Rugao Bonsai is one of the traditional folk arts in Jiangsu. In November, 2014, Rugao Bonsai was listed in the extension project directory of the representative project directory of the national intangible cultural heritage.
Bonsai art is a pearl of the garden art in China and it has a long history, which has been recorded over 1,300 years. On a mural of Li Xianmu (Tang Dynasty), a maid is painted holding a bonsai in her hand. During the development process of bonsai art, various genres with distinctive regional features have been formed and thrived through the competition of the diverse styles. Rugao Bonsai originates in Song dynasty. By virtue of delicate skills of shaping and unique displays, it becomes a miracle of Chinese bonsai and is regarded as one of the seven genres of nationwide bonsai art by China Penjing Association (“penjing” is the Chinese word of “bonsai”) in 1983.
The stump bonsai of Rugao has a high requirement of the wood blanks, which commonly are pine tree, cypress, elm, zelkova, hackberry, Chinese little-leaf box tree and serissa japonica. The shaping skills mainly comprise the binding and tying by palm fibers, with much attention paid to the careful operation of tying up and trimming. With the considerably delicate skills, the stem will be tied up as a “S” shape with the bending on the left and curve on the right, while the tree top will be bundled up to be a semi-circle, circle or sector. The properly irregular branches and leaves form an attractive view and create an extremely dense image.
The feature of Rugao Bonsai is the leaning figure below with a perfectly straight top. Moreover, the classic beauty of the stem and straight and graceful shape form a colorful and impressive view. Particularly, the podocarpus macrophyllus is the most appealing kind. The dark color of the leaves, graceful shape and attractive leaf style make it the excellent art item displayed in the halls.
