Penjing
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Penjing (Chinese: 盆景; pinyin: pén jǐng; literally "tray scenery"), also known as tray landscape, potted scenery, potted landscape, and miniature trees and rockery is the ancient Chinese art of growing trees and plants, kept small by skilled pruning and formed to create an aesthetic shape and the illusion of age. Penjing is very similar to and the precursor of the Japanese art of bonsai. Penjing generally fall into one of three categories depending on what their subject matter is. These categories are Tree Penjing (essentially bonsai), Landscape Penjing, and Water and Land Penjing.
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[edit] History
Sketches of trees grown in pots sometimes with rock or other decoration, apparently used for decorative purposes, occur in Egyptian tombs, dated over 4,000 years old. Subsequently, caravans were known to transport trees in containers of various kinds throughout Asia. The trees were sources of chemicals used medicinally by healers in the caravans and places visited along the way.
The modern-day art of penjing originates from China over two thousand years ago and was brought to Japan by imperial embassies to Tang China (the 7th – 9th century) and evolved in to the Japanese form called bonsai. Penjing is intended for outdoor display, the plants tend to be somewhat larger than the bonsai. A display technique unique to penjing (as contrasted to bonsai) is the presentation of multiple plants to create a larger landscape scene, as one might view a forested ridgline or the margin of a glen from a viewpoint.
[edit] Difference between Chinese Penjing and Japanese Bonsai
The Chinese aesthetic hopes to capture the essence and spirit of nature through contrasts. Philosophically, the Chinese artist is influenced by the principle of Taoism, specifically Yin and Yang the conceptualisation of the universe as governed by two primal opposing but complementary forces. Inspiration is not limited to nature, but also from poetry and visual art, of which factor similar aesthetic considerations. Common themes include dragons and the strokes of fortuitious characters. At its highest level however, the artistic value of penjing is on par with that of poetry, calligraphy, brush painting and garden art.
[edit] Penjing aesthetics
The Chinese art of growing miniature trees, properly called penjing, seeks to capture the essence and spirit of nature through contrasts. Philosophically, this craft is influenced by the principle of Taoism, specifically the concept of Yin and Yang: the conceptualization of the universe as governed by two primal opposing but complementary forces. Inspiration is not limited to nature, but also from poetry and visual art, of which factor similar aesthetic considerations. Common themes include dragons and the strokes of fortuitous characters. At its highest level, the artistic value of penjing is on par with that of poetry, calligraphy, brush painting and garden art.[1]
Penjing has less emphasis on technical perfection, and the art is not as rigidly categorized as the art of bonsai, and such things as tangled roots or pruning scars (which are against the bonsai aesthete) are allowed if it fits the overall design. Miniature images placed next to a miniature tree (such as miniature pagodas and tiny men with fishing rods) belong strictly to the realm of penjing and are anathema to the realm of bonsai.[1]
[edit] Categories
Tree Penjing (also called shumu penjing in Chinese) are classified just like bonsai, with an emphasis on the layout of the trunk. The usual styles such as straight trunk, slanted trunk and forest prevail. Due to this similarity, only one category of Tree Penjing will be discussed here. This interesting part of the tradition of Tree Penjing is the Literati style (called wenren mu in Chinese), and was originally created by the scholars of China as a method of self-expression. Literati generally have long, thin, tapering trunks and sparse branching. This is a contrast to other Tree Penjing which generally have a more "bushy" quality. Literati generally display four principles that reflect the feelings and ideals of the educated scholars who began the tradition.
- The first is Gugao (aloofness), which is evident in the long trunk line of the literati and is considered to symbolize the lonely elitist spirit of the scholar. This trunk is typically unusually thin for the height of the tree.
- The second is Jianjie (sparseness), and this principle is basically a lesson in "less is more" and the idea is to create a statement with the smallest number of branches. In this way some Penjing artists equate this principle with calligraphy, because the sparseness of the tree reduces it to lines, but the lines still have deep meaning despite their lack of depth and variety.
- The third principle is Ya (refined elegance) in which the scholars attempted to create a sense of gracefulness and poise within their tree.
- The fourth principle is Pingdan (plainess), in which a plain, subtle, and sometimes austere quality is pursued in order to create a more unpretentious kind of beauty. Essentially the scholars were trying to contrast their "no frills" naturalistic beauty with the more highly decorated and ornate art objects that they saw as inferior because they were considered impediments to the search for true understanding.
- It is also important to bear in mind that Literati are not supposed to be grotesque or deformed, but should simply show a tree that has struggled to overcome obstacles in its lifetime.
- Other qualities that some believe to have influenced the creation of this form are a painful yearning for the past, a perception of being misunderstood, intense loneliness, and a bitter sense of rejection combined with the already elitist attitude of the Chinese scholar community.
Stone is the main medium of Landscape Penjing which seeks to envoke a sense of massive panoramic views within the limited confines of the water tray (called suiban in Japan).
[edit] Styles
Styles of the traditional Penjing in China are mainly classified by the most representative (dominant) plants used, and named after the regions of their origin. Since different plants require different techniques to handle, different styles thus formed. There are more than a dozen styles of traditional Penjing:
[edit] Guangdong Style
Guangdong Style Penjing (粤派盆景) is also called southern ridge penjing (嶺南派盆景), because Guangdong is located south of Nanling. The main characteristic of this style is its natural appeal and the appeal of easy and smooth.
[edit] Jiangsu Style
Like the culinary art of the Jiangsu cuisine, the art of Jiangsu Penjing (苏派盆景) is also complicated, with the crowns of the trees often being shaped like clouds.
[edit] Sichuan Style
Sichuan Penjing (川派盆景) tends to be well-knit, simple and unsophisticated, but that does not mean the technique required is simple and easy. Quite on the contrary, in order to make the seeming unsophisticated and simple appeal, a lot of work is needed.
[edit] Yangzhou Style
Yangzhou Penjing (揚派盆景) is also called northern Jiangsu style (苏北派), it is distinct from Jiangsu style in that this style requires the most work. The three twists of tree trunks is the most distinctive characteristic of this style, which is extremely difficult to master, but once it is done, the result was great. However, many amateurs lack the resource and time needed to master the necessary technique and thus often simplify the process.
[edit] Shanghai Style
Shanghai Penjing (海派盆景) has the influence of Japanese bonzai, but at the same time, has kept its original artistic origin, which is from the traditional Chinese painting.
[edit] Guangxi Style
Guangxi Penjing (桂派盆景) reflect the beautiful natural landscape such as that of Guilin. This style utilizes different type of stones considerably more frequent than other styles.
[edit] Anhui Style
Anhui Penjing (徽派盆景) is most famous for its utilization of ume.
[edit] Zhejiang Style
Zhejiang Penjing (浙派盆景) specializes in utilization of pine and cypress, often have three to five plants in one tray.
[edit] Fujian Style
Fujian Penjing (閩派盆景) specializes in utilization of banyan.
[edit] Beijing Style
Beijing Penjing (京派盆景) reflects its artistic origin from the ancient tranditional Chinese architectures in Beijing. The branches are often horizontal and the crowns of the trees are often in hemisphere or in the form of traditional folding fan.
[edit] Taiwan Style
Taiwan Penjing (台灣盆景) is a cross of Japanese bonzai and traditional Chinese Penjing.
[edit] Hubei Style
Hubei Penjing (湖北盆景) enphasizes on the producing the sense of dynamic feelings by the static plants and rocks, and thus also called Dynamic Penjing (动势盆景).
[edit] Xuzhou Style
Xuzhou Penjing (徐州盆景) is a branch of Jiangsu style, but it is distinct enough to be listed separately for hundreds of years for its utilization of fruit trees.
[edit] Zhongzhou Style
Zhongzhou Penjing (中州盆景) specializes in utilizing tamarisk.
[edit] Maintenance and Care
The maintenance and care of penjing trees are similar to that of the bonsai, but the only difference is with the location of the plant being outdoors for penjing.
[edit] Resources
- Zhao, Quingquan. Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment. Venus Communications, LLC.
