Penjing: The Chinese Art of Bonsai
by Chao Qingquan
Better Link Press
This potted history of the ancient art of penjing (Chinese bonsai), by expert practitioner Chao Qingquan, is concise and descriptive, offering an easy introduction for those unfamiliar with the practice, and ample details to satisfy those who are more au fait.
Overall, the book is well structured and gets to the root of the art form. We are given an overview of the aesthetics of penjing, then a chronological history, followed by techniques and designs.
The photographs of the trees are clearly laid out with short descriptions but the book is let down by poor editing: there are frequent mistakes in grammar and punctuation, and the layout of the text is occasionally clumsy.
The book opens with a thorough introduction giving an outline of penjing, literally 'tray/pot scenery'. As well as taking readers on a theoretical journey, the book also offers the green-fingered and artistic plenty of tips for implementing this theory; we gradually grow to appreciate the nuances and complexities of the art form - and there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.
While the trees - pruned to stay small and shaped using wire - are meant to be 'poetic images' of their full-sized versions, penjing is also meant to resemble designs of traditional Chinese ink paintings. Thus, in penjing, nature meets the artist. And, as we read on, what we find is a book about art history and appreciation; but instead of the brushstrokes and compositions of paintings we are looking at details of trees - different species' colours, textures, shapes, and, of course, the three-dimensional aspect too, which adds a further layer to this art.