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A bonsai trident maple growing in the root over rock style. Bonsai (盆栽, literally tray gardening) is the art of growing trees and plants, kept small by being grown in a pot and by the use of skilled pruning, formed to create an aesthetic shape and the illusion of age. The Chinese art of penjing is very similar to and is the precursor of the Japanese art of bonsai.
The art of bonsai originates from China over two thousand years ago, where it has been called penzai and written in the same Hanzi that gave rise to the Kanji above. It was brought to Japan 700 years ago. Bonsai spread to Korea during the Tang or Song Dynasty (the 7th - 13th century), and is now called Bunjae ( Hangul). The art is still practiced in China today, often under the name of penjing. As the Chinese art is intended for outdoor display the plants tend to be some what larger than seen in Japanese bonsai.
A bonsai is not a genetically dwarfed plant. It is kept small by shaping and root pruning. It is claimed that a properly maintained bonsai can outlive a full size tree of the same species. However, a bonsai needs much care, and an improperly maintained bonsai will probably die.
In the art of bonsai a sense of aesthetics, care, and patience come together. The plant, the shaping and surface of the soil and the selected container come together to express "heaven and earth in one container" as the Japanese cliché has it. Three forces come together in a good bonsai: shin-zen-bi or truth, essence and beauty.
The usual plants used in Japan are varieties of pine, azaleaAzaleas are flowering shrubs making up part of the genus Rhododendron''. Originally azaleas were classed as a different genus of plant, but now they are recognised as two of the eight sub-genera of rhododendrons Subgenus Pentanthera typified by Rhododendr, camelliaCamellia Camellia japonica Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Ericales Family: Theaceae Genus Camellia Species about 120, including ''C. chrysantha Golden camellia C. granthamiana ''C. hiemalis ', mapleSee also Maple computer algebra system''. Acer campestre Field Maple Acer ginnala Amur Maple Acer griseum Paperbark Maple Acer japonicum Fullmoon Maple Acer macrophyllum Bigleaf Maple Acer micranthum Garden Maple Acer negundo Manitoba Maple Acer palmatum, beechFor the beech tree, see below. Beech is also the name of an aircraft manufacturer that was purchased by Raytheon. Fagus crenata Japanese beech Fagus engleriana Chinese beech Fagus grandifolia American beech Fagus japonica Japanese blue beech Fagus longipe, bambooMany, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae subfamily Bambusoideae . Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are found in diverse climates, from and plumPrunus alabamensis Prunus alleghaniensis Prunus americana Prunus andersonii Prunus angustifolia Prunus armeniaca Prunus avium Prunus caroliniana Prunus cerasifera Prunus cerasus Prunus domestica Prunus dulcis Prunus emarginata Prunus fasciculata Prunus fr. The plants are grown outdoors and brought in to the tokonoma at special occasions when they most evoke the current season.
The Japanese bonsai are meant to evoke the essential spirit of the plant being used: in all cases they must look natural and never show the intervention of human hands. Chinese penjing may more literally depict images of dragons or even be guided to resemble highly intricate Chinese characterTraditional Chinese and other languages. Simplified Chinese Chinese characters or Han characters (/) are used in the written forms of the Chinese language, and to varying degrees in the Japanese and Korean languages (though the latter only in South Korea)s, such as 壽, "longevity", in various styles, but usually cursive.