山水画家之于宇宙万物，非以目视，而以“心观”，不是目不能视，而是“心不在焉，视而不见。”所以心灵流注于一事一物，用心与万事万物相交流、相感通、相映发，不以目拘，不以物障，用心灵之光透析宇宙，洞察无极，这是山水画家所秉持的一种能动的达观的思想。恩师贾又福先生说；“以心用眼，动观、静观、时时观、面面观。以全部慧心、睿智，全部感觉器官去观照自身，观照与自身同在的山山水水以及万事万物。”这种达观是既观客观自然、社会人生，又观中国画理及审美法则；既观一草一木、一山一石，又观一笔一墨、一点一皴。以这种观照方式，既观古代社会又观当代潮流，既观物质又观精神；既观物形情态，又观笔墨意趣；既观山前又窥山后，既仰视山颠又俯瞰山脚。目随心移，心随物动，情随物传。所谓“目识心记”，“迁想妙得”。对于山水画家来说，近石一折一落皆有势，远山一起一伏皆有情。看脚边小草挥手微笑，望山间巨石眉目传情。所谓“目既往返、心亦吐纳”。在跨越时空、冥合物我的“观照”中，以我襟合气度，心灵游走在宇宙万壑之间，精神驾弛于山川林木之上。由此信手一挥，“自成天蒙”。在一点一划、一勾一勒的运笔挥毫中，在提按顿锉、起承转合的笔墨翻飞中，腕下具山苍树秀、水活石润之自然之势，心中具穷究天人、横贯古今之通达之思。“心观”是心灵飞升的钥匙，“心观”使精神自由无疆，“心观”是“依山傍水”的通途。

　　从穷乡僻壤的大别山脚下走出来，跻身于现代都市之中，在繁华、拥挤、嘈杂的大街上，心灵越发的贴近山水，虽不能随时步入其中，但往往自闭于画室，铺张笔墨，范山模水。首先是追模古代先贤；范宽、李唐、郭熙、赵孟頫、王蒙、倪赞、董其昌、龚贤、八大、石涛以及现代黄宾虹、李可染等。由画迹上溯其心迹。力争踏入他们的心灵深处，把握他们的艺术规律、语言特色及其投射出的精神，在同古代大师们的交流感通中，把握中国画的文化品格，培养丰富中国文化的心灵。时刻不忘恩师贾又福先生所教诲；建立一个强大的民族文化的精神支柱。其次是走出书斋。面向社会和自然。以真性情拥抱自然，以己心感通宇宙大化的流行变幻，感受自然万物的生命气息，把握自然山川的生命形态，探寻笔墨表现自然生命气象的自由空间。

　　山水有灵，古代士人在山水中安身立命，消散怀抱。我在山水世界中业已游历了三十多个春秋。从用笔墨刻画物象到感受一点一划的独特生命状态，从拘泥刻画到任性挥写，认识提高了一小步，而时间却跨越了三十年。三十多个寒暑易节，四季变换，无数次的生命交替，衰杀生长，生命状态发生了变化，生存的空间发生了变化。而山水是包含了无限多样生命力的大物，是各种生命力生成转化的理想场所，正是因为这种生命力，使“山水”得以永恒，使君子渴慕林泉之心得以永恒。显而易见，山水有不同的境界，在与“山水”为伍的三十多年里，我心所系者，姑且用“清和”名之。

　　清和，是宇宙自然中的一种气息，纯净透明，清澈活泼，如有源之水，不断地自我更新，不断地焕发出生机活力，不断地化生出鲜活的生命；清和是自然生命相生相克的秩序，万物既各当其处、各安本性、各行其道，又相互制约、相互激荡、相互生发，既旺健、精进，又平和、安泰；清和是一种生命的品格，明晰醒透，圆融通达，自知守信，安静而不烦乱，从容而不促迫，不偏不倚、高标中正，纯粹洁净。至理至清，至精至神。清和即自然、即社会、即人生、即画。

　　君子守常，君子做自己认准的事情就要有“八风不动”之劲。依山傍水，让心灵在山水中悠游，使笔墨在心灵中漫步，这是我的人生理想，也是我不变的追求。

　　Companionship of Landscape—

　　The Preface for the Exhibition of Chinese Landscapes Paintings by Wu Jian (序言)

　　Being in the universe, landscape artists observe everything with their hearts. They are in accordance with a dynamic thought that is, seeing through and communicating with the nature. My mentor Jia Youfu has said: “landscape artists should have the insight by looking at the appearances of objects. We should watch and feel all creatures on earth with our hearts, our intelligence and our whole bodies.” His words reflect an objective and a social human life; a theory of Chinese painting and an aesthetic principle, and the painting skills. Also, this observation method can be utilized in examining the ancient society and today’s new trends, and the appearance and spirits. This means Chinese landscape painting can be related to the traditional attitude of respect and cooperation with nature. The effect of this kind of painting is not due to a system of one-point perspective but to artists’ impression of the nature. They absorb the subject matter from different angles while walking, in the process of savoring it and translating their feelings in forms of mountains, trees and waters on an image of landscape. From this pictorial language, it shows the rhythm of lines, the vitality of the nature, and the freedom of artists.

　　Even though I come from impoverished Dabie Mountain and end up into the modern city, I feel closer to the nature. Due to the space constraint, I can only translate the feelings towards nature on a drawing paper by starting to imitate these greatest landscape artists in the ancient time, such as Fan Kuan, Li Tang, Guo Xi, Zhao Mengfu, Wang Meng, Ni Zan, Dong Qichang, Gong Xian, Ba Da, Shi Tao, Huang HongBin and Li Keran, etc. Through their glowing paintings, I tried to comprehend the deep inside of their hearts and the essence of Chinese painting, and cultivate myself with Chinese culture. At the meantime, I consider the instruction of my mentor Jia Youfu as my motto: the making of the landscape painting requires respect and cooperation with nature; and the ink wash should be expressed with the freedom and fluency. By this, a powerful national culture can be established.

　　According to the documents of the time, many Chinese ancient scholars preferred to live in solitude so that they could withdraw from the society and enjoy their life. From only imitating these greatest masters’ pieces to fluently release my sensation during an act of creativity, I have been devoting myself to the landscape painting for over 30 years, and I have been always aiming to seek a way to accompany these mountains and rivers, and explore an aesthetic method to express my feelings into a pictorial language. I consider this process as the name of the source of life.

　　In Chinese culture, the source of life can be comprehended as an order of all natural lives which have their own natural attributes and affect each other. Also, it can be translated into the quality of life which indicates a sense of toleration, flexibility and calmness. The source of life is the nature, the society, the life and the painting.

　　In one word, being a Chinese landscape artist requires a firm faith, that is, strictly discipline yourself. With this state of mind, I release myself into the nature, savor it and mentally translate it into forms of mountains, rivers and trees. This is my eternal pursuit and my ultimate life goal.