Page 35 - Tài liệu Ebook cây cảnh Bonsai and Penjing

chapter two

Presidential Connections

Bonsai from Japan and penjing from China, along with the related art form of
viewing stones, have served as diplomatic gifts at the highest possible levels,
involving presidents, emperors, kings, ambassadors and foreign dignitaries.
Why? Because these beautiful trees and distinctive stones are unique gifts from
nature, expressions of a country’s culture and sophistication, or rare finds from
its territory. After their official presentation in the United States, these trees and
stones are “honored” by being included in the National Bonsai & Penjing
Museum, where they belong to the public and can be enjoyed by everyone.
In the United States, presidents have taken an interest in penjing and bonsai
beginning with President Richard Nixon. He was said to have been given a few
penjing trees when he visited China in 1972, though none are known to survive.
There is a photograph of Nixon with a small bonsai on a credenza in the Oval

Office, giving credence to the legend that says he wanted one there at all times.
President Gerald Ford was given a magnificent chrysanthemum-patterned
viewing stone, Tsukiyo Kiku or “Mums in the Moonlight,” in honor of the U.S.
Bicentennial. This large rock is from Neodani in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan, an
area renowned for its chrysanthemum stones, and was donated by the Nippon
Suiseki Association. The chrysanthemum is associated in Japan with the
emperor and his family, and is an East Asian symbol of long life or immortality.

President Richard Nixon is shown at his desk in the White House Oval Office with a bonsai on a
table behind him.