Page 26 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2016Q4

DIVERSITY OF METHODS IN SHUYANG
2nd China Bonsai Making Games

By Larry Stephan, USA

n North America we think of Bonsai creation in a somewhat structured form, influenced in large measure
by Japanese style and processes. For example, to create a Bonsai you need all the appropriate tools. These
may include a wide variety of cutters, scissors, pliers, tweezers, picks, rakes and saws just to mention a
few. Usually the tools are specialty items made just for work on Bonsai projects. Soils should be particle
Ibased such as Akadama, pumice or Turface with leaf mold. Potting of a tree is started with numerous wires
secured to the bottom of the pot in order to wire the tree. You can throw out these concepts when it comes to
a Chinese Bonsai competition.
At the 4th Shuyang Flower and Seedling Festival events were started with an all day China Bonsai Making
Games. 75 bonsai artists from all over China competed in the morning for 3 1/2 hours followed by 75 more
in the afternoon. Participants traveled to Shuyang from Wuhan in Hubei province, with others coming from
Anhui, Guangdong and Hunan. Each artist brought their own un-styled material with them. Awards were
given to the top 8 artists in each group.
What amazed me were the differences in the Bonsai creation process. Most artists did not use wires to secure
the trees in the pots. Generally the soil being used was a mixture of what in the US we call potting soil and top
soil. The tools were a surprise as well. The number of tools being used was about 1/4 of what you would expect
to see in a US or Japanese Bonsai demonstration. Hammers, chisels and garden type saws were common. Chisels
were often used instead of our variety of cutters. While most of the artists were men of various ages there were
several young women competing, at least one of whom won an award for her tree.

24 | BCI | October/November/December 2016