Bonsai Master Zhao Qingquan: Spirit Revealed in Every Branch and Leaf

Spirit Revealed in Every Branch and Leaf - Further Thoughts on Literati Trees

Creation, Photography, Writing | Zhao Qingquan

Copyright belongs to Master Zhao Qingquan

I have long held a special affection for literati trees. At first, when I was reading painting albums, I noticed that in ancient Chinese painting, especially literati painting, trees mostly had slender, sinewy trunks with sparse, open branches and foliage, and rarely had short, stout, full tree forms. For a long time afterward, I kept pondering this question: painting is different from bonsai, and there is no difference in cost between painting a thick, sturdy tree and painting a slender one - thick or thin, it is all the same - so why did painters rarely paint thick trees? In the end I finally understood that this was entirely due to the aesthetic orientation of Chinese literati, because in slenderness one sees more character, and in slenderness one sees more spirit; a slender, vigorous and concise tree form better expresses the author's feelings. It is often said that bonsai should possess poetic sentiment and pictorial beauty and achieve both form and spirit, and in fact the literati tree is the best example of this.

"Gazing" (Japanese black pine, tree height 105 cm, tree age about 30 years)

"Standing Alone in Splendor" (Japanese white pine, tree height 70 cm, tree age about 35 years)

"Character" (Chinese juniper, tree height 115 cm, tree age about 30 years)

"Elegant Gathering" (Chinese juniper, tree height 100 cm, tree age about 35 years)

"Noble Integrity" (Chinese juniper, tree height 115 cm, tree age about 90 years)

"Flying to the Moon" (Chinese juniper, tree height 85 cm, tree age about 30 years)

"Emerging from the Valley" (Japanese white pine)

"Entering the Clouds" (Chinese juniper, tree height 132 cm, tree age 30 years)

"Clear Shadow" (Japanese black pine, tree height 84 cm, tree age about 25 years)

"Keeping Watch" (Japanese white pine, tree height 85 cm, tree age about 25 years)

"Ancient Style" (Huangshan pine, tree height 85 cm, tree age about 80 years)

"Clear Autumn" (Chinese persimmon, tree height 85 cm, tree age about 10 years)

"Leaning on Each Other" (Chinese juniper, tree height 110 cm, tree age about 30 years)

"Portrait of a Noble Scholar" (Japanese white pine, tree height 95 cm, tree age about 30 years)

"Inviting the Moon" (Chinese juniper, tree height 85 cm, tree age about 30 years)

"Sparse Shadow" (plum blossom, tree height 85 cm, tree age about 15 years)

"Sparse Shadow" (plum blossom, tree height 85 cm, tree age about 15 years) Snow scene close-up

"Heavenly Beauty" (Chinese juniper, tree height 65 cm, tree age about 25 years)

"Rising Above the Dust" (Japanese black pine, tree height 106 cm, tree age 25 years)

"Gathering of Excellence" (Chinese juniper, tree height 115 cm, tree age about 30 years)

"Facing the Void" (Chinese juniper, tree height 86 cm, tree age 30 years)

"Heaven and Earth possess great beauty but do not speak"

- Appreciating Master Zhao Qingquan's Chaenomeles speciosa bonsai

Written by | Chen Hongkui (Bonsai Drunkard)

How beautiful! The Chaenomeles speciosa. One cannot help but recall the lines of the great literary master Su Dongpo: "The east wind gently wafts, spreading a radiant glow; fragrant mist blurs the air as the moon turns past the corridor. I only fear that deep in the night the flower will fall asleep, so I burn tall candles to light her red adornment." This Chaenomeles speciosa bonsai by Master Zhao Qingquan was once sent as a New Year card to many friends in the bonsai world. Now, at the New Year, it displays its splendor again and is even more beautiful.

The work is 70 cm tall, a typical medium-sized bonsai, exquisite and gorgeous; placed on a tall stand in a room, would it not delight the eye and gladden the heart, and bring glory to an elegant hall?

"Heaven and Earth possess great beauty but do not speak." The work's first characteristic is its natural flavor. The forms of the roots, trunk and branches are plain and unremarkable, like a common natural tree; no trace of artificiality can be seen, there is no excessive styling, no arbitrary contrivance - looking at it truly puts one at ease! With a small amount of tender green buds and leaves as a backdrop, it supports the lovely profusion of flowers, wonderful beyond words, so beautiful!

Great skill appears clumsy, and the plain tree has excellent expressive power. The main trunk slants to the right, bends to the left in the middle, and then continues slanting to the right, with change within unity. The upper part of the trunk rises and slants toward the upper right, and the first main branch is slightly raised and extends to the right, echoing the crown and also supporting the tree's momentum. The artistic handling of the work's leftward force especially shows skill: the root pulls strongly toward the lower left, and the lower-left main branch is appropriately weighted, thus stabilizing the rightward slant, and the whole achieves a very good aesthetic balance.

Within natural beauty and artistic beauty, the work also contains youthful beauty. The tree in the pot is like a village girl, simple and beautiful. The tree is over 20 years old, just at a maiden's prime, with a young texture (no cracked bark, no hollows, no deadwood, no defects), brimming with youthful vitality. Looking across Master Zhao's bonsai, most express natural beauty, the beauty of life and youthful beauty; even the concise literati trees have abundant branches and leaves and are full of vitality.

The writing is like the person, and so too is the bonsai. This beautiful Chaenomeles speciosa was cultivated over more than 20 years by Master Zhao from a small branch cut from another bonsai tree material. At the time it was only as thick as a chopstick, and through human nurturing and the accumulation of years, it is now as thick as a bowl's rim. If back then it had not been kept on a momentary impulse, how regrettable that would have been! Looking at this bonsai transformed beyond recognition, what reason do we still have not to cherish life? What is the purpose of doing bonsai? To be close to nature, respect life, harmonize the environment, and celebrate conscience. I urge friends in the bonsai world not to casually discard tree materials, and not to apply excessive axe and knife in styling - please, be merciful with your hand!

2018, 3, 14

Zhao Qingquan bonsai "In Full Bloom"

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