Penjing: The Chinese Art of Bonsai

A Pictorial Exploration of Its History, Aesthetics, Styles and Preservation
Penjing: The Art of Chinese Bonsai provides a wealth of information for the academically inclined as well as the practically minded.
With hundreds of color photographs and illustrations, this Chinese gardening book is a wonderful introduction to penjingChina’s treasured bonsai art.

Although most people thing bonsai is a Japanese invention, the art originated in ancient China where it is called penjing. The two Chinese characters for penjing (“pot” and “landscape”) capture the essence of this art: sculpting microcosms of the beauty of the natural world from plants, rocks, soil, and water, both as an artistic process and as horticultural cultivation.

Both penjing and bonsai are art forms that express the beauty of nature. In China, bonsai, as a part of penjing, is often called “tree penjing,” or “tree in a pot.” The Chinese