What are the characteristics of the artistic style of Jinling bonsai?

  Bonsai is a traditional art of our country, with a long history and a distant origin. It originated in the Tang Dynasty, developed in the Song Dynasty, and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Among these, the Jinling bonsai artistic style is rich and distinctive, determined by the materials and techniques used.

  1. Jinling bonsai selects materials with emphasis on plants native to the region or suitable for local growth and local mountain stones. Plants include five-needle pine, cedar, Sageretia thea, Chinese elm, red maple, Serissa japonica, plum blossom, sweet osmanthus, Diospyros cathayensis, Elaeagnus pungens, firethorn, crabapple, woody honeysuckle, and more. Stone materials include Zijin stone from Purple Mountain, Qixia Mountain stone, Jiangpu pumice, Laoshan sandstone, Fangshan volcanic stone, Qinglong Mountain Taihu stone, Yuhua stone, and more, totaling over 40 kinds.

  2. Jinling bonsai styling emphasizes closeness to nature, fully expressed through the large tree type and waterside type, with the characteristics of "shallow pot with thin soil, exposed roots and bare trunks, floating clouds and elegant grace, natural form."

  3. The method of spatial styling techniques strictly adheres to the principles of applying skills according to the material and styling according to the natural tendency, using metal wire binding to set the shape, supplemented by pruning.

  4. The artistic style follows shallow and novel freshness, vigorous and ancient simplicity, elegant and graceful flowing, and natural and unrestrained freedom.

  The main characteristics of Jinling bonsai art:

  1. Emphasis on artistic conception; works strive for poetic and pictorial quality;

  2. Composition highlights the main subject, and layout emphasizes contrast and unity. Works strive to blend natural beauty and artistic beauty into one;

  3. Wide selection of materials, with emphasis on highlighting local plants and mountain stones as the main focus;

  4. Applying skills according to the material, styling according to the tendency; works emphasize suspended roots and exposed bones, with natural branching, avoiding rigidity, loss of truth, and artificial affectation;

  5. Drawing on the painting principles of the Jinling Painting School, the production technique advocates learning from nature, without revealing artificial traces;

  6. Shallow pot with thin soil, carefully managed and protected, the stump landscape is full of vitality.

  Jinling bonsai works win through elegant conception, concise and exquisite composition, and natural, unrestrained, graceful, ancient and simple, fresh, shallow and novel, and beautiful forms.