We are all familiar with Bonsai trees, or at least we’ve heard from them before. Many people associate these miniature trees with Japan, and while there is some truth in this, this practice originated in China.

Picture courtesy of Alejandro Cuevas

The Japanese art of bonsai was derived from the Chinese art of Penjing or Penzai. Penzai consists in not only the depiction trees, but also of landscapes in a scaled down version. Around the 6th century, many diplomats and students from Japan visited China and were marveled by the art of penzai. In an effort to bring back these ‘souvenirs’, these diplomats and students started carrying back the trees back to Japan.

There is a main difference, however, between the penzai and bonsai. The penzai has more room for creativeness, meaning that one can scale down different kind of trees and use a variety of shapes and colors for the containers. On the other hand, the bonsai is focused on trees with thicker trunks and more geometric containers with muted colors (a more sophisticated look).

Picture courtesy of Alejandro Cuevas

The gardens we visited, have an extraordinary amount of penzai trees scattered throughout big sections. Each tree is a demonstration of patience, as the care and maintenance involved in each tree is very high; each tree also has a different meaning depending on its style. Finally, penzai also play a big role in aesthetics and zen buddhism.

I am a big fan of miniature landscapes. Therefore, visiting these gardens in Suzhou was an incredible experience. This is how I want my garden to look like when I have the opportunity to own my own house. Until then, I’ll continue keeping the tree on my desk as my sole companion.