out his other posts!

Anyway, from what I’m learning, the main difference between Chinese bonsai and Japanese bonsai is this:  Japanese bonsai styles are much more rigid, well-defined and demanding.  Japanese bonsai trees stick closer to artistic, ideal forms.  In the Japanese style, you have fixed forms of bonsai such as “root over rock,” several types of cascading styles, etc.  Most of the time, any given Japanese-style bonsai will take one of these forms.

Chinese-styled bonsai, on the other hand, are often shaped into animals and Chinese characters, but not always. Sometimes some very small figurines are added (like tiny people, houses, ox-drawn carts and such) to make the tree look like it is part of a landscape.

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