Bonsai is gradually formed by cultivating ornamental plants and imitating the development and evolution of natural forests to build rockeries and gardens. Pottery pieces painted with potted plants (more than 7000 years ago) were found in Hemudu Neolithic site in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. Some people think that this may be the earliest evidence of the origin of bonsai. In the mural of the Eastern Han Tomb in Wang Du, Hebei Province (1700 years ago), there is a picture of potted flowers. The picture is a round basin with six red flowers planted in it, and several square plates are placed below it, forming the artistic modeling of the trinity of several flower pots, much like modern bonsai. Some people think that this is the predecessor of bonsai. As for the exact time of the origin of bonsai, more unearthed cultural relics will confirm it in the future.
It is recognized that bonsai was formed in the early Tang Dynasty. The evidence is that on the east wall of the tunnel of the tomb of Prince Li Xian (son of Wu Zetian) excavated in Ganling, Shaanxi Province, there are murals of handmaids holding bonsai. Painted bonsai is very similar to modern bonsai. It can be seen that bonsai had become an ornamental treasure at that time and was used as a palace. At the same time, influenced by the rise of landscape painting in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, using the techniques of "shrinking the dragon to an inch" and "seeing the big from the small" in freehand brushwork landscape painting, rocks and plants formed a "landscape", which developed from a simple "potted plant" to a "bonsai" with artistic conception. In addition, the Palace Museum also preserves a gong gong portrait painted by Yan, a painter in the Tang Dynasty. There is such a picture in the picture: in the tribute team, there is a shallow basin with beautiful rocks standing inside, much like modern landscape bonsai; In the tribute procession, there were people with stones in their hands and stones on their shoulders. These pictures are enough to prove that bonsai was formed in the Tang Dynasty.
Today, bonsai art has regained its brilliance, with different styles and schools.
The ancient bonsai in China was combined with the climate, culture and resources in various places, forming five schools: Yangpai, Supai, Lingnan, Sichuan and Shanghai. Each school has its own unique characteristics and corresponding harmonious atmosphere between art and nature. Yangpai is a bonsai style in Yangzhou and Taizhou, which is famous for its clear hierarchy and stability. The Su School, represented by Suzhou and Changshu, is famous for its old withered branches, delicacy and elegance. Lingnan School, represented by Guangzhou and Foshan, is strong, upright, elegant and bold. Sichuan school, namely Sichuan bonsai, is famous for its traditional skill of "making hands". Shanghai style is Shanghai style, characterized by liveliness, fluency and novelty. Although its history is short, it can absorb the strengths of many families and become a whole. The five schools only choose what they want, and it is inevitable to miss one, so they will be supplemented later, such as adding Huizhou School, which is called the six schools of bonsai; If you add Guangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang and Beijing, it will be called the top ten schools. All these indicate that the bonsai art in China is developing with each passing day.