How far can Lingnan bonsai really go in the contemporary era?

Modern styling bonsai is also called contemporary bonsai, and within the industry it is no longer anything new. Contemporary bonsai has now become a rapidly developing new force, with enormous potential as a market investment.

When it comes to bonsai, many young friends feel that bonsai styling cannot escape the traditional impression of miniature landscapes and tiny trees, or they simply call it potted plants. They always feel the size should be small, placed at home for casual enjoyment, without needing to put in much manpower or material resources. Making a big production of it is even less something bonsai should involve. What we introduce today, however, is a kind of bonsai that extremely requires care techniques and aesthetic taste. It is not called a potted plant, nor can it be called one, because it is large. To move it casually, machinery must be used, and it usually needs dedicated care. It chooses its audience, and without understanding the reasons behind it, it is very hard to grasp its inner meaning.

It is said that bonsai originated in China and became fashionable in Japan. Today, in China's bonsai world, there is a group of people who declare that bonsai aesthetics should make a great return. Their works are hailed as the Fauvism of bonsai. They are highly practical and action-oriented, they have already formed a force, and in the bonsai art market they have become a potential stock with substantial strength. These people are also representatives of contemporary Chinese bonsai.

Compared with traditional bonsai, contemporary bonsai first breaks the limits of size. In the past, there were clear restrictions on the size of bonsai exhibited, and there was a period of intense debate over size. In the end, the bonsai world had to make concessions, so now when we visit bonsai exhibitions, you can always discover many unexpected things, such as the clear division of exhibition areas: miniature, large, and super-large.

If the size is made large enough, can it really easily shake the old rules? Obviously not. Contemporary bonsai has also made breakthroughs in styling that did not exist before. It can be said that this kind of breakthrough is worldwide, such as in the selection of stump material. The foundation of the stump material basically determines the direction of styling. In this regard, the Fauvism of contemporary bonsai can be said to think of anything, scaring the traditional judges so much that their eyeballs fell to the ground——of course, now the eyeballs have long since been picked back up——tradition and contemporary have begun a prolonged tug-of-war. You say bonsai should maintain just those few styles——it should have an antique feel, it should be like a microcosm of nature. I say why can't bonsai be like a cancer cell, constantly expanding its influence according to its own characteristics, displaying nature's true face?

Everyone says that letting a hundred flowers bloom is always better than one family dominating, at least the broad audience benefits. When there is more to see, more people creating, and more people debating, the high can become higher, and the good can become better. Just wait and see. How far contemporary bonsai can go, we believe the world will sooner or later be ours.