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Also, I have understood thus far that the conveyance of a feeling of age and wisdom is the reason for styling a tree. If it isn't, why not just slap something in a pot and call it "art?"
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I would say that the aim is more along the lines of "to convey a sense of tree-ness."
One of the things that amazes us, as human beings, about trees is their lifespan - they can surpass us by an order of magnitude. Another thing that amazes us is their height - here they've got us by almost two orders of magnitude. Yet another is their endurance under the harshest of conditions.
And so it's little surprise that we see some of these characteristics featuring prominantly in bonsai design. Nonetheless, I would argue that age is not essential. Perhaps you are familiar with the "towering tree style" of Lingnan-school penjing. Here age seems to play a very minor role - these trees are slender, unscarred, young or at least ageless, reaching for the sky as if
"to transcent the vulgar world and to fre oneself of all desires in an effort to attain immortality." *
Young trees are marvellous things as well. A 60 year old redwood or sequoia reaches into the sky as if it will never know limitation. A young tree blessed with the good fortune to grow in fertile and mild field fills out into a beautiful dome of foliage. These are aspects of nature, of treeness, to celebrate and for which to strive in our bonsai creations.
All the best,
Old Mister Crow
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* Hu Yunhua,
Chinese Penjing