江南看見敦煌

史春波

2022年的金秋，杭州，一個“看見敦煌”的展覽吸引了很多人專程前來觀看。人們感嘆，能在千里之外的杭州看到如此精彩的敦煌藝術(shù)，是一種驚喜和意外。

這背后，蘊(yùn)含著一位73歲老人大半生的心血、智慧和才華，也濃縮了他們這一代學(xué)人的堅守、奉獻(xiàn)、責(zé)任、理想，甚至還有青春。

他就是謝成水，中國美術(shù)學(xué)院客座教授、碩士生導(dǎo)師。

從心靈的感應(yīng)到二十年的踐行

謝成水的話并不多，但一聊起敦煌卻是興奮的，他的雙眼能放出光芒，講起來滔滔不絕。

在展覽開幕的同時，同名新書《看見敦煌》也發(fā)布了?！岸鼗退囆g(shù)是要花真功夫去認(rèn)識，才能夠使心靈得到感應(yīng)。關(guān)于這一點，謝老師是真正有感悟的?！倍鼗脱芯吭含F(xiàn)任院長趙聲良這樣評價。

幾十年的時光，在敦煌的飛沙里，在幾百個洞窟里，在枯燥和孤獨(dú)里，無聲消逝。

幾十年后， 關(guān)于敦煌考古研究所鮮有人報名的新聞再次引起公眾關(guān)注。是待遇太低？是要求太高？還是缺少考古熱情的年輕人太少？

在紛雜的聲音里，謝成水試圖用自己的這個展覽，讓更多的年輕人看見敦煌、熱愛敦煌，成為敦煌下一代的守護(hù)者。

今天，站在自己臨摹的一面面敦煌壁畫和一尊尊塑像前，滿頭銀發(fā)的謝成水是否想起1984年的那個秋天，他扛住了幾乎所有親友的反對，一腳踏進(jìn)了敦煌莫高窟的大門。

“34個人報名，最后只去了我一個人?！?/p>

1984年10月的一天，敦煌考古研究所里走進(jìn)一個來自南方的年輕人。他是學(xué)油畫的謝成水，高高瘦瘦，戴副眼鏡。

這次敦煌之行，是很不容易的。來之前，謝成水幾乎受到所有人的反對：“不能去?！?/p>

“敦煌在大西北，沙漠戈壁，你一個南方人受不了的?！?/p>

“你去了，連喝水都會拉肚子?！?/p>

“你從小身體不好?！?/p>

……

動身前，全家人這樣反對。以前出遠(yuǎn)門，母親總會高興地送行，對他說“好男兒志在四方”，可這一次，母親哭了。

但是，謝成水下了決心，一定要去敦煌。這種發(fā)自內(nèi)心的渴望已經(jīng)有好幾年了。

在這前面的兩年，即1982年，謝成水在浙江美術(shù)學(xué)院（今中國美院）油畫系進(jìn)修，他對中國的傳統(tǒng)藝術(shù)很感興趣。一次偶然的機(jī)會，謝成水在報紙上看到了敦煌文物研究所（今敦煌研究院）招聘研究人員的一則信息。謝成水就報了名，通過了招聘組的面試。當(dāng)時，研究所招了34名繪畫方面的研究者。

這期間，謝成水利用暑假，向同學(xué)們借了錢，獨(dú)自往敦煌走。果然，第一個困難出現(xiàn)了，就是喝水拉了半個月的肚子。盡管如此，大半個月里，他看了400多個洞窟，粗粗地看了。

離開那天，段文杰所長送他到了大牌坊下，謝成水答應(yīng)他，學(xué)業(yè)結(jié)束了就回來。在美院進(jìn)修結(jié)束后，謝成水就準(zhǔn)備踐行自己的承諾。但是，卻遇到了家里的反對。當(dāng)?shù)赜嘘P(guān)部門也不同意，扣了他的一些證件，不過，在謝成水的堅持下，還是放行了。

出發(fā)前，他差不多用半年時間準(zhǔn)備去敦煌的行李，主要是趕制一套家具。那時候搬家才是真正的搬家，桌椅、床、柜子都要自己帶。因為沒有家具店，每家每戶的家具修飾要申請批條來買木頭，請木匠定制。就這樣，大大小小的行李一共運(yùn)了18件。

但是，一到敦煌，謝成水的心忽然涼了半截。他想起一共有34個美術(shù)生報名，他想見見他們。“沒有呢，就來了你一個?！睕]想到，同事們這樣說?！坝械膩砜戳艘幌?，上午來的，下午就跑掉了?！?/p>

謝成水一下愣住了。“怎么只有我一個人來，是不是我腦子有問題？”他這樣想。

他決定再看看，然后決定是不是值得留下來。

研究所給了他一把萬能鑰匙，可以打開幾乎所有洞窟的門。就這樣，他每天看洞窟，看了一個星期，再一次被敦煌藝術(shù)所震撼，

他決定留下。簽了合同，必須留下來工作五年以上。而這一待，就是二十年。

“樊錦詩送了我一個鍋，但也拿不出一雙筷子”

在敦煌生活，一半是艱苦的。不過，研究所非常善待這位來自南方的年輕人。比如，給謝成水安排了最好的一個房子。

隔壁那棟樓住的是杭州人樊錦詩，如今她被譽(yù)為“敦煌的女兒”“敦煌的守護(hù)神”。

樊錦詩比謝成水大十二歲，是當(dāng)年招聘組的組長。

剛到?jīng)]幾天，樊錦詩就讓工作人員給謝成水送了好多大米，主要是擔(dān)心謝成水是從南方來的，喜歡吃米飯，一下子吃不慣面食。后來才知道，這些大米是從食堂每天做稀飯的3斤大米中省出來的。為了讓他吃上米飯，所里的一些同事自愿吃了一個星期的饅頭和米湯。

這讓謝成水很感動。

樊錦詩還給了謝成水一口鋁鍋。“這里條件很苦，我這里也沒什么可以給你的，有一口鍋你拿去可以做飯?！币哦嗌偎拍苤笫?，她比劃著告訴謝成水。

“我再給你雙筷子吧?！笨墒亲罱K她還是沒有找到，“對不起，我這里也沒有，不過，還有一個叉子?！?/p>

睡覺時空氣太干了嗓子冒火，就在地面上澆些開水；衣服臟了有污漬，就在細(xì)沙子里踩踩，再拿出來抖一抖，污漬就沒了；水是最大的難題，謝成水買了幾個水桶，趁著每周去城里買菜時，裝滿水回來，四十來斤的水桶一直搬了三年。

但和看洞窟的快樂比起來，這些苦都是微不足道的。

有一次，所里有幾張電視機(jī)票，在那個年代，能有一個電視機(jī)，是很不容易的。所里照顧謝成水，打算給他一張票。

這讓很多同事羨慕。

不過，謝成水拒絕了：“有這么多洞窟在，還看什么電視啊，你們誰想要就拿去?！?/p>

每天，在敦煌的日子，枯燥而寂寞，但是卻也很開心。睡不著的時候，他就拿著手電去洞窟看，研究那些穿越了千年的壁畫和雕塑。

沙漠上的星星也特別亮，他和同事們一起散步，坐在沙丘上聊到半夜。

1986年，謝成水在敦煌結(jié)婚了，沒有辦婚禮，只是給同事分了些喜糖。妻子是一名叫華文艷的南京女孩。

在謝成水來敦煌前，他們在南京認(rèn)識，她是唯一支持他去敦煌的人?！盀榱怂囆g(shù)，你想去敦煌，就應(yīng)該去?！边@名家境優(yōu)越的姑娘說。

這樣的支持給了謝成水莫大的驚喜。女孩還給他匯了50元，說去敦煌一定用得上。

1986年，她同樣不顧親友的反對，義無反顧地從江南來到了敦煌，跟著他一起吃苦。他們在敦煌生下一個女兒，取名“漠兮”，成為茫茫大漠上最讓人驚羨的詩意。

用敦煌技法在杭州實現(xiàn)夢想

杭州中天竺法凈寺圓通殿里，150平方米的壁畫，妙相莊嚴(yán)，恢宏大氣，這是謝成水用了敦煌壁畫的技法畫成的。

其難度之大，外人是不知道的。

敦煌地處沙漠氣候干燥，所以壁畫能保存千年，如果是南方潮濕地區(qū)的壁畫，三個月就損壞了。

1984年，謝成水去敦煌時，就曾夢想用敦煌的技法回南方畫壁畫。為了實現(xiàn)這個夢想，他在敦煌一邊畫，一邊進(jìn)行各種測試和實驗。他收集了各個地區(qū)的雨水并記錄下它們的濕度，前后考察了龍門石窟、永樂宮等，取樣化驗作了檢測。

他離夢想越來越近了。

2009年，杭州中天竺法凈寺邀請謝成水到寺院畫壁畫。此前，謝成水為靈隱寺、永福寺等塑造佛像，名氣越來越大。

謝成水決定把敦煌220窟的唐代壁畫用敦煌的技法畫在中天竺寺。不過，這幅畫太大了，尺寸要比220窟的原作大四倍。

他花了一年多的時間完成了放大的線描稿?？烧?dāng)他信心滿滿地準(zhǔn)備正式畫時，遇到了一個難題。

杭州梅雨季時，中天竺寺的濕度可以達(dá)到80%以上，玻璃和瓷磚都會冒出水。而在傳統(tǒng)壁畫的繪制中，壁畫墻面始終要保持干燥。

怎么辦？

結(jié)合前些年搜集的記錄和檢測數(shù)據(jù)，經(jīng)過不斷測試和研究，謝成水發(fā)明了防潮防霉的古代壁畫制作新工藝。

運(yùn)用這項工藝?yán)L制的中天竺壁畫，經(jīng)受住了梅雨天的考驗，沒有出現(xiàn)剝落和霉變。這項工藝還獲得了國家發(fā)明專利。

2013年，常書鴻的女兒常沙娜來到杭州，看到謝成水在中天竺的壁畫和永福寺的大佛雕塑，很是興奮和震撼。

2012年，謝成水塑造的韜光寺脫胎漆寶珠觀音，獲得了“首屆中國當(dāng)代佛教藝術(shù)展”金獎。

“這些成績得益于我在敦煌的耳濡目染，也算是一個意外收獲。”他這樣說。

“讓更多的人看見敦煌”

謝成水在敦煌的幾十年經(jīng)歷，是一代學(xué)人的縮影。從常書鴻開始，一大批老一輩學(xué)人為了守護(hù)這座藝術(shù)寶庫，無私奉獻(xiàn)了青春和才華。

和那個年代相比，如今的生活自然是天差地別。文博考古在近年來看起來很是熱門，但為何敦煌考古研究所依然罕有報考者？

“我這一代人已經(jīng)努力了，之后就是要看下一代接力了?！痹谧约号R摹的壁畫《薩埵太子舍身飼虎》前，謝成水感慨地說。

“研究古代藝術(shù)是一趟很艱苦很枯燥很孤獨(dú)的人生之旅，現(xiàn)在能忍受孤獨(dú)和艱苦的年輕人太少了?！敝x成水就常常把自己比作是“苦行者”。也正因如此，這么多年來，謝成水一直在南方做敦煌藝術(shù)的傳承和推廣。從敦煌回來后就在杭州工作、生活，在這里的院校傳授敦煌壁畫、彩塑藝術(shù)的課程，為寺院做藝術(shù)雕塑。他也經(jīng)常帶著學(xué)生去敦煌，感受這座藝術(shù)寶庫的無窮魅力。

中國美院在讀博士陽帆是謝成水的學(xué)生，如今已是一名畫家。他回憶說：“是謝老師親自帶著我們?nèi)ザ鼗涂疾?，親自講解，讓我們年輕人感受到了敦煌藝術(shù)的魅力?！边@段經(jīng)歷至今滋養(yǎng)著他現(xiàn)在的藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作。

對于謝成水來說，他的希望依然是“讓更多的人看見敦煌”?！拔覜]什么遺憾的了，我去敦煌的初心，就是為了看見敦煌。”他這樣說。

A Glimpse into Dunhuang from Jiangnan

By Shi Chunbo

In the autumn of 2022， a cultural exhibition See Dunhuang attracted many a visitor to Hangzhou. It was a wonderful eye-opener for them to appreciate cave art in Hangzhou， a major city in the Jiangnan （South of the Yangtze River） area thousands of miles away from Dunhuang， where the caves are located. Behind all this were the hard work， wisdom and talent of a 73-year-old man in decades of his life， which also condense the persistence and dedication of his generation of scholars. His name is Xie Chengshui， a visiting professor at the China Academy of Art.

Though taciturn， Xie would flow on without stopping when it came to Dunhuang， his eyes lit up. On the opening of the exhibition， his new book See Dunhuang was also released. “It takes real hard work to get an insight into Dunhuang cave art， in which Professor Xie is genuinely insightful，” said Zhao Shengliang， director of the Dunhuang Academy.

Recently， news that no one signed up for a job vacancy at the Dunhuang Academys Archeological Institute attracted public attention. With decades spent in hundreds of Dunhuang caves in solitude， Xie tried to engage the interest of the youth via the exhibition， which might encourage them to be the next guardians of Dunhuang art. Standing in front of the murals and statues he copied， the silver-haired man remembered the autumn of 1984 when he embarked on his career in Mogao Caves despite the opposition of almost all his relatives and friends. “Some 34 people signed up， but I was the only one who actually stayed.” In October 1984， Xie Chengshui， a tall and slender young man from southern China who majored in painting， stepped into Dunhuang Academys Archeological Institute.

Xies trip to Dunhuang was never made easy， as he was opposed by almost everyone. The local authorities did not agree to his decision either， and withheld several documents from him. But longing for Dunhuang for years， Xie was determined. Two years before in 1982 when he was studying in the Department of Oil Painting at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts （now China Academy of Art）， he saw a notice in the newspaper by chance about the recruitment of 34 painting researchers for Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute （now Dunhuang Academy）. Xie signed up and passed the job interview. During that summer vacation， he paid a short visit to Dunhuang alone with money borrowed from his classmates. The first dilemma he encountered there was drinking water， as he suffered from diarrhea for half a month. Yet during the fortnight， he went through more than 400 caves. On the day he left， Xie promised Director Duan Wenjie that he would come back after his graduation. Two years passed by， and Xie was ready to fulfill his promise.

Half a year before his Dunhuang-bound journey， Xie began to prepare his luggage. One priority was to rush out a set of furniture. It was a time when people had to take along their own furniture when moving away. And with no furniture stores available， people needed to apply for approval to buy wood and ask a carpenter to customize a set. Xie had a total of 18 pieces of luggage transported. But upon his arrival at Dunhuang， his heart sank. Remembering that a total of 34 art students had signed up， he wanted to meet them. “Youre the only one who really came.” Though shocked， Xie decided to wait and see if the place was worth staying in. As the institute gave him a “master key” that could open the doors of almost all caves， Xie observed and examined them every day for a week， and was once again stunned by Dunhuang cave art. He decided to stay， which lasted two decades.

Life was hard in Dunhuang. However， the institute treated the young man kindly and arranged the best house for Xie Chengshui. In the building next to Xies lived Fan Jinshi， the head of the recruitment team at the time. Just a few days after Xies arrival， Fan， who was also from Hangzhou， asked the staff to give him 10.5 kilos of rice， considering that southerners were more used to rice than to wheaten food. Upon receiving the rice， Xie felt that the living conditions were not that bad after all， but he later found the rice was saved from the daily ration of 1.5 kilos that was used to make porridge， and that to cater to his appetite， the whole institute of 60-odd people ate steamed buns and rice soup for a week. This greatly moved Xie. Fan also gave him an aluminum pot.

“Life heres difficult， and I have nothing to give you but the pot. You can cook for yourself. I can give you a pair of chopsticks too.” But she couldnt find them in the end. “Im sorry I dont have them. But Ill give you a fork instead.”

When the air got too dry to go to sleep and his throat went on fire， he poured some boiled water on the ground. When his clothes were dirty and stained， he stepped them on fine sand， took them out and shook them， and the stains would be gone. Drinking water remained the biggest challenge. Xie bought several buckets. On weekly shopping tours in downtown for vegetable and meat， Xie asked his colleagues to carry the buckets with water， which weighed up to 20 kilos， a quest that continued for three years. Compared with the joy of scrutinizing the caves， these sufferings and hardships were negligible. When unable to sleep， he would take a flashlight and visit a cave， studying murals and sculptures that had been there a thousand years before. Besides， with stars in the desert particularly bright， Xie would walk with his colleagues and sit on the dunes chatting until midnight.

In 1986， Xie Chengshui married a Nanjing girl in Dunhuang with no wedding ceremony， except for distributing sweets to colleagues. His wife， Hua Wenyan， had met Xie in her hometown before he went to Dunhuang， and became the only person supporting Xies Mogao-bound journey. The girl also remitted Xie 50 yuan before he set off. In 1986， regardless of the opposition of her relatives and friends， she went all the way from southeastern China to join him in the northwest. They gave birth to a daughter named Moxi， which turned out to be a moving verse sung in the vast desert.

In the Yuantong Hall of the Fajing Temple in Hangzhou， a 150-square-meter mural stands solemn and magnificent. It was produced by Xie Chengshui using the painting techniques of Dunhuang cave art. The complexity of its production is beyond imagination. Located in the desert， Dunhuang features a rather dry climate， which enables the murals to be preserved for a thousand years. Yet it is humid in southern China， which is fatal to murals. In 1984， Xie once dreamed of painting murals in the south with Dunhuang techniques. Thus， he performed various tests and experiments while painting in Dunhuang， and also collected precipitation and humidity records in various regions， inspected the Longmen Grottoes， the Yongle Palace， and took samples for laboratory tests. He moved inch by inch toward the dream.

In 2009， the Fajing Temple invited Xie to paint wall murals in Hangzhou again， and Xie decided to reproduce the Tang dynasty （618-907） murals in Mogao Cave 220 with the Dunhuang techniques. Previously， he had created Buddha statues for the Lingyin Temple， the Yongfu Temple， and others， for which he grew increasingly famous. The mural for the Fajing Temple is four times larger than the original， taking him over a year to sketch the outline. But just as he was confidently preparing for the full painting， he encountered another problem. During the rainy season in Hangzhou， the humidity of the temple could reach 80 percent or higher， even glass and tiles getting watery， whereas in traditional mural painting， the wall should always be kept dry.

Combined with the records and testing data collected over the years， and after continuous testing and research， Xie invented a new technique for reproducing moisture-proof and mildew-proof murals. Such murals for this temple have withstood the test of the rainy season without peeling or mildew. The process is now patented in China. In 2013， Chang Shana， daughter of Chang Shuhong （1904-1994）， one of the founders of Dunhuang Studies， came to Hangzhou and was excited and shocked to see Xies murals in the Fajing Temple and his Buddha statues in the Yongfu Temple. “These achievements benefit from my experience in Dunhuang， which is an unexpected gain，” Xie said. In 2012， his lacquer pearl Guanyin at the Taoguang Temple won the gold medal of the “First China Contemporary Buddhist Art Exhibition”.

Xie Chengshui is an epitome of his generation of scholars. Starting from Chang Shuhong， many scholars of the older generation have selflessly dedicated their youth and talent to protecting this treasure house of art. Museology and archeology have become popular in recent years， but why are so many still unwilling to apply for positions in the Dunhuang Academy？ “The future relies on the next generation，” Xie said with emotion. However， unfortunately， a younger generation of researchers are now absent from the archeological research of Dunhuang， which Xie has attributed to a lack of publicity. Besides， the spirit of asceticism is in scarcity in the young generation today. “Study on ancient art is an arduous， tedious and lonely journey. Now there are few young people who can endure loneliness and hardship.” Considering this， Xie has been inheriting and promoting Dunhuang cave art in southern China for many years. After returning from Dunhuang， Xie has lived and worked in Hangzhou， not only offering courses on Dunhuang murals and painted sculpture in universities， but making sculptures for temples. He has also taken his students to Dunhuang to experience the infinite charm of this artistic treasure.

Yang Fan was a student of Xies and is now a painter. “Mr. Xie personally took us to Dunhuang to investigate and explain Dunhuang caves in person， teaching us young people to appreciate its charm，” he recalled. It has nourished his current artistic creation.

For Xie Chengshui， his hope is still to “make more people see Dunhuang.”

“I have no regrets for myself，” Xie said. “My original intention of going there is to see it.”