Bonsai containers in Vietnam

In Vietnam potted plants are omnipresent and during my brief visit in 2016 I scrutinised every flower pot in my way. The containers were made of concrete, ceramic and stone. It seems that concrete pots were most common. They are used for larger trees and miniature landscapes. Some were painted with bright colours and looked rather tawdry. The examples shown in the images below are somewhat more sophisticated.

Needless to say, there were lots of ceramic pots. Most of them looked tacky. Images below show examples which looked particularly native.

There was one type of ceramic containers that I really liked. Initially, I saw them in a couple of antique shops in Hanoi and then I came across of a small collection in a private bonsai garden in Hoi An where I took the photos shown below. I am not sure if these containers were locally produced or imported. They could be either antique or vintage. I am not sure of their age because the deterioration of the glaze can be attributed to the low temperature firing used in their production. If these pots are earthenware than it’s just a matter of few decades for the glazes to start peeling off. The actual decoration on these pots is very crude, but the glaze deterioration gives them this aged look and the ephemeral rustic quality akin to wabi-sabi.

Finally, I saw a small number of containers carved out of stone and when I looked though my photos found only one shown below.

This post is probably a very incomplete survey of containers used for bonsai in Vietnam, but that’s all I got.

Bonsai pot stragglers from last year

A couple of medium size pots I made in 2017, which took a long time to fire in an electric kiln. The one on the left is rectangular with rounded corners and the one on the right is oval. Both are tests for one glaze over another.

Wood-fired bonsai pots made in 2017

2017 was uneventful for me in terms of bonsai or bonsai pot making. I made only ten bonsai pots last year, but those that are wood-fired are worth showing off. Below is probably the best pot I made last year. Decorated with rutile glaze.

Below is a pot with a Chinese cheng-yu proverb inscribed with underglaze.

The one below is decorated with a blue glaze that got altered by natural ash.

Below is an unglazed pot with natural ash formed on one side.

Last but not least, another unglazed pot made in Namban style.

The Temple of Literature, Hanoi

The Temple of Literature is basically what is left of the Imperial Academy created to educate Vietnam’s elite in medieval times. This is where they held Vietnam’s civil service examinations and I can’t help thinking that it mirrored Chinese imperial examination system. This educational institution was dedicated to Confucius and a couple of sages and scholars and functioned from 1076 till 1779. I would say it had a pretty good run.

When I started writing this post it was difficult for me to figure out which photos have been taken in which part of the temple, so I ended up drawing a plan shown below to make the post more visual and somewhat structured.

Images below show the main gate of the temple. I am not an expert on traditional Vietnamese architecture, but it felt like there is something distinctly Vietnamese about it.

Since the temple is surrounded by walls and its courtyards are separated from each-other by walls as well, there are quite a few gates. They are all different and well-integrated with the surrounding gardens. The image below left shows the Dai Tai gate. It is one of the side gates located in the first courtyard. The image below centre shows a bit of the first courtyard and the gate leading to the second courtyard. Another gate is shown in the image below right. It is called the Khue Van pavilion and it provides a passage from the Second to the Third Courtyard.

The temple gardens feature a number of ponds. Images below show two examples. The image on the left shows one of the ponds in the First Courtyard and the image on the right shows the Thien Quang well in the Third Courtyard.

Below are images of the Fourth Courtyard featuring trees growing in large concrete planters.

The focal point of the whole complex is the main hall of the temple located in the Fifth Courtyard. Below are images showing some of its features. The rightmost image shows the altar to Confucius.

Finally, let’s make this post relevant to the topic of bonsai. Below are some examples of potted trees photographed in various areas of the temple.

Images below show larger potted trees located in the Fourth Courtyard.

What can I say about the potted trees in the temple? They all display some degree of styling. None of them are terribly refined, but given the context, they probably don’t have to be. To me they provide historical context for bonsai by linking Oriental style potted plants with penjing.

Overall, the Temple of Literature was a great place to visit. It taught me that cultivation of styled potted plants was an important scholarly activity in Vietnam.