Rock-clinging bonsai set each other off beautifully, full of pictorial charm and poetic sentiment

[Bonsai Enthusiast's Reflections]

Text | Xiamen, Fujian @Zhou Yingzhi

Happiness is actually very simple: it is right there in your eyes, and you can catch it as long as you look with your heart; it is right there in your palm, and you can hold it as long as you close your hand; it is right there at your feet, and you can reach it as long as you take a step... But many times, we strain our eyes looking into the distance, we cling desperately to what we want to keep, we rush about here and there, yet we always feel that happiness is very far away -- that is because we have looked in the wrong direction, held the wrong hand, and taken the wrong path -- do not force what is not yours; cherish well what you already have!

Rock-clinging bonsai appreciation

"The nature of mountains is my nature; the spirit of water is my spirit." To create tree-and-rock bonsai well, one must possess the temperament of mountains and waters. Outstanding tree-and-rock bonsai works are "natural and fitting, harmonious and aesthetically beautiful, rich in charm, and full of pictorial appeal." We can deeply appreciate this when admiring the works of many masters, but to achieve this level, the creator needs to possess relatively high cultural literacy and artistic cultivation, as well as long-term accumulated practical experience in the art of bonsai, because the creation of tree-and-rock bonsai is built on the foundation of shaping individual trees and shaping mountain rocks. The creator needs solid shaping foundations in both tree bonsai and landscape bonsai, plus a certain foundation in fine arts, before it is possible to create works rich in poetic and pictorial charm and worthy of lingering thought.

Outstanding rock-clinging bonsai are full of pictorial charm and poetic sentiment and rich in appeal; in creation, the idea must come before the brush, with ingenious conception. They are very difficult to make and take a long time. In production, one must first select a scenic rock with a beautiful form and with wrinkles specifically suitable for plants to cling to, and only then can one begin matching trees and cultivating them.

The production process of a pot of rock-clinging bonsai

Photos and text | Yu Gong (Shanghai)

Rock-clinging bonsai is a form of bonsai modeling art in which rock is dominant, trees grow clinging to the rock, and rock and tree become one integrated whole. Trees are planted clinging among the rocks, their root systems extending into the rock crevices to grow, with branches and trunks twisting and extending into rock cavities or growing in clusters on the rock, or hanging down below the rock, or slanting sideways beside the rock, so that strange rocks and ancient trees set each other off beautifully.

Wonderful replay:

Creating the natural beauty of bonsai with a calm state of mind

The production and collection of tamarisk rock-clinging bonsai

Appreciation of miniature tree rock-clinging bonsai