Chinese Style Bonsai

Chinese bonsai has a style of its own. In fact, it is totally different from the bonsai generally seen in the West today. The main reason for this is that the art of bonsai in China has hardly changed over the last seventy to eighty years.

At the turn of the century Chinese and Japanese bonsai were much alike, but whereas Japanese bonsai has developed considerably, Chinese bonsai has remained virtually the same. Photographs of Japanese bonsai, taken in London in 1902 at the first exhibition of dwarf trees ever held in the West, reveal styles which are almost indistinguishable from those of Chinese bonsai today. The art of Chinese bonsai has not been influenced by developments anywhere in the world, particularly in Japan.

The Cultural Revolution is mainly responsible for this isolation from outside influence. China was completely closed to the West between 1949 and the late 1970s. In addition, bonsai was considered a very bourgeois and revisionist pastime, which was frowned upon by the authorities. As a result, the art of bonsai nearly died out. Fortunately, the Chinese people were intelligent enough not to throw bonsai overboard, just because politicians told them to do so. Ironically, it was the ordinary working class people and peasants who continued to practice bonsai, unbeknown to the authorities. In this respect, bonsai was truly a proletarian art.

Happily for the rest of the world, bonsai in China survived that difficult period, and is flourishing once again. There is a developing trade in bonsai between China and Western countries, which should stimulate interest in the West for the Chinese style of bonsai. Indeed, the West stands to gain much from the ancient and distinguished tradition of Chinese bonsai.

Chinese schools

Although Chinese bonsai as a whole have a distinctive character, several schools or styles are recognized within China itself. Each school has its own style: the bonsai grown in the north are different from those in the south; while the growers in the west have a totally different approach from those of the east. These regional differences include pots, which vary in style, color and shape; and tree varieties. The growers in the south make extensive use of Fukien tea (Carmona species), Chinese elm (Ulmus parviflora) and Bird plum cherry (Sageretia), while the growers in the north concentrate on Podocarpus, and pines. Visitors to China should bear these differences in mind.

Chinese vs. Japanese styles bonsai

In general, in comparison with contemporary Japanese bonsai, Chinese bonsai is less refined. There is more informality and less attention to detail, particularly in specimen trees; extensive use is made of exposed roots, and the contorted shapes of trunks and branches. The love of beautiful rocks, which is such a strong tradition in China, is reflected in all their bonsai, as well as their pen-jing.

One of the most pleasing aspects of Chinese bonsai is their impressionistic appearance. The pen-jing, or landscape bonsai, in particular, strongly resemble the brushstroke paintings of the literati and zen schools. The freedom and informality of these compositions have a freshness which is probably unique in bonsai art. The influence of Chinese painting is perhaps most clearly seen in their cascade and literati style bonsai, which have a most unusual and refreshing quality; the sharp angular shape of the trunk, and the sweeping curves of the branches, recalling the brushstokes peculiar to Chinese painting.

Rocks in Chinese bonsai

The skilful use of rocks by Chinese bonsai artists, has been unashamedly copied by the Japanese. In fact, the Japanese fascination for suiseki, or Viewing Stones, is of Chinese origin.

Chinese rock bonsai come in various shapes and sizes, ranging from a few centimeters high to one, or even two meters (3-6ft). These exquisite, and very realistic creations can be planted with small trees, or with other accent planting material. They are intended to convey the impression of natural landscape scenery, rather than to highlight beautiful trees.

When rocks are combined with bonsai trees, the composition takes on a completely different feeling. This is where Chinese bonsai is so different from its Japanese counterpart. These compositions do not necessarily depend on superb trees, since it is the overall effect which is of primary importance. Sometimes both the rocks and the trees are equally beautiful, but somehow neither dominates or overshadows the other; there is a unity which is achieved by very skilful handling of the material. Many Chinese rock scenes are made up of composite pieces, which are glued or cemented together. This technique produces some very pleasing effects, especially when combined with the Chinese tradition of displaying rock scenes on beautiful marble trays filled with water.

Trunks and roots

Chinese artists have a predilection for trees with rugged or weirdly-shaped trunks. In fact, some go to great lengths to produce what would be regarded in the West as unnatural shapes. Exposed roots and gnarled, hollowed-out trunks are a popular way of accentuating the feeling of great age. Dead wood, too, is used, although not necessarily jinned, as in Japan.

Varieties of bonsai tree

The Chinese use about 200 varieties of tree for bonsai, most of which are also employed by Japanese bonsai artists. However, the varieties with very small leaves are the most popular.

The practice of creating bonsai from collected trees is, of course, not new to the Chinese, who have been collecting them for centuries, but collected trees are not as highly valued as in Japan. Many of the trees collected in China are stumps of old trees, which have been coppiced for years by villagers collecting firewood.

The distinct differences between Chinese and Japanese bonsai should not be viewed in a critical or negative light. On the contrary, such differences, which widen the spectrum of styles and techniques, can only enrich the art of bonsai.