The Making of Bonsai is a general education course, which is appropriate for students in colleges and universities, practitioners in the gardening industry and bonsai enthusiasts to learn independently. The course adopts a combined mode of online learning and offline practice. With the study and practice of tree bonsai, bonsai with typical local characteristics, commercial bonsai, mountains-and-waters bonsai, bonsai maintenance and other contents, students are capable to master related knowledge and skills. At the same time, this course can cultivate students' artistic temperament and promote their self-cultivation.
By learning the making of tree bonsais, students will learn the winding skills of metal wire (aluminum wire), bending skills and five common styles of trees (straight stem, oblique stem, horizontal stem, curved stem and cliff-style). The making of tree bonsai is one of the basic teaching contents of this course.
By learning the making of bonsai with typical local characteristics, students will learn the following making skills: cloud-shape branches and palm-shape branches of the Yangzhou-style bonsai; the Suzhou-style bonsai with six branches on both sides, three branches at the rear and one branch on the top; the dragon-shape style of the Anhui-style bonsai; the regular-curved stem, the irregular-curved stem, and the spirally-curved stem in the Sichuan-style bonsai; the two-and-a-half-bendNantong-style bonsai; the wind-blowing bonsai; as well as the literati-style bonsai. By learning traditional bonsai styling skills, students can consolidate and improve their knowledge and skills in the making of tree bonsai and stimulate their enthusiasm for creation.
By learning commercial bonsai, students will learn the making of miniature bonsai, jungle-style bonsai, flower-and-fruit style bonsai, and withered-branch bonsai that can meet the demand of the current market. Besides, this part can also stimulate students' innovative thinking.
By learning mountains-and-waters bonsai, soft rock bonsai, tree-and-rock bonsai and water-and-land bonsai, students can create natural landscapes within a pot with rocks, plants and other main materials, and express their thoughts and feelings to beautify the environment and cultivate their sentiment.
By learning bonsai care, students will learn the basic care and management skills of bonsai through pruning and shaping, daily watering, fertilization and soil replacement.
