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98期書譜•劉正成專輯之苏立文先生採訪稿
作爲一個外國人,漢字都寫不好,卻能對中國的書法家劉正成先生發表看法,聽來有些不可思議吧。但我仍欣然去做,因爲我是如此地欣賞他!劉先生在書法領域的方方面面都有極高造詣——無論是書體和風格還是有關書法的審美和史學。劉先生在後者的功底之深厚,從他已经出版超过六十卷的《中国书法全集》以及二零零八年出版的《書法藝術概論》中,可見一斑。據我所知,《中国书法全集》以詳盡的講解和豐富的插圖,一展中國書法史之漫漫長卷。《中国書法全集》無疑是此類書籍的佼佼者,我真誠期待它的英文版發行面世以嗜國外讀者。
劉正成的成就因其出生於草根階層而顯得尤其難能可貴。劉先生今日之所成無不得益於他強烈的求知欲望和對書法的無限熱情,還有,就是他的好奇心。劉先生曾親赴許多國家,對世界各國書寫體的起源進行了研究。他的英國遊歷在他的《英倫行色》一書中有生動的講述,該書出版於二零零六年。
劉先生對他的時間毫不吝嗇,我才得以從他那裏學到很多。但他的慷慨不只是在這一方面。他曾爲我和我的夫人手寫了一首贊詞,裝裱之後,放在特製的盒子裏贈送給我。爲了有別於他的精神之父王羲之『以書換鵝』的先例,他不要我以任何東西作爲交換。這件禮物真是寶貴無比啊。
此時,牛津校園正沐浴在靜謐的初秋的涼爽中,我穿着劉夫人送給我的棉夾克,情不自禁地回想起在他們家度過的那幾個晚上,那令人回味無窮的美味佳餚、那妙語如珠的交談……,我們的話題總離不了書法,說到興奮之時便提筆疾書於碎紙片或餐布上,好不暢快啊!毫無疑問,那是我與中國文人一起度過的令人難忘的美妙夜晚,那個晚上的主人劉正成是如此傑出的一位先生。我真的很高興,能有這樣一個一表衷腸的機會,讓我對身爲書法家、史學家、學者以及我的好友劉正成先生表達我的欽佩與讚賞之情。
蘇立文(牛津大學教授)
寫於2009年9月
6 /7/2009
It may seem strange that an Outer Barbarian, who writes Chinese badly, should
express any opinion on a Chinese master of the art of calligraphy such as Liu
Zhengcheng. But I am happy to do this because I admire him so much, for his
mastery of every aspect of this supreme art - its variety of forms and styles, its
aesthetics, and its history. The latter is displayed in his vast compendium of key
examples, of which I understand that he has already published no less than sixty
volumes, and in his modestly titled Outline of the Art of Calligraphy (Shufa yishu gailun), published in 2008. This is a fascinating, detailed account of the history of
the art in China from its remote beginnings to the present day. Lucid and richly
illustrated, it is the best survey of the subject in any language. I hope an English
edition will be prepared for its many potential foreign readers.
Liu Zhengcheng’s achievement is the more remarkable since he did not come from a
scholarly background. What he has become today is the result of his own intense
study and boundless enthusiasm for his subject. At the same time, his eager curiosity
has led him to travel abroad in his researches into the origins of writing world-wide,
notably in England, of which he has given a lively account in his Yinglun xingse,
published in 2006.
Liu Zhengcheng is generous with his time, and I have learned a lot from him. But it is
not only with his time that he is generous. When he wrote in his beautiful hand a long
eulogy for my wife Khoan and myself, had it mounted, and presented it to me in a
specially-made box, he did not, like his spiritual ancestor Wang Xizhi, expect me to
give him a goose in exchange. It was simply a very precious gift.
I am writing these words on a cool early autumn day in Oxford, wearing one of the
three padded jackets that Liu Zhengcheng’s delightful wife Fu Shuqun has given me.
It reminds me of the evenings I have spent at their house, of the wonderful food and
the scintillating talk, usually about calligraphy, illustrated with characters written on
scraps of paper, or on the tablecloth - a sure sign of a successful evening in the
world of the Chinese literati in which Liu Zhengcheng is so distinguished a figure. So
is great pleasure for me to express in these few words my admiration for him as a
calligrapher, a historian, a scholar, and a dear friend.
Michael Sullivan
Oxford
September, 2009
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