Penjing ( Chinese р п , pinyin : pén jǐng ; literally “landscape in a pot”) is the Chinese traditional art of composing compositions from specially grown miniature-sized woody plants and other small landscape elements [1] .
Chinese Penjing is related to Japanese bonsai and originated long before the latter [1] . It is believed that the art of growing miniature trees was borrowed by the Japanese from the Chinese more than 1200 years ago, when Buddhist monks brought samples of penjin to the islands; in Japan, this style has taken root under the name bonsai [2] .
Features
Penjing trees are not subjected to genetic changes, and growing conditions (plants grow in flat vessels) and the designer’s creative work [2] influence their appearance (size, shape).
Leaves and branches are usually trimmed once a year, root pruning and transplantation is carried out every 2-5 years. The plant is provided with good illumination and watering, it is well fertilized. The life expectancy of such a plant is uncertain, and depends on the care of it [2] .
The designer tries to invest in his work his own individual style, oriental philosophical motifs [2] . The main difference between Penjing and bonsai is that the viewer is invited to consider the artificial landscape as if “from the side”: the composition, in addition to the plant part, contains various landscape elements (pebbles), figures of people, animals, etc., while in bonsai attention almost completely focused on a miniature plant [3] .
See also
- Bonsai tree
- Saikey
- Honnonbo
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Understanding Bonsai - Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum at the University of Michigan
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 About bonsai and penjing - National Arboretum Canberra
- ↑ United States. Agricultural Research Service. The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum of the US National Arboretum . - 1988. - S. 2. - 11 p.