Penjing in Depth

The Artistic Conception And The Implicated Significance
By Dan Tim Mak

Ling Nam Clique of potted landscape modeling skills (craftsmanship, rules & principles), This can be summarized to twenty-four pithy formulae as follow:

1 Conception by material …

Design upon different shape and post of the wood stock material to decide its future developing profile.

2 Modeling by looking around …

View with different angles before making decisions. Viewing clearly from front to back, left to right to decide the best modeling plan.

3 Keep momentum consistence …

While in the process of breeding and modeling, keep eyes open on the harmony and consistency to the positions of branches and trunks. Do not let the momentum confused.

4 To echo primary & secondary …

For the integral scenario, there should be primary and secondary relationships between branches and trunks. They echo between each other's. Avoid diffusing the integration of the structure.

5 Outstanding the levels …

Ling Nam modeling not emphasis on densely populated, but required for the outstanding of its delicate levels.

6 Differentiate the weighing … Modeling, arrangement, branches and trunks have their master and slave relationship and different weighing, this should be taking care of.
7 To harmonize left and right … The arrangement should have left and right, but the left and right should give consideration to each other to become consistence and harmony.
8 Balance for thick and thin … No matter it is trunks or branches we have to balance the thickness and thinness in their natural ratios.
9 To look after the front and back …

Not only we have to take care of the harmony of left and right in an arrangement, but also we have to take care of the front and back. Mind the balance of each other and do not stress only on one side.

10 Remarking for up and down …

We also have to pay attention to up and down. Up means to manage the top of the plant and down means to manage the root of the plant.

11 Exaggerate the rules … Rules mean the creation rules, we can use realistic rules (e.g. profile of a natural tree) or we can use exaggerated creation rules.
12 Matching the ratio … Pay attention to match each other's, such as the size and ratios of trees, huts and figures.
13 Various lengths between nodes …

The clique of Ling Nam ask for the section between each nodes of the branches or trunks to be grow naturally to different lengths but not all identical.

14 Thickness of branches …

Ling Nam Clique of potted landscape: all trunks and branches are showing different thickness in natural harmonized growing process.

15 Tortuous extension … When trimming or extending trunks and branches, it ask for tortuous and variation, but not stiffness or too soft.
16 Swaying the alignment … When managing the alignment of branches and trunks, this not only ask for tortuous, but also swaying. Besides, this can make the momentum become alive and verdant.
17 Respect primary & secondary …

In case of running the extension of branches and trunks, sometimes it would come across the situation of two or three branches competing for a position. Then we must yield one to accommodate the other.

18 Be courteous when competing … Courteous means rules. When the above mentioned competing cannot be yield. Let the primary win.
19 Make appropriate density … When distributing trunks and branches, we have to make the density appropriate to the scene.
20 Make suitable concentration … The modeling and scenario should have suitable concentration and distribution. This rule is similar to the rule of density.
21 Make alive for virtual & reality … In Chinese painting, we emphasize on leaving blanks, this also works for Ling Nam Clique of potted landscape. It blended with the sentiment of poems and paintings, emphasis on the effect of virtual and reality.
22 The effect of hard and soft … In Ling Nam modeling, we can use the variation of hard and soft to help each other to let the momentum of branches to be strong and alive.
23 Make suitable high and low … The position that support the branches, should be in a suitable height and thickness ratio of natural breeding.
24 Harmonize the strength …

The top of the plant, thickness of branches and roots, and their strength ratio should be set to natural and harmonize.


Go To: Penjing in Depth Contents
The Fantasy of Penjing - 1
The Fantasy of Penjing - 2
The Fantasy of Penjing - 3
The Balance Of Trunk And Branches

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