Here's my best shot. Feel free to disagree with something better.
My dad had a blue-green car. Some people called it the blue car, while some called it the green car. The definition of literati as as clear as the color of my dad's car. There are no hard rules when looking at the actual definition(s) of literati.
The word "Literati" has a meaning
before bonsai, so that may give us a clue of how to use it in bonsai terms. I found most of this on the internet, a little on ChatGPT, and the rest from my own mind.
Literati Definition:
1. The educated class.
2. Persons interested in literature or the arts.
Literati in Art and Culture:
1. Minimalistic, with emphasis on suggestion rather than detail.
2. Personal and expressive, not commercial or realistic.
3. Rooted in intellectual or spiritual reflection, not technical perfection.
Literati in Asia:
Literati, scholars in
China and
Japan whose poetry, calligraphy, and paintings were supposed primarily to reveal their cultivation and express their personal feelings rather than demonstrate professional skill. The concept of literati painters was first formulated in China in the Bei (Northern)
Song dynasty but was enduringly codified in the
Ming dynasty by
Dong Qichang. In the 18th and 19th centuries, literati painting became popular with the Japanese, who exaggerated elements of Chinese
composition and brushwork.
See also Ike Taiga.
1. Elegance through minimalism.
2. Strength through restraint.
3. Individuality over conformity.
Literati in Bonsai:
From what I gather, Japanese artists took the Chinese art to a new level, exaggerating the artistic elements. Instead of painting a normal tree, they paint one with very elegant and simple strokes, evoking some level of artistic feeling or emotion from the painting. A long tree becomes longer. Sparse foliage becomes more sparse. I think if we think of it in terms of the paintings (or even poetry), then the application of literati in bonsai becomes a bit more clear:
1. Long, slender trunk, evoking the same feeling as a long brushstroke of a painting.
2. Sparse foliage that doesn't overtake the main topic, the trunk. Refined simplicity.
3. Unconventional form, defying bonsai "norms". "Spirit over structure".
4. Emotive silhouette. The tree shape can tell a story of survival, time, wind, and endurance.
TLDR:
Literati is a term to describe the educated class, brought over to the art of the educated class (poetry and paintings), brought over to the art of bonsai. Because of this, the word is not a perfect translation to the bonsai art form, so there are not a lot of hard rules to follow.
1. Long trunk that breaks the normal bonsai trunk ratio rules. Exaggerated features.
2. Focus of the tree is the trunk, not the foliage. The trunk is what tells the story. Foliage is most-often minimal. Trunk can be elegant or chaotic.
3. Evokes some kind of emotion or feeling. What emotion or feeling is between the artist and viewer.
4. All other rules of what makes a bonsai a literati are either made up or are suggestive guidelines.
