1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, And UH, 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: little housekeeping up front. This is a sponsored episode. It's 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: sponsored by Mazda as they are promoting their new c 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: X thirty. They asked us if we would do an 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: episode for them, and we were delighted to We threw 8 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: around a lot of ideas for this episode, but one 9 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,599 Speaker 1: that kept coming back to us and kept coming back 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: up was Bond's Eye. And it is an art form 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: that feels uniquely special, at least to me at this 12 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: point in time where we're all feeling very disconnected because 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: tending bonds Ie is used by some folks as a 14 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: way to meditate and reconnect to nature and feel a 15 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: little more centered. And for me, it's also really easy 16 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: to think about bonds eye and history together because there 17 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: are some very very old Bondsai in the world. We 18 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: will talk at a couple at the end, so today 19 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: that is indeed what we were talking about. Uh, And 20 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: to give you a rundown of how this episode will 21 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: play out, first, we're gonna just quickly cover what bondsai 22 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: is as kind of a level set because there are 23 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: some misconceptions, particularly in the Western world about it. Uh. 24 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: And then we're going to talk about its origins in 25 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: China and its development in Japan, which is the country 26 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: it's probably most associated with in popular culture anyway, and 27 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: then a little bit about how it became a subject 28 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: of fascination for the Western world, and then at the 29 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: end we're going to talk about a few notable bonds i. 30 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: In very broad terms, bondsay is the practice of cultivating 31 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: plants in containers with the goal, in the words of 32 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: the Oxford Companion to the Garden to quote, suggest a 33 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: natural scene or the abstract beauty of a tree in nature. Normally, 34 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: these plants are grown in coarse soil and very small 35 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: trays or pots, and there's a really wide range of 36 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: plants that can be grown in this way. Although woody 37 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: perenny ills are the favored option, they all need a 38 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: fair amount of attention and care with the regard to 39 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: their watering and their pruning, as well as occasional feeding. 40 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: Bondsai practice generally creates a simplified version of a larger plant, 41 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: and that's simplified to accommodate the smaller scale. A mature, 42 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: well maintained bonds i typically has horizontal branch growth to 43 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: create some width, and sometimes even branches that reach downward. 44 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: We'll talk about some of the styles in more detail 45 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: in a moment. And it also has a full but 46 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: compact foliage on top. So sometimes like the sort of 47 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,359 Speaker 1: classic bondsai that people may think of when they hear 48 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: the word, is one that has foliage that looks sort 49 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: of like clouds at the top. And the small size 50 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: of the plants is not the result of genetic selection 51 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: or modification. It's careful design and cultivation from the time 52 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: their seedlings. And the size range for bonds I. I've 53 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: been mentioning how small they are, but it is not 54 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: as restricted to smallness as you might think. There is 55 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: actually a size classification system that allows for varying sizes 56 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: of bondsai uh and the large bonds eye that are 57 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: in that are as tall as eighty inches that's about 58 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: two meters, so that's a substantial tree. There are a 59 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: number of different styles of Bondsai and they're inspired by 60 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,839 Speaker 1: different ways that trees grow in nature. The bonds eye 61 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 1: does not need to fall into one of these categories, 62 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:24,279 Speaker 1: and there are just vast variations and interpretation of the categories, 63 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: but they offer a good way to guide the styling 64 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 1: for a horticulturist. Here are a few, but this is 65 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: not an exhaustive list at all. There are also subdivisions 66 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: within many of these styles, and also entirely different styles 67 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: that are not part of this list. You were yesterday 68 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: as you were working on this, you mentioned that you 69 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: were starting on this list and that it was turning 70 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: out to be extremely large. Yeah. It's one of those 71 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: things where you you think you'll have a few bullet 72 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: points and then you're like, oh, so. The first style, 73 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: which is a really common style, is broom style, and 74 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: that features a straight trunk with fulliage that branches out 75 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: at the top one third of the tree. Deciduous trees 76 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: with sort of fine branch structures are ideal for this 77 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: because they create that nice cloudy top. The formal upright 78 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: style is also characterized by a straight trunk, but this 79 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: time it tapers at the top with foliage that is 80 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: thickest at the bottom and also thins out as it rises. 81 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: Informal upright style features a tapered trunk, but one that's 82 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 1: grown not straight, but is an s shape with branching 83 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: at each curve. There's also a slanting style that stays 84 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: straight but typically grows at a sixty eight degree angle. 85 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: Cascading style mimics trees that grow downward because of external influences, 86 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: so the trunk grows upward, but then it bends over, 87 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: allowing the branches and the foliage to shower toward the ground. 88 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: There's also a semi cascade style, which can be grown 89 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: with a less dramatic downturn. Yeah. One of the I 90 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: watched a brief video about some of these, and one 91 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: of them suggested, like, oh, it would be like if 92 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: a tree grew under heavy snowfall and its branches couldn't 93 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: support it and so it cascades over. Yeah. I was 94 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: thinking when a tree grows like at the edge of 95 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: a cliff yep, and there's erosion over time and its 96 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 1: trunk compensates. Yeah. Rock falls are also sometimes noted as 97 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: the cause for those. Literati style is all about verticality, 98 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 1: growing upward but crooked, with no branching on most of 99 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: the tree trunk except at the very top, and this 100 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: style is intended to mimic trees in nature. That would 101 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: have to compete and struggle for sunlight and resources with 102 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: other plant life. Wind Swept style, as its name suggests, 103 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: means that the tree has grown to look like one 104 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: that develops in very windy conditions, with the foliage only 105 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 1: on one side, and an angled trunk. Double trunk style 106 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: has a bifurcated trunk, with each trunk growing its own foliage, 107 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: and the multi trunk style follows this same idea, but 108 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: in that case it forks into more than two trunks. 109 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,719 Speaker 1: This is not to be confused with forest style, which 110 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: can feature many trunks, but in the forest style each 111 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: is its own individual tree, not a splitting of one 112 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 1: trunk into multiples. Growing on a rock style and growing 113 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: in a rock style are exactly as their names indicate, 114 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: with the roots visible and clinging to the exterior of 115 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: a base rock in the former and the roots can 116 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: field within the rock in the ladder. There are also 117 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: styles of bonsai based on damage that a tree might 118 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: encounter in nature. So raft style starts with a cracked 119 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: tree and then has branches growing upward out of the 120 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: old damage tree to develop foliage that forms kind of 121 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: one unit at the top, and Shari style mimics the 122 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: naturally occurring bark loss that trees may experience in nature 123 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: by carefully carving away the bark on the part of 124 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: the designer. Because bonsay is an art form, there are 125 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: a lot of different expressions of it and ongoing evolution 126 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 1: within the field, so it changed is over time. But 127 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: this has also led to what some would consider a 128 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: delution of the bonsai art form, particularly as popularity of 129 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: the concept has led to commercial enterprises that don't have 130 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: a lot of interest in the principles behind it. Like, 131 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: I know, I've seen advertisements and catalogs and stuff. They're like, 132 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: buy an instant bonsai, sort of defeating the point. Part 133 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: of the difficulty there is that the principles are often 134 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: listed very very differently depending on your source. When talking 135 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: about the esthetics of bonsai texts, at least in English, 136 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: very very greatly. In some cases you'll find a specific 137 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: list of principles of design, which include things like balance, proportion, movement, simplicity, unity, 138 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: and an absence of the designers involvement That means you 139 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: can't see the way that the tree may have been manipulated. 140 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: But other texts are much more general, suggesting that as 141 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: an art form. These rules are not really rules, but 142 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: they're just sort of guides to in full warm decisions 143 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: on how you design and maintain a tree. So, particularly 144 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: in Western cultures who are really translating this Asian art 145 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: form through a Western lands, things have gotten kind of muddled. 146 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: The word bonsai has become synonymous with horticultural tininess and 147 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: very small plants kept in containers, more than relating directly 148 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: to the aesthetic principles of bonsai or it's Chinese precursor pinging. 149 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: Some of this expansion beyond the classical sense of bonsai 150 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: is reflected in the consideration of a pre World War 151 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: two bonds ie as the classical model and post World 152 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: War two is modern, although that doesn't really encompass the 153 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: sort of fast and loose use of the term to 154 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: apply to pretty much any small plant. I um, I 155 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: don't want to throw any retailer under the bus, but 156 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: I was once in a store that sold plants, and 157 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: they had a row of tiny cactus cold as bonsai, 158 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: and I was like, I don't quite think so well. 159 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: When when I was a child, there was a catalog 160 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: that I particularly love to look through, and it sold 161 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: something that it described as a grow your own bonsai kit, 162 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,079 Speaker 1: and what it was was a potato with a partially 163 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: sprouted eye. And that potato I, you know, root that 164 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: comes out like that was supposed to be the bonds eye. 165 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:40,079 Speaker 1: That is a fascinating interpretation. Yeah, yeah, bonds I, even 166 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: in its less rigid definitions, but presuming you're not talking 167 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: about a potato, is by its nature meticulous. Caring for 168 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: a bonsai tree is an ongoing process. Because their pants 169 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: are trays are very small, and because it's usually with 170 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: a coarse soil, they often need to be watered frequently. 171 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: This does vary, though, of course by plant type. Both 172 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: indoor and outdoor plants need to have their environment carefully managed, 173 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,319 Speaker 1: and for even hobbyists, pruning is required to keep the 174 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: shape of the foliage. That effort becomes much more intensive 175 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: for expert designers. Everyone I think has probably seen footage 176 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:19,599 Speaker 1: of like that person that is carefully clipping bonds I, 177 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,679 Speaker 1: sometimes in ways that are not even perceptible to the 178 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: human eye, uh, but are of course part of shaping 179 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: it into that beautiful, beautiful final product. Uh. Route pruning 180 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: is also part of maintaining the small size of the 181 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: plants and all of this work, which is done quite carefully, 182 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: adds a meditative element to the cultivation of bonds i 183 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: and that is part of its appeal. So just a 184 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: moment ago, we mentioned pinging. We can't really talk about 185 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 1: bonsies history without talking about that first, So coming up 186 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: we will get into some discussion of the miniature horticultural 187 00:10:53,200 --> 00:11:02,960 Speaker 1: art of China. First we'll take a quick sponsor break. 188 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: Pingjing also called Pensay, which was its earliest name, is 189 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,079 Speaker 1: where the bondsaie story really starts. China, due to its 190 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: vast size, has an incredibly diverse range of plant life, 191 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: and there was already a well established gardening tradition in 192 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: China that had begun hundreds of years before the creation 193 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: of these mini scenes developed as an art form, and 194 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: the name pinging translates to tray scenery or pot scenery, 195 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: and the idea of pinging is that a person can 196 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,320 Speaker 1: see the large in the tiny. The miniature nature allows 197 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: for the experience of seeing larger things from a different perspective, 198 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: both literally and figuratively, and it's an expression of emotion 199 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: as much as it is a miniature recreation of larger 200 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 1: natural scenes. Reverence for large scale natural forms like mountains 201 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: and forests informed the development of pinging as a way 202 00:11:57,679 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: to connect to nature. But pens ing is not only 203 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: about plants. There are actually three types of pinging, tree pinging, 204 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:10,320 Speaker 1: landscape pinging, and water and land pinging, and all of 205 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: this is meant to form a blended balance of nature 206 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: and art. The natural elements can almost be considered as 207 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: artists media to be combined with other media such as 208 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: small sculpture or arrangements of stones. One source that I 209 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: read likened it to a landscape painting, but one that 210 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: is alive and with greater dimension. And because of this, 211 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: pinging works are often revisited after they're completed, not just 212 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: to maintain the living floral elements, but also to be 213 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: reworked to accommodate the growth of the living plants within them. 214 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: So you might need to change around where the sculpture 215 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: sits depending on how your your tree in the scene 216 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: has grown. While there were miniature gardenscapes created as far 217 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,079 Speaker 1: back as the Shang dynasty, which lasted from about sixteen 218 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 1: hundred to ten forty six b C, the first evidence 219 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: of pinging is from the Han dynasty that's around two 220 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: d C. So what we have from that two is 221 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: a picture, a painting of pinging, not the plant itself, 222 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 1: and that representation is a fresco in an Eastern Han 223 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: tomb that features six red flowering plants. They're arranged in 224 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: a small round container, and then that's it's in a 225 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: square frame. This art form would have initially been something 226 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: that was reserved for the wealthy and the privilege, so 227 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: it makes sense that its first evidence is on a 228 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: prince's tomb. From the third to the fifth centuries, Buddhism 229 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: and Taoism became highly influential, leading people to issue the 230 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: trappings of money and engage instead with nature, and as 231 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,319 Speaker 1: a consequence, pinging developed greatly during this time as people 232 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,839 Speaker 1: sought ways to have nature, even in its smallest form, 233 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: in their everyday lives. Pinging became entwined with the idea 234 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: of cultivating one's character and one's appreciation for beauty. Another 235 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: huge period of growth for this art form came in 236 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: the seventh through the ninth centuries during the Tongue Dynasty, 237 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: when arts flourished. This was a relatively stable period in 238 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: Chinese history. One of the most famous historical depictions from 239 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: pinging is from this period. It's a mural on a 240 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: mausoleum for Prince Junghui from the year seven oh six, 241 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: and it features a servant woman carrying a tray with 242 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: a miniature scene on it with rocks and fruit trees. 243 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 1: Evidence of pinging appears from throughout the Tongue Dynasty in 244 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: the eighth century. It's written about in poems, and it's 245 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: documented as something that people would cultivate for their own homes, 246 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: often incorporated into their outdoor landscape, so you would have 247 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: it in your yard, for example. In the tenth centuries 248 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,240 Speaker 1: Northern Song Dynasty, it was similarly represented in art, and 249 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: this is when the water and land pinging also developed. 250 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: During this time, it appeared in a lot of poetry 251 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: and paintings as well, sometimes as a decorative element in 252 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: a larger scene, but often as the subject of the 253 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: work itself. This appreciation and representation of pinging continued over 254 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: the next two centuries. Then, sometime during the period when 255 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: the Song Dynasty and the Japanese Hand Period overlap, pingjing 256 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: made its way to Japan. We will be coming back 257 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,320 Speaker 1: to Japan in just a moment. During the Ming Dynasty, 258 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: which spanned the years thirteen sixty eight, to sixteen forty four, 259 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: pinching not only flourished, but more and more ideas of 260 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: it beyond an object of beauty were recorded. Right or 261 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: too long declared that smaller pingjing that could quote be 262 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: set on a stool or table were the best ones, 263 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: followed by pinging intended to sit in courtyards, and he 264 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: also wrote advice on what he believed were the best 265 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: esthetic principles of the art form, preferring the look of 266 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: aged trees, such as those in images by a number 267 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: of famous painters. He stresses as well that though plants 268 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: in pinging could be trained with stiff fibers or string, 269 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: there should be no appearance of such manipulation in the 270 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 1: final product. That is something that continues in these art 271 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: forms today. During the Chang dynasty, which followed the Ming 272 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: and lasted until nineteen eleven, the possibilities of pinging expanded 273 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: really significantly. The limits of this art form were tested, 274 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: they were expanded, More and more creative concepts emerged. During 275 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: this time. Regional styles also developed, and there were books 276 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: about the art that rapidly grew in number, including writings 277 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: that talked about the virtue of creating pinging for pleasure. 278 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: It started to take on an identity not just of 279 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: something that could bring a person closer to nature, but 280 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: also is something done simply for the pleasure of creating it. Yeah, 281 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: it kind of switches and becomes not just this meditative thing, 282 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: but also not leaving that idea behind, but also like 283 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 1: kind of being pitched almost as a hobby, like you 284 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: could do this too. Um. As part of this developmental period, 285 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: more decorative containers came into fashion, and pinging, which had 286 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,159 Speaker 1: long been the subject of visual art and poetry, then 287 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:07,640 Speaker 1: started to mimic the concepts of those arts in its execution, 288 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: so to to represent the same ideas and concepts of 289 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,439 Speaker 1: a painting in the pinging, or the ideas of a 290 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: poem in the execution of the scene. When the King 291 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: dynasty collapsed in nineteen eleven, that marked a downfall of 292 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: the popularity of pinging as well, at least for a while, 293 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: But in the last fifty years there's been a renewed 294 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,679 Speaker 1: interest and appreciation for the art form in China. In 295 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: nineteen eight one, the Chinese Association of Flower and Pinging 296 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: was formed. That group later folded into the Chinese Society 297 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: of Landscape Architecture, under the header of Flower, Pinging and 298 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: stone branch, and that's been tasked with mounting an exhibition 299 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: every four years. Starting in nineteen eighty five, the Chinese 300 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: Pinging Artists Association was formed in Night with a mission 301 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,719 Speaker 1: to continue to share the art form throughout the country. 302 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: Pinging has spread around the world old and has gained 303 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: popularity in many cases alongside Japanese bonzai. The two art 304 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: forms are often shown at the same expositions, with penjing 305 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: often offering gardeners and viewers a less austere alternative to 306 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: the usually more formal forms of bonsai. So, as we 307 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: mentioned a few moments ago, the art of pingjing made 308 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: its way into Japan during the hay On period. That's 309 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:24,880 Speaker 1: a period we've talked about on the show a couple 310 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 1: of times before. In the fiction book The Tale of 311 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: the Hollow Tree, which was written in Japan in nine seventy, 312 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,400 Speaker 1: the merits of cultivating trees is mentioned in a passage 313 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,919 Speaker 1: that's often quoted in bonsai histories. Quote. A tree that 314 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: has left growing in its natural state is a crude thing. 315 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 1: Is only when it is kept close to human beings 316 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: who fashion it with loving care. That it's shape and 317 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: style acquire the ability to move one. When Zen Buddhism 318 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: became popular in Japan starting in the twelfth century, the 319 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: Japanese adaptation of pinging became intertwined with it, as Zen 320 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: monk sought to represent the universe in the cultivation of 321 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: single plants. And this is actually the source of many 322 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: of the aesthetic ideals that shaped bondsai and continue today, 323 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,040 Speaker 1: and it's why Japanese bonzai tends to be a little 324 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: bit more stark in contrast to its Chinese origins. But 325 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: while this is an important aspect of the development of bonzai, 326 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,120 Speaker 1: it's worth noting that the exact start of the bonsai 327 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: tradition is not something that's universally agreed upon. Um. We 328 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,399 Speaker 1: have been talking about all of these these pieces of 329 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,200 Speaker 1: the puzzle in its history, and some people will point 330 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 1: to like China as the origin versus others who want 331 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: to put it more in Japan. Is when it really 332 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: becomes bonsai, and it's a matter of debate. Um. The 333 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 1: word bonsai, which was a linguistic adaptation of the Chinese 334 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: penza i, was not in use yet at this point. 335 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:53,400 Speaker 1: Centuries later, though, the association was in Buddhism of bonzai 336 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,360 Speaker 1: and its origins in the twelfth century remains. The idea 337 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: of growing trees in dishes in Japan hand reached beyond 338 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: monks as well, but often the dishes were a lot deeper. 339 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:09,119 Speaker 1: They were bowls instead of hands. This style, called hatching noki, 340 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: was immortalized in a folk tale in the late thirteen hundreds, 341 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: and it also became a no play. That story is 342 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 1: about an impoverished samurai who gives up his last treasured 343 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 1: potted trees to use his firewood for a traveling monk 344 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: in the winter, and the second act it's revealed that 345 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: the monk was actually the showgun Tokyori Hojo, who helps 346 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 1: the samurai regained his fortune in the end. This is 347 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: a really popular story, and woodblock prints depicting it were 348 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,880 Speaker 1: popular for hundreds of years. Over time, small cultivated container 349 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,680 Speaker 1: trees became so culturally significant in Japan that most people 350 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 1: would have had one in some form, but these were 351 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: still not bonzai in the sense we would think about 352 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,400 Speaker 1: them today. That name again did not even exist until 353 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 1: the beginning of the nineteenth century, and that was when 354 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 1: that Chinese name was adapted and adopt did during a 355 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: summit of scholars In doing so, they wanted to set 356 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: apart the common hatchinoki from the more artistic efforts at 357 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,000 Speaker 1: growing trees in shallower vessels with greater design and intent, 358 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 1: and there had already been shows for dwarf potted trees 359 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: in Kyoto. So this separation and definition helped codify standards 360 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: for shows and competitions to include bonsai as a distinct, 361 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 1: separate thing going forward, leading eventually to formal showings of 362 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,639 Speaker 1: bonsai that started in the nineteen thirties. As the nineteenth 363 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,280 Speaker 1: century played out, bonsai was recognized as its own art 364 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: form in Japan, to the degree that formal writing, horticultural theory, 365 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: and shows started to become really common. The different styles 366 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: of bonsaye started to develop, and methods of training trees 367 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: changed to include the use of wire instead of stiff 368 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: natural fibers. Will talk next about a natural disaster and 369 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,200 Speaker 1: its impact on bonzai in Japan in the twentieth century, 370 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: but before we do, we're going to have a quick 371 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 1: sponsor break. We have talked on the show before about 372 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: the Great Conto earthquake, which obliterated Yokohoma and much of 373 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: Tokyo and killed more than a hundred and forty people, 374 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:24,679 Speaker 1: and that also impacted bonsai. A robust nursery industry of 375 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: growers who specialized in training bonsai had developed in Tokyo 376 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,919 Speaker 1: in the decades prior to the earthquake. With all of 377 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,120 Speaker 1: their hard work destroyed, thirty of the families who owned 378 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,880 Speaker 1: such nurseries started over as a collective in nearby Omia, 379 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,199 Speaker 1: which has since then become omi A Bonsai Village and 380 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 1: has become a hub for bonsai culture. In two thousand ten, 381 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 1: it became home to the omi A Bonsai Art Museum. 382 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,919 Speaker 1: Japan went through massive changes after its surrender at the 383 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 1: end of World War Two. The Empire was gone, the 384 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,880 Speaker 1: country was reformed as a democracy, and it's a cod 385 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,920 Speaker 1: of me was just completely overhauled while the damage from 386 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,439 Speaker 1: the war was rebuilt. Bonsa I persisted despite all of 387 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,119 Speaker 1: these changes, and it became more revered as art. On 388 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,159 Speaker 1: the second half of the twentieth century, there was a 389 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: dip in bond sized popularity in Japan, but in recent 390 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: years there's been a resurgence, and one that's been accompanied 391 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: by experimental designs that really stray from the more formal 392 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: predecessors that we've been talking about. Yeah, I am not 393 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 1: an expert by any means, but one of the things 394 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: I was reading mentioned how did some of the newer 395 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 1: forms of bonsai are a little more wild, and I 396 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: I wonder if they're getting a little bit more back 397 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,399 Speaker 1: to their roots and pingjing. Bonsai related items were in 398 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: the US as far back as the Colonies. Trading agreements 399 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 1: with China led to the import of goods that were 400 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,640 Speaker 1: new and novel to North America, and the same seeds 401 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: of the cultural fetishism and ethnocentric views of Victorian England 402 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: with regards to Asia. We're definitely in place in the 403 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 1: unit in States colonial days, so items like miniature plants 404 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: from Asia became prized elements of personal collections. Several World expositions, 405 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: starting in the eighteen seventies featured displays of dwarf trees 406 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: from Japan. European and North American attendees wanted to see 407 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 1: these plants, and that desire had been stoked by centuries 408 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: of written descriptions by travelers to Asia who had described 409 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: the practice of horticulture and miniature has eventually led to 410 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,360 Speaker 1: the first book in the Western world about bonsai, which 411 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,880 Speaker 1: was published in France in nineteen o two. A tourist 412 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: industry grew in Japan which sold inferior quality bonsai to 413 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:43,119 Speaker 1: European and American tourists, who then brought them home. This 414 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: led to some of the misinformation about this art form 415 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 1: yeah Unfortunately, trading on the fact that that Western tourists 416 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: didn't really know what they were buying also caused a 417 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:58,120 Speaker 1: lot of confusion in the West about bonsai. Immigrants from 418 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: Japan to the US brought the by tradition with them, 419 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,920 Speaker 1: although horticulture knowledge was by no means ubiquitous among the 420 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: people who traveled across the Pacific to work as laborers. 421 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,600 Speaker 1: As bonsai continued to fascinate US gardeners and hobbyists, this 422 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: led to some opportunities for Japanese experts in bonsai to 423 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: share their knowledge through demonstrations and teaching sessions, which were 424 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: often organized by garden clubs. Eventually, clubs that focused specifically 425 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: on bonsai began to form in the U S, starting 426 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:31,119 Speaker 1: on the West coast. Panjing had more difficulty in gaining 427 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:34,119 Speaker 1: appreciation in the United States, thanks in part to the 428 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 1: Chinese Exclusion Act. In nineteen fifteen, the Japanese government shipped 429 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: bonsai to the San Francisco, Panama Pacific International Expo for exhibit. 430 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: Several of these bonsai were hundreds of years old. The 431 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: exhibit was seen by nineteen million visitors, and that sparked 432 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: an all new level of interest in bonsai in the US. 433 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,159 Speaker 1: That interest was impeded by a plant quarantine law in 434 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 1: the nineteen teens because that vented new bonsai from entering 435 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: the country. That was part of an effort to protect 436 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: North American agriculture from invasive species of pests. Another previous 437 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,320 Speaker 1: show topic had a significant impact on bonsai in the 438 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:17,640 Speaker 1: United States. Executive Order ninety sixty six, which we've talked 439 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: about and which displaced many Japanese immigrants and their citizen children, 440 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,880 Speaker 1: forced the growers that had established nurseries on the West 441 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,119 Speaker 1: Coast to abandon their work, leaving countless plants and their 442 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:32,640 Speaker 1: livelihoods to die. In some cases, bonsai masters that were 443 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,639 Speaker 1: in camps tended to trees during internment as kind of 444 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: part of their coping mechanisms, and we will talk about 445 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 1: an example of one of those in just a moment. 446 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:44,119 Speaker 1: Bonds I had a surgeon popularity in the U S 447 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:47,719 Speaker 1: starting in the mid twentie century. One of the drivers 448 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:51,159 Speaker 1: with servicemen who were returning from duty in Asia and 449 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: brought bonsai plants home with them as mementos or as gifts. 450 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: These plants got the nickname ruck Sack bonsai. But once 451 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: these plants have been brought back to the US, the 452 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 1: soldiers started to realize they didn't actually know what to 453 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: do with them or how to take care of them. 454 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,960 Speaker 1: And while the West Coast had a degree of established 455 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: bonsai culture by this time, on the East Coast bonsai 456 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,399 Speaker 1: were less familiar, at least to the middle class. The 457 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,480 Speaker 1: wealthy had been purchasing imported bonzai since the turn of 458 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: the century, but for the average person, they still didn't 459 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: really know what the whole thing was about, and so 460 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: to fill that gap in knowledge, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden 461 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 1: published a booklet on Bonsai care that was one of 462 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: the first guides to the art published in the United 463 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 1: States for novice practitioners, and it also helped spread interest 464 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,760 Speaker 1: in this art form. Soon there was enough interest for 465 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 1: the Botanic Garden to have expert Kanya Sharroda teach classes 466 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 1: on bonsai, and Yashiroda also wrote several books on this 467 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,679 Speaker 1: art in his lifetime, and his book Bonsai Japanese miniature trees. 468 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: Their style, cultivation and training is still very popular on 469 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 1: the secondary market. If you find a good quality first edition, 470 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: you're going to pay hundreds of dollars for it. Throughout 471 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,120 Speaker 1: the second half for the twentieth century, bonsai is both 472 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 1: an art form and as a hobby has continued to 473 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 1: be popular outside of its countries of origin. While some 474 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 1: people appreciate bonsai and penjing solely as examples of art, 475 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 1: caring for these plants continues to be a source of 476 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 1: calm and contemplation for both practitioners of Zen Buddhism and 477 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: for secular enthusiasts. You can even find courses in bonsai 478 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: as meditation. And while there are innumerable bonsai around the world, 479 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: there are famous bonsai, and so I wanted to make 480 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,879 Speaker 1: sure that we touched on a few of those. The 481 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:35,880 Speaker 1: bonds I, believed to be the oldest in the world, 482 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,480 Speaker 1: is more than a thousand years old. It's part of 483 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,720 Speaker 1: the collection of the Crespy Bonsai Museum in Milan, Italy. 484 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: The museum calls the large size ficus the princes of 485 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 1: the museum collection. It's been with the museum since it 486 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: was acquired from a private collector in It's been tended 487 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: by generations of both Chinese and Japanese masters, and it 488 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,200 Speaker 1: requires daily care and attention. Perhaps the most notable long 489 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,960 Speaker 1: lived bonsai is a Japanese white pine that's part of 490 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,959 Speaker 1: the National Arboretum in the collection of the National Bonsai 491 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: and Penjing Museum in Washington, d C. This tree is 492 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,520 Speaker 1: three d ninety years old, interesting enough on its own, 493 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: but it survived the bombing of Hiroshima when the atomic 494 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 1: bomb Little Boy was dropped in World War Two, and 495 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,560 Speaker 1: it was given to the US as a bicentennial gift, 496 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: along with fifty two other examples of bonzai by Massaru Yomaki, 497 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: a Japanese master of bonsai. But even the museum did 498 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 1: not know this tree's history until the master's grandsons visited 499 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: to check on the tree that they had heard about 500 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 1: in their family stories. That happened in two thousand one, 501 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 1: and suddenly everyone knew about this Hoiroshima surviving bonsai. In 502 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 1: February seven bonds i were stolen from the public collection 503 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,520 Speaker 1: of z Amura, the bonsai seller in Tokyo. One of 504 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: them was a valuable four hundred year old Shimpaca juniper 505 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: with an estimated value of more than fifty thou dollar. 506 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:04,520 Speaker 1: Cj Amura and his wife Umi appeared on television and 507 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: pled with the thieves to please water the tree, which 508 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: would not survive a week without proper care. Earlier this year, 509 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: and we're recording in two Bonsai trees were stolen from 510 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington. And one 511 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,240 Speaker 1: of them was a Japanese black pine, and it was 512 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: of particular historical significance. It had begun its life in 513 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: a tin can in a Japanese internment camp. It was 514 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,880 Speaker 1: cultivated by one of the detainees there. The other tree 515 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 1: was also important. It was a silver berry created by 516 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,560 Speaker 1: artist Kyoko Hatanaka in Nix. The museum put out a 517 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,719 Speaker 1: call on social media for their returning, promising that they 518 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 1: would just not ask any questions. They were just afraid 519 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,880 Speaker 1: that these irreplaceable trees would die without proper care. Three 520 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: days after the theft, the trees reappeared in the museum's driveway. 521 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: There are some great photographs because it was a rainy 522 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: day when they came back, of just these trees in 523 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 1: this driveway that are worth untold amounts of money in 524 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,120 Speaker 1: the rain, and they had the forethought to take a 525 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: picture of them before moving them back to the museum. 526 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,760 Speaker 1: An article about the Horoshionist survivor Bonds and I featured 527 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: a quote from the curator of the National Bonds I 528 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: Impinging Museum, Jack says Dick and I felt like it 529 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: captured part of why this art form is so captivating, 530 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 1: as he contemplated the constant daily care that older examples 531 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: of bonds I require, He said, quote, I always like 532 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,600 Speaker 1: to say, bonds I is like a verb. It's not 533 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: a noun. It's doing. I love that quote. It is 534 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 1: amazing to me when you think about I had this 535 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: moment last night where I was trying to explain this 536 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:40,600 Speaker 1: to one of my friends, and I was like, if 537 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,240 Speaker 1: these trees could talk, because if that was in year 538 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: old tree has seen some stuff. Um, and I just 539 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:53,280 Speaker 1: am like bowled over by by their long histories and 540 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: the things we will never ever know about them, um, 541 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: which is very very cool. I do have listener mail. 542 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:03,320 Speaker 1: It is from our listener Haley, who writes, Hi, my 543 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,280 Speaker 1: name is Haley. I'm a big fan of your podcast. 544 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 1: I have a few suggestions and ideas for future podcast ideas. 545 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:11,480 Speaker 1: I really love learning about historical hoaxes me too, and 546 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,320 Speaker 1: I recently wrote an essay for school about the mechanical turk. 547 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 1: I haven't listened to all your podcasts, so if you've 548 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:18,400 Speaker 1: made a podcast on this topic, then another of my 549 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 1: favorite historical hoaxes is a donation of Constantine. We did 550 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 1: the donation of Constantine. Uh. We also have done uh 551 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,960 Speaker 1: some episodes on automata in We did one on five 552 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,960 Speaker 1: historical robots. Uh. She also mentions our James Baldwin podcast 553 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,440 Speaker 1: that she thought was amazing uh. And then she gives 554 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 1: us some other suggestions of of potential interesting black figures 555 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:43,720 Speaker 1: in history, which is very cool. Some of those we 556 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:45,560 Speaker 1: have covered. But Haley, I just want to say thank 557 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:47,880 Speaker 1: you for listening. Uh. We clearly share some of the 558 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:50,280 Speaker 1: same interests and if you would like her I do 559 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: as you could do so at History podcast at i 560 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,680 Speaker 1: heeart radio dot com. You can also find us pretty 561 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,520 Speaker 1: much everywhere on social media as Missed in History. It 562 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 1: is also easiest pie to subscribe to the podcast. You 563 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 1: can do that on the I heart radio app, at 564 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:09,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever it is you listen. Stuff you 565 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,120 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of I Heart 566 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,360 Speaker 1: Radio for more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the 567 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: i heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen 568 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:19,600 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.