八大山人

施之昊

八大山人大名鼎鼎，他的原名朱耷，人們反而陌生了。他的藝術成就屬于中國，同時也屬于世界。中國各大博物館珍藏著他的書畫作品，歐美的大型博物館里也有他的杰作。人們對他的藝術風格特別傾心，原因是他的作品既是古代的，也是貫通現(xiàn)代的。

Zhu Da （1626–1705）， betterknown by his artistic name BadaShanren， was a highly acclaimedChinese painter and calligrapher.He was born in Jiangxi Province，but his influence has transcendedacross China and beyond， earningadmiration worldwide. Even incontemporary times， his artworksare still cherished in famousmuseums worldwide， shining withan attractive blend of classical andmodern elements.

傳奇的身世和復雜的名號A Legendary Figure with Mysterious Names

朱耷（1626—1705），是明代的皇孫公子，他的祖上是明太祖朱元璋的第九子、后來駐節(jié)江西的寧王朱權，世代居住在江西。朱耷生于南昌弋陽王府，他的一枚印章“西江弋陽王孫”，最能說明他顯赫的家世。關于“朱耷”這個名字，有人說他生下來就耳朵大，于是有了“耷子”的小名；還有人說“耷”是“驢”字的俗寫。單單這個名字就耐人尋味，而他“八大山人”的簽名更是引人遐想。一種普遍的說法是這個簽名像“笑之”或“哭之”。1644 年清軍入關，正是改朝換代之際，朱耷只得逃離南昌。作為明代宗室，他當時處境十分危險，不得不“削發(fā)為僧”，這一年他23 歲（1648 年）。隨后，清軍包圍南昌，很多明代王室成員被誅殺。

Born in the Yiyang Princes Mansion inNanchang City， Jiangxi Province， Zhu Dawas a descendant of Zhu Quan， the ninth sonof Zhu Yuanzhang， the founding emperor ofthe Ming Dynasty. Zhu Quan later becameknown as the Prince of Ning and settledin Jiangxi Province. Zhu Das prominentfamily background was evidenced by aseal he possessed， engraved with the words“Descendant of Yiyang Prince”.

Later generations have different speculationsabout his birth name， Zhu Da （朱耷）. Some believe the Chinese character 耷consists of 大 （da， literally meaning large）and 耳 （er， literally meaning ear）， hencereferring to the painters large ears. Othersbelieve it is a colloquial term for donkeys.His artistic name， Bada Shanren， is evenmore mysterious， with most people believingthat the four characters 八大山人， whenput together in handwriting， resemble theChinese characters 笑之 （xiaozhi， literallymeaning laughing at it） or 哭之 （kuzhi， literallymeaning crying over it）.

In 1644， when the Manchu armyencircled the Ming capital of Beijing andsought to overthrow the dynasty， Zhu， adescendant of the Ming royal family， foundhimself in a perilous situation and had nooption but to flee from his hometown ofNanchang. He sought refuge in a Buddhisttemple and became a monk at the ageof 23 in 1648. He survived， but many ofhis fellow Ming royal family members inNanchang were killed by the Qing army.

需要說明的是，朱耷56 歲在南昌還俗，開始書畫生涯。一方面因為清政府的政策有所懷柔，另一方面也受到“不孝有三，無后為大”禮教思想的影響?！鞍舜笊饺恕边@個我們熟悉的名字是他在59 歲后才使用的?！鞍舜蟆钡某鎏帲幸环N說法是，他見到一本《八大人圓覺經》，所以取這個名字;另一種說法是，“八大”意喻“四方四隅（東、南、西、北、東北、西北、西南、東南），皆我為大”。出家的時候，他法號“傳綮”，字“刃庵”，別署“雪個”（“個”就像一枝孤零零的竹子，在漢字里兩個“個”就是一個“竹”字），有時會在作品上寫“驢”作為自己的簽名。

At the age of 56， Zhu returned to secular life as theQing government had begun to adopt a more lenient approachtowards the descendants of the Ming Dynasty. Additionally，the artist was heavily influenced by the traditionalChinese philosophy that states， “among the three unfilialacts， having no offspring is the most reproachable”.

He only began to use the name Bada Shanren （八大山人，literally meaning Mountain Man of the Eight Greats） at theage of 59. Some said he took the characters 八大 （literallymeaning “eight” and “great”） for himself from the Sutraof the Eight Great Human Realizations; others believe thecharacters stand for “I am the greatest in all eight directions（east， south， west， north， northeast， northwest， southwest，and southeast）”. He was also known by his Buddhist nameChuanqing and courtesy name Renan. Besides， Zhu alsowent by the name Xuege （雪個）， with the Chinese character個 （ge， literally meaning measure world for things） beinghalf of the character 竹 （zhu， literally meaning bamboo）. Heoccasionally signed 驢 （lv， literally meaning donkey） in hisworks， too.

奇特的畫風和創(chuàng)新的精神Distinctive and Creative Painting Style

在寺廟修行的二三十年里，朱耷的書畫天賦已經為人注意。他的畫風雖然不能說在歷史上從來沒有出現(xiàn)過，不能說是“開山鼻祖”，但是他在取法明代中期的徐渭大寫意花卉的基礎上有了自己的突破，呈現(xiàn)給我們的是一個令人耳目一新的“自我”。同時，他對于晚明董其昌“筆墨論”的理解幾乎超出任何一位畫家，對于筆墨的運用更是令每一位觀者驚嘆?！肮P墨”二字正是中國文人畫能夠長盛不衰的支柱，誰得筆墨精髓，誰的藝術就高明，誰的境界和格調就高。

Zhus exceptional talent in both calligraphy andpainting became apparent during his thirty-some yearsin the temple. Although we cannot credit him to bethe “founder of a new painting style”， he undoubtedlyincorporated his distinctive features and elevated thewild， unrestrained sketching of flowers， a style pioneeredby Xu Wei in mid-Ming days， to another level. Zhu alsodemonstrated an exceptional understanding of andwonderful skills in “the using of the ink and brush”， a keyartistic concept that was established by Dong Qichang （alate Ming Dynasty master painter） and that underpins thetimeless allure of Chinese literati painting. By employingink and brush techniques with extraordinary dexterity， Zhuachieved a more sophisticated and awe-inspiring style.

中國書畫所用的筆是軟筆，所謂“惟軟筆而變化生焉”，就是說書畫藝術的變化無窮源自這支“軟筆”。墨則是經一種特殊工藝制成的書畫原料，或許可以把它理解為“顏料”。這種原料和軟筆搭配，加上宣紙的襯托，所謂的“墨分五色”，一筆下去，紙上就有了濃淡、干濕、虛實等變化。八大山人的繪畫很好地發(fā)揮了中國畫筆墨的特長，畫面中不論是造型還是筆墨內涵都很有自己的想法，在中國畫傳統(tǒng)范疇中最大限度地體現(xiàn)了自己的筆墨精神。八大山人畫的中國畫，觀者一見就能識別。這種在熟悉中找到陌生的感覺，正是中國古典藝術領域里最佳的“創(chuàng)新”路徑。

Ancient Chinese artists were fastidious aboutthe tools， favoring soft brushes that they believedcontributed to the “myriad possibilities” of thepaintings. They also used ink made with uniquetechniques and traditional Chinese Xuan paper.With such powerful tools， the artists were able toproduce a range of effects in the thickness， wetness，and strength of the brushwork， despite using blackink only.

Zhus artistic talent in traditional Chinesepainting is evidenced by his bold and imaginativecompositions and brushwork. While preserving thefundamental aspects of this art form， his paintingsstand out with unique originality. Therefore， hisworks are highly discernable to the viewers， withthe distinctive features naturally blended into thetraditional techniques. By introducing a sense ofnewness to the familiar， traditional framework，Zhus approach represents the best way to innovateChinese classical art.

他的繪畫風格就是“簡單”二字。他結合自己的身世和畫風寫下“墨點無多淚點多”的詩句，意思是自己作品的筆墨還沒有眼淚多。在如此簡單的筆墨中，他能夠做到空間的分割、物象的造型、線條的表達、墨塊的鋪陳、書法的點綴，每一項都恰到好處、點到痛處，既與古人交心，又讓觀者會心。從這個意義上講，不論是藝術的難度還是表現(xiàn)力，都達到了高峰。他的這種特征越到后期越明顯，他晚年的作品幾乎簡約到不能再簡約。后來，“揚州八怪”都受到他的影響，鄭板橋就有“刪繁就簡三秋樹，標新立異二月花”的句子，也是有感而發(fā)。

Zhus painting style is truly unique and simplistic. In one of his writings，he reflected on his personal experiences and art style by saying， “I might haveshed more tears than I have spilled ink on the paper.” Despite his simplisticbrushwork， he was able to achieve a remarkable and intricate balance inall aspects of his art — the use of space， visual arrangement of the objects，expressiveness of the lines， sizes and shapes of ink patches， and incorporationof calligraphy. He was evidently inspired by previous artists and worked toenlighten contemporary art lovers. He is indeed a master artist， consideringhis powerful expressiveness despite the challenges he faced.

The feature of embodying profound ideas in plain brushwork was evenmore obvious in his later years when his works were almost minimalisticand continued to influence later generations of artists. Zheng Banqiao， oneof the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou （a group of painters and poets in theQing Dynasty）， was inspired by Zhu and wrote， “Painters should simplifytheir work， like late autumn trees shedding their leaves; they should paintwith passionate creativity， like early springs flowers blossoming with uniquebeauty.”

廣泛的流傳和藝術的影響Widespread and Profound Artistic Influence

今天，中國乃至世界各大博物館要是有八大山人真跡，定能加分不少，觀眾也會不遠萬里前來觀摩，這就是藝術的魅力。同樣地，今天世界各地的拍賣行里要是有一件八大山人的真跡，那肯定是萬眾矚目的拍品，競價激烈，拍出天價也是意料之中的事情。

An authentic work of Zhu will undoubtedly be aprized possession for any major museums worldwide，attracting the attention of art enthusiasts andconnoisseurs who travel from afar to catch a glance atthe masterpiece， for such is the fascinating power of art.Its also no wonder that when an auction house puts upa piece of Zhus original work， it soon becomes a publicfocus. The fierce competitions among the bidders oftenresult in astronomical hammer prices.

近代中國畫壇著名畫家齊白石曾經寫過一首詩，講到自己的師承：“青藤雪個遠凡胎，缶老衰年別有才。我欲九原為走狗，三家門下轉輪來?！毙煳?、八大山人、吳昌碩是他崇拜的三位老師，前兩位時代太早，無緣得見，他決心死后到陰曹地府向這三位老師一個個學。從作品來看，齊白石的繪畫明顯受到八大山人的影響，尤其是早年，他學習繪畫的途徑主要是跟著八大山人。他在成熟階段雖然已經自立門戶，但筆墨線條中依舊有八大山人的影子。

Qi Baishi， a renowned Chinese painter of thecontemporary era， expressed his admiration for threetalented painters in his writing， “Xu Wei and Zhu Dawere remarkable painters who lived before my time.Wu Changshuo is a painter whom I deeply admire?and who belongs to my time. However， itremains uncertain whether I will ever have theopportunity to meet him in person and learnfrom him directly. I humbly wish for a chanceto serve these three masters， to prepare theirpaper and grind their ink.” Zhus influence onQis paintings is evident， especially in Qis earlierworks， which imitated Zhus style. Even afterQi established his own style as a mature artist，traces of Zhus influence could still be found inhis works， particularly in the use of ink and thequality of the line work.

近代中國畫壇的另一位著名畫家張大千也對八大山人頂禮膜拜。他收藏的八大山人真跡甚多，今天美國各大博物館的藏品里，就有不少是他曾經的寶貝。在沒有去敦煌臨摹壁畫之前，他在上海主要學習八大山人和石濤兩人的繪畫，且能模仿得惟妙惟肖。張大千的荷花獨步畫壇，其中墨色，尤其是表現(xiàn)荷莖的線條，就是取法八大山人的。

Zhang Daqian， one of the most prominentpainters in contemporary China， held Zhu inhigh esteem， too. He amassed an impressivecollection of Zhus paintings， many of whichare now treasured in major museums across theUnited States. Before traveling to Dunhuang tostudy the ancient murals， this Shanghai-basedpainter mostly emulated the works of Zhu andShi Tao. His reproductions were so masterful thatthey were sometimes mistaken for the originals.Zhang was particularly celebrated for his vividdepictions of lotus flowers， and it is apparent thathis use of ink and his line work in rendering thelotus stem were inspired by Zhu.