Penjing

Penjing (zh-cpl|c=盆景|p=pén jǐng|l=tray scenery), also known as penzai (zh-cpl|c=盆栽|p=pén zāi|l=tray plant), 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 complex illusion of age. Penjing generally fall into one of three categories depending on what their subject matter is. These categories are Tree Penjing, Landscape Penjing, and Water and Land Penjing.

History

Classical Chinese gardens often contain arrangements of miniature trees and rockeries known as Penjing. These creations of carefully pruned trees and rocks are small-scale rendition of the natural landscape. They are often referred to as living sculptures or as three-dimensional poetry. Their artistic composition captures the spirit of nature and distinguishes them from potted plants.

The penjing originates from China over two thousand years ago and was brought to Japan by imperial embassies to Tang China (the 7th – 9th century). However, the first documented penjing can be traced back to seventh-century China. Paintings found in Prince Zhang Huai's tomb depict servants carrying a miniature landscape and a pot containing a tree. This fresco, which was excavated by archaeologiests in 1972, is probably the world's oldest visual evidence of penjing.

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.Hu Yunhua, Penjing: The Chinese Art of Miniature Gardens. (Beaverton, Oregon: Timber Press in cooperation with the American Horticultural Society, 1982) p.7.] Quite small in size, these miniature landscapes include trees which are frequently over a hundred years old. Like the plants in the Chinese garden, they have been carefully selected and tended so that they develop into twisted and gnarled shapes reminiscent of their full-size counterparts in the wild.

As an art form, penjing is an extension of the garden, since it enables an artist to recreate in miniature parts of the natural landscape. Using artificially dwarfed trees and shrubs, these arrangements are created in special trays or pots which are placed on ornately carved wooden stands. Often, rocks and porcelain figurines are added to give the proper scales as part of the natural scenery.

Like the chinese gardens, these miniature landscapes are designed to convey landscapes experienced from various viewpoints - a close-up view, a medium range view or a panorama.

Penjing is also often used indoors as part of a garden's overall design, since it reiterates the landscape features found outside. Penjing pots grace pavilions, private studies and living rooms, as well as public buildings. They are either free-standing elements within the gardens or are placed on furniture such as a table or bookshelf. Sometimes a lattice display stand is built which adds particular prominence to the penjing specimen and exemplifies the interplay between architecture and nature.

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 (plainness), 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 invoke a sense of massive panoramic views within the limited confines of the water tray.

tyles

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:

;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.

;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.

;Sichuan Style:Sichuan Penjing (川派盆景) tends to be well-knit, simple and unsophisticated.

;Yangzhou Style:Yangzhou Penjing (揚派盆景) is also called northern Jiangsu style (苏北派), it is distinct from Jiangsu style The three twists of tree trunks is the most distinctive characteristic of this style.

;Shanghai Style:Shanghai Penjing (海派盆景) has influenced the Japanese bonsai, but at the same time, has kept its original artistic origin, which is from the traditional Chinese painting.

;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.

;Anhui Style:Anhui Penjing (徽派盆景) is most famous for its utilization of ume.

;Zhejiang Style:Zhejiang Penjing (浙派盆景) specializes in utilization of pine and cypress, often have three to five plants in one tray.

;Fujian Style:Fujian Penjing (閩派盆景) specializes in utilization of banyan.

;Beijing Style:Beijing Penjing (京派盆景) reflects its artistic origin from the ancient traditional Chinese architecture 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.

;Taiwan Style:Taiwan Penjing (台灣盆景) is a cross of Japanese bonzai and traditional Chinese Penjing.

;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).

;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.

;Zhongzhou Style:Zhongzhou Penjing (中州盆景) specializes in utilizing Tamarix.

Maintenance and Care

The maintenance and care of penjing trees are similar to that of the bonsai.

ee also

* Bonsai
* Chinese garden
* List of organic gardening and farming topics
* National Bonsai Foundation

Notes

References

* Zhao, Qingquan. Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment. Venus Communications, LLC.
* Chen Lifang and Yu Sianglin, The Garden Art of China. (Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1986)p.149.

External links

* [http://www.artofbonsai.org The Art of Bonsai Project]
* [http://bonsaiart.co.uk Bonsai Art]