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BONSAI · 盆栽 · 盆景Bonsai · penzai · penjing

一方山水A Landscape in a Pot

盆中见天地，方寸有四时。选一棵树、一种姿态、一只盆，转过来看看它，再读读它想说什么。A whole world in a pot, every season in a few inches of soil. Choose a tree, a form and a pot, turn it round, then read what it has to say.

游龙 · 霜染Roaming Dragon · Touched by Frost秋 · 黑松 · 曲干Autumn · Black pine · Informal upright
妙品
树种 · 性情Tree
树形 · 境遇Form
时节Season
盆形Pot
盆色Pot colour
点缀 · 陈设Finishing touches

这一盆This bonsai

每一个弯，都是一次回应环境的选择。路不必是直的，方向向上就好。Every bend is a choice made in answer to its surroundings. The path need not be straight, as long as it leads up.

林中的树要绕开别的树去找光，一次次转身，长成蜿蜒的样子。秋天，万物收敛，颜色却最浓烈。A tree in a wood has to find its way round the others to the light, turning again and again until it winds. Autumn: everything draws in, yet the colours are at their strongest.

岁寒，然后知松柏之后凋也。Only when the year grows cold do we see that the pine and the cypress are the last to fade.《论语·子罕》The Analects, “Zi Han”
  • 形黑松作曲干，是经典的搭配。Black pine in the informal upright style: a classic pairing.
  • 盆椭圆或长方盆给曲干留出左右舒展的空间。An oval or rectangular pot gives an informal upright room to spread left and right.
  • 盆长方盆的棱角，呼应黑松的刚健。The corners of a rectangular pot echo the strength of the black pine.
  • 材紫砂无釉，泥色沉稳，托出常青与古意。Unglazed purple clay, sober and earthy, brings out the evergreen foliage and the tree’s age.
  • 时秋：老针褪黄脱落，树形重新清朗。Autumn: old needles yellow and drop, and the tree’s shape comes clear again.
  • 景铺苔让土面像一片原野，也让时间看得见。Moss turns the soil into a meadow, and makes time visible.
  • 景几架把树托离桌面，像一件被郑重对待的作品。A stand lifts the tree off the table and treats it as a work of art.
  • 妙品Marvellous形、器、时相得，已有可观之处。神品，留给时间。Form, pot and season sit well together, and there is much to see. The inspired grade is left to time.

01选树Find a tree

哪一棵，适合你？Which tree suits you?

盆栽不是一种植物，而是一种养法。先看你能给它什么样的阳光与冬天，再看它最打动你的地方。Bonsai is not a plant but a way of growing one. Start with the sun and the winters you can give it, then think about what moves you most.

它会住在哪里？Where will it live?
你那里的冬天Your winters
每天的阳光Sun each day
你能花多少心思How much care you can give
最打动你的是What moves you most

  1. 最合适Best match73%

    真柏Juniper真柏 ShinpakuShinpaku

    • 阳光充足，正合它意Plenty of sun, just what it likes
    • 它最动人的正是四季常青Its greatest charm is just what you love: evergreen foliage

  2. 也可以考虑Also worth a look73%

    黑松Black pine黒松 KuromatsuKuromatsu

    • 阳光充足，正合它意Plenty of sun, just what it likes
    • 它最动人的正是四季常青Its greatest charm is just what you love: evergreen foliage

  3. 也可以考虑Also worth a look63%

    榔榆Chinese elm榔楡 Aki-nireAki-nire

    • 也有你喜欢的四季常青It has the evergreen foliage you love, too

02识树Trees

十种常见的盆栽树Ten common bonsai trees

每一种树都有自己的性情。松柏刚健，枫梅柔美，榕树宽厚——选树，也是在选一种想要靠近的品格。Every tree has its own character. Pines and junipers are strong, maples and plums graceful, the ficus generous: choosing a tree is choosing the company you want to keep.

黑松Black pine黒松 KuromatsuKuromatsu · Pinus thunbergii

长寿 · 坚贞 · 不畏寒暑Long life · constancy · unafraid of heat or cold

松是盆栽里的君王。针叶四季不凋，老树皮裂成龟甲般的鳞片。在中国，它与竹、梅并称“岁寒三友”；在日本，新年要在门前立“门松”。养松最见耐心：春天看芽，初夏剪芽，一年又一年，针叶才慢慢变短、变密。The pine is the king of bonsai. Its needles stay green all year, and old bark cracks into plates like a tortoise’s shell. In China it is one of the “Three Friends of Winter” with bamboo and plum; in Japan, pine stands at the door for the New Year (kadomatsu). Pines ask for patience: watch the buds in spring, cut them in early summer, and year after year the needles grow shorter and denser.

岁寒，然后知松柏之后凋也。Only when the year grows cold do we see that the pine and the cypress are the last to fade.《论语·子罕》The Analects, “Zi Han”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 全日照，越晒越精神Full sun: the more the better
  • 需要用心Needs care

松需要阳光与时间，不适合放在室内。A pine needs sun and time, and does not belong indoors.

真柏Juniper真柏 ShinpakuShinpaku · Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii

枯荣同体 · 历劫不屈Life and death in one tree · unbowed by hardship

真柏长在高山崖壁上，风雪剥去一半树皮，裸露的木质被日光漂成银白，另一半依然输送着生命。盆栽人把枯干叫作“舍利”，枯枝叫作“神”（jin）。生与死同在一棵树上，这是盆栽最动人的地方。Shimpaku junipers grow on high cliffs. Wind and snow strip away half the bark, the bare wood is bleached silver by the sun, and the other half still carries life. Bonsai growers call dead wood on the trunk “shari” and a dead branch “jin”. Life and death in one tree: nothing in bonsai is more moving.

霜皮溜雨四十围，黛色参天二千尺。Frosted bark, slick with rain, forty spans round; dark green, it rises two thousand feet into the sky.杜甫《古柏行》Du Fu, “The Old Cypress”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 全日照Full sun
  • 新手友好Good for beginners

新手友好，但一定要养在户外，室内会慢慢枯死。Good for beginners, but it must live outdoors: indoors it slowly dies.

红枫Maple紅葉 MomijiMomiji · Acer palmatum

无常 · 珍惜 · 四时流转Impermanence · cherishing · the turning seasons

枫让人看见时间：春芽带红，夏叶清凉，秋天燃尽，冬天只剩一身细枝。日本人秋天结伴去看红叶，叫作“红叶狩”。落叶不是结束，冬天的枝梢里，来年的芽已经藏好了。A maple lets you see time: red-tinged buds in spring, cool leaves in summer, a blaze in autumn, and in winter nothing but fine twigs. In autumn, people in Japan go out together to see the red leaves, an outing called momijigari, “hunting the maples”. Falling leaves are not the end: in winter, next year’s buds are already tucked into the twig tips.

停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花。I stop my carriage, for I love the maple wood at dusk: frosted leaves redder than the flowers of spring.杜牧《山行》Du Mu, “Mountain Walk”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 晨光充足，盛夏午后遮阴Plenty of morning sun, shade on summer afternoons
  • 需要用心Needs care

必须经历四季，叶子才会红。It has to live through all four seasons for its leaves to turn red.

梅Plum梅 UmeUme · Prunus mume

坚韧 · 希望 · 清高Resilience · hope · purity

梅在一年最冷的时候开花，先花后叶。老梅的树干常常开裂、中空，看上去像枯木，枝头却缀满了花——“枯木逢春”说的正是这种生命力。中国文人以梅喻人格：疏影横斜，暗香浮动。The plum flowers in the coldest days of the year, blossom before leaf. Old plum trunks often split and hollow out until they look like dead wood, yet the branches are covered in flowers: this is what the Chinese mean by “spring comes to the withered tree”. Chinese scholars saw character in the plum: “sparse shadows slanting, a faint scent drifting”.

墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开。A few sprays of plum in the corner of the wall, braving the cold, flowering alone.王安石《梅花》Wang Anshi, “Plum Blossom”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 全日照Full sun
  • 需要用心Needs care

花后修剪，夏天别让它干透，来年才有花。Prune after flowering, and don’t let it dry out in summer, or there will be no flowers next year.

杜鹃Azalea皐月 SatsukiSatsuki · Rhododendron indicum

热烈 · 繁盛 · 思念Passion · abundance · longing

皋月杜鹃在农历五月开花，因此得名。花开时整棵树会被花完全覆盖，一株上甚至能开出不同颜色的花。在中国，杜鹃又叫映山红；李白在宣城看到它，想起了故乡蜀地的子规啼声。The Satsuki azalea is named after the fifth month of the old calendar, when it flowers. In bloom the whole tree disappears under flowers, and one plant can even bear flowers of different colours. In China the azalea is also called “red that lights up the mountain”; seeing it in Xuancheng, Li Bai remembered the cuckoo calling in his homeland, Shu. In Chinese, the bird and the flower share a name.

蜀国曾闻子规鸟，宣城还见杜鹃花。In Shu I once heard the cuckoo call; in Xuancheng I see the cuckoo’s flower again.李白《宣城见杜鹃花》Li Bai, “Seeing Azaleas in Xuancheng”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 半日照，喜晨光，忌烈日Half sun: morning light, never harsh sun
  • 需要用心Needs care

花谢后立刻修剪，夏天以后再剪就会剪掉明年的花芽。Prune as soon as the flowers fade; prune after midsummer and you cut off next year’s buds.

榔榆Chinese elm榔楡 Aki-nireAki-nire · Ulmus parvifolia

质朴 · 亲近 · 好养Simple · friendly · easy to keep

榔榆是最好亲近的盆栽树：叶小、萌芽力强、耐修剪，老树皮会斑驳剥落，露出迷彩般的纹理。它在中国乡野随处可见，陶渊明的田园里就有“榆柳荫后檐”。冬天落叶后，细密的枝梢像一把扫帚。The Chinese elm is the friendliest bonsai tree: small leaves, eager buds, happy to be pruned, and old bark that flakes off in patches like camouflage. It grows all over the Chinese countryside, and Tao Yuanming’s farm had “elms and willows shading the back eaves”. In winter, bare of leaves, its fine twigs look like a broom.

榆柳荫后檐，桃李罗堂前。Elms and willows shade the back eaves; peach and plum line the hall in front.陶渊明《归园田居·其一》Tao Yuanming, “Back to My Fields”, I
  • 户外 / 明亮室内Outdoors or bright indoors
  • 充足光照，户外最好Plenty of light, best outdoors
  • 新手友好Good for beginners

最适合新手的第一棵树：耐剪、耐错、长得快。The best first tree for a beginner: it forgives pruning and mistakes, and grows quickly.

榕树Ficusガジュマル GajumaruGajumaru · Ficus microcarpa

庇荫 · 包容 · 生生不息Shelter · embrace · endless renewal

榕树是南方的树。气根垂下、入土、变粗，最后自己长成新的树干，一棵树也能“独木成林”。它是少数能在室内养好的盆栽，只要光线明亮、别让它受冻。柳宗元在柳州写过满庭的榕叶。The banyan fig is a tree of the south. Its aerial roots hang down, reach the soil, thicken and become new trunks, until a single tree can make a forest. It is one of the few bonsai that do well indoors, as long as the light is bright and it never gets cold. In Liuzhou, Liu Zongyuan wrote of banyan leaves filling his courtyard.

山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼。Rain passes over the hill town and every flower is gone; banyan leaves fill the courtyard, and orioles call on every side.柳宗元《柳州二月榕叶落尽偶题》Liu Zongyuan, “Written When the Banyan Leaves Fell in Liuzhou in the Second Month”
  • 室内Indoors
  • 明亮的散射光，窗边最好Bright, indirect light; a window is best
  • 新手友好Good for beginners

真正适合室内的盆栽；夏天放到户外晒晒会更健壮。A bonsai that really can live indoors; a summer outside in the sun makes it sturdier.

银杏Ginkgo銀杏 IchōIchō · Ginkgo biloba

长寿 · 坚守 · 古老Long life · steadfastness · antiquity

银杏是“活化石”，它的家族在恐龙时代就已存在。叶子像一把小扇子，秋天一夜金黄。它天性向上，盆栽里多作直干，像一支安静的火焰。广岛原爆后，离爆心不远的几棵银杏又重新发芽，至今仍活着。The ginkgo is a “living fossil”: its family was already here in the age of the dinosaurs. Its leaves are like little fans that turn gold overnight in autumn. It grows upright by nature, so as a bonsai it is usually a formal upright, like a quiet flame. After the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima, several ginkgos not far from the blast sprouted again, and they are still alive.

满地翻黄银杏叶，忽惊天地告成功。Ginkgo leaves turn the ground to gold, and suddenly I see that heaven and earth have done the year’s work.葛绍体《晨兴书所见》Ge Shaoti, “What I Saw on Rising”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 全日照Full sun
  • 新手友好Good for beginners

皮实长寿，但长得慢，需要耐心。Tough and long-lived, but slow-growing: it needs patience.

紫藤Wisteria藤 FujiFuji · Wisteria floribunda

缠绵 · 眷恋 · 温柔的坚持Tenderness · attachment · gentle persistence

紫藤本是攀援的藤，做成盆栽后，弯曲虬结的老干撑起一树垂挂的花穗。它开花需要充足的阳光和水，花期短暂，却像一场紫色的雨。李白写它“紫藤挂云木”。Wisteria is a climbing vine; as a bonsai, its old trunk, bent and gnarled, holds up a whole tree of hanging flower trails. It needs plenty of sun and water to flower, and the flowers do not last, but while they do they are like purple rain. Li Bai wrote of “wisteria hanging from cloud-high trees”.

紫藤挂云木，花蔓宜阳春。Wisteria hangs from cloud-high trees; its flowering vines are made for spring.李白《紫藤树》Li Bai, “The Wisteria Tree”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 全日照Full sun
  • 适合钻研For the devoted

养活不难，养到开花难：要阳光、要水、要会剪。Keeping it alive is easy; getting it to flower is hard: it needs sun, water and skilful pruning.

石榴Pomegranate石榴 ZakuroZakuro · Punica granatum

多子多福 · 团圆 · 热烈Many children, many blessings · reunion · fervour

石榴的老干常常扭转、开裂，像一根被时间拧过的绳子。初夏开出火红的花，秋天挂果，籽粒饱满，在中国象征多子多福、家人团圆。它喜欢阳光和温暖，是南方庭院里的吉祥树。An old pomegranate trunk often twists and splits, like a rope wrung by time. It bears fiery flowers in early summer and fruit full of seeds in autumn; in China it stands for many children, good fortune and a family together. It loves sun and warmth, and is a tree of good luck in southern courtyards.

五月榴花照眼明，枝间时见子初成。In the fifth month the pomegranate flowers dazzle the eye; here and there among the branches, young fruit is forming.韩愈《题榴花》Han Yu, “On Pomegranate Flowers”
  • 户外Outdoors
  • 全日照Full sun
  • 需要用心Needs care

阳光越足，花果越多。The more sun, the more flowers and fruit.

03树形Forms

树形，是自然写下的处境The shape of a life

传统树形不是模板，而是一种观看自然的语言：一棵树遇见了怎样的风、山崖、同伴与时间，它就长成怎样的姿态。The traditional forms are not templates but a language for looking at nature. A tree grows into the shape of what it meets: the wind, a cliff, its neighbours, the years.

01 · 直幹 Chokkan

直干Formal upright擎天Holding Up the Sky

旷野上独立的一棵树，四面风雨大致均衡，于是长得端正挺拔。A tree standing alone in open country, where wind and rain come about equally from every side, grows straight and tall.

端正不是僵硬。直干最难的不是直，而是在直里留出呼吸：枝有疏密，干有收分。Upright is not rigid. The hardest thing about a formal upright is not the straightness but leaving room to breathe within it: branches sparse and dense, a trunk that tapers.

02 · 模様木 Moyōgi

曲干Informal upright游龙Roaming Dragon

林中的树要绕开别的树去找光，一次次转身，长成蜿蜒的样子。A tree in a wood has to find its way round the others to the light, turning again and again until it winds.

每一个弯，都是一次回应环境的选择。路不必是直的，方向向上就好。Every bend is a choice made in answer to its surroundings. The path need not be straight, as long as it leads up.

03 · 斜幹 Shakan

斜干Slanting倚风Leaning on the Wind

长年受一个方向的风或光，树身倾斜，却在另一侧生出更粗的根来平衡。Years of wind or light from one side lean the trunk over, and the tree grows stronger roots on the other side to balance it.

倾斜不是失衡。根扎得越深，姿态就越可以自由。A lean is not a loss of balance. The deeper the roots, the freer the pose can be.

04 · 懸崖 Kengai

悬崖Cascade临渊Over the Abyss

生在悬崖上的树，被风雪与重力压得向下生长，树梢垂过崖壁，低于根部。A tree on a cliff, pressed down by snow, wind and gravity, grows down the rock face until its tip hangs below its roots.

向下，有时也是一种生长。在最险的地方，它仍朝着光伸出枝叶。Growing down can be growing too. In the most perilous place, it still reaches its leaves towards the light.

05 · 半懸崖 Han-kengai

半悬崖Semi-cascade探水Reaching for the Water

生在溪边或崖畔的树，枝干斜探出去，像俯身去看水。A tree by a stream or on a ledge leans its trunk out, as if bending down to look at the water.

低头不是屈服。它把身子探向水与光，也把根留在原处。Bowing is not giving in. It leans towards water and light, and keeps its roots where they are.

06 · 文人木 Bunjingi

文人木Literati孤高High and Alone

取自中国文人山水画里的瘦高老树：干细而长，枝极少，只在高处留几片叶。Taken from the tall, thin old trees of Chinese scholars’ landscape paintings: a long, slender trunk, very few branches, and a few leaves left up high.

少，到了极处，就是多。文人木把一切能省的都省去，只留风骨。Less, taken far enough, is more. A literati tree leaves out everything it can, and keeps only its spirit and bones.

07 · 箒立ち Hokidachi

帚立Broom华盖The Canopy

平原上的落叶大树，如榉、榆，主干长到一定高度后向四面均匀分枝，树冠如伞。A great deciduous tree of the plains, like a zelkova or an elm: the trunk rises to a certain height, then branches evenly in every direction under a crown like an umbrella.

向四面八方均匀地生长，是一种不偏不倚的宽厚。Growing evenly in every direction is a generosity that favours no side.

08 · 吹き流し Fukinagashi

吹流Windswept听风Listening to the Wind

海边或山脊上常年吹着同一方向的强风，所有枝条都被吹向一侧。On a coast or a ridge, a strong wind blows from the same direction all year, and every branch is swept to one side.

不与风争，把风的方向写进自己的形状——顺应，也是一种坚持。It doesn’t fight the wind but writes the wind’s direction into its own shape: yielding is a kind of persistence too.

09 · 双幹 Sōkan

双干Twin trunk相携Hand in Hand

同一个根上长出一大一小两根树干，彼此依偎，又各自伸展。Two trunks, one large and one small, grow from the same roots, leaning on each other and each reaching out on its own.

靠近而不遮挡。两根树干彼此让出光，才都长得好。Close, without shading each other. Only when each trunk leaves the other some light do both grow well.

10 · 寄せ植え Yose-ue

丛林Forest成林A Forest Grows

把几棵同种的树种在一只浅盆里，高低、粗细、远近各不相同，成为一片小树林。Several trees of one kind, tall and short, thick and thin, near and far, planted in one shallow pot, become a small wood.

每棵树都不同，林子才像林子。树取单数，从不排成整齐的一列；日本还避开四棵，因为“四”与“死”同音。A wood looks like a wood only because every tree is different. Trees come in odd numbers and never stand in a neat row; in Japan four is avoided too, because “four” sounds like “death”.

04观法Seeing

怎样看一棵盆栽How to look at a bonsai

点一个词，看它在树上的哪里。看懂了这些，再去看任何一棵树，都会看见更多。Tap a word to find it on the tree. Once you know these, you’ll see more in every tree you look at.

正面The frontShōmen 正面Shōmen

每棵盆栽都有一个正面。从正面看，根向左右铺开，树干和树冠微微向你倾，像在致意；没有一根枝直直刺向你。为一棵树找到正面，是创作的第一步。Every bonsai has a front. Seen from the front, the roots spread left and right, and the trunk and crown lean slightly towards you, as if in greeting; no branch points straight at you. Finding a tree’s front is the first step in shaping it.

05禅意Zen

照料一棵树，也照见自己To look after a tree is to look within

盆栽从禅寺与文人的书斋里走来。它讲的道理很朴素：慢一点，少一点，顺一点。Bonsai came out of Zen temples and scholars’ studios. What it teaches is simple: slow down, do less, go with the grain.

咫尺之内，便觉万里为遥。Within a single span, you feel the distance of ten thousand miles.
《南史·萧贲传》History of the Southern Dynasties, “Life of Xiao Ben”

说的是在团扇上画山水。盆景的“以小见大”，也是这个意思：一尺见方，装下千山万水。Said of a landscape painted on a round fan. It is what penjing means by “the large seen in the small”: a foot square holding a thousand mountains and rivers.

外师造化，中得心源。Outwardly, learn from nature; inwardly, find the source in your heart.
唐·张璪（见《历代名画记》）Zhang Zao, Tang dynasty (quoted in Record of Famous Painters of All the Dynasties)

向外以自然为师，向内找到自己的心。盆景人先去看山里的老树，再把心里的那棵树种进盆里。Take nature as your teacher outside, and find your own heart within. A penjing artist first goes to see the old trees in the mountains, then plants the tree from their heart in a pot.

虽由人作，宛自天开。Though made by human hands, it seems the work of heaven.
明·计成《园冶》Ji Cheng, The Craft of Gardens, Ming dynasty

人做的，却像天生的。这是中国园林与盆景的最高标准。Made by people, yet as if born of nature: the highest standard of Chinese gardens and penjing.

任其自然生长的树是粗陋的；只有靠近人、被人用心照料塑造，它的姿态才能打动人。A tree left to grow as it will is coarse; only when it lives close to people, tended and shaped with care, does its form move us.
日本《宇津保物语》（约970年）The Tale of the Hollow Tree, Japan (about 970)

另一种声音：美来自人与树的长期相处。两种说法合起来，才是盆栽——人与天的合作。Another voice: beauty comes from people and trees living long together. Put the two sayings side by side and you have bonsai, a collaboration between people and nature.

目的不是让树看起来像盆栽，而是让盆栽看起来像一棵树。The object is not to make the tree look like a bonsai, but to make the bonsai look like a tree.
约翰·中（John Naka），美国盆栽先驱John Naka, American bonsai pioneer

技巧要藏起来。看的人想到的应该是山野，而不是铁丝和剪刀。The technique should be hidden. The viewer should think of mountains and wild places, not wire and scissors.

禅艺术的七种美The seven beauties of Zen art久松真一《禅与美术》（1958）Hisamatsu Shin’ichi, Zen and the Fine Arts (1958)

不均齐AsymmetryFukinsei

三角形是不等边的，树不种在盆的正中。不对称、不完美，才是自然的样子。The triangle is scalene, and the tree is not planted in the middle of the pot. Asymmetry and imperfection are how nature looks.

简素SimplicityKanso

剪去多余的枝，只留下最能说话的几根。少，所以清楚。Cut away the branches that aren’t needed and keep the few that speak best. Less, and clearer for it.

枯高Austere sublimityKokō

苍老、枯瘦而有骨力。舍利与老皮，是时间留下的高贵。Aged, spare and strong-boned. Shari and old bark are the nobility time leaves behind.

自然NaturalnessShizen

最好的盆栽看不出人工的痕迹，仿佛本来就长成这样。The best bonsai show no trace of the hand, as if they had simply grown that way.

幽玄Subtle depthYūgen

不说尽。一盆小树，让人想到整座山，想到几百年的风雪。Leave things unsaid. A small tree in a pot makes you think of a whole mountain and centuries of wind and snow.

脱俗Freedom from conventionDatsuzoku

不为讨好而作。文人木的清瘦，是对俗套的超脱。Not made to please. The spareness of a literati tree rises above convention.

静寂TranquillitySeijaku

安静地看一棵树，呼吸会慢下来，心也会。Look at a tree quietly and your breathing slows, and so does your mind.

盆栽里的六个道理Six lessons from a bonsai

时间是材料，不是成本Time is a material, not a cost

一棵盆栽要养几十年。松剪了芽，要等一整年才知道结果。在什么都追求即时反馈的时代，它教人等待。A bonsai takes decades. Cut a pine’s buds and you wait a whole year to see the result. In an age that wants instant feedback for everything, it teaches waiting.

剪去，是为了成全Cutting away makes the rest whole

修剪掉的枝，让留下的长得更好。舍不得剪，树就永远是一团乱枝。The branches you cut let the ones that stay grow better. If you can never bring yourself to cut, the tree stays a tangle for ever.

引导，而不是强扭Guide, don’t force

铁丝只是引导，用久了会勒进树皮。先看懂树本来想去的方向，再轻轻帮它一把。Wire only guides, and left too long it bites into the bark. First see which way the tree wants to go, then give it a gentle hand.

伤痕也可以是美Scars can be beautiful

舍利与神枝告诉我们：经历过的苦难，可以成为一棵树最动人的部分。Shari and jin tell us that the hardships a tree has been through can become the most moving part of it.

永远没有完成的一天It is never finished

树在长，四季在换，看它的人也在变。每一次看到的样子都只此一回——一期一会。The tree grows, the seasons turn, and the person looking at it changes too. Each time you see it is the only time: ichigo ichie, one time, one meeting.

照料一棵树，也照见自己To look after a tree is to look within

每天看看土干了没有，摸摸叶子。这件小事本身，就是一种修行。Check every day whether the soil is dry; touch the leaves. That small act is itself a practice.

不必懂任何术语。看着一棵树，呼吸一分钟。No need to know a single term. Look at a tree and breathe for a minute.

06源流History

从盆景，到盆栽From penjing to bonsai

它起源于中国的盆景，在日本凝练成以一树为中心的盆栽，又在二十世纪走向世界。It began as penjing in China, was distilled in Japan into bonsai, an art centred on a single tree, and in the twentieth century went out into the world.

  1. 706

    唐 · 乾陵Tang dynasty · Qianling

    章怀太子墓壁画Murals in Prince Zhanghuai’s tomb

    壁画里，侍者手捧盛着山石与小树的盆——这是盆景最早的图像证据。In the murals, attendants carry trays holding rocks and little trees: the earliest pictures of penjing.

  2. 1195–1309

    日本 · 镰仓Japan · Kamakura

    绘卷里的盆中树Potted trees in picture scrolls

    盆中小树出现在《西行物语绘卷》《春日权现验记绘》等画卷里，多是从中国传来的珍玩。Little trees in pots appear in picture scrolls such as the Saigyō Monogatari Emaki and the Kasuga Gongen Genki-e, mostly as treasures brought from China.

  3. 约1300c. 1300

    日本Japan

    虎关师錬《盆石赋》Kokan Shiren’s “Rhapsody on Miniature Landscapes”

    禅僧以赋的形式写下盆中山石与小树的审美，影响了此后的盆栽与庭园。A Zen monk set down in verse the beauty of rocks and little trees in a tray, shaping the bonsai and gardens that followed.

  4. 14世纪14th century

    能剧Noh theatre

    《钵木》Hachi-no-ki (The Potted Trees)

    贫寒的武士在雪夜烧掉心爱的梅、樱、松三盆树，为云游僧取暖。僧人原是执权北条时赖，后来赐他三处以梅、樱、松为名的领地。On a snowy night a poor samurai burns his three beloved potted trees, a plum, a cherry and a pine, to warm a wandering monk. The monk is really the regent Hōjō Tokiyori, who later grants him three estates named after the plum, the cherry and the pine.

  5. 1625

    广岛 · 山木家Hiroshima · the Yamaki family

    一棵五针松的四百年Four hundred years of a white pine

    它从1625年开始被培育，1945年在离原爆中心约三公里处幸存，1976年被赠往美国，如今在华盛顿国家盆栽与盆景博物馆。In training since 1625, it survived the atomic bomb in 1945 about three kilometres from the blast, was given to the United States in 1976, and now lives at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington.

  6. 19世纪初Early 19th century

    日本 · 大阪一带Japan · around Osaka

    “盆栽”这个名字The name “bonsai”

    研究中国文人艺术的学者借用中文“盆栽”一词。文人木的审美，来自《芥子园画传》一类的中国画谱。Scholars of Chinese literati art borrowed the Chinese word penzai, “planted in a pot”. The look of the literati tree comes from Chinese painting manuals like the Mustard Seed Garden Manual.

  7. 1925

    日本 · 大宫Japan · Ōmiya

    盆栽村The Bonsai Village

    关东大地震后，东京的盆栽园艺家迁往大宫，建立盆栽村，至今仍是世界盆栽的圣地。After the Great Kantō Earthquake, Tokyo’s bonsai growers moved to Ōmiya and founded the Bonsai Village, still a place of pilgrimage for bonsai lovers everywhere.

  8. 1934

    东京 · 上野Tokyo · Ueno

    国风盆栽展The Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition

    日本最高规格的盆栽展首次举办，延续至今。Japan’s most prestigious bonsai exhibition is held for the first time; it continues to this day.

  9. 1970

    大阪 · 世博会Osaka · Expo ’70

    走向世界Out into the world

    大型盆栽与水石展让世界认识了盆栽，此后它传遍各大洲。A great show of bonsai and suiseki introduced bonsai to the world, and it has since spread to every continent.

中国盆景的五大流派The five schools of Chinese penjing

岭南派Lingnan school广东Guangdong

截干蓄枝Clip and grow

反复截短、蓄养新枝，枝干节节有力，像野外的老树。代表人物孔泰初。Cut back again and again and grow on new branches, so every joint of the tree is strong, like an old tree in the wild. Leading figure: Kong Taichu.

苏派Suzhou school苏州Suzhou

粗扎细剪Rough binding, fine trimming

“六台三托一顶”，清秀古雅，讲究意境。代表人物周瘦鹃。“Six terraces, three supports, one crown”: elegant and antique, with an eye for atmosphere. Leading figure: Zhou Shoujuan.

扬派Yangzhou school扬州Yangzhou

一寸三弯Three bends to the inch

精扎细剪，云片层层平整，工整而有画意。代表人物万觐棠。Fine binding and trimming, cloud pads level tier on tier: precise, yet like a painting. Leading figure: Wan Jintang.

川派Sichuan school成都Chengdu

棕丝蟠扎Coiled with palm fibre

讲究“身法”，虬曲多姿，悬根露爪，像巴蜀的山水。Known for its “body postures”: twisting, varied trunks with roots that hang like claws, like the landscapes of Sichuan.

海派Shanghai school上海Shanghai

金属丝蟠扎Wired with metal

不拘一格，自然明快，小型与微型盆景尤其精彩。Free of formula, natural and lively, and especially fine in small and miniature penjing.

07养护Care

给第一次养树的人For your first tree

不需要很多工具，只需要每天看它一眼。You don’t need many tools, just a look at it every day.

大多数盆栽是户外的树Most bonsai are outdoor trees

松、柏、枫、梅都需要阳光和四季。真正适合长期放在室内的，只有榕树这类热带树种。Pines, junipers, maples and plums all need sun and the seasons. Only tropical trees like the ficus really suit a life indoors.

看土浇水，不看日历Water by the soil, not by the calendar

表土开始变干时，一次浇透，直到水从盆底流出。夏天可能一天一次，冬天几天一次。When the surface starts to dry, water thoroughly, until it runs out of the bottom of the pot. In summer that may be once a day, in winter once every few days.

用颗粒土Use a gritty mix

赤玉土、浮石、火山石这类颗粒土排水透气，根才不会烂。花园土会把盆闷住。Gritty soils like akadama, pumice and lava rock drain and breathe, so the roots don’t rot. Garden soil suffocates a pot.

想让它细，就剪；想让它粗，就先让它长Cut for fineness; let it grow for thickness

新梢长出后摘心或修剪，保持树形；需要变粗的枝，先放它自由生长一段时间。Pinch or prune new shoots to keep the shape; let a branch that needs to thicken grow freely for a while first.

铁丝只是暂时的Wire is only temporary

用铝线或铜线引导枝条，几个月后、在它勒进树皮之前拆掉。Guide the branches with aluminium or copper wire, and take it off after a few months, before it bites into the bark.

两到五年换一次盆Repot every two to five years

在早春修剪老根、更换新土。年轻的树换得勤，老树换得少。In early spring, trim the old roots and give it fresh soil. Young trees are repotted often, old ones seldom.

让温带树种过冬Let temperate trees have their winter

松柏枫梅需要冬季休眠，别因为怕冷就搬进暖气房；只需防止盆土冻透。Pines, junipers, maples and plums need a winter rest: don’t bring them into a heated room for fear of the cold; just keep the pot from freezing solid.

三个常见的误会Three common myths

  • 盆栽不是某一种植物，而是一种养法：几乎任何木本植物都可以做成盆栽。Bonsai is not a kind of plant but a way of growing one: almost any woody plant can become a bonsai.
  • 盆栽不是“被虐待变小”的树。它们健康地活着，有的已经活了几百年。Bonsai are not trees “tortured into smallness”. They live healthy lives, some of them for centuries.
  • “室内盆栽”大多是误会：多数盆栽需要户外的阳光和四季。“Indoor bonsai” is mostly a misunderstanding: most bonsai need the sun and the seasons outdoors.