About a dozen people gathered at Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden to hear enthusiast Brian Ellis talk about this ancient art form.
In the past 20 or 30 years the art of Chinese penjing was becoming more well known.
The Chinese style was more natural and had fewer rules than the Japanese bonsai, which had become quite specific about what constituted a good bonsai, Mr Ellis said.
"What you are trying to do is create a miniature, something you will see on the mountain side that has been formed by the elements.
"So you are creating in miniature, something you would see out in nature."
The main aim of penjing was to faithfully recreate the look of a weathered, adult tree in nature.
The specialised equipment needed was as simple as a pair of scissors.
"What keeps it small is trimming it.
"There is this myth that you keep it small by trimming the roots.
"No, it is going to grow, and you keep it small by trimming it."
Traditionally trees including pines, maples and cedars were use for penjing, but indigenous species such as red or mountain beech could be used.
"You can use native trees and some are really beautiful - things like kōwhai, you've got the flowers.
"You’ve got kahikatea because in its juvenile form it has got really tiny leaves [so] it looks in proportion."
A good penjing was balanced, but asymmetrical.
"It is creating in living material, something which is aesthetically pleasing."
The talk was one of the many events taking place during Wild Dunedin - New Zealand Festival of Nature, which runs until Sunday.
History of penjing
The pursuit of creating trees in miniature had its origins in the Han imperial dynasty period of about 206 BC to 220 AD, when the art form was called penzai.
Penjing emerged at its peak in the Ming Dynasty which ruled China from about 1368 to 1644 AD.
"So about 1500 in the Ming Dynasty, it reached its peak in China, and then it went a bit into decline."
Buddhist monks took the penzai/penjing form of art over to Japan in the 10th and 11th centuries, Mr Ellis said.
It continued to develop and became well known in Japan.
The art form now known as bonsai was first introduced to the west at the Paris World’s Fair (Exposition Universelle) of 1878.
"People saw these funny little trees, and were amazed by them.
"And that is the first time they really became known in the West."
Another increase in awareness of bonsai was in the years after World War 2.
"With all the troops going back from Japan and Asia, over to America and Europe, they took these back with them, and it really took off."
That explained why in the West the art of miniature trees was more widely known as bonsai.
