刘熙载在《艺概·书概》中这样讲到：“书，如也。如其学、如其才、如其志。总之曰如其人而已。”一管柔毫即把人的精气神和性情格调清晰而又千差万别地体现在笔端的点线之中，透过那变幻万千的点线，我们似乎看到了沉浸于笔底而洋溢于案头的鲜活个体。人格和性情才是艺术的最终目的和内在灵魂。

　　In the “Introduction to Arts-Introduction to Books”, Liu Xizai ever said: “Book implies: it implies knowledge, talents and ambitions, and particularly the one who writes it.” It is the writing brush that notes every single thought or emotion down, vividly showing a great world behind the words. After all, the purpose and soul of arts lie in people’s personalities and feelings.

　　在西方，书写与绘画使用的是不同的工具，而在中国，这个创造了令人叹为观止的灿烂文明的国度里，书画同源似乎也可以因为使用这一管笔而成立。一管柔毫，既写就了颜筋柳骨，又绘出了吴带当风，正是那一个个在中国艺术史上彪炳千秋的星座式的人物，挥舞着手中那一管生花妙笔，将一个民族的历史描绘的那般浑朴厚重却又风风雅雅。

　　一管笔，在张择端的手里就是清明时节那繁华熙攘的宋都汴梁;到了仇英手里，则变作流离坎坷却又才气纵横的蔡文姬;王羲之用它写出了晋人的豪放洒脱，不拘礼法，颜真卿却用它讲述了大唐的博大雄浑，光辉灿烂。人是笔的灵魂，在岁月的交响里翩翩起舞，成就了这个民族的繁华过往。

　　浙江湖州善琏镇，有一座蒙恬庙，名人与笔的故事自传说里秦将蒙恬“用枯木为管，鹿毛为柱，羊毛为被”发明毛笔就已经开始了。不管是附会的传说，还是真实的过往，我们都无法否认，倘若没了那“惟软，则奇怪生焉”的毛笔，那些曾经培育了这个民族细腻优雅的心灵的美好作品将瞬间失去光彩，更遑论那些因之而不断被称颂的名字。

　　人与笔，原本就是相得益彰的。《湖州府志》记载说赵孟頫非常关注湖笔的制作工艺，他曾要人替他制笔，即使一支不如意，也要拆裂重制，正是有了这般严格的要求，才有了那与钱舜举的画、赵孟頫的字并称“吴兴三绝”的冯应科妙笔，湖笔也才能有“毛颖绝技甲天下”的胜名。

　　湖笔的诞生地善琏，是一个典型的水乡小镇，一条小河蜿蜒地穿城而过，一直与京杭大运河相连，最初的时候，善琏人摇着一条小船，就可以直接把湖笔运送到不少地方。大概经两天的时间，这条小船便可抵达百余公里之外的苏州城，那是一个艺术积淀很深的城市。在今天，这里依旧不断涌现优秀的画家、书法家。我们特别邀请了其中两位苏州中年书画家，来分享他们与笔的故事。

　　变化不居自成一体——王国安

　　就苏州书坛整体创作实力而言，王国安的书法创作已进入了一个较高的层面，笔墨精到而技法娴熟又别具个性。然他深知“随事从宜，靡有常制”，须因时而变。也因此，他依旧不断临摹，在古代碑帖中不断寻求新的变化。

　　坚持求索，博采众取，不仅表现在王国安对书法作品上，也同时呈现在他对于书写的载体“毛笔”的要求上。工欲善其事，必先利其器。选取不同材质的笔毫，使用时更易彰显特色与个性，也无疑能给作品增添不少魅力。

　　从最初的湖笔，到现在的江西笔等，王国安都在不断地进行尝试、磨合。王国安擅长篆隶和行草书，偶然用毫的变换，给他的作品带来偶然的效果和新意。谈及最近用得颇为顺意的一支笔，竟是随手从画家朋友的桌上“捡来的”，一管长锋纯羊毫。这一管不知品牌的长锋纯羊毫从用起来奇怪到得心应手，创作了一批线条质朴而气息清雅的作品，应该说也得益于它。

　　僵化是书法艺术生命的终结，长期使用某一种笔固然会给自己形成成熟的创作模式，但也容易出现程式化，“甜中意、咸喜欢”而别具个性的王国安暂时不会允许这样的结局发生。书法在王国安这里，已不仅仅是独一无二的艺术形态，更是舞动着的独特生命姿态，伴随着笔墨纸砚流淌着的毫无疑问应该是独属于每一位书画人的翰墨精神。

　　In western world, people use different tools for writing and painting; but here in China, we can create marvelous arts just with a writing brush. It can not only bring out excellent calligraphic arts, but also elegant spirits apart from arts.

　　It is user who is operating the brush and recording this nation’s prosperous histories. In Shan Lian Town, Hu Zhou of Zhejiang province, there is a Meng Tian Temple in memory of Meng’s inventing of writing brush according to the legend. Whether the story is true or not, one thing cannot be denied: without the writing brush, there would be no great masterpieces recording China’s splendors, nor there would be any great scholars ever memorized.

　　In fact, the writing brush and the writer depend on each other and bring out the best of each other. It is recorded that ancient scholar Zhao Mengfu was especially strict in brush-making, once the brush was not that good, he would break it off. Hence, his works were particularly praised.

　　The production base of Hu brush Shan Lian is a typical small water town. in ancient times, local people delivery brushes by boat. With about two days’ waterway transportation, those brushes would arrive at Suzhou, a city endowed with rich cultural arts. Here we invite two Suzhou artists to share their stories about writing brushes.

　　Unique Style under Various Changes

　　For calligrapher Wang Guo’an, changes and challenges are always welcome in calligraphy arts as well as the materials of writing brush. He believes that different materials can express different features and brighten the calligraphic works.

　　From Hu brush to Jiangxi brush, Wang has always been trying and innovating. Wang is good at official script and cursive script, and he thinks that using different brushes can bring out new concepts.

　　Stereotype means the end of arts. Wang believes that using the same brush would formulize the art works and he is determined to avoid this kind of stereotype. For Wang, calligraphy is not only an art, but also an unique way to interpret life as well as the artist’s inner world.