士先器识而后文艺——顾伟玺的中国画

    南宋陆九渊在《象山先生全集》中说：“艺即是道，道即是艺，岂非二物。”清代刘熙载又在《艺概》中说：“艺者，道之形也。”孔子《论语》中更有“志于道，据于德，依于仁，游于艺”的论述。

    可见，艺者非囿于技，而进乎于道，艺者承载了更多的美学智慧和哲学思考，此其一。

    再者，北宋郭若虚又在《图画见闻志》中说：“人品既高，气韵不得不高。”清代松年《颐年论画》说：“书画清高，首重人品。品节既优，不但从重其笔墨，更钦仰其人。”此文艺者又与人品相关联。

    此外，南宋赵希鹄，明代李日华、唐志契、王绂等先贤还认为，画家须“行万里路，读万卷书”。如赵希鹄在《洞天清禄》中说：“殊不知胸中有万卷书，目饱前代奇迹，又车辙、马迹半天下，方可下笔。”王绂《书画传习录》中说：“要得腹有百十卷书，俾落笔免尘俗耳。”李日华《墨君题语》曰：“绘事必须多读书……自然胸次廓彻，山川灵奇，透入性地时一洒落，何患不臻妙境？”等等。

    以上先贤诸论，揭示了绘画创作主客体关系之奥诀，佐证了绘画绝非囿于匠技。它要求艺术创作主体必“先器识，而后文艺”，一方面是绘画与道无二，必求画者关乎人生世事的了悟也关乎画学的哲学思考。其次，绘画，又要求作者的人品、修养与器量学识。其二，绘画还要求作者有“行万里路，读万卷书”的累积和修炼，甚至关乎意志品质的锤炼等等。 “士先器识，而后文艺”，明白无误地昭示了，一个真正成功的中国画家的成长经历，必然是长期历练的艰苦过程。它既是笔墨及艺术方式方法的千锤百炼，也是个人心性及学识修养长期修炼的艰涩过程。本文介绍的伟玺的求索之路，正是昭示了这一世典的精神要义。

    伟玺与我相识已多年。在很早的时候，就临摹过我的作品。在其后又研究我的中国画艺术。他能透过我的作品，辨析我的学术主张和风格流转变迁的特殊轨迹。他对我中国画作品中所承载的精神意涵的准确认知，他对我作品雄浑磅礴之气的感动和继之而起的情绪的昂扬，缘于他对中国山水画所承载的中国文化精神的了悟，更契合了他数十年沉潜磨炼、艺途艰辛跋涉和努力奋争后的心性的坚毅和刚强。

    伟玺治学已逾三十余年，虽过程充满了艰辛，道路并不平坦。但其阶段性却是极其明晰的,首先是在南京艺术学院的本科、研究生及取得博士学位的十余年时间，其次是他调入上海大学工作的近十年，第三阶段则是跟随我来广西艺术学院这一时期。

伟玺在南京的十余年，是人生磨砺、学术积淀和笔墨锤炼的重要时期。此期，伟玺首先历经了本、硕、博三个阶段学院教育的系统学习和研究，更在中国画笔墨锤炼上，很下功夫。 广泛临习传统绘画精典，特别是宋人山水。曾四上黄山写生，足迹遍历三山五岳。又于书法上临习《爨宝子碑》、《张迁碑》、《石门颂》、《郑文公碑》及李北海的《岳麓寺碑》等传统经典。绘画创作以花鸟画为主兼习工笔人物画。

调入上海大学之后，伟玺从事高校的管理和教学工作，在管理岗位上锻炼了组织能力，积累了行政管理经验。长期的教育和教学又使他更多地关注当代艺术教育问题，并在教学实践中作出了许多有益的尝试和理论上的思考。这一时期，他还在艺术理论研究方面投入心力，出版多部专著，发表学术论文数十篇，走上了技道并进的治学道路。

    伟玺随我来广艺工作后，开始了他艺术人生的全新阶段，也是他艺术创作和理论研究的重要时期。

    广西以其地域和民族文化的特殊性，在中国当代绘画发展历程中的影响力日益显著。在中国画方面，就人物画而言，20世纪80年代，在逐渐远离六七十年代人物画的“主题”性创作形态后，人物画的发展，在题材、体裁及表现方式方法等方面的局限性日益显现。“现代仕女画”、“历史人物”的艺术表现和感染力也日趋苍白乏味。此时，广西画家以少数民族人物风情为素材的人物画则令人耳目一新，从而引发全国各地的一些人物画家以广西少数民族人物风情作为新人物画的表现对象，并由于深入生活及表现对象题材的改变，引发了传统人物画表现形式和艺术创造方式、方法的变革，为艺术创作带来了全新的面目。伟玺以广西侗族人民生存图景和神话传说为题材的工笔人物画《织》及《月亮湖》，即创作于这一时期，其中《织》以白描形式勾廓了侗民织机织布的情景，用线飘逸灵动，人物形象生动而富有趣味。《月亮湖》则以人物夸张的造型和特别的构图方式，渲染出神秘的神话境界。

    在花鸟画方面，传统花鸟画的表现内容，多为中原或北方的动植物，其表现形式和内容也渐趋俗套，广西丰富多样的亚热带花鸟植物在花鸟画题材中的表现，既丰富了这一古老画科的题材样式，更应表现客体的改变，而促成了绘画语言形态的创新发展。

    在山水画方面，广西有甲天下之誉的山山水水，又是少数民族的聚居区，极其丰富的自然景观和富有特色的人文环境，对中国传统山水画题材内容和风格特质的多样性探索产生了深刻的影响。在这一过程中，李可染、白雪石等人具有一定的代表性。黄独峰、阳太阳以及我本人等广西画家，更在利用广西山水情境进行传统山水画新意境的构建方面，作出了长期的探索和努力，广西山水特殊的地域特色，经过艺术家的创造具有了特殊的个性面目，这也使其后“漓江画派”的诞生发展成为一种必然。

早在20世纪七八十年代，“漓江画派”由黄独峰、阳太阳等老一辈画家的前期积累和准备，在自治区领导的大力支持下，由我和其它画家共同打造发展。目前，“漓江画派”以其特殊的地域性和多民族的特殊人文条件，以其绘画领域日益增强的影响力，早已超越了地域的局限，而广泛引进吸纳全国各地的艺术人才，伟玺正是被引进的学者之一。

    “漓江画派”的发展，有了天时、 地利、人和的客观条件，有广西艺术学院的人才优势和学术平台，必能“打造”对艺术发展具有较强影响力和历史性作用的当代新画派。

    关于画派的“打造”，曾引发缘于不同论点的广泛讨论。事实上，“打造”一词，代表了一个有着基本的艺术纲领，有着鲜明的艺术特色，有独特的学术主张，有开放多样的艺术创造形式和风格；有具体的研究对象和内容的艺术团体其艺术行为的“动态过程”。它既不同于封建时代，艺术家游离于社会体制外的无序性、自发性，也不同于旧式教育形态下的师傅带徒弟式的“宗派”特点。

    “漓江画派”以其真实的存在形式和越来越显著的影响力，以其不断发展，不断累积的艺术成就，佐证了“画派”在现当代发展的新形式，存在的新形态。它是否也证明了，“画派”只能是过去完成时的结论，“画派”只赖于后来人去“冠名”的观点，是否缺乏基本的逻辑思辨，至少也是犯了以偏概全之病？

    “漓江画派”的发展，既肩负着民族文化振兴的重任，更为有志于艺术事业的人提供了艺术研究和艺术创作的较好平台。它也是培养优秀人才和著名画家的摇篮。

伟玺近时期艺术创作和艺术研究的成就，就是一个极好的佐证，他在艺术创作中，力践我“写生创作”的艺术方式，与画派画家一起深入乡间村寨和山水田园之中，连续创作了以广西山水为创作素材的《防城港魔石谷》、《老山界》、《青山寨之晨》、《苗山、苗山》等八尺整开的大幅作品。直面生活，使其笔墨鲜活而能意趣天成。其用笔沉厚老辣，追求雄浑苍远气象。伟玺书法篆刻方面的长期锤炼和修养，以及绘画史论的系统研习和理论思考，又使作品中蕴含更多的传统意蕴和思想内涵。他于绘画风格的形成上并不“求脱太早”，追求所谓“图式”个性，而是耐得住寂寞，不放松对自己的要求。

    艺术求索之路，必然是一个艰难跋涉的长期历程，他一定会在艺术创作中不断跨越新高度，创造出更多更好的中国画作品。

    “士先器识，而后文艺”，伟玺勤恳踏实的工作作风，诚厚谦逊的个人品质，永不驻足的进取精神，必将使他频出佳绩，走向成功。

    注：本文作者为致公党中央副主席、中国美术家协会副主席、广西政协副主席、广西艺术学院院长。

 

    Huang Gesheng

    Lu Chiu-Yuan in the Southern Song Dynasty said in the Complete Works of Mr. Xiangshan:” Art is morality, and morality is art, both is the same.” And Liu Xi-zai in the Qing Dynastic said in General Art, “Art is the shape of morality”. And besides, Confucius said in the Analects of Confucius: “The will come from morality, and base upon morality, and depend on morality but act among art”. 

    It is thus clear that, on the one hand, the artist not only has skill but has morality, which bears more aesthetics wisdom and philosophical thoughts.

    On the other hand, Guo Ruoxu in the Northern Song Dynasty, said in Picture Stories: “The moral quality is good, and the artistic conception is a must”; Song Nian in Qing Dynasty said in Painting Discussion: “The paintings are pure and lofty respecting moral quality. If acquiring a good quality, one shall value his ink but more respects”. This means the artist is linking with the moral quality.

    In addition, Zhao Xigu in the Northern Song Dynasty, Li Rihua, Tang Zhiqi, Wang Fu and others in Qing Dynasty considered that, the painters shall “read a million books travel a million miles”. For example, Zhao Xugu said in Dong Tian Qing Lv: “Don’t you know that tens of thousands of knowledge in the mind and see great miracles, and travel around the world, and then you can write them down”. Wang Fu said in Painting and Calligraphy Record: “One shall read hundreds of books, and then write well”; Li Rihua said in Ink Gentleman: “If you want to write, you shall read more, so that ideas will generate easily” and so on. 

    The above mentioned words reveal the key to the subject-object relationship during painting, and demonstrate paintings need more than skills. It requires to “knows organs and then literature and art”, on the one hand, painting and morality is the same, which needs the awareness about life and the philosophical thought on painting; secondly, painting requires the author’s moral quality, culture and education. Besides, the painter shall have the accumulation and practice during the “read a million books travel a million miles”, even about their volitional quality and so on. “Knows organs and then literature and art”, which clearly interprets, the growth of a successful painter in China shall be a long-term hard-working. It is not only numerous practices in inks and artistic methods, but also a hard process for individual knowledge and practice. The exploration road of Weixi introduced in this paper just declares the spiritual meanings. 

    I have been acquainting with Weixi for many years. Since early, he facsimiled my works, afterwards, he research my Chinese painting art. He can analyze my academic proposition and the special style via the research on my works. He has an accurate acknowledgement on the spiritual implications born in my Chinese paintings, he was moved by my majestic works and was encouraged accordingly, which derive from his awareness of the Chinese cultural spirit born in the Chinese mountains and waters paintings, and even correspond to his accumulation and hard-working and the firm and persistence and strong via striving for over ten years. 

    Weixi has been engaging for over three decades, although the process is hard, and the path is not even, the stages are very clear.  Firstly, he graduated from the undergraduate course from Nanjing University of the Arts, and obtained postgraduate and PhD for over ten years. Secondly, he has been working in Shanghai University for nearly ten years. And the third stage is, the study in Guangxi Academy of Art with me. 

    The over ten years in Nanjing, for Weixi, it is the important period to sharpen, deposit and practice. At this period, Weixi went through three stages’ college education of systematic study and research, and even worked hard in the foundation of Chinese paintings. He extensively learnt the traditional painting classics, especially the mountains and waters of Song People. He ever climbed upto the Mount Huangshan for four times, walking through high mountains. And in calligraphy, he learnt Cuan Bao Zi Bei, Zhang Qian Bei, Ode to Shimen, Zheng Wen Gong Bei and Yue Li Shi Bei and so on. The painting creation is centered on flowers and birds and part-time in figures. 

    Since working in Shanghai University, Weixi is dedicated to the management and teaching in the college, and practices his organization ability in his post, accumulating the experience in administrative management. The long-term education and teaching make him to pay more attention to the issue of modern art education, and does a lot of good trials and theoretical thoughts in the teaching practice. In this period, he is still engaging in the research aspect of art theory, publishing many monographs, and about ten academic papers, moving forward a road mixed skill and moral. 

    Since work with me, he began his brand new stage of art life, which is his important stage for his art creation and theoretical research. 

The particularity the region of Guangxi and the national culture impacts the development of Chinese modern paintings increasingly. In the field of Chinese painting, as for figure paintings, in 1980s’, after the “theme” creation in the 60s’ and 70s’, the development of figure paintings’ boundedness is shown day by day in the aspect of subject, type and manifestation mode and more. The artistic expression and infection of “Modern Lady Painting”, “History Figure” are vapidity gradually. At this moment, the Guangxi painters create the figure paintings is fresh new via the materials of national minority custom, thereof introducing this kind of expression, and deepen the changes on life and the object subject, and introducing the traditional methods and art creative method, so as to bring a total new face. Weixi’s Weave, Moon Lake, based on the Guangxi People’s living pictures and legends, which are made in this period, hereinto, Weave, describing the scene of weaving under the graceful lines, and the figure images are vivid and funny. And the Moon Lake, painting a mysterious status via a exaggerated shape and special modes of composition.

    In the field of flowers and birds, the traditional flowers and birds express the flora and fauna in the Central Plains or the north, which show some conventional patterns in the expressing form and content, the abundant subtropics flowers and birds and plants are shown in the paintings, which not only enrich this old subject, and promote the innovative development of painting languages. 

    In the zone of mountains and waters, Guangxi is famous by the mountains and waters in the world, this region has rich natural landscape and cultural environment with rich features, which influence the diversified exploration of the content and style of Chinese traditional paintings deeply. In this process, Li Keran, Bai Xueshi have a certain of representativeness, and Huang Dufeng, Yang Taiyang and I is the Guangxi Painter, we are using the mountains and waters to construct the traditional artistic conception via our long-term exploration and endeavor, the special regional in Guangxi owns his features via the artists’ creation, and afterward bring the certainty to the birth of “Lijiang River School”.

    Early in 1970s’ and 1980s’, “Lijiang River School” was accumulated and prepared by the Huang Dufeng and Yang Taiyang, under the great supports of the local leaders, other painters and I work hard for it together. Currently, the impact of “Lijiang River School” has increasingly exceeded the regional limit and introduced art talents all around the country via the special regionalism and special and multinational humanity condition. And Weixi is one the introduced scholars. 

    The development of “Lijiang River School” owns the objective condition of climate, favorable geographical position, and support of the people, and has the talent advantages and academic platform of Guangxi Academy of Art, which must be forge the great influence on the arts’ development as the modern new school in our history.

    With regard to the “forging” of the school, there are extensive discussions from different arguments. As matter of fact, “forging” means a basic artistic creed with clear artistic characteristics and particular academic propositions, and various artistic creative shape and style; it has a specific object of study and content. It is differing from the feudal age, the artists are traveling in the randomness and spontaneity outside the community organization, and differing from the sect features under the old education. 

    “Lijiang River School” proofs the new form in the modern development and the existed new status via its authentic existence and remarkable impacts increasingly and its constant development and accumulated artistic accomplishments. Whether it proves the “School” just be the conclusion of the past perfect tense, and the “School” just depends upon the “renamed” viewpoint or not? Whether it is lack of basic logic speculation or at less the wrong of overgeneralization or not?

    The development of “Lijiang River School” not only takes the great responsibility of promoting the national culture, but also provides a better platform of artistic research and artistic creation for the future artists, which is a cradle to cultivate the talents and famous painters. 

    The recent works and artistic accomplishments of Weixi is a good demonstration. In his works, he tries his best to the artistic method of “painting the creation”, and walking through the villages and landscape with other painters, successively created great works based upon the materials of Guangxi Mountains and waters, such as Yuecheng Mountains, Magic Stone Valley at the Port of Fangcheng, Green Mountainous Morning, Miao Mountain and so on. Due to the direct life, his ink is full of vigor and funny. He is skilled in painting and pursuing the forceful images. The long-term practice and culture in the fields of calligraphy and seal cutting, systematic study and theoretical though about painting history bring more traditional meanings and ideological implications to the works. He pursues his own personality in the style, bearing loneliness and no relaxation for his own requirements. 

    The road to the art exploration must be a hard and long period, he must continue to step over in the creation, and bring more and better Chinese paintings. 

    “Gentleman Knows Organs and then Literature and Art”, Weixi is diligent and conscientious, honest and modest, keeping the entrepreneurial spirit always, who will bring more and more achievements for him. 

    Remark: the author of this paper is the vice-chairman of Zhigong Party, vice-chairman of Chinese Artists Association, vice-chairman of Guangxi Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, dean of Guangxi Academy of Arts.