Model Railroading With The Art Of Bonsai

March 2, 2006

Model Railroading has been called the Worlds Greatest Hobby, and rightly so. But could it be a descendant of the worlds oldest hobby? About 500BC the emperor of the Q’in (pronounced ‘Chin’. Chin is where the name China came from) dynasty wanted to view all the different regions of his empire. But of course it was impossible for him to be in all the regions of his empire at once. So he commissioned some artists in his empire to visit each region and make models of each region, so that he could view them all from inside his palace in the forbidden city.

Once each diorama was completed, it was placed on a map the empire that was carved into the floor in part of his palace. And so each day he would travel through his whole empire, admiring the beauty of his kingdom. The dioramas were called ‘penjing’.

China in 500BC didn’t have the benefit of Woodland Scenics scatter and trees, or similar materials, and so the dioramas were made from real dirt and rocks, and small trees that were alive.

The art of Bonsai owes it’s existence to these penjings, and it would seem that maybe the ‘art’ of Model Railroading does too!

(Information Source: Better Homes and Gardens, July 2004 issue)