leatherback
The Treedeemer
ofc, I am just trying to understand so I can re-reflect and understand better what generally makes great literati
I don't like Bunjin...
- Thread starter Forsoothe!
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sorce
Nonsense Rascal
I'd like to talk to the old Chinese feller who actually knows!
Seems the definition bends just as much as the trees themselves.
For me, it's a fantastically graceful line.
And one mass of foliage.
2 masses is cheating!
Sorce
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
I tend to agree.
Most of the books I've read mention something like, "sparse" foliage....
Colorado
Masterpiece
@sorce @just.wing.it
Just for the sake of discussion....
Then this would NOT be literati/bunjin?
(Photo from Mirai Instagram - fantastic tree by the way)
Just for the sake of discussion....
Then this would NOT be literati/bunjin?
(Photo from Mirai Instagram - fantastic tree by the way)
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
That is why I "tend to agree"....about one foliage mass.
There are always trees that break the rules.....or bend my perception.
BunjaeKorea
Omono
According to the Korea Bonsai Cooperative
"Literati is a style commonly created by scholars and usually features a serpentine or aged trunk. Although the trunk is not thick it should carry the appearance of great age such as is befitting a tree that has weathered many storms. It is a poetic tree that symbolizes humans struggle to survive and represents a long life. The lower branches have been lost to a lifetime of storms and only the upper part of the tree remains as a crown of glory."
Translation by me.
"Literati is a style commonly created by scholars and usually features a serpentine or aged trunk. Although the trunk is not thick it should carry the appearance of great age such as is befitting a tree that has weathered many storms. It is a poetic tree that symbolizes humans struggle to survive and represents a long life. The lower branches have been lost to a lifetime of storms and only the upper part of the tree remains as a crown of glory."
Translation by me.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
That's beautiful.
BunjaeKorea
Omono
In essence it isn't a stick in a pot lol. It should look old even though it is skinny. Tou don't get fat from a hard life.....I guess thats the idea. In Asia there are literati style trees standing stubbornly on the tops of mountains. I am guessing thats where the idea comes from. When I went to Zhangjiajie in China the trees were insane.
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
!
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Sounds like when the tree sucks, put it in a "special" pot.
Not a fan.
No interest in the line.
But the text says that.
Sorce
The trunk is magnificent. It's the top which is hideous.
Although carving lines into the grain of the deadwood like that is stupid and amateurish. It could be easily fixed.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
So, here's a summary (so far). Pick and choose and argue with the listing which is or should be a ranking by importance:
1. Find good candidate nature has created
2. No evidence of human management.
3. Trunk line is primary interest point, foliage is incidental or confirming age/tortured life.
4. Foliage needs to be in concert with the truck: Sparse. Created/limited by the same forces that created/limited the trunk.
5. Not short, not stocky.
6. Not healthy looking.
7. The appearance evokes a mood of..............
1. Find good candidate nature has created
2. No evidence of human management.
3. Trunk line is primary interest point, foliage is incidental or confirming age/tortured life.
4. Foliage needs to be in concert with the truck: Sparse. Created/limited by the same forces that created/limited the trunk.
5. Not short, not stocky.
6. Not healthy looking.
7. The appearance evokes a mood of..............
Wilson
Masterpiece
I like beat up old trees, call em what you like. Many trees in my corner of the planet get their branches and trunks ripped apart by snow and ice storms. How an ancient chinese or japanese scholar would classify them seems irrelevant. Or are there some bunjin/literati contests I don't know about?
@Smoke
second tree looks pretty silly.
@Smoke
second tree looks pretty silly.
thumblessprimate1
Masterpiece
I saw many really great looking bunjin bonsai for first time in one place at Taikanten a while back. This guy was at same show and took nice pictures! I brought a friend who had never seen bonsai before, but he had always appreciated Japanese culture and tradition. He told me he loved all the trees but ones he loved most were these sparse looking trees. It didn't surprise me much considering he's a guy who has much to wonder about 
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thumblessprimate1
Masterpiece
This one was my favorite
baron
Shohin
A few images I took at my teachers place.
The club logo
The club logo
chicago1980
Omono
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Lovely Bonsai. I enjoy the repeating patterns and trunk lid e.
chicago1980
Omono
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chicago1980
Omono
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Thank you all for this thread. I went down the rabbit home of Chinese painting styles, dynasties, and bonsai style history.
Lots more to appreciate
Lots more to appreciate
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