Another Chinese legend relating to the beginnings of bonsai points to a fourth century A.D. Chinese poet and civil servant named Guen-ming. It's believed that after his retirement he began growing chrysanthemums in pots. Some historians believe this was a step towards the beginning of bonsai in the Tang dynasty some 200 years later.

The earliest documented proof of bonsai was discovered in 1972 in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.) who died in 706 A.D. Two wall paintings discovered in the tomb show servants carrying plants resembling bonsai. In one of the paintings a servant is seen carrying a miniature landscape and in the other painting a servant is shown carrying a pot containing a tree.

Today, Bonsai are sold in department stores, garden centers, nurseries, and many other places. However, most of these are young cuttings or starts and not the true Bonsai produced by Bonsai masters. Most trees purchased today are known as pre-bonsai and are for the most part only used as a starting point. To create a true bonsai work of art you need to learn as much as possible about the art and the trees you use. Information is your key to success and it is important to read as much as possible. It is also a good idea to join a local bonsai club so you are able to discuss the subject with experienced bonsai enthusiasts. As your knowledge and confidence grow, creating your own bonsai works of art will become easier and your enjoyment of bonsai will grow.

Pine bonsai in Hidden Lake Gardens Collection.	Ginkgo as penjing in the Montreal Botanical Garden.	A Collection of Bonsai at Florida's Melbourne Zoo.

There are many different styles of bonsai, but some are more common than others. These include formal upright, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft, literati, and group / forest.

The formal upright is just as the name suggests, and is characterized by a tapering trunk and balanced branches. The informal upright is much like the formal, but may bend and curve slightly, although for aesthetic quality the tree should never lean away from the viewer.

Cascade and semi-cascade are modeled after trees that grow over water or on the sides of mountains. Semi-cascades lean just over the rim of the pot where as cascades fall below the base of the pot.

Raft style bonsai are bonsai which mimic a natural phenomenon where a tree that has been toppled (typically due to erosion or another natural force) begins to grow a new root system out of the part of the trunk that is in contact with the ground. Raft bonsai are typically planted with the original root system still intact and in contact with the soil. The bark on the underside of the trunk is trimmed off until the smooth wood underneath is visible; this wood is then placed in contact with the soil and, typically, the trunk is buried either immediately or over time. This group of bonsai can include many other styles such as sinuous, straight-line, and group planting styles. These all give the illusion of a group of trees, but are actually the branches of a tree planted on its side.

The literati style is the hardest to define, but is seen often. The word literati is used in place of the Japanese bunjin which is a translation of the Chinese word wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts". The literati style is usually characterized by a small number of branches typically placed higher up on a long, contorted trunk. Literati bonsai often have the base of the crown beginning at a height lower than an S-shaped trunk bend, and the primary branch growing from below the S-bend, leading down and outwards with graceful sweeping lines. Their style is inspired by the Chinese paintings of pine trees that grew in harsh climates, struggling to reach the light of the sun.

A group or forest bonsai display is, as the name suggests, a number of bonsai (typically an odd number if there are three or more trees) placed together in a pot. Typically the number of trees in a forest style display is fifty or less, though there is no formal limit to this number. The trees are often the same species and are styled accordingly; although group or forest bonsai tend to contain smaller trees (which would be classified as mame style bonsai if they were planted alone), larger trees may be used.

The earliest bonsai to come to the west came mostly from Japan and China. The showing of bonsai at the Third Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878 and later exhibitions in 1889 and 1900 increased western interest in bonsai and opened the door for the first major bonsai exhibit held in London in 1909. In these early years many westerners felt that the trees looked tortured and many openly voiced their displeasure in the way the trees were being treated by bonsai masters. It wasn't until 1935 that opinions changed and bonsai was finally classified as an art in the west.