Experts Teach You How to Make Water and Land

Author: Zhao Qingquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Based on nearly two decades of exchanges with peers at home and abroad, the author believes that for Chinese bonsai to reach the world, it must first promote national culture and characteristics. The origin of bonsai in China is rooted in the profound cultural heritage of Chinese civilization. In recent years, Chinese bonsai has gained increasing popularity abroad, also due to the unique charm of its inherent Chinese cultural essence. The more national, the more global. Today, as bonsai has become a global art, we must only base our creations on the excellent culture of the Chinese nation and adhere to its national identity to earn the rightful position of "the birthplace of bonsai" in the world. There is no doubt that seeking the national characteristics of bonsai art is the inevitable path for the future development of Chinese bonsai. The national essence of Chinese bonsai is reflected in its reverence for nature and pursuit of poetic and artistic beauty, opposing artificial craftsmanship while avoiding a slavish imitation of nature. Only through the harmonious integration of art and nature can a work truly become a "three-dimensional painting." This requires the flexible application of artistic dialectics in bonsai creation, effectively managing the relationships between the primary and secondary, the solid and void, the dense and sparse, the clustered and scattered, the high and low, the large and small, the flourishing and withering, the static and dynamic, the hard and soft, the curved and straight, the tilted and upright, the light and dark, the revealed and concealed, the skillful and unskillful, and the undulating and level. The standard of poetic and artistic beauty is the highest pursuit of profound artistic conception. Artistic conception not only manifests beautiful scenery in the work but also conveys emotions through the scenery, inspiring endless imagination in the observer. Water and dry landscape bonsai is a form of bonsai that is both highly national and internationally recognized. This style features a wide range of themes and a strong sense of nature, making it highly conducive to creating artistic and poetic scenes. The purpose of this book is to introduce the techniques of water and dry landscape bonsai to bonsai practitioners and enthusiasts, catering to the rapidly developing needs of bonsai art. This book balances practicality and appreciation, serving as a reference for bonsai enthusiasts in the process of creating and caring for bonsai, as well as for bonsai artists and teaching materials in related institutions. The book covers the artistic characteristics of bonsai, its classification and styles, the development of water and dry landscape bonsai, material selection, basic techniques, and maintenance management, along with examples of works.