History Of Bonsai Trees

Literally translated bon sai means planted in a container.

History of bonsai trees. Bonsai is a fascinating art form that combines horticultural techniques and asian aesthetics in a unique way. The history of bonsai pronounced bon sigh is cloaked in the mist of the past but it is now widely accepted that it was the chinese who first created the miniature landscapes and trees that we now know as bonsai. While the art of bonsai has long been associated with japan it actually originated first in china and then spread eastward to korea and then japan. While the art of bonsai has long been associated with japan it actually originated first in china and then spread eastward to korea and then japan.

The japanese loanword bonsai has become an umbrella term in english attached to many. Also during this time under the rule of the hang dynasty chinese monks migrated to japan and. The trees which stood approximately one to two feet in height required two to twenty years. The earliest illustration of a penjing is found in the qianling mausoleum murals at the tang dynasty.

The art originates in the chinese empire and was copied and adapted by the japanese to what we know now as bonsai trees. The art of bonsai was spread by buddhist monks who wished to bring the outdoors inside their temples. In itami hyōgo near osaka a group of. History bonsai trees are often thought to have originated from japan but records over 2 000 years old show trees being grown in china as part of landscapes planted in shallow containers.

Around the 14th century the term for dwarf potted trees was the bowl s tree 鉢の木 hachi no ki. Similar practices exist in other cultures including the chinese tradition of penzai or penjing from which the art originated and the miniature living landscapes of vietnamese hòn non bộ. Pun sai was the practice of growing single specimen trees in pots. The history of bonsai is long and storied.

Originally only the elite of the society practiced pun tsai with native collected specimens and the trees where spread throughout china as luxurious gifts. These early specimens displayed little foliage and rugged gnarled trunks which often looked like animals dragons and birds. The japanese tradition dates back over a thousand years. By the year 700 ad the chinese had started the art of pun sai using special techniques to grow dwarf trees in containers.

Bonsai first appeared in china over a thousand years ago on a very basic scale known as pun sai. Although the word bon sai is japanese the art it describes originated in the chinese empire. Bonsai is a japanese art form which utilizes cultivation techniques to produce in containers small trees that mimic the shape and scale of full size trees.