Bonsai History

A Rich History Unfolding

Bonsai History is quite a story spanning over centuries.

Bonsai is the art of creating miniature tress by growing them in small containers. For any bonsai enthusiast it would of great interest to be aware of it's history. In this article we would delve deeper into the history of this beautiful art form.

If we try to trace back in time to find bonsai history we would find that this art form is believed to have originated in China around 2 millennia ago during the Han dynasty. It is believed that during this period this art form was not fully developed. Trees were generally used for landscaping the gardens of the emperors.

Bonsai art form was originally called penjing in china. It was only when this culture was brought to Japan that it took the form of an art and slowly developed into what we call bonsai today.

So Japan, so to say, marked a turning point in the bonsai history. After that bonsai migrated to several other south East Asian countries like Korea, Vietnam. Gradually this art form caught the imagination of the whole world.

During the 18th century bonsai reached the peak of its popularity, and it was during this period that the finer techniques of this art evolved.

Understanding of the way to develop these miniature plants was built around the concept that it is essential to remove all but most important parts of the plant to control its growth within the periphery of the container. It was during this era of bonsai history that the art form propagated to the common masses.

It was from the Japanese bonsai masters that the art form migrated to the west.

The earliest bonsai exhibition to be held in the west was in Paris during the year 1878.The first major bonsai exhibition to be held in the western world was during the year 1909 in the city of London. It was around the end of the second world war that bonsai was widely accepted in the west as a developed art form and caught on the imagination of the people. In the present era bonsai is a practiced by people all around the world, and has been developed into a full grown art form. Any individual with enough patience and creativity can take on this beautiful hobby and practice it to grow miniature trees.

One would need to master the techniques of pruning, wiring, watering and repotting to be able to grow beautiful bonsai plants. With the passage of time a lot of different styles of bonsai have evolved.

Bonsai has a rich history as is evident from the previous paragraphs. The richness of it’s history is reinforced from the fact that you will find trees that have stood the test of time for more than a couple centuries and are living testimony to the changes that mankind has gone through.

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