盆景 in pinyin is pénjǐng, with the (pen) part of the word meaning pot and 景 (jing) meaning landscape. These two halves of the word come together to mean landscape in a pot, or Bonsai, a traditional hobby in China and other parts of Asia, including Japan. Chinese people have been growing Penjing Bonsai trees as a hobby for many centuries. In the modern era Penjing are sold at the flower and bird market, 花鸟市场. Most cities in china will have a 花鸟市场, they are a kind of garden centre selling a variety of plants and pots, but in addition they also sell birds and bird cages.
Penjing Video
On this page we will explore the history, methods and benefits of growing Penjing by following a Bonsai expert from China named 诸鹤平, who featured on a video on YouTube called 中国特色盆景. Roughly translated this means exceptional Chinese Bonsai (penjing).
This page is geared towards Mandarin Chinese students but is lot to be gained for readers who are not studying Mandarin and just have an interest in Chinese culture and history. This page may also be of interest to amateur horticulturalists looking to find out more about the origins and state of Penjing in China today.
Note that, although similiar, Penjing – also referred to as Penzai – is not a direct translation of the loan word Bonsai. Bonsai is originally a Japanese word which represents keeping miniature trees. Penjing on the other hand uses these miniataure trees to express emotion and to create a scene of which the tree is the centrepiece. In Bonsai the tree is the focus whereas in Penjing the tree is a part of a miniature scene representing emotion and feeling.
盆景 pénjǐng – Penjing Vocabulary
First we will look at some useful vocabulary that will be useful to help us understand the YouTube video at the heart of today’s class.
盆 pén – Pen is a container made of plastic or clay for growing plants in.
盆景 pénjǐng – Penjing can be roughly translated as creating landscapes in a tray.
匠人 jiàngrén – Craftsman
盆栽 pén
养 yǎng – yang here means to grow, to raise, or to look after. For example you can raise chickens, look after a dog, or grow bonsai trees or flowers (养花）
唐代 Tángdài – This means the Tang 唐 Dynasty 代, a golden age for Chinese art and crafts.
修整 xiūzhěng – This is a verb meaning to prune or trim.
The Penjing Video
To find out more about Penjing we will examine the following YouTube video by 中国 花隐重门. The presenter of this video is a man called Zhu Heping, a Penjing specialist.
00.00-00.11 – 我叫诸鹤平。最早最接触盆景大概在十五六岁时候，买了十几可回来自己养。
wǒ jiào zhū hè píng zuìzǎo zuì jiēchù pénjǐng dàgài zài shíwǔ liù suìshí hòu mǎi le shíjǐ kè huílai zìjǐ yǎng 。
My name is Zhu Heping. I first got into Penjing when I was about 15/16 years old, and I boughy over 10 Bonsai trees to grow at home.
00.12 一年不到的时间全养坏了。
yī nián bùdào de shíjiān quán yǎng huàile。
For almost a year all the trees I grew went wrong.
A brief introduction to the history of Penjing
After telling us about his own early experiences with Penjing our narrator moves on to introduce the early history of this art form.
00.18 00.27- 盆景是在唐宋时期就有的。真正盆景文化崛起的时代，应该说是在民国后期。 就开始慢慢很多的东西都变得平民化了。
pénjǐng shì zài TángSòng shíqī jiù yǒude zhēnzhèng pénjǐng wénhuà juéqǐ deshídài yīnggāishuō 。 zài mínguó hòuqī jiù kāishǐ mànmàn hěnduō de dōngxi dōu biànde píngmín huà le
The craft of Penjing can be traced as far back as the Tang and Song Dynasties. However, I would say the most significant era for the development of Penjing was the Min Dynasty. At that time the world of Penjing was opened up to the masses.
Here we see mention of three Chinese dynasties: the Tang (618-907), the Song (960-1127) and the Min Dynasty (1912-1949). The Tang and Song Dynasties were period in which China flourished economically and culturally. During both these dynasties there was great progress in all the arts, including Penjing. The third dynasty mentioned is the Min. This Dynasty, called the Republic of China, preceded the Communist takeover in 1949 led by Mao Ze Dong. This period in Chinese history saw a move away from the old Confucuanist principles, towards a fairer more open society. This is reflected in the way that many old traditional practices, including Penjing, were revived and opened up to the general population.
Penjing styles and meaning
Penjing Style 1 – The Scholar
From 00.28 our narrator elaborates on the practice, styles, and the benefits of Penjing. We get to learn that there are various types of Penjing, including the scholar and the hanging cliff. The narrator provides some details on these styles and the meaning they convey.
00.28 它的美点非常多景由心生。他是展现整个盆景匠人自己心态的一个造型。 比如说我们有一个造型叫做文人，有些做出来的文人它就比较僵硬。有些文人它做出来就非常飘逸比较灵动。
tā de měi diǎn fēichángduō jǐng yóu xīn shēng tā shì zhǎnxiàn zhěnggè pénjǐng jiàngrén zìjǐ xīntài 。 yīgè zàoxíng bǐrúshuō wǒmen yǒu yīgè zàoxíng jiàozuò wénrén yǒuxiē zuòchū lái de wénrén tā jiù bǐjiào jiāngyìng。yǒuxiē wénrén tā zuòchū lái jiù fēicháng piāoyì bǐjiào língdòng
The beauty of Penjing is that it is a window into the soul. All aspects of the work created by Penjing craftsmen reveal aspects of their inner workings and state of mind. For example there is a style of Penjing called scholar; the works created in this style are sometimes quite rigid. There are works in this style that are very free and much more spontaneous.
0.51 – 文人式的盆景意是占重头的，儿形是次的。
wénrén shì de pénjǐng yì shì zhàn zhòng tóu ér xíng shì cì de.
The spirit of the work is of primary importance, the shape and form is secondary.
Penjing Style 2 – Hanging Cliff 悬崖式
The narrator then introduces us to a second style called Penjing Hanging Cliff 悬崖式. In this style the Penjing artist manipulates their Penjing tree so that it grows parallel out of it’s pot and then falls vertically downwards. This is a creation of a common scene in Chinese art, poetry and literature, in which a tree maintains it’s form and strength in the face of a gaping chasm.
0.59 还有就是悬崖式 他是模仿大自然在悬崖边长下来的树的那种感觉。
háiyǒu jiùshì xuányá shì tā shì mófǎng dàzìrán zài xuányá biāncháng xiàlai de shù de nàzhǒng gǎnjué
This style recreates the feeling of a tree hanging, growing over a precipice in nature.
1.06 从高处一直垂直往下，然后又能盘根扎实得非常稳
Cóng gāochù yīzhí chuízhí wǎngxià ránhòu yòu néng pán gēn zhāshi de fēicháng wěn
The trees grows outwards and then plunges vertically downwards, twisting the root which adds to the overall strength and stability of the form.
Penjing Style 3 – Upright Pattern – 摸样树 （摸样木）
Next our narrator introduces us to a third style of Penjing which he calls 摸样树, or 摸样木. In this style the tree grows upward in an ‘s’ shape from one stem, and at each turn branches grow and flower outwards. Tapering at the trunk is visible, with the base of the trunk thicker than the higher portion.
1.10 还有就是摸样树，非常正的这样子一个树形.
háiyǒu jiùshì mō yàng shù fēicháng zhèng de zhèyàngzi yīgè shù xíng.
The next style is called Moyang tree, an upright Penjing style and shape.
The writer then describes how we can use our 5 senses to read the age and the story of each individual Penjing 盆景 tree。
1.15 我们观察盆景很多时候我们说是望闻问切
Wǒmen guānchá pénjǐng hěnduōshí hòu wǒmen shuō shì wàng wén wèn qiè
In examining the tree we use our powers of sight, touch listening an inquiry to contemplate deeply.
The write here refers to 望闻问切 wàng wén wèn qiè. This is a practice from Chinese Medicine in which the observer employs their senses of smell, sight, sound and touch to make obervations about a patient. This practice can also be used to make observations in other Chinese traditional practices such as Penjing 盆景 as we will see, below:
1.15 那么望的话，看他的一个老度。
Nàme wàng dehuà kàn tāde yīgè lǎo dù
We can inspect visually to determine the age of the tree,
一表面树的一个结块度去程度去辨别这树的一个年份。
Yī biǎomiàn shù de yīgè jiékuài dùqùchéng dù qù biànbié zhè shù de yīgè niánfen
We can also gauge the age of the tree from the amount of clumping of the bark.
闻的话， 我们是去敲击这棵树一个舍利干. 就是这棵树本身它已经枯化掉的那根杆子。
Wén dehuà wǒmen shì qù qiāojī zhè kē shù yīgè shèlì gàn. Jiùshì zhè kē shù běnshēn tā yǐjīng kū huà diào de nǎ gēn gānzi
By listening we tap the tree to make a sound, from this sound we can gauge the age of the tree. On this particular tree we can hear that the stem has withered away.