A Complete Analysis of the Basic Principles of Bonsai Creation
Bonsai differs from poetry and painting: they are living works of art, and this determines the continuity of bonsai creation. The life process of a bonsai is the continuous process of its creation. Once a Chinese painting is completed, it no longer changes. But the plants in a bonsai vary with the passing years and change through the four seasons. After a bonsai work has initially established its concept and composition, its artistic value may still undergo great changes: it may become ever more perfect through "reworking" and "re-creation," or it may decline, be damaged, or even completely lose its artistic value through creation that goes astray and poor management. The concept and composition of a bonsai work often cannot be completed in just three to five years.
The life process of a bonsai changes with the alternating cycle of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and possesses a real temporality; at the same time, because a bonsai is relatively small in size, its environmental conditions can be controlled artificially, or through pruning, leaf removal, forcing or delaying the flowering period, and other means, it can display a winter scene in summer or spring colors in winter, and so on, creating a specific artistic time,giving people a specific artistic impression。
Bonsai is a living work of art, a combination of natural beauty and artistic beauty. Bonsai creation not only requires a certain artistic cultivation, but also shaping through artistic processing methods such as material selection, pruning, wiring and carving and chiseling, and it also requires horticultural skills with a certain foundation in scientific knowledge. Therefore,bonsai is also the crystallization of art and technique。
Bonsai is a plastic art work. It is a three-dimensional entity in space; unlike a painting, it is not composed on a flat sheet of paper. The study of spatial composition in bonsai creation must not only strive to create the composition of the best viewpoint, but also take into account the composition from different viewpoints and viewing distances.
Whether it is Lingnan-style or Shanghai-style bonsai, or Yangzhou-style or Suzhou-style bonsai, all pay great attention to three-dimensional spatial composition, taking into account the viewing effects of looking up, looking down, looking level, looking straight on and looking from the side. The ancient-trunk bonsai of the Sichuan style also takes great care with three-dimensional composition. For example, in the "drooping-turn method," the trunk is gnarled and varied: viewed from the front, one bend, two bends appear, while the third to fifth bends are not visible, appearing like a paused straight trunk; gradually, from the side, the first and second bends are gradually hidden and the third to fifth bends gradually appear, forming different pictures. For example, landscape bonsai are entities, and although they occupy three-dimensional space, they are unlike gardens, which must satisfy the functional requirements of tourism and rest; instead they requirehiding the meaning of towering sky and abundant earth within a handful". The so-called one peak implies Mount Tai's thousand xun, one spoon implies a thousand miles of rivers and lakes. This one peak and one spoon must express a thousand xun and ten thousand miles, so the value lies in showing the great within the small and being fascinating.
Section One: Originating from Nature, Exceeding Nature's Craft
Bonsai is the artistic reproduction of ancient, extraordinary trees and wooded ravines and springs in nature. To create a bonsai, one must first collect materials, so that one has wooded ravines and springs in one's mind, and only then can there be any "reproduction." Therefore, learning from nature is the prerequisite for creation. Since it is creation, it is not a photographic "miniature," not a copy or transcription of nature. In bonsai creation, one must use methods such as trimming, selecting and discarding, rendering and exaggeration to reproduce nature in a more concentrated and more typical way. "How can a thousand-mile mountain be entirely wondrous, how can ten-thousand-mile waters be entirely beautiful", so take the essence and discard the dross, and apply the method of combining romanticism with realism, so that bonsai originating from nature can rise above nature and exceed nature's craft.
Only through careful observation and in-depth study of scenery, and by capturing its characteristics, can a bonsai worker achieve the state of having a fully formed plan in mind at the time of creation, like taking something out of a bag. Spring, summer, autumn and winter, morning and evening, clear and rainy, change in countless ways. Trees: some vigorous and unrestrained, some elegant and free, some old and doddering, some full of life, some graceful and charming; the elegance of bamboo, the strength of pine, the fragrance of osmanthus, the charm of crabapple; mountains: some secluded, some beautiful, some perilous, some majestic, some extraordinary. For every material, only by observing minutely and grasping its characteristics, spirit and posture, and by seeking out all extraordinary peaks to make sketches, can the creative subject matter be rich and varied and the image and composition beautiful and moving. Only with novel conception can one "respond to things and give form, follow categories and convey color", so that the work not only achieves "formal likeness" but also reaches "spiritual likeness," making it vivid and moving.
Section Two: Creating Artistic Conception, Highlighting the Theme
The greatest characteristic of bonsai is the creation of artistic conception. What the artistic conception is like is an important standard for judging the quality of a bonsai work. If the artistic conception is elegant and novel, then the spirit and charm are vivid and it is thought-provoking. If the scenery has no danger or ease, if it is rigid and stereotyped, then it is plain and unremarkable.
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese bonsai has paid great attention to the creation of artistic conception. Every new work is rich in new meaning and opens up a fresh scene. This fine tradition should be well inherited and carried forward.
In creating the artistic conception of a bonsai, not only must one exercise ingenuity before starting, carefully weigh things and ferment the theme, which is the so-called "conception precedes the brush." Moreover, the conception must run through the entire process of bonsai creation, taking meaning from the material, which is the so-called "meaning is born when the brush arrives." Because bonsai materials cannot be like brush and ink, which painters can freely wield, and one must take into account the natural beauty of the bonsai material, therefore,only by running the creation of artistic conception through the entire process of bonsai creation can it reach a perfect state。
Material selection is an important aspect of highlighting the theme. Taking tree-stump bonsai as an example, one must not only pay attention to the biological characteristics of the tree species, but also to the individual's "appearance" and "posture." In choosing tree species, one requires characteristics such as a strange tree base (referring to the swollen part of the root collar), roots that are easy to wire and easy to expose, a trunk that tolerates wiring and pruning, fine branches and dense leaves, fragrant and brilliant flowers and fruit, strong adaptability, tolerance of barren soil, and tolerance of transplanting. However, different themes have different requirements. For example, using vines and the like to express ancient majesty and extraordinary grandeur, or using pines and cypresses to express grace and charm, would achieve twice the result with half the effort, or even waste effort entirely. Similarly, when selecting materials for landscape bonsai, one should grasp the characteristics of the stone's texture, color, form and veining, and shape according to the material. If one uses sharp and elegant sandstone slabs to make steep and extraordinary peaks, or uses hollow, perforated stalactite to make tiger dens and dragon pools, it is just right. On the contrary, using Taihu stone to express the mountains and waters of Bashan and Shushui, or using Guangdong yellow wax stone to express Taihu scenery, would be a clumsy attempt at cleverness.
The form of a bonsai is closely related to expressing the theme. For example, in making a tree stump, whether it leans, lies, stands or hangs, twists or bends, or whether it is single-trunked, double-trunked or a forest, different artistic conceptions can be created. The bold, freely wielded natural style and the finely carved, almost meticulous regular style each have their own interest and can serve different themes. In expressing landscape, whether to use a dry tray, a water tray, or a water-and-dry tray should also be considered around the theme. In short,the form must be made to serve the content, achieving the unity of content and form。
Section Three: Skillful Layout, Seeing the Great in the Small
The artistic conception of a bonsai is embodied through layout. So-called layout means arranging and settling the scenery, that is, composition and shaping. Seeing the great in the small and spanning a thousand miles within a foot is the most distinctive artistic characteristic of bonsai. To express a scene of towering ancient trees and countless cliffs and ravines within a small pot, one needs to rely on special artistic methods:
1. Use the principles of perspective: near is large and far is small, near is dense and far is light, near is clear and far is blurred。
When arranging a bonsai, arrange appropriate layers in vertical height and horizontal direction, dividing the narrow space of a foot into several levels to achieve the artistic effect of expanding the depth of the scene.Apply corresponding artistic treatment to scenery at different levels. For the outlines and textures of rocks, what is near should be delicate and what is far should be generalized; what is below should be clear and what is above should be blurred; use low, short rocks to express distant mountains, and tall, thin rocks to express middle and near mountains; for stone materials, dark colors should be near and light colors should be far; near trees should be large and far trees should be small, or only green moss may be used to express distant mountain forests. Therefore, in bonsai creation, the arrangement of layers is often summarized as the "three-fold method of far, middle and near." For example, the distant scene uses indistinct forms, the middle scene is mostly vertical, and the near scene should again use indistinct forms. Usually distant mountains use a low, horizontal, lying posture, the middle scene uses a towering and steep shape, while the near scene may use waterscape, or old trees lying horizontally and slanting, or lying stones spread out as the foot of the mountain, and other expressive methods. The so-called "distant people have no eyes, distant trees have no branches, distant mountains have no stones."
2. Use contrast and foil
This is also an important method for achieving the artistic effect of seeing the great in the small. Things can only be distinguished through comparison. In painting theory, "a zhang mountain, a chi tree, a cun horse, a fen person" speaks of the ratios of size and scale among them, and is the basis of the contrast method. Although a stone is as small as a fist, if a person is only as large as a bean, then the fist-sized stone can be contrasted to appear like a mountain; this is contrast of form. "Cicadas chirping make the forest seem quieter, birds singing make the mountain seem more secluded" speaks of the contrasting foil of artistic conception: a mountain forest with birdsong and cicada chirping further sets off its tranquility. Height and lowness, largeness and smallness, slanting and straightness, brightness and darkness, density and lightness, sparseness and closeness, motion and stillness all exist through contrast and gain color through contrast.
The scenery in bonsai all achieves the effect of seeing the great in the small through the means of miniaturization, and materials such as trees and rocks should be treated according to appropriate proportions. Therefore, in bonsai creation, one must both consider the appropriate proportions among different materials and also use different proportions to contrast and foil one another to achieve the effect of seeing the great in the small. If used properly, the scenery will be proportionate and harmonious and each will enhance the other; otherwise it will be ruined. Using small bridges, pavilions, boats, carts and figures can bring out the towering majesty and vastness of mountains and waters; on the contrary, rocks before overly large figures or pavilions will be outshone and lose their color. The size and depth of the pot must be proportionate to the size of the trees and rocks, and using a shallow pot can also foil the towering height of the scenery. Use low mountains to foil the steepness of the main peak, and lying stones to foil the uprightness of old trees. Or use low, short ancient trees to set off the majesty of high mountains; these are all methods commonly used in bonsai.
In order to make trees ancient and vigorous, thick and large raw material is often selected, and by truncating and reducing, pruning, and changing the proportions among trunk, branches and leaves, the old-tree posture of a thick, strong trunk and gradually smaller branches is created. Or by pruning and wiring, the treetop is made to form a crown, the branches are made into pads, and the trunk is made gnarled and paused, creating the form of a natural old tree. To make the appearance even more ancient and majestic, one may also use a swollen, strange tree embryo as the tree base, or from an early age use the technique of twisting knots to create a swollen false tree base, or adopt the method of gradually raising the roots year by year to make them suspended and expose the claws; or through carving, chiseling and cutting and other means create residual stumps, tree hollows, and make the trunk scorched, mottled and jagged.Only by skillfully using these methods can one achieve the artistic effect of a mountain forest within a foot。
3. Good at hiding, good at revealing
The more the scenery is hidden, the greater it appears. When arranging mountains and waters, if the hiding is done wonderfully, one will feel that in front of and behind the mountain, to the left and right of the mountain, there is infinite vastness. Hiding scenery can use rocks, bamboo and trees, sails, bridges, pavilions and chambers mutually screening one another as the main means. Not only in planar composition must there be mutual screening, with hiding and revealing, but also in three-dimensional composition there should be one layer above another, and within one layer still another layer. Streams winding around, caves twisting, paths appearing and disappearing, mountains screening one another, and the scenery becomes profound. Use the mutual covering of rocks to create a winding river, ina limited space expressing a strong sense of layering。
Section Four: Clear Host and Guest, Unified Variation
So-called host and guest means which part of the various things in the pot is the main body and center, and which are the guest bodies and foils, striving fora prominent main scene, with host and guest clearly distinguished. In bonsai, generally the landscape, trees and rocks are mostly the main body, while pavilions, boats, bridges and figures are only foils. The main mountain should be solemn and majestic, and the surrounding mountains should be respectful and compliant, and must not each act on their own. The main mountain and guest mountains should, in their rushing direction and turning toward or away, seek mutual looking toward one another, with primary and secondary clearly distinguished, so as to play the role of stars supporting the moon. Mountain forests and tree clusters must also have clear primary and secondary roles. For example, in a cluster of three plants, one is the host and the rest are guests. The main tree's size and posture and shaping must be higher than the guest trees to make the main body prominent.
Bonsai layout also requires variation and unity. So-called variation means that in the arrangement of the scenery in a bonsai, it must be natural and changeable, each with its own interest, and not rigid and identical. Whether in wind posture and spirit, veins and outlines, color brightness and darkness, sparseness and density, emptiness and solidity, front and back, high and low, all can be varied and graceful. Natural scenery itself is such that peaks are uneven, trees do not have level tops, forests rise and fall, gather and scatter, solitary trees lean and slant, waters have twists and turns, the land has steep and gentle, level and flat, colors have density and lightness, brightness and darkness, forms have sparseness and density, emptiness and solidity. Therefore, in the arrangement of scenery, whether in plane or elevation, regularity and neatness, stiffness and rigidity are taboo. In the disposition of rocks and trees, front and back, high and low must be uneven and scattered, avoiding neat symmetry and the formation of regular geometric shapes. Two trees growing naturally together are mostly of different height, leaning and facing, front and back; the so-called "looking at one another with affection" cluster of several plants will almost never form a regular, equidistant triangle, square, rhombus or plum-blossom shape, but rather each has far and near, sparse and dense, and the height and size of the tree crowns are also uneven and scattered, ever-changing, lively and graceful.
Whether landscape bonsai or tree-stump bonsai, both should "prefer emptiness to fullness". However, when the artistic conception of the bonsai is different, the requirements for emptiness and solidity are also different. Generally, for expressing height and distance, depth and distance, the solid part may be slightly less than half; if it exceeds half, it mostly appears bloated and cramped. But if it is less than one third, it appears monotonous and loose. Usually one easily commits the fault of being too solid when viewed straight on and too empty when viewed from the side. Several pieces of bluestone standing in a pot are cramped when viewed straight on and thin when viewed from the side.
The above principles and methods of bonsai creation should of course not become a framework that binds our hands and feet. "When the rules are followed to the extreme, one ultimately returns to no rules." One must grasp them flexibly and be brave in creation. Practice makes perfect. At first the mind and hand are apart and the scenery does not convey the idea, but with "familiarity" one can be handy and confident, pick things up at will, and be just right.
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