2004年,我在德国柏林的DAAD参加为期两个月的文化交流活动。那段时间,我常常与常驻柏林的秦玉芬、朱金石等一些国内艺术家来往。当时,徐冰正好也在德国参加学术活动,也在柏林住三个月,所以我们就在一群朋友的聚会上相识了。在这之前,我对徐冰20世纪80年代轰动一时的作品《天书》、《鬼打墙》等,在当年也曾有了解。当然,这种了解也仅仅局限于他出国前的作品。他出国之后,我便很少看到他的消息。在聚会上,朋友们都在聊他出国之后的作品《新英文书法》。 In 2004, I attended a two-month cultural exchange event at DAAD in Berlin, Germany. During that time, I often traveled with some domestic artists such as Qin Yufen and Zhu Jinshi, who resided in Berlin. At the time, Xu Bing was also attending academic activities in Germany and living in Berlin for three months, so we met at a party of friends. Prior to this, I also knew about the works of Xu Bing in the 1980s, such as the Bible, the Ghost and the Wall. Of course, this understanding is also limited to his works before leaving the country. After he went abroad, I seldom saw his news. At the party, my friends were talking about his work New English Calligraphy after going abroad.