Thats a good point Bodi. I was thinking although we have had further discussion on this behind the scenes. We haven't explored it enough here yet.
I was surprised that Deborah states in her book that alot of the forms of what we know as literati is not technically traditional literati.
This is part of what she wrote in Bonsai It's Art Science, History and philosophy.
First it is a single trunk" "The trunk may be straight curved or angular, but it must taper and if it is not straight, the line must move in three dimensions to give depth to the design. One half to three quarters of the trunk should be bare of branches and the branches themselves should be few in number and usually short in proportion to the height of the tree....
She then goes on to state that as time passed the masses started to create literati and variations resulted some degraded the style and others where quite beautiful. Some of these forms are Gnarled trunk with jin and deadwood, Angular literati style(exaggerated curves) Literati with bowed head(apex is trunk bending down), cascade literati. two setting tree, group setting.
Here are a couple of examples of what I think most would call great literati but by Deborah's studies they are technically not traditional Literati.
This is my favourite all time literati and probably the tree that got me so interested in literati. It looks so fragile yet it gives a presence of standing the test of time. But as the apex is made by the trunk and the foliage bowing after it is a variation of the traditional trees of the literati men.
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This is another exceptional Literati I think. but it would have to fit into the Angular literati style(exaggerated curves) by Deborah's definition which again is not Traditional form.
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I would love to show the drawings of examples that Deborah has in her book but knowing how tightly they protect their copyrights I better not
So I feel it is understandable that even the most experienced bonsai practitioners would have different views on what is true literati.
So it is beneficial to understand what the judges will accept as Literati.
I don't think we are restricting any form but I get the feeling that Pup may not score cascade very high
But I will let the guys explain their stance in any detail.
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It's too bad your in such a hurry cause the stories I could tell you, Bushels and baskets of stories, hole crates full of stories. But if you can spare a moment I will tell you one story.
1st of November.
