The concept of bonsai can be quite confusing. Is it a sort of tree? A philosophy? Or is it a form of art? At the same time, one instantly recognizes a bonsai when seeing it. With an average height of about one meter, these trees are a lot smaller than their natural examples. But still, they look rather old, which gives them a mystical presence. For us, bonsai is the most unnatural nature that exists. This predicament is based on the degree of human intervention. To understand better what makes a tree a bonsai and which need they fulfil, we study the origins and development of this cultural phenomenon.
It is impossible to pinpoint the origin of bonsai. There are multiple histories on the moment and place when plants were first potted. Most likely, the technique arose simultaneously at different places in the world. Although the question of origin remains unanswered, many accounts give the same explanation for the question why: plants were potted out of necessity. The connection with a philosophy or art was made only later.
Master Pan Ji Long has been making penjing (Chinese bonsai) for 60 years now. Just like Zhao Qingquan, his whole family has a long tradition in making penjing. Pan Ji Long’s garden in Nanjing is a peaceful haven in an otherwise urban wasteland inhabited mostly by pushy car dealers, on the banks of a small river.
Nanjing, or Jingling, as the Chinese call it, has it’s own local culture. Due to its location in the middle of the country, Nanjing culture has been influenced from all corners of China. You could say that Nanjing culture is a mix of these different cultures, which all have influenced the local penjing with their own specific characteristics. However, Pan Ji Long argues there are also distinct Nanjing features: “In most parts of China, penjing are quite open in style, which reflects a male attitude. Here in Nanjing, penjing are quite narrow and curled. It refers to a more universal meaning. Elegant, like a woman.”
For Pan Ji Long, penjing is important for his personal well being. Being 70 years of age, he has had 5 operations from which he recovered remarkably fast. He believes he owes this to his penjing. When he stands in front of his works, he feels really good and believes that as a result his body heals very fast. It helps him think as well: “You can compare it with drawing characters: it’s a spiritual development.”
When asked if he translates his own character into his work, Pan Ji Long says the first thing he wants his penjings to show is ‘royalty’ or ‘luxury’. Another meaning he wants his penjing to convey is intelligence. We asked ourselves the question if a tree could convey a person’s character? See for yourself: the image below is a life size detail of one of Pan Ji Long’s trees.
Longing to be in wild nature and designing a bonsai go hand in hand, as we learned in our interview with Zhao Qingquan. In fact, there are seven main nature-images to be found in the history of Western philosophy: Physis, Kosmos, Creatio, Universe, Landscape, Wilderness and Reservoir. These answers to the question of the ontology of nature are described by Prof. Dr. Hub Zwart from the Radboud University of Nijmegen. He tries to gain insight in our present experience of nature, arguing that these seven nature-images can be traced back in the present discussions about nature. An important note is that these beliefs and the moral appreciations of nature that lie in them, are closely connected with our ‘power’ over nature and the impact of our acting on our natural environment.
Our trip to China last December started with an exhibition of some work in progress of The Bonsai Project at the 13th Lishui Photographic Culture Festival. Together with Petra Stavast curator Marga Rotteveel invited us to participate. And because a trip to China is an excellent opportunity to find out more about the function of photography in Chinese society, Annelies Kuiper (promoter documentary photography BKVB Fund) also joined us.
A detailed account of the trip is available on dutch-doc.nl, but this movie gives a nice impression of what we ran in to.
Although we’re sure the interview was partly lost in translation, here’s the part that we were able to recover.
Zhao Qingquan is the vice-president of the Association of Penjing Artists of China and an internationally acclaimed penjing master for several decades. We met Zhao Qingquan in Penjing museum of the Slender West Lake garden in, which he directs. Many of China’s famous penjings are kept, maintained and exhibited here. On a foggy Sunday morning, we walk to a modern Chinese building in the middle of the vast park on the outskirts of the city.
Zhao grew up in a family full of penjing. His father and grandfather both liked to make them and Zhao started playing with penjing when he was 9 or 10 years old. “But it was only when I grew up and studied, years ago, that I took penjing as my profession.” It’s very important to him, because it’s not only his job and career, but also his hobby: “I think that human energy is limited, so to free myself, I have to put the limited energy into the limited career. So I took penjing as my career and I can get fully devoted to that career.”
One part of The Bonsai Project consists of a series of localized bonsai trees. As you can see on our poster of the Dutch Beech, we make a distinct choice to remove the trees from their original context.
In this video, we show what we leave out during our shoot in the Penshin Museum in Yangzhou, China.
December 2009 we travelled to China to explore the origins of bonsai. In Yangzhou, we arranged to interview Zhao Qingquan, vice-president of the Association of Penjing Artists of China. Zhao Qingquan is the director of the Slender West Lake garden and an internationally acclaimed penjing master for several decades. For the interview we worked with an English interpreter who was appointed to us by the municipal foreign affairs office. We were interested in meeting a man who devoted himself entirely to penshin; the Chinese miniature landscape art from which bonsai evolved. What is his motivation? What does penshin mean to him? What did he learn about penshin?
During the interview we felt that a lot that was being said was lost in translation. We gave away control in trying to do an interview in Chinese. When questions are translated, answers are translated and reactions are translated. What is left? We think this is what both gave us the urge to keep something real from this encounter.
Available for only € 15 (ex shipping) in an edition of 100, signed and numbered. When buying a poster you’ll become a supporter of The Bonsai Project.
To get your own, please send us an email.
The Carpinus Betulus is a broad-leaved tree that belongs to the genus Betulaceae (Birch). This tree is indigenous to West, Middle, and South Europe and to West Asia. In the Netherlands the Beech grows in the southern (South Limburg) and eastern (Gelderland, North Brabant) parts of the country. Being a tree that thrives on clay soil, it is often used as a hedge tree in large parts of the Netherlands.
20 Years ago, this Carpinus Betulus (left) was dug up from the 3 metres high hedge row in a backyard (right) in the city of Leiderdorp (N52°09,761 – E04°32,411) by Mr. Teunis-Jan Klein. After years of care and dedication, this is its new shape. The tree has almost finished its training into a bonsai. It is now 115 cm high and 35 years old.