Very interesting thread Al! There has been quite a bit of intelligent discussion.
After reading all the way through, here are a few of my thoughts. Unfortunately I don't think I have much to offer for an actual definition of what Bunjin/Literati is or is not.
1. I believe that Literati and Bunjin are words that the Chinese and Japanese people use to describe feelings that certain trees give them. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the most important part of design is not exact dimensions, branch placement or amount of movement. As Al mentioned, maybe it's the "feeling" a tree provides that matters most.
Here is part of a statement from my teacher:
"I really don’t think we’re doing bonsai any more when we stray too far from the original aesthetic values that gave birth to bonsai, and those are less about how something looks than how it feels." (Michael Hagedorn)
2. Every one of us is an individual; we each
see,
feel and
interpret things from our own perspectives and experiences. Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that we likely judge these trees based upon our personal impressions of what a bunjin tree is supposed to look like. I believe this is very often the case. We've each observed or been taught what someone else said or pictured as bunjin trees. Accurate or not, this is at least part of what shaped our definitions of bunjin. I personally enjoy seeing many great examples of gnarly, twisted and lonely looking pines in the mountains where I live. Many of these trees give me the feeling of what I imagine Literati or Bunjin to be. I also scour through endless amounts of images in books and on line that have helped to shape what I see as trees fitting this description.
3. I think the most important part of bonsai that we are still learning and discovering here in America is not how to
do bonsai, but how we
relate to the trees. I don't believe that "Literati" and "Bunjin" are simply words used to describe what a tree looks like to the people who originally conceived these names and ideals. Even more than a feeling, I believe these words are used in an attempt to verbalize how these people understood and
related to the trees.
To me the deepest and most profound nature of bonsai can not be explained or drawn out in "how to" books. These can only be felt. The beauty of bonsai is found in both the
relationship between the
viewer and the
tree, and the
artist/s and the
development of the tree. Every single artist and viewer will view and relate to each tree in their own way, and every single experience will most likely vary in and least some small way. We are shaping, caring for and growing living beings. If we're honest, these living beings likely have a more profound impact on our lives than we do on their design and care.
For "American Bonsai" to truly become it's own, we must grow beyond judging trees simply by what we see, to understanding ourselves and how
we relate to the trees. It is fascinating to study the ways that the Japanese and Chinese relate/d to trees and bonsai through their own unique culture and world view; But the work that lies ahead for us is our own self discovery and understanding. It's
ok (actually better than ok) if you view and relate to trees differently than the next person or someone from another culture.
Literati and Bonsai are words. If we take them too literally we may entirely miss the their original intent.
I'm off to bed, but I'll try to get a few photo's posted tomorrow of my bonsai attempts to fit the bunjin ideal, and maybe a few natural examples as well. (The ponderosa in my avatar provides a good example of the literati feeling to me.)
Dan