Page 60 - Tài liệu Ebook cây cảnh Bonsai and Penjing

chapter four

The Chinese Collection

Although the Chinese art form of penjing is older by centuries than the bonsai in
Japan it inspired, a large collection of penjing arrived at the U.S. National
Arboretum ten years after the dedication of Japan’s Bicentennial Gift of bonsai
in 1976. Dr. Creech had always intended to include penjing in the Arboretum’s
collections, but it was his successor, Dr. Henry Marc Cathey, who accepted the
gift.
In The Bonsai Saga, John Creech wrote:
On his way home [in 1974], John [Hinds] stopped in Hong Kong to meet with
Dr. Yee-Sun Wu, a prominent Chinese banker and owner of a famous penjing
collection. He had advised Dr. Wu much earlier about our plans for a national
collection at the National Arboretum, including the concept of having Japanese,
Chinese and American trees. While Wu was impressed with the concept, he

hoped that the collection would be located in California. [In a footnote, Creech
goes on to say] Dr. Wu undoubtedly was concerned about the colder winters in
Washington, D.C. Nevertheless, in 1983, Janet Lanman [a board member of the
National Bonsai Foundation] wrote to Dr. Wu to renew our previous request that
he donate some of his penjing for display at the U.S. National Arboretum, and
Dr. Wu agreed, realizing that the Arboretum would provide adequate winter
protection for his trees. In July 1986, ten years after the Japanese Bicentennial
Gift, the National Aboretum received a collection of 31 penjing from Hong
Kong—24 from Dr. Wu and seven from his colleague Mr. Shu-Ying Lui.

The curving top edge of a wall evokes the ripples of a dragon’s back and serves as a background
for colorful blooms in one of the museum’s gardens.