What do "old" and "thin" mean in bonsai aesthetics?

  Bonsai are called “ancient trees”, which shows that bonsai are valued for their “age”. “Old” is generally understood as a high tree age; some bonsai are not very old, but because they have been cultivated and shaped well, they appear decrepit and are also artistic masterpieces.

  1. The “old” of bonsai

  “Old” is one of the conditions a bonsai should have: a good posture, and also an old state. The “old” of bonsai can be judged from the following aspects:

  The form of the roots:

  The roots bulge and are exposed above the soil, high or low, thick or thin, like dragons or snakes, coiled around the tree base, covering the surface of the pot, yet crisscrossing naturally without disorder, or the roots are thick and large and form blocks.

  The form of the trunk:

  The trunk is mostly twisted with many nodes, the bark is thick, cracked or wrinkled and coarse, and each different tree species has its own ancient tone.

  The form of the branches:

  The side branches and twigs are mostly twisted, showing the appearance of being pruned year by year or dying and regrowing.

  The form of the branches and leaves:

  The branches and leaves cannot be too dense; if they are too dense, they form the appearance of youth.

  The characteristics of the banyan tree:

  On tall banyan trees, aerial roots hang down or aerial roots also grow on the trunk, and they merge into one body with the trunk.

  2. The “thin” of bonsai

  “Thin” and “old” are inseparable, “iron bones and icy flesh, thin and elegant”. Old trees are generally thin (except banyan trees), so thinness can express old age and also has an elegant air. But thinness must be strong, with an unyielding spirit.

  The signs of thinness are: thick leaves and deep color, green where it should be green, red where it should be red, rather than sallow and emaciated, too weak to withstand the wind. The bark is firm and knotted, the branches and trunk are dry and withered, half seeming alive, half seeming dead, yet still full of spirit; the branches are not dense, the leaves are not lush, like withered wood meeting spring.