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Bonsai can be developed from seeds
or cuttings, from young trees or
from naturally occurring stunted
trees transplanted into containers.
Most bonsai range in height from
5 centimetres (2 in) to 1 metre
(3.33 ft). Bonsai are kept small
and trained by pruning branches
and roots, by periodic repotting,
by pinching off new growth, and
by wiring the branches and trunk
so that they grow into the desired
shape.
The bonsai with its container
and soil, physically independent
of the earth since its roots are
not planted in it, is a separate
entity, complete in itself, yet
part of nature. This is what is
meant by the expression "heaven
and earth in one container". A bonsai
tree should always be positioned
off-center in its container, for
not only is asymmetry vital to the
visual effect, but the center point
is symbolically where heaven and
earth meet, and nothing should occupy
this place. Another aesthetic principle
is the triangular pattern necessary
for visual balance and for expression
of the relationship shared by a
universal principle (life-giving
energy or deity), the artist and
the tree itself. Tradition holds
that three basic virtues are necessary
to create a bonsai: shin-zen-bi
standing for truth, goodness and
beauty.
Given proper care, bonsai can
live for hundreds of years, with
prized specimens being passed from
generation to generation, admired
for their age, and revered as a
reminder of those who have cared
for them over the centuries. Although
these bonsai are extremely beautiful
- meticulously cared for over the
years and containing such a wealth
of knowledge, age is not essential.
It is more important that the tree
produce the artistic effect desired,
that it be in proper proportion
to the appropriate container, and
that it be in good health.
Bonsai are ordinary trees or
plants, not special hybrid dwarfs.
Small leafed varieties are most
suitable, but essentially any plant
can be used, regardless of the size
it grows to in the wild. In Japan,
varieties of pine, azalea, camellia,
bamboo and plum are most often used.
The artist never duplicates nature
but rather expresses a personal
aesthetic philosophy by manipulating
it. The bonsai may suggest many
things, but in all cases must look
natural and never show the intervention
of human hands (with the exception
of Chinese bonsai which in many
cases depicts images of dragons
and other influential symbols of
the culture at the time of origination).
Grown in special containers, bonsai
are primarily kept outdoors (with
the exception of some plants suited,
trained and grown indoors), although
they are often displayed on special
occasions in the tokonoma, the alcove
in the traditional Japanese rooms
designed for the display of artistic
objects or on a polished stand.
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