It is difficult to fake the upstart of the auction house-- deconstructing the value of bonsai by Cai Yongchang in Hong Kong

It is difficult to fake the upstart of the auction house-- deconstructing the value of bonsai by Cai Yongchang in Hong Kong

Author: Zhang Yixia Photo: Chen Zhongyu

The history of bonsai art dates back to the Tang Dynasty. In the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, there are still murals of handmaids supporting potted plants, and there are also words of praise for potted plants in the literary works of the Song Dynasty. Bonsai is very popular in the Ming Dynasty. The word "bonsai" appeared for the first time in the rest of the examination, and attention has been paid to its posture of using pots and plants.

Bonsai art combines literature, art, sculpture, gardening and other different categories, emphasizing to see the whole through a small part, leaving the landscape scenery in a small basin to enjoy the natural beauty without having to travel thousands of miles, and observing seasonal changes. the pleasure of this traditional culture is also valued by modern people. In recent years, the price of bonsai has repeatedly reached record highs in the auction house, attracting more and more people's attention.

Since the 1970s, bonsai master Tsai Yung-chang has been exposed to bonsai for more than 30 years, and has created a lot of excellent works from his first part-time interest to his full devotion now. He also hopes that the younger generation can take over and pass it on.

Tsai Yung-chang has been living in Sha Tin, Hong Kong since the 1970s. As there are many people playing bonsai nearby, he gradually became acquainted with a number of bonsai friends under curiosity. The seniors of bonsai even invited a group of young people to go camping on the outlying islands, only to find that they had been asked to help dig trees and plant them at home. At this point, he did not forget to add: "there was no control in the early days, but not later."

Slowly, seeing all kinds of excellent works of his predecessors, he also began to itch and tried to learn to play by himself in the 1980s. "at that time, most of the people who played bonsai were retirees, and it was strange for others to hear that I was so young to play." After self-study, he asked people everywhere for advice. he became more and more proficient in playing, became more and more addicted, and even aroused complaints from his family.

At that time, he started his own business and used his spare time to take care of bonsai. His business suffered repeated losses, but his bonsai works repeatedly won awards. After that, he closed his business and became a skilled worker for subway drilling. after resigning, he became vice minister of landscape architecture at the Yunquan Fairy Pavilion, where he was responsible for managing the entire garden and taking care of hundreds of bonsai in the garden, and finally achieved his favorite job. he also served as chairman of the Sha Tin Bonsai Association and vice chairman of the Hong Kong Bonsai Yashi Association.

Cai Yongchang has been infatuated with bonsai since the 1980s and has rich seniority. He has been playing since he was young, and his character has changed as a result of this interest.

Lingnan School dominates local bonsai

The local style of bonsai flourished in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1962, the Hong Kong St. John's Auxiliary Hall exhibited a number of bonsai works in Guangzhou, mainly in the Lingnan style. The high artistic conception and skill of the bonsai style attracted many citizens to praise and arouse interest. More and more people are playing bonsai. However, most of the local bonsai players are amateur in nature and lack of relevant space and knowledge, so enthusiasts from all sides form associations to build bonsai gardens to give their members a place to put their works. The Hong Kong Bonsai Yashi Society, which was established in 1970, has even planned to build a Jiangnan Garden called "Shiyuan". The environment is quiet and has become a commonly used location for TV costume dramas.

The local bonsai art is dominated by the Lingnan School, and its history can be traced back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its style is quite different from that of the Northern Bonsai School. It is characterized by the method of "storing branches and cutting off trunks", pursuing a vigorous and strange posture, and often using subtropical and tropical evergreen fine-leaf tree species. Many branches and claws are regarded as beauty, so it is the best condition to prune the branches and induce new buds before the exhibition.

Bonsai can basically be divided into two categories: plant-based stump bonsai and mountain-rock-based landscape bonsai. As far as the shape of trees is concerned, they can be divided into single-dry type, double-dry type, multi-dry type, forest type, cliff type, horizontal basin type, falling branch type, stone-attached type and so on. The first step in making bonsai is to trim the head of the tree, which is called "cutting embryo". After it sends out new buds, it is necessary to cut off what is not suitable, so that the suitable leaf buds can grow into branches, which is for "storing branches." after its length, length, thickness, and so on are all suitable, the top of it will be cut off, which is called "cutting off the stem". After the amputated branches grow new buds, they are screened and cut again, and so on, whether it is the trunk, side branches or branchlets, their growth posture is under control, and the branches become branches over the years, forming a unique Qiu Qiu posture. The size of the trees has also become shorter, so the pile scene is more compact.

The method of "storing branches and cutting off stems" takes a long time, and it often takes 10 years to plant on the ground to make sure the main branches grow. Tsai explains: "after it is 60%, then move it to the basin." Moving to the basin requires at least 3 years of pruning before the final posture can be determined, because the growth space in the basin is small and the roots cannot be stretched properly, and the trees will adjust their growth shape and speed. "you have to move it to the plate to grow claws, but not on the ground. It won't listen to you. A long claw will be very long." When a tree grows fine branches and claws, it is considered a mature work.

The growth space in the basin is limited, so it is easy to make the trees lose their vitality, so they have to cut roots and change mud every two or three years, so that the trees can grow new roots to maintain their health, and they even need to move the trees back to the ground until their branches and leaves grow more luxuriantly and then back into the basin. "if it is not well managed, the bonsai will become crippled and bad. If well managed, it can be kept for more than 100 years. Even if some trees are broken, they can be saved and even grow more beautiful than before. "

The bonsai "Cliff Pine Bird Song" of the island Luohan pine bonsai at this auction is highly picturesque, with a sharp drop in the trunk and smooth branch distribution, which took 25 years to trim.

When it comes to pruning experience, he said bluntly that there are no shortcuts, the most important thing is to do more. The picture shows him helping his friends modify the bonsai and composition of the tree.

20 years of cliff bending posture

Bonsai does not need to be pruned frequently, otherwise it will damage the health and life of the trees. "usually cut twice a year, unless some branches are too strong, they have to be cut first." However, we should also pay attention to its growth state, such as suddenly growing strong branches, destroying the composition and absorbing the nutrients of the old branches, which should be cut off in time.

Tsai said that sometimes he moved to the basin and found that the shape of the trees was different from what he had expected and had to be trimmed and adjusted. "you won't cut it better until you see the tree two or three years later." The pruning space of a work is endless, and after the completion of one branch, it can also be developed to echo on the other side. "some even start all over again."

The worst-case scenario in bonsai is that the trees suddenly die and years of hard work is wasted. There are many factors leading to complete withering, such as insufficient drainage time or forgetting to loosen the soil for bonsai, the phenomenon of bonsai hardening will occur, making it impossible for the roots to absorb air and water. "if you don't deal with it in time, you can die at any time, and the whole process can be very fast, only in a few days."

If there are butterflies, you should be more careful. "two or three days after the flight, insects began to appear in the tree. If at the beginning of autumn, the leaves will no longer grow after all the leaves are eaten by insects, especially the pine trees that grow slowly. It is often eaten up within two days, and then the whole tree begins to die, in vain. Bugs have a protective color, so as soon as they see abnormal signs of haggard pine trees, they should be examined carefully. "

But even if the roots of the trees are dying, as long as some of them are still healthy, they can be brought back to life. "plants have the ability to repair themselves." Many of his bonsai are made of dead wood that would have been abandoned. Even if the branches are decayed, or some of them are as dry as bones, they can still grow green leaves, showing even more indomitable vitality.

Bonsai emphasis on nature, the pursuit of a unique form at the same time can not reveal too much traces of artificial change, there can not be too many miscellaneous branches. It is true that dead wood has the artistic conception of vicissitudes, but the thick roots also have the beauty of vigor. In order to create an artistic conception, he often refers to the landscape painting album to absorb the idea of composition. For example, his bonsai cuckoo inverted the young trees that had grown to the sky and placed them in the basin in a downward posture, which took 20 years to trim into a cliff-like pan-bend posture. "trees have to control their moisture when they are in bloom. Too much water does not blossom. Or it is necessary to cover the whole tree to control its photosynthesis so that it does not come into contact with too much sunlight, and the flowers will bloom shorter and denser. "

The transaction price of Luo Han Song reached 10 million.

When it comes to trimming, he said bluntly that there were no shortcuts. "if you play with it, you will understand it. The most important thing is to do more." Dare to prune, there will be the possibility of progress. "you can start with cheap trees, adapt to the courage, know how to compose, and then cut the expensive ones."

Bonsai players will not only buy tree stumps, but also buy formed works, but they are unwilling to follow other people's composition and try to make it more strange and better. The value of bonsai is determined by variety, congenital embryo shape and acquired pruning technique. the stump is vigorous, the branch is moderate, and if there is a theme and idea, the artistic value will be higher. "not just any tree can be sold. It must be carefully cultivated and artistically pruned for a long time."

In recent years, among the bonsai speculations in the mainland, Luo Han Song is the most popular, with a transaction price as high as 10 million yuan. In view of the strong demand, Hong Kong people who set up a pine plantation in the mainland in the early years earned millions of yuan, but the wild Chinese pine in Hong Kong also suffered as a result and was repeatedly cut down. "but we in the Lingnan School do not like to play with Luohan pine. Fujian tea is the best for growing branches and cutting dry. This variety is very common, and ordinary farmers can also breed, so there is no speculation value."

There is serious fraud in the mainland auction market, and there are few disputes over the authenticity of bonsai, so investors are also interested in it. Recently, Cai's works also participated in the Baogang International Autumn auction "Yafeng Xu Lai-Chinese potted Art" (26-27 preview, 28th auction). After the layman buys bonsai, how to maintain it? Cai points out that the most important thing is to fertilize and water regularly, and you don't need to spend a lot of time on weekdays. But different varieties also have different characteristics. Japanese rhododendrons should not be exposed to high temperatures in the sun. They are suitable for indoor exposure, while pine trees need more sunshine. All these need to be mastered.

As the auction price of bonsai goes up, the tree embryos used in bonsai are becoming more and more expensive. "you can also grow your own embryos, using seeds or cuttings, but it takes a long time. It takes about 15 years for a Fujian tea tree to move from cuttings to pots. "

The local bonsai craze began in the 1960s and 1970s, but it receded in the 1990s. Tsai believes that the reason is a change in the pace of life. "maybe life becomes tense, mortgage payments are stressful, work is busy and there is no time to play, and there is not much space at home." Therefore, nowadays, the bonsai world is faced with the problem of being young, and most of the directors in the association are about his age, so it is "very difficult to find young people." But he thinks that the best way to exercise patience is to play bonsai, which is also a good activity for young people. "you must be calm. You can't be impatient. If you are impatient, you will make a mistake. If you play with it, your character will be restrained somewhat. (laughter) I loved kung fu when I was young, but now I don't practice much. "

Tsai Yung-chang says that plants have the ability to repair themselves, and as long as some of the roots of the trees are still healthy, they can also be brought back to life. Like this Fujian tea, even if the root is broken and the bark is eaten, after trimming and strengthening with stone, it can still grow vigorously in the basin.

Pine is a common tree species in Hong Kong, and it is also often used to make bonsai. For example, when taking care of this mountain pine, the most important thing is to control drainage. Due to lack of drainage or forgetting to loosen the soil for bonsai, the pine may wither completely within a few days.

Cai Yongchang has won numerous awards for his bonsai works. The picture shows him winning bonsai awards at the 1993 Flower Show.