Page 16 - Tài liệu Ebook cây cảnh Bonsai Basics

18 THE ART OF BONSAI

A LITTLE PHILOSOPHY

a ; duce faithfully, though on a different
: scale, what nature creates.
To a certain extent, it is questionable
whether the art of bonsai can be consid-
ered gardening in the true sense. The
techniques are very different. In conven-
tional gardening the gardener strives to
subdue nature to produce the plants he
wants, not those that develop spontane-
ously. Where the conventional gardener
will cut a hedge or shape and train a fruit
tree, the bonsai enthusiast is at pains to
preserve the natural shapes of his trees. It
is a search for true perfection, reflecting
the harmony between man and nature,
the universal ideaL This is one of the
fundamental precepts of oriental cul-
ture, in which the shaping of destiny is an
integral concept. The art of bonsai is a
practical exercise that allows empathy
with nature and a respect for its natural
This example ofthe potter's art (by J. Buccholtz) re-
creates a Tibetan monastery: a fine example of the shapes, while showing that one is master
philosophical aspect of bonsai culture. over it.
It is worth recalling that the art ot
Whereas growing bonsai in the West is bonsai originated with Buddhist monks
regarded as a pleasant leisure pursuit in China, who gave the growing of trees
producing some really original plants for in trays an almost religious significance.
display in the house, on the balcony or in For them it was a way of establishing a
the garden, the Oriental, particularly the special link between God, creator of the
Japanese, gains far deeper intellectual universe and nature in all its forms,
satisfaction from their creation. including mankind, striving to follow
It seems that bonsai were not origin- the divine path by controlling the pro-
ally produced as they are today, from cess of growth and form in trees, though
seed, grafting or layering. A uniquely on a human scale. The nobility wanted
shaped plant would first have to be to take part in growing bonsai at cer-
found in the mountains or forests. The tain periods, having no intention of
search for such a plant was endowed leaving this privilege to the priests
with thesymbolicmeaningofa 'quest for alone. To cultivate bonsai is, to a cer-
the inner self and a return to the origins tain extent, to show an understanding of
of man. It is in the ceaseless effort lhe concept of the creation of the world:
involved in such a search for perfection, perhaps in a way to participate in cre-
for a flawless subject hidden among the ation at the everyday leveL Looked at in
giants, that such beauty may eventually this light, the sustained effort demanded
be discovered. by the cultivation of bonsai cannot be
The art of bonsai can only be achieved regarded as arduous or pedantic, as
in harmony with nature, coupled with many an uninitiated European might
the desire to dominate it and to repro- at first think!