Page 147 - Tài liệu cây cảnh Bonsai4me Bonsai Basics

Styling: A Guide to Bonsai Styling and Critique

Within the Art of Bonsai, there are a number of rules or guidelines that are
intended to help both the viewer and practitioner understand or learn what makes
a good or 'bad' bonsai design. To the novice, a bonsai will be simply a tree in a

pot; to the more experienced enthusiast, a good bonsai will have certain features
that makes it superior.
The beginner has to understand these rules in the same way that one has to
learn what makes a Leonardo de Vinci painting better than a child's.
These rules are not set in stone. They are there to help guide those new to
bonsai and learning them can help the beginner begin to 'read' a bonsai rather
than simply see it as a mass of leaves and branches. Most classic and many good
quality bonsai will break ‘rules’; this helps to make them unique. However, until
these basic rules are learnt, understood and mastered, it is difficult to break
them with success.
General points

There should a greater mass of foliage behind the tree than in front of it to
create a sense of depth.
Man-made cuts or wounds should not be visible from the front unless created
as features.
The tree should be 3-dimensional, it should not appear 'flat' when viewed
from the side.
The tree should not appear to lean backwards; informal forms should have an
apex that leans forward.
Roots/nebari should run flat along the surface of the compost and not be
raised out of the compost (excepting trees grown in a true exposed-root style).
Roots spread should reflect the form of the tree and appear to anchor the tree
firmly into the compost; for trees with upright forms the roots should radiate

evenly from around the base of the trunk, for slanting forms or cascades the
roots should appear stronger on the opposite side of the trunk to the direction of
lean.
Roots should appear to be of a roughly even size as they emanate from
around the base of the trunk; inferior material will display 1 or 2
disproportionately thick roots only. However, slightly thicker, stronger roots
should be located at the sides of the trunk and should not protrude towards the
front.
Surface roots not be straight and should exhibit some taper and branching.
Trunk