2006元旦刚过，北京艳阳高照，一片祥和气氛。我如约来到北京方庄造访暌违13年的吴冠中先生，保安帮我按了门铃，开门的是师母朱碧琴。老太太穿件枣红色外套，颇有新年喜气。刚进门，吴老便穿着家常毛衣，步履轻快地迎出来。老人家握手很有劲，再看到他动作敏捷、精神矍铄，感到十分宽慰。
　　久违的吴老与我交谈时信马由缰，天南地北，从别后生活到当前近况，从家乡建设到亲朋好友，他都很感兴趣。谈话间，吴老忽然起身到房里取出一份请柬给我，说：“15日中国美术馆有我2005年新作展览，请你去看看。”我接过请柬感到特别高兴：吴老86岁了，仅去年的新作就能在全国最大的美术馆搞个展，可见其精力之充沛、创作力之旺盛。我问他展出多少幅作品，他说大概30多幅水墨画、20多幅书法。我一听更为惊异，以前看过吴老好多次画展，从不见有单独的书法作品展出，看来这回是首次推出。怪不得一进门我就看到对面墙上镜框中有一幅书法作品，写了一个“曲”字，一看是吴老手笔，我原以为这是他偶尔为之，不想他认真地投入书法创作了！
　　吴老曾对我说过：“我是搞西画的，毛笔字没下过功夫，因此从不给人家题字。”然而他现在真的搞起书法创作了，我便冒昧地问：“以前好像没见您创作过书法作品，什么时候开始搞的？”吴老告诉我2004年他身体不好，进了几次医院，没有作画却写了本自传《我负丹青》。2005年身体恢复了一些，我进入不了那种“美意延年”的养老生活，又想搞创作，但大东西搞不动，便想起了书法。他说小时候也跟着老师临过颜、柳、汉碑、石鼓等等，但依样画葫芦，自己并未体会书体之美，所以也没兴趣钻研下去。他觉得方今书坛，有些弊病真得改一改，有个报道说台湾宋楚瑜到清华大学访问，学校送他件礼品，上面写的篆书校长都不认识。他说人家作为科学院院士、一个很出色的科学家也看不懂古代的文字，这不是校长的错。书法应当跟着时代变化，如秦时代大篆不便交流了，李斯就改了小篆，汉字经过多次改革，后来又有了隶书、楷书、草书直到现在的简体字，每一次改革都是为了方便。然而现在的书法总是临摹，实际是抄袭，重复自己，老百姓看不懂，这样下去书法是没有出路的。书法界很多人也说要改革，但争来争去也没结果。我是以“救救孩子”的心情去搞书法的，我尝试着表现写字的造型美，当然首先要让人认识，这样才谈得上美。我是搞西画的，我想把西画中的形式美、构成美与中国书法的特点结合起来，为中国书法的继承和发展找一条出路。
　　
　　怎么找呢？吴老说他不愿抄袭古人、不愿重复自已，他说艺术生命全靠创新而延续。他以自己的方式对汉字进行创意组合，对中国书法造型、字体变化以及汉字与人之间形象的亲疏因缘做大胆的创新，揣摩文字的构架与韵律感，并用今天人人认识的简体字营造汉字造型之大美，以书写自已的艺术思想和人生感悟。吴老把这种艺术实践戏称为“老来种块自留地：汉字田园”。
　　为了得到吴老具体的指点，我指着墙上那幅“曲”字请教：“譬如这幅作品，您创作时是怎么考虑的？”吴老开释道：“这个‘曲’字是由许多线条构成的，有横有竖，构成许多框框，具有构成美。外国人就是不认识这个字，也会有美感的。”说着，吴老拿出刚刚印好还未发行的《吴冠中2005年作品年鉴》，指着封面、封底对我说：“这封面上画的是个孤峰，我把群峰都隐在后面了。画面上突出夕阳中一个孤立的奇峰。封底是我的一张书法，‘孤峰夕照’四个字我穿插起来写，构成一个圆形，有很多线条：横线、竖线、直线、弧线，有机地构成一幅作品。把它和封面那幅画配在一起，互相衬托，相得益彰。”这时，门铃响了，一位女士送来为吴老拍摄的几张照片，我看到有一张吴老与师母的合影，背景是吴老的一幅书法，是沉甸甸的“土地”两字。吴老看到我注意这幅字，便说：“这两个字字体比较厚实。我当时想到了杜甫的两句诗：厚地植桑麻，用以济生民。肥沃的土地生长庄稼，养育万民。所以我把这两个字写得丰腴、厚重，想表现出承载万物的土地的厚重感。”我说：“看来搞中国书法离不开深厚的中国传统文化底蕴。”吴老认可道：“是的，中国书法植根在中国传统文化丰厚的土壤，离开了传统文化，也就谈不上书法的发展了。”谈到这里，我想到现在书法界很多人也不满意墨守成规地继承传统，多方探索改革书法的新路子，其中出现了一种所谓“丑书”、“怪字”，他们撇开了书法的传统，抛开了汉字的形态，纯粹搞抽象的东西，除了还是用毛笔墨汁，很少有人看得懂写的是什么。我请教吴老：“这是不是改革书法的一条路子？这条路子可行得通？”吴老说：“书法必须改革，不改革没有出路。但是我认为，第一，书法是人们交流、沟通的工具，必须实用、通俗，让人看得懂。我写的书法都是最普通的，而且是简体字，大家都认识。古代的甲骨文、篆书，也是当时人们交流的工具，后来就是太繁了，才逐渐简化，直到现在的简化汉字；第二，书法必须给人以美感，形式美、构成美，即使不认识这些字的人也觉得美。有些搞书法的人完全抛弃了汉字的外形，搞抽象的东西。我说你搞抽象的东西完全可以，我不反对。但你不要说这是中国书法。中国书法有其深厚的文化底蕴和基本规律，离开了这些便不能称为中国书法。我认为搞‘丑书’、‘怪字’不是拯救书法的正确路子，那条路子是行不通的。”
　　2006年1月15日上午，我应邀去中国美术馆参观“吴冠中2005年新作展”。35件水墨画新作和首次面世的25件书法作品，引起了观众极大的兴致。在书法作品中，“风筝不断线”、“笔墨等于零”等语句赫然在列。漫步展厅，一幅幅书法作品穿插在绘画作品之中，交相呼应，相映成趣，布局结构处处体现吴老的审美追求，观众们徜徉在吴老情意脉脉、春意融融的“汉字田园”中流连忘返。
　　几十年来，吴老能把油彩和水墨这两处艺苑经营得争奇斗艳、花团锦簇，他在耄耋之年创新不断，想把“汉字田园”这块自留地侍弄得花繁叶茂、赏心悦目，这种心意实在难能可贵。
　　
　　
　　Established Painter Turns to Calligraphy
　　By Xu Zhoupu
　　I paid a visit to Master Wu Guanzhong on the New Year’s Day of 2006, the first in 13 years. His wife Zhu Biqin, dressed in a purplish red outerwear, answered the door. The 86-year-old master in a homely sweater came to greet me in quick step and with firm handshake. I was greatly relieved to see that he was healthy.
　　We chatted and our conversation took its natural course. Then unexpectedly, he excused himself and went to a room and came back with an invitation. He asked me to attend his 2005 artwork exhibition to be held on January 15th at China Arts Gallery. I was amazed at the master’s creative energy and excited at the news that he was able to create enough to hold a solo exhibition at the country’s largest arts gallery! Filling me in on details, Wu explained that the exhibits would include 35 ink and wash paintings and 25 calligraphic works. I was more surprised. I had attended his solo exhibitions several times and had never known that the established artist had created anything in Chinese calligraphy. Then I remembered seeing a calligraphic work hanging on the wall when I entered the apartment. I didn’t know he had taken calligraphy so seriously.
　　
　　So our conversation turned to his fresh pursuit. I asked him when he turned his eyes to calligraphy. He said in 2004 he wrote a memoir entitled I Let Fine Arts Down, for he was unable to paint creatively because he was hospitalized a few times in the year. After recovery in 2005, he tried to explore something creative. Since he was unable to paint something in large size, he turned his attention to calligraphy. He had learned Chinese calligraphy as a child, but gave it up later for he was not yet able to appreciate the beauty of the handwriting art. After taking a rough look at today’s calligraphic works, he realized that they were not as flourishing as expected. He said that by and large calligraphers today were not extremely creative. They copied and they repeated themselves and they created things difficult for ordinary people to understand. Calligraphers said they wanted to reform and innovate but there had been all the talking but no really positive results. Wu wanted to try his hands on calligraphy by integrating the figurative beauty of western painting with the features of Chinese calligraphy.
　　
　　How would this integration be achieved? The master desired not to either repeat himself or copy the ancients. Innovation was the key. He creatively recombined components of Chinese characters and introduced bold elements and changes into new figurative designs, and created new structures and rhythms. He prefers simplified Chinese characters which ordinary people would recognize with ease and he puts his artistic interpretations and understanding about life into his calligraphy.
　　With his knowledge of Chinese culture, Wu Guanzhong expressed himself quite well in Chinese calligraphy. We talked about a few of his works. Then I mentioned some tricks tried by some calligraphers who set out to make Chinese characters look ugly or highly abstractive in their calligraphic works. I asked if it was a way out. The answer was negative. In his opinion, understandability was a standard for innovation in Chinese calligraphy and calligraphy should deliver a sense of beauty both in content and appearance. He did not object abstraction, but he said problems might multiply in naming abstract creations as Chinese calligraphy, for, in his opinion, Chinese calligraphy should be based on Chinese culture and intrinsic rules.
　　On the morning of January 15, 2006, I attended the exhibition. Arranged among the paintings, his calligraphies also attracted audiences. For decades, Wu Guanzhong has established himself as a master of oil painting and ink painting. In his evening years, however, he has turned his creative energy to Chinese calligraphy. His achievement in the new field is truly valuable.
　　(Translated by David)