The issue here is not whether or not he has a right to his opinions. Of course he does. But so do I, and so does anyone else. But, he is quoted in a major publication making inaccurate statements about bonsai. I don't take issue with whether or not he likes bonsai. I really don't care whether he likes them or not.

I take issue with two things:

1) the Chinese foot-binding thing. This comparison is old, dating back well before 1900. We all know that our trees do not have feelings. They don't scream every time we prune a branch or a root, or defoliate the tree. I also take issue with this because it is a reference to another Asian culture, and gives the perception that this is just another way in which people from Asia are cruel. He lumps together Asian cultures which have something in common, but which are also quite different. He doesn't compare confining a tree to a pot to the former Western practice of forcing women to wear corsets, which displaced their internal organs, made it difficult for them to breath, and even distorted their ribcages, causing all sorts of difficulty, not to mention pain. No, he mentions a now discarded (thankfully) practice from China. In addition, he assumes that bonsai is still an Asian art. Obviously it started there, but judging from the range of people who practice bonsai around the world, that isn't the case anymore.

2) as Rob Kempinski pointed out on the IBC, he is also inaccurate in his statement about root pruning, saying that we cut off all but the youngest roots. That's nonsense. You cut off the new roots *first* to encourage root growth closer to the trunk.

I'll say it again--he has every right to his opinions. But I'll argue with him anywhere about making inaccurate statements that mislead people.

Craig Cowing
Orange Co. NY
Zone 5b+

Yeah, that comment impressed me as particularly ignorant. It doesn't even bear thinking about, but let's consider for a moment that all of the new growth on roots is connected to old growth, just like the branches coming out of the top. If you cut away everything but the youngest growth, all you'd have left is a stick! It's like saying that all somebody eats is the hole out of a bagel. He holds a grudge against bonsai for something that any sensible person should be able to know can't happen.

Anyway, Craig, thanks for your well-thought-out comments.

OK then, seeing as I have bigged up Mr. Pakenham's latest book let me offer my opinion on the subject.

I think that the title of this thread, unfortunate news story sums it up just about right. That's it. Nothing more.

I will still be buying his book. I will also be replacing my paperback copy of his first tree book with a hardback copy.

Regards,

TB

Craig- Comparing it to another Asian thing also stuck out at me as a big no no. I think he is likley being called a racist on some other forum on the net. Surely if I was of Asian decent I would feel he was revealing he fealings toward my culture.

salix- lmao "Yeah, that comment impressed me as particularly ignorant. It doesn't even bear thinking about, but let's consider for a moment that all of the new growth on roots is connected to old growth, just like the branches coming out of the top. If you cut away everything but the youngest growth, all you'd have left is a stick! It's like saying that all somebody eats is the hole out of a bagel. He holds a grudge against bonsai for something that any sensible person should be able to know can't happen."

I think if you mailed him his quote and your rebutle he may be a bit embaressed.

In reality though you see the spread of misinformation everywhere about everything.

I think basically his quote how clouded(biased) his view is towards trees in general.
Bias - a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation [syn: {prejudice}]

Just thought I'd dredge this old thread up to say:

I got the book for xmas, and lo! between pages 67-69 there are two bonsai, and a small write up. The bonsai are a juniperus occidentalis and a zelkova serrata from Huntingdon gardens near LA.

And what a strange mix the write-up is...

lots of talk of imprisonment, gentle torture, bondage, artificial, deformity etc, but there is also this:

"Bonsai gardeners rightly pride themselves on their patience and artistry. The tree is imprisoned in a small pot or tray to make it small and beautiful, rather as Chinese ladies of fashion used to have their feet bound. But here the analogy fails. By contrast with the Chinese ladies, who were crippled by foot-binding, confining the bonsai sets it free from the constraints of ageing, and gives it a kind of perpetual youth... ...Bonsai experts believe that a bonsai might become virtually immortal - or at any rate live for thousands of years - if properly disciplined." from "meetings with remarkable trees" by Thomas Pakenham

I think it is clear that Mr Pakenham does not like bonsai much, and it is obvious that he is more than a little mis-informed, but at the same time it seems that he understands at least some of the the whys and wherefores of bonsai.

Regards,

TB

GaryS, I'm with you on this one. When we are attacked, we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate our own civility and good will. I like to think that the profoundest quality that our art represents is serenity. Going on the attack when somebody tells us they don't like it generally simply reinforces their previous hostility towards it.

Fred

In terms of agelessness, Colin Lewis brings out the same point at the end of his book "The Art of Bonsai Design." He notes that genetic makeup controls a tree's height, obviously, but also that height determines maturity and is a part of the ageing process. His suggestion is that since a bonsai does not reach the height it might reach if it were full-sized, it probably has a good chance of living beyond its equivalent of three score and ten.

So much for torturing little trees, eh?

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a

Fred,

I just think that everyone has a right to their own beliefs, especially if they are different than our own. As soon as you get into activelytrying to change another's beliefs it becomes a hassle. It borders on
religion, politics, and sex which we all know are hard beliefs to change in anyone other than ourselves.....and even that's not an easy task!

Funny reading this thread, I encountered a very similar response over the Christmas period.

My mother bought me a copy of Martin Treasure's latest book, but before wrapping it up decided to have a read of it - probably, I suspect, not only because she is a keen gardener, but also out of curiosity for this myth and fable enshrouded pursuit of ours.

Over the dinner table, the first thing she said that bonsai reminded her of was Chinese foot-binding. When I asked why, she said that confining roots in pots and binding young girls' feet is similar, as man is controlling nature and attempting to stunt its growth. She did not extrapolate that statement to the mistaken belief that bonsai must therefore be cruel. I like to think that she isn't daft enough to think that trees feel pain - spending as much time as she does lopping branches off apple trees and such-like. Without that extrapolation, the comment is a valid one.

I think that in cases like this, education through rational discourse is the way forward - that is, in my opinion, the way to tackle ignorance, and in that regard I agree with Gary and Fred. The first impression that I got from Andy's letter was the tactical similarity used by certain elements of the pro-Israeli lobby whenever anything they don't agree with is reported in the press. I certainly wouldn't expect it to have the desired result.

Regards,

Fish.

Please let's not even go here. The politics of bonsai are quite enough without dragging middle east conflicts into this discussion.

Regards,

Matt