Craftsman‘s Heart， Philosopher’s Thought， and Chinese-Western Techniques- Reflections on Chinese Ink Paintings of Horses by Xiong Ming

GaoLiuxing

　　开始首先说几句题外话。孙过庭《书谱》里的“五乖五合”的“五合”是指“神怡务闲、感惠徇知、时和气润、纸墨相发和偶然欲书”，其中的“偶然欲书”是指书法家在外界某种事物的触动和内心某种情绪的激发下突然产生的创作欲望、创作冲动。我发现自己写文章也存在这样的情况，我的写作冲动总是被某个偶然情境所激发，所以我的文章似乎陷入了某种套路之中了，有几次是为了避开这种套路而特地采用了另一种方式。所以要是读者发现我的文章又陷入套路之中，敬请包涵。First of all， let me start with a few digressions. The great calligraphic theorist Sun Guoting once proposed the theory of “Wu Guai Wu He” （five adverse factors and five favorable factors） in his work Shu Pu （A Narrative on Calligraphy）. The “Wu He” consists of “good mental state， grateful heart， excellent weather condition， superior paper and ink， and emergence of inspiration”， among which the “emergence of inspiration” refers to the calligrapher‘s sudden creative desire and impulse triggered under the touch of something outside and the stimulation of a certain inner emotion. I find that this is also the case when I write articles， and my writing impulse is always stimulated by a certain occasion. As a result， my articles seem to fall into a set routine， and I tried to use another pattern to avoid this routine on several occasions. Therefore， if any reader finds that my article falls into the routine again， please bear with me.我之前写过《马缘》一文，里面涉及到一些对于熊明的骏马图的欣赏，今天之所以再写此文，是因为某一偶然因素促使我再次仔细欣赏品味熊明的骏马图，从而产生了一些新的感受，且又感觉到不吐不快。I once wrote an article A Tie with Horse， which involved some appreciations of Xiong Ming’s horse paintings. The reason why I write this article today is that some accidental factor promotes me to carefully appreciate Xiong Ming‘s horse paintings again， thus resulting in some new feelings that I think I have to speak out.偶然看到伦勃朗的一幅画，名字叫《熟睡中的的女子》，我简直不敢相信这是伦勃朗的画，据我了解，伦勃朗的画风是讲究光和影的极致表达，色彩变化微妙而丰富，重视细节描绘。可这幅出自伦勃朗晚年之手的画却用了毛笔与墨水寥寥数笔就把一个熟睡中的女子勾勒了出来。这画风对于我来说却有种似曾相识的感觉，我一下子就想到了熊明的国画马的风格，于是我就开始饶有兴致地再次去品味手头的熊明所画的一幅幅骏马图。I came across a Rembrandt painting called Young Woman Sleeping. I couldn’t believe it is a painting by Rembrandt. As far as I know， Rembrandt‘s painting style is centered on ultimate expression of light and shadow， subtle and rich color variations， and detail depiction. But this painting by Rembrandt in his later years sketches a sleeping woman with just a few ink brushes. It makes me have a feeling of déjà vu. I suddenly think of the style of Chinese ink paintings of horses by Xiong Ming， so I begin to appreciate the galloping horses painted by Xiong Ming again with great interest.

伦勃朗《熟睡中的女子》Young Woman Sleeping by Rembrandt

　　赏完所有的骏马图，我发现根据画面表现出来的精神氛围熊明的骏马图大致可以分为两种类型：一类具有奋发之气，一类具有宁静之态。具有奋发之气的画上的马或轻身欢步，或奋蹄飞奔，或腾跃傲啸，给人一种积极进取，奋发向上的精神感召；而《月夜》、《巴山春色》与《星蹄香陌》等却画了许多低头专注吃草的马，画面气氛宁静安详，让人看了有种息心绝游，融入这些马儿之中，与自然与世界和谐相处的欲望。

　　After enjoying all the horse paintings， I find that according to the spiritual atmosphere shown in the pictures， Xiong Ming’s horse paintings roughly fall into two types： One has the spirit of striving， and the other has the state of tranquility. The horses in the paintings with the spirit of striving are either walking lightly， galloping vigorously， or leaping and screaming proudly， rendering an up-and-coming spiritual inspiration； However， Moon Night， The Spring Scenery of Bashan and Night Running on Field Roads depict many horses grazing with their heads down. The picture atmosphere is rather serene， making people have a desire to join these horses and live in harmony with nature and the world.

熊明国画《月夜》（60CM*96CM）Chinese ink painting Moon Night by Xiong Ming （60CM*96CM）

熊明国画《巴山春色》（34CM*135CM）

Chinese ink painting The Spring Scenery of Bashan by Xiong Ming （34CM*135CM）

熊明国画《星蹄香陌》（34CM*135CM）

Chinese ink painting Night Running on Field Roads by Xiong Ming （34CM*135CM）

　　这两种画面所呈现出来的精神氛围正好契合了中国传统文化的两种哲学思想：儒家的入世思想与道家的出世思想。中国的这两种哲学观念之所以能够并存并几千年来一直对中国人的人生观起着重大影响，是因为它们能让人做到“进可攻，退可守”，从而立于不败之地。如果要说熊明把自己的人生观寄寓到了他的画中的话，我只能说，熊明在行动上是奉行儒家的入世观，目标明确，积极奋进，刻苦坚持，努力拼搏，真所谓：生命不息，战斗不止。而在心态上却秉持着道家的出世情怀，真正做到超然物外，与自我与世界和谐相处。熊明有一幅国画马取名《逸骥寻云步步高》，另有一幅油画马取名《寻云》，这两幅画可谓意境深远，颇具象征意义。这里的“云”可能喻指崇高的理想或美，“寻云”也就是探索与追求这种理想或美，这两幅画简直是“淡泊明志，宁静致远”的直观写照。我从中似乎看到了中国古代文人的影子，他们即使归隐山林，但并不是真的消极避世，而是在积蓄力量，待机而动，如东晋谢安；或者几度宦海沉浮，却能在人生低谷中依然能旷达自处，随时准备出山经纶国事，如东坡先生；我似乎也看到了诸葛亮躬耕南亩时的身影。

　　The spiritual atmosphere presented by these two kinds of picture just fits the two philosophical thoughts of Chinese traditional culture， namely Confucianism‘s thought of this-worldliness and Taoism’s thought of other-worldliness. The reason why these two philosophies of China can coexist and have a great influence on Chinese people‘s view of life for thousands of years is that they can make people attack when advancing and defend when retreating， thus remaining invincible. Assuming that Xiong Ming puts his view of life in his paintings， all I can say is that Xiong Ming pursues the Confucian view of this-worldliness in action， with clear goals， positive progress， diligent efforts and hard work， which is so called “Be alive and keep fighting”. However， in mentality， he upholds the Taoist view of other-worldliness， holding himself aloof from the material temptation and truly living in harmony with himself and the world. Xiong Ming once painted a Chinese ink painting of horses named Rising High and an oil painting of horse named “Seeking the Cloud”， and it may be said that these two paintings have far-reaching artistic conception and symbolic significance. The “Cloud” here may refer to lofty ideals or beauty， and “Seeking the Cloud” means exploring and pursuing such ideals or beauty. These two paintings are simply visual explanation of the old Chinese saying “Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind， and having inner peace will help you see far”. I seem to see the shadow of ancient Chinese literati. Even if they retired from the world， they were not really pessimistic， but were accumulating strength and waiting for action， such as Xie An in the Eastern Jin Dynasty； Or even though they had gone through several ups and downs in the official circles， they can still be broad-minded at the bottom of life and prepared to make a comeback for serving the country， such as Su Shi. I seem to have seen Zhuge Liang’s figure when he was cultivating the fields.

熊明国画《逸骥寻云步步高》（30CMx97CM）Chinese ink painting Rising High by Xiong Ming （30CMx97CM）

　　熊明油画《寻云》Chinese ink painting Seeking the Cloud by Xiong Ming从熊明的骏马图画作中我们可以看出熊明怀揣着一颗匠心，不断锻造锤炼打磨自己的绘画技艺，精益求精，不达到极致的境地绝不罢休。伦勃朗画艺精湛，因为对人体解剖学知识掌握得好，所以他拿起毛笔用墨水画画，也能做到仅仅用寥寥数笔就画出类似于我们中国国画的一幅画作，而且能做到形神兼备。而熊明的油画非常功底扎实，无疑他对西方的人体解剖学知识也掌握得很好，而且他还把解剖学知识转而用到对马的形体构造的研究之中，从而掌握了马的骨骼构造与肌肉分布，精准地掌握了马的运动机制，从而做到了可以随心所欲地塑造马的姿态动作。熊明画过很多马，那些马真是千姿百态，它们的形象无不是被画得精确到位的。From Xiong Ming‘s horse paintings， we can see that Xiong Ming， with a plot of great ingenuity， constantly forges， tempers and polishes his painting skills， keeps improving， and never stops until reaching the limit. As Rembrandt has exquisite painting skills and a good grasp of human anatomy， when picking up the ink brush， he can finish a painting similar to our Chinese ink painting in the unity of form and spirit with only a few brush strokes. Xiong Ming has a solid foundation of oil painting skills， and undoubtedly he also has a good command of western human anatomy. On that basis， he applies his anatomy knowledge to the study of the horse’s body structure， thus mastering the horse‘s skeletal structure and muscle distribution， and precisely grasping the horse’s locomotory mechanism， so that the horse‘s posture and movements can be shaped as desired. Xiong Ming has painted a lot of horses in various poses with different expressions， and their images are all depicted accurately.

　　熊明的国画马要么具有强健的气魄，要么具有安详的神态。画家只需用寥寥数笔，就能向观众展示出一幅形神兼备的骏马图。除了他所掌握得马的运动机制之外，也与他有着扎实的中国传统书法功底分不开。在中国，书画从来是不分家的，虽说是在画画，实际上是在写画。画好中国画必须要有较强的书法功底做基础。In Xiong Ming’s Chinese ink paintings of horses， either they have a strong spirit or have a serene demeanor. With only a few strokes， the painter can show the audience a horse painting in the unity of form and spirit. Apart from his mastery of the locomotory mechanism of horses， it is also inseparable from his solid foundation of Chinese traditional calligraphy. In China， painting and calligraphy are never separated from each other. Although the painters are painting， they are actually writing. To finish a good Chinese painting， one must have a strong foundation of calligraphy.

　　中国的书法讲究用笔用墨。用笔上讲究中锋用笔，讲究方折圆转相结合，讲究蓄势发力，讲究气韵生动，等等。要是运笔后写不出骨力与劲道，而只是空有外形，即使外形最美，那字也只是徒有其表，缺乏精神，更谈不上气韵生动了。在此，我想就熊明的《塞上飞骏》为例来说明一下熊明画画时的书法用笔。Chinese calligraphy emphasizes the application of brush and ink. In terms of brush strokes， what really matter are center-tip strokes， the combination of square folding and round turning， gaining momentum， and rhythmic vitality. If you can‘t paint forceful brush strokes， the characters will only be superficial and specious even if they have the most beautiful shapes， not to mention the rhythmic vitality. Here， I’d like to take Xiong Ming‘s Flying Horse on Frontier as an example to explain Xiong Ming’s calligraphic brush strokes when painting.

　　熊明国画《塞上飞骏》（48CMx69CM）Chinese ink painting Flying Horse on Frontier by Xiong Ming （48CMx69CM）熊明用几笔浓墨勾勒出了马的头部轮廓，这些笔画是纯中锋用笔，笔的提按转折恰到好处。因此，笔画虽细却劲道十足。这几笔要不是中锋用笔，要不是做到提中有按，笔画就会被写飘了，飘了的笔画就会显得虚弱无力。再看熊明画马蹄与小腿关节的那几笔，把笔画的刚柔并济完美地表现出来了，笔画既有骨力又有韧性，笔画很细但一点都没有虚飘的样子，这是因为圆转用笔做得很好，圆转处完全体现出了书法中所谓“折钗股”的形态特征。Xiong Ming sketches the outline of the horse‘s head with a few thick-ink strokes. These strokes are purely center-tip strokes， and the lifting， pressing and turning of the brush just hit the spot. Therefore， the strokes are fine yet vigorous. If it were not for the center-tip strokes and the technique of pressing with lifting， the strokes would be floating， and the floating strokes would appear feeble and weak. Looking at the strokes of the horseshoes and calf joints， the rigidity and softness of the strokes are perfectly displayed. The strokes are both forceful and tough. Despite the fine strokes， the picture doesn’t show any sense of floating. That is because the round turning technique is well applied， and the round turning sites completely reflects the morphological characteristics of the so-called “Rounded Reflection” in calligraphy.我经常看熊明画画，他画马的每一笔都非常迅捷果断，十几二十分钟就可以画好一幅画，那真是胸有成竹，游刃有余，令我佩服得五体投地。I often watch Xiong Ming paint. Every stroke of his horse painting is rather quick and decisive. He can finish a painting in ten or twenty minutes with ease and confidence， which makes me completely impressed.

　　中国书法在用墨上有“墨分五色”之说，即用墨上要尽量体现出墨分浓、淡、干、枯、潤，使写出来的书法作品呈现出不同的颜色层次，从而使平面的书法作品在视觉上呈现出三维的效果。而这一用墨法在熊明这一幅画上也得到了全面的体现。熊明画的国画马的风格属于大写意画，它跟西方绘画虽然属于不同的体系，但与某些西方油画有一个共同之处，那就是近看看到的只是笔触--笔触是西方油画的绘画术语，笔触这一概念包含了点线面的概念--远看时，画面上的物象就清晰地呈现在观赏者的眼前。There is a saying that “ink is divided into five colors” in Chinese calligraphy， that is， ink should be applied in thick， light， dry， withered and moist forms as far as possible， so that the calligraphy works render different color gradations， thus making the plane calligraphy works present three-dimensional visual effects. And this ink method has also been fully reflected in this painting by Xiong Ming. Xiong Ming‘s Chinese ink paintings of horses fall into the category of freehand brushwork. Although it belongs to different systems from western paintings， it has one thing in common with some western oil paintings， that is， what you see closely is only the brushwork （brushwork is the painting term of western oil painting， and the concept of brushwork covers point， line and plane）， but when you look from afar， the objects on the picture will be clearly presented to the viewers.

​　　如果说熊明的奔马图呈现出来的是一种旋风般的气势和一种“天行健，君子当自强不息”的精神，而他那些描绘低头吃草的马的画作则呈现出一种淡雅的格调和深远的意境之美。While Xiong Ming’s galloping horses present a whirlwind momentum and the spirit of the saying “The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring.”， his paintings depicting horses grazing with their heads down render an elegant style and profound artistic conception.熊明虽然有些娴熟的油画技巧，但他始终相信中国传统文化的博大精深，他坚持挖掘中国传统文化的精髓，用西方油画技巧来表现。特别是他签约卢浮宫后更觉得自己改承担一种作为画家的社会责任，为促进东西方文化的融合尽心尽力。对于马这一绘画题材，他除了画了大量的国画之外，也画了几幅油画，如《漂移》和《寻云》，正好是一动一静两种类型。林语堂先生为了向西方世界传播中国传统文化，他起初是想把《红楼梦》翻译一下，后来决定自己写一篇小说，把中国的传统哲学观念寄寓到小说中去，于是就有了《京华烟云》的诞生，小说中的曾文璞和姚思安则是儒道两种文化的代言人。现在熊明通过他的骏马图以一种新路径搭建中西方文化交流的桥梁。Although Xiong Ming has some adept oil painting skills， he always believes in the profoundness of Chinese traditional culture. He insists on excavating the essence of Chinese traditional culture and expressing it with western oil painting skills. In particular， after signing the contract with the Louvre， he felt that he ought to assume the social responsibility as a painter and make every effort to promote the integration of oriental and occidental cultures. With regard to the painting theme of horse， apart from a number of traditional Chinese ink paintings， he has also painted several oil paintings， such as Drifting and Seeking the Cloud， which are of two types： motion and quietness. In order to spread Chinese traditional culture to the western world， Mr. Lin Yutang wanted to translate A Dream of Red Mansions， and later decided to write a novel by himself to put the traditional Chinese philosophical ideas into the novel. Then there is the masterwork Moment in Peking， in which Zeng Wenpu and Yao Sian are the spokesmen of Confucianism and Taoism. Now， Xiong Ming builds a bridge of cultural exchange between China and the West with a new path through his horse paintings.

　　注：

　　本文由上海力友翻译公司翻译

　　部分图片来源于网络，侵权必删。

　　Note：

　　The article is translated by Shanghai LiYou Translation Co.， Ltd.

　　This article contains some pictures sourced from the Internet， please contact me to delete them in case of infringement.

　　作者：高六兴

　　来源： 高邸文化