A Tour of the Non-Competing Works at the 2018 Bonsai Masterpieces Exhibition
Chen Chang "Purple Cloud Fairy Descends to the Mortal World" Bougainvillea 120×120×80 Master's work not entered for judging
Leaving more chances to win for everyone
- A Tour of the Non-Competing Works at the 2018 (BCI) Bonsai Masterpieces Exhibition
Original author | Li Jian of the Guangdong Provincial Bonsai Association
This article is an original submission by Li Jian, first published on "Lingnan Bonsai Network"; copyright belongs to the original author Li Jian
Note from the original author:
This year's highest-level and largest-scale bonsai event in the Lingnan region - the 2018 Southern Greenery Seedling Expo and the International Bonsai Association (BCI) China Regional Committee Members' Bonsai Masterpieces Exhibition and China Bonsai Invitational Exhibition - has come to a close. The abundance of exhibited works, the comprehensiveness of artistic schools, and the broad social influence, among other things, left a deep impression on people, and it can be said that the lingering charm remains, a topic of keen conversation...
A bonsai exhibition is a festival for bonsai people. Professor Liang Yuemei of Taiwan, China once said: displaying bonsai before everyone is a happy event and an important matter for a bonsai enthusiast. Before the exhibition, there is no doubt that one must examine the bonsai from top to bottom; every enthusiast always hopes to present their work in the most beautiful and perfect posture before the viewers and receive a good evaluation.
At every bonsai exhibition, what draws the most attention is undoubtedly the awards won by the exhibited works. Which works won grand prizes? Which pot won the highest award? Award-winning works attract countless camera flashes and eyes. "Ten years to grind one sword, its frosty edge never tried. Today I show it to you; who has an injustice?" "Ten years of frost with no one asking, yet once successful the whole world knows." The winners also harvest supreme honor and tremendous joy. This is only human nature, and bonsai people are tired yet happy!
In the author's opinion, some works at the exhibition venue that did not win awards are even more worthy of our attention and appreciation - namely, the works that were exhibited but not entered for judging.
At the judges' work meeting of this exhibition, General Advisor Mr. Huang Jiuwei, on behalf of Mr. Chen Chang, Chairman of the BCI China Regional Committee, President of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, and Chinese Bonsai Art Master, stated that his exhibited works would not participate in the judging. Chairman Chen Chang took the lead, and many bonsai art masters and seniors with exhibited works also stated that they would exhibit without entering the judging. In addition, with the works of the judging and supervisory committee members who recused themselves from review according to the judging plan, the number of non-competing works in this exhibition reached as many as 28 pots. These works are all masterpieces of great age and vigorous, majestic beauty. By not participating in the judging and willingly serving as green leaves to set off the red flowers, they objectively left more chances to win for everyone. This is undoubtedly positive energy.
I sincerely hope this practice becomes the norm and becomes institutionalized for bonsai exhibitions. What great goodness that would be!
Let us give the warmest applause and praise to these "most beautiful exhibited works" at the exhibition venue!
Works by Chen Chang
Chen Chang, Chairman of the BCI China Regional Committee, President of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, Chinese Bonsai Art Master.
Chen Chang "Supreme King" Cinnamomum porrectum 110×110×80 Master's work not entered for judging.
Chen Chang "When Gold Wind Meets Jade Dew" Chinese plum (Sageretia thea) 110×60×50 Master's work not entered for judging
Chen Chang "Proud and Majestic Bearing" Chinese plum (Sageretia thea) 120×150×70 Master's work not entered for judging
Chen Chang "Azure Dragon Races the River" Orange jasmine (Murraya paniculata) Trailing length 115 Master's work not entered for judging
Chen Chang "Deer Call Out Youyou" Mountain pine 100×145 Master's work not entered for judging
Chen Chang "Elegant Charm, Uniquely Ancient" Chinese ash (Fraxinus chinensis) 120×120×75 Master's work not entered for judging
Chen Chang "Crane Dance" Bolan (Bauhinia) 60×120×35 Master's work not entered for judging
Chen Chang "Huairong Shines on the World" Mountain pine 8011060 Master's work not entered for judging
Chen Chang "Shocking the Heavens" Acacia (Albizia) 110×145×45 Master's work not entered for judging
Works by Lu Zhiwei
Lu Zhiwei, expert group member of the Guangdong Provincial Bonsai Association, Chinese Bonsai Art Master
Lu Zhiwei "Autumn Forest Mirrors the Moon" English fir 72×150×42 Master's work not entered for judging
Works by Xu Weihua
Xu Weihua, BCI International Bonsai Master, Chinese Bonsai Art Master.
He began learning bonsai creation in 1979. In 1987, at the bonsai exhibition celebrating "May 1st International Labor Day" held at the Nanning Workers' Cultural Palace, his acacia bonsai won a gold award. From 1989 he built the Nanning Huayi Bonsai Garden until 2010, and in 2011 moved it into the Yulin Horticultural Garden. In 1997, at the national bonsai exhibition celebrating Hong Kong's return held in Guilin, Guangxi, the 6 bonsai works he sent won 2 gold and 2 silver awards. In the past 20 years, he has participated more than 10 times in national bonsai exhibitions or international bonsai invitational exhibitions, winning more than 10 gold awards in total. In 2004 he was awarded the title of Chinese Outstanding Bonsai Artist by the China Bonsai Artists Association. In 2009, through evaluation by the Guangxi Forestry Bureau's Guangxi Bonsai Art Master Evaluation Leading Group and the Guangxi Bonsai Artists Association, he was awarded the title of Guangxi Bonsai Art Master. In 2011 the China Bonsai Artists Association awarded him the title of Chinese Bonsai Art Master.
Xu Weihua "A Lone Tree on the Sunny Bank" Chinese plum (Sageretia thea) 90x110 Supervisory committee work not entered for judging
Xu Weihua "Sharing the Storm Together" Small-leaved fig 110x78 Supervisory committee work not entered for judging
Xu Weihua "Meeting Immortals Beneath the Pine" Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus) 105x125 Supervisory committee work not entered for judging
Xu Weihua "Song Flying Over the Earth" Chinese swamp cypress 120x140 Supervisory committee work not entered for judging
Works by Tian Yiwei
Tian Yiwei, Vice President of the Chongqing Flower and Bonsai Association, Deputy Secretary-General of the (BCI) International Bonsai Association China Region, Vice President of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, senior bonsai technician, Chinese Bonsai Art Master.
Born in 1955, a native of Chongqing. Mr. Tian Yiwei came from a bonsai family, loved fine art from childhood, and learned the craft from his father from an early age, inheriting the past and opening the way for the future. In more than 40 years engaged in bonsai art, he combined theory with practice, skillfully applying traditional Chinese painting principles and techniques, using form to convey spirit and employing artistic exaggeration. In creating landscape and water-and-dry bonsai, he formed his own unique artistic style of "rugged and solid, majestic and bold," seeking coherent lines, rich layers, and complete modeling in his works, emphasizing imposing momentum, natural vividness, and the unity of form and spirit. Especially in his treatment of embankments and shoals, he achieves delicacy within ruggedness, and unity rich in variation, greatly praised by colleagues. In the stump bonsai he creates, while maintaining traditional wiring techniques, he combines clipping and wiring, forming a large number of natural-style stump bonsai with Bayu artistic style.
Tian Yiwei "Misty Rain over the Gorge River" Bog wood, Chinese juniper (Shimpaku), evergreen holly 150X65X75 Judges' work not entered for judging
Tian Yiwei "Raising a Cup Beneath the Pine, Remembering That Year" Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus) 120X100 Judges' work not entered for judging
Works by Huang Jiuwei
Huang Jiuwei, Vice President of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, President of the Guangzhou Bonsai Association, Chinese Bonsai Art Master.
Huang Jiuwei Combined bonsai Bolan (Bauhinia), Chinese plum (Sageretia thea), elm 80×90 Master's work not entered for judging
Works by Luo Xiaodong
Luo Xiaodong, Deputy Secretary-General of the BCI China Regional Committee, Vice President of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, Chinese Bonsai Art Master.
Luo Xiaodong "Layered Charm of the Grove" Acacia (Albizia) 150×60 Master's work not entered for judging
Luo Xiaodong "Sparse Shadows Slanting, Orange Fragrance Drifting" Mountain mandarin (Atalantia buxifolia) Trailing length 150 Master's work not entered for judging
Works by Xia Guoyu
Xia Guoyu, Chinese Bonsai Art Master; currently Deputy Secretary-General of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, Secretary-General of the Bonsai Art Branch of the Zhejiang Provincial Society of Landscape Architecture, President of the Bonsai Art Branch of the Hangzhou Society of Landscape Architecture, BCI International Bonsai Master, and expert in the Hangzhou Society of Landscape Architecture's science and technology consultation expert database.
In the 1980s he entered the Duojing Garden of the Hangzhou Flower Nursery to work, and has been engaged in bonsai creation for nearly 40 years, studying under Master Pan Zhonglian, founder of Zhejiang-school bonsai. He assiduously studied the essence of Zhejiang-school bonsai creation and gradually formed his own creative style.
While inheriting tradition, he combined it with the modern humanistic environment and aesthetic awareness, achieving unique innovations in crown formation and branch emergence, making Zhejiang-school bonsai pay more attention to detail. He also applied bonsai creation theory to gardening and landscaping techniques, bringing out the ancient style and charm of Chinese classical gardens to the fullest, and giving a completely new basis for the arrangement of landscape plants.
He actively cultivates and leads newcomers, teaching according to aptitude, injecting young blood into Zhejiang bonsai. He is also devoted to promoting Zhejiang-school bonsai and bringing it to the world, making a relatively large contribution to Zhejiang-school bonsai, and is an outstanding figure of the second generation of the Duojing Garden of the Hangzhou Flower Nursery.
Xia Guoyu "Dragon Howls to the Ninth Heaven" Five-needle pine 105×100 Judges' work not entered for judging
Xia Guoyu "Laughing at the Changing Winds" Five-needle pine 100×75 Judges' work not entered for judging
Works by Wei Qunjie
Wei Qunjie, BCI International Bonsai Master, Chinese Bonsai Art Master, Chinese Outstanding Bonsai Artist, Yunnan Provincial Bonsai Art Master. Currently Dean and Professor of the School of Physical Education of Southwest Forestry University, visiting researcher of the Southwest Green Development Research Institute, professor of bonsai science and master's supervisor in the School of Landscape Architecture, Vice President of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, and President of the Yunnan Provincial Bonsai and Viewing Stone Association. He began engaging in the creation, collection, teaching, and research of bonsai, viewing stones, and root art in 1986. His works have won major awards many times in provincial, national, and international bonsai and viewing stone exhibitions. He has published over a hundred bonsai and other works and more than 80 papers. He has served as chief editor of 5 books including bonsai and textbooks, and authored 4 monographs. He has offered two public elective courses, "Bonsai Creation and Appreciation" and "Viewing Stone and Root Art Creation and Appreciation," while also teaching bonsai science courses. His works have an artistic style of "majestic, strange, beautiful, natural and smooth, with magnificent momentum."
Wei Qunjie "Warm Spring Waters" Five-needle pine, turtle-vein stone 120×60 Supervisory committee work not entered for judging
Works by Xi Youshan
Xi Youshan, BCI International Bonsai Master, Chinese Senior Bonsai Artist. Vice Chairman of the BCI International Bonsai Association China Regional Committee, Deputy Secretary-General of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture.
He began engaging in bonsai art in 1986 and devoted himself to bonsai research and creation. He has successively published more than 30 academic papers and articles on bonsai making, and has achieved abundant results especially in the research and exploration of literati trees. Several of his bonsai have won awards at bonsai exhibitions at various levels nationwide.
September 2008: participated in the 7th China Bonsai Exhibition and won a silver award.
October 2012: 8th China Bonsai Exhibition, won 1 gold award and 1 silver award.
September 2014: organized and held the 2014 China (Kaifeng) Bonsai Invitational Exhibition. Personally won gold and silver awards.
September 2016: organized Henan Province's participation in the 9th China Bonsai Exhibition and the International Bonsai Association BCI China Regional Bonsai Exhibition. Personally won 2 silver awards.
Xi Youshan "Ancient Pine in the Wind" Black pine 80×130 Judges' work not entered for judging
Xi Youshan "Ancient Charm" Chinese round cypress 60×100 Judges' work not entered for judging
Works by Zheng Yongtai
Zheng Yongtai, Advisor of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, Vice President and expert group member of the Guangdong Provincial Bonsai Association, Chinese Bonsai Art Master.
Zheng Yongtai "Bamboo and Stone Picture" Buddha-belly bamboo, Ying stone 50×70 Master's work not entered for judging
Works by Huang Jiucheng
Huang Jiucheng, currently Honorary President, Technical Advisor and Founding President of the Hong Kong, China Lingnan Bonsai Art Society, Vice President of the Flower, Bonsai and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, Chinese Bonsai Art Master, Vice Chairman of the BCI China Regional Committee, BCI International Bonsai Master.
He began engaging in Lingnan bonsai creation as early as the 1970s. In 2008 he was invited to Italy to give a demonstration performance of Chinese Lingnan bonsai art making at the 8th Crespi Cup International Bonsai and Viewing Stone Exhibition, and also gave a demonstration performance of Chinese Lingnan bonsai art at the 2008 World Annual Conference of the Italian International Bonsai Society. Over the years, Huang Jiucheng's works have won important awards many times in large-scale bonsai exhibitions internationally, domestically, and in Hong Kong, China.
In order to promote Lingnan bonsai art, Huang Jiucheng has for more than 20 years also served as a horticulture instructor at the Hong Kong, China Federation of Trade Unions' Amateur Continuing Education Center, teaching courses focused on basic horticultural knowledge and basic Lingnan bonsai knowledge, progressing from the shallow to the deep. The students who have studied bonsai under him number in the thousands. He has made a great contribution to cultivating new blood for Lingnan bonsai art.
Huang Jiucheng "One Line of Continuity" Chinese plum (Sageretia thea) 60×40 Judges' work not entered for judging
Works by Fu Canzhang
(Author introduction not provided)
Shanghai Bonsai Association Fu Canzhang "Green Waters and Green Mountains" (landscape) Pearl agate stone 100x50 Exhibited but not entered for judging
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