What's the difference between bonsai and penjing

The word "Bon-sai" (often misspelled as bonzai or banzai) is a Japanese term which, literally translated, means “planted in a container”.

Bonsai and penjing are closely related art forms. Penjing takes its name from the Chinese name for miniature trees or landscape plantings and predates the development of bonsai. Even rock landscapes that lack plant materials are considered penjing. Elements of penjing eventually migrated to Japan and became known as bonsai, which is the Japanese word for miniature trees and forest plantings. Over time, bonsai slowly began to adapt a more naturalistic, free flowing style. More recently, some penjing have also come to embrace a style that echoes nature as well.

Penjing generally fall into one of three categories:

Tree Penjing (shumu penjing): A tree penjing focuses on the depiction of one or more trees and optionally other plants in a container, with the composition's dominant elements shaped by the creator through trimming, pruning, and wiring.

Landscape Penjing (shanshui penjing): A landscape penjing depicts a miniature landscape by carefully selecting and shaping rocks, which are usually placed in a container in contact with water. Small live plants are placed within the composition to complete the depiction.

Water and Land Penjing (shuihan penjing): This style of penjing effectively combines the first two, including miniature trees and optionally miniature figures and structures to portray a landscape in detail.