What is Bonsai?

Bonsai (盆栽) or Penjing (盆景). The first one is Japanese, and the latter is Chinese. Both mean “plant in a container”.

Bonsai is a type of Art. It started in China over a thousand years ago, and then it was redeveloped in Japan. It is to create a mini version of a tree in a container, which makes it easier for people to enjoy at home. While there are horticultural practices for taking care of the tree itself to make sure it is healthy, there are “rules” how to make a bonsai to achieve certain ideal forms.

I am not good at bonsai (or any plant for that matter), and there are so much more to learn. But I am learning to appreciate bonsai, and just nature in general during the COVID-19 pandemic. It strikes me when I saw birds returning to the city of San Francisco, and the air turned cleaner. I have never heard of so many birds chirping. It was beautiful, and calming. It made me realize the damage we did (and continue to do) to the Earth from our daily commute and other work. It made me appreciate nature much more. I was happy to see that the Earth can indeed heal itself and us humans are the ones polluting it. Then, I started having bonsai.

One thing after another, I now have a collection of bonsai. Some I call them “American Bonsai”, while others are “Japanese Bonsai”. I call them based on their styles, and not the origin necessarily. Both are beautiful in their ways. Japanese bonsai follows the ideals of Japanese art while the American bonsai follows more of its natural form than Japanese ideals.

I am no teacher of bonsai and probably will never be. But I do think having bonsais have given me new ways of enjoying life. I hope to share some of the things I learned for those who want to get started. My journey still has a long way to go, but this may help those who don’t know where to start.