用最东方的笔写最世界的书法

周懿

潮牌墨镜，耐克球鞋，爱喝咖啡，随身iPad……这位洋范儿的长者，信最中国的道，用最东方的毛笔，写最世界的书法。他，就是王冬龄。

东方与西方，传统与新潮，内隐于外放，坚守与实验，本味与洋气，青春与沉淀，所有看似矛盾的词汇，在王冬龄身上合适地无缝衔接。

他的艺术、他的成功无疑得益于他的天分与勤奋，但不可回避的是，这也是时代的造就。而他能一次次站在潮头，是缘于他恰到好处地捕捉到了这个时代最锐利的一把钥匙——包容，或许就是天地间的大“道”。

大潮大浪：改革开放的第一个10年

提起“改革开放”，王冬龄的思绪一下就被拉回到40年前。那时的他，从南京师范学院美术系毕业后，在江苏当地成了一个文艺骨干。1978年12月一个寻常的冬日，街口的大喇叭播报了新闻——十一届三中全会公报发布。或许当时的人们并不知道，自己的生活、脚下的土地、未来的中国将从这一刻开始发生天翻地覆的变化。“紧接着的变化很明显，好像窗门打开了，春风一下吹了进来”，王冬龄说，“年轻人起个大早去新华书店买书，排很长的队，就为看看那些过去没有见过的书籍”。

1979年，中国书法界发生了一件大事——浙江美术学院（现中国美术学院）首次招收书法系研究生，这是中国书法首次脱离私塾的师徒传授，进入高等课堂，用现代的艺术教学方式进行授课。王冬龄毅然选择了回归校园深造学习。就是这个决定，使他成为当时全中国首批书法专业仅有的5位研究生之一，师从陆维钊、沙孟海等书法大家，他的生命就这样在如此历史性的机遇下，与中国的书法事业联系在了一起。

“像我们这样工作之后又重新进入课堂的人，真的特别珍惜。改革开放把优秀的青年人才挖掘出来，给社会注入了元气。”空前的包容与开放，给了年轻生命蓬勃的机遇，王冬龄像无数个重返课堂的莘莘学子一样，对新鲜的知识如饥似渴。

1981年，对于中国书法界来说又有了一件大事——中国书法家协会在北京正式成立，全国的书法家们有了属于自己的“组织”。而后的整个80年代，中国掀起了前所未有的全民“书法热”，对知识的渴望、对传统美学的热爱，也由于书法的准入门槛低、工具简单，男女老幼都有人加入书法学习的大军中。据记载，当时全国最大的书法函授学校——无锡书法艺术学校，一年招生可达1.8万人。

在大众的书法狂欢中，专业的艺术家们则开始了书法前卫性与先锋性的尝试，那些青春的灵魂，迫切地希望世界听见自己的声音。已经留校任教的王冬龄也不遗余力地投身其中，1987年，他的第一次个展在中国美术馆三层举办。“当时没有电梯，布展一口气跑到三楼很累的。做展览没有钱，到处找赞助，很辛苦”，王冬龄回忆展览往昔，不胜感慨。好在辛苦归辛苦，他交出了改革开放第一个10年从“而立”走向“不惑”的人生答卷。

似书非书：现代书法的不破不立

上世纪90年代初的电影《大撒把》、电视剧《北京人在纽约》成为当时脍炙人口的影视作品，形象地描绘了80年代人们想见识世界的梦想。那时的中央台有“FOLLOW ME”（跟我学），出版界有《英语900句》，收音机、磁带机滚动播放着“ABC”。1985年，国家提出了支持留学、鼓励出国、来去自由的方针，一场史无前例的出国热潮席卷全国，第二年自费留学的人数就突破了10万人。

1989年3月1日，王冬龄也随着这片出国大潮，之后伊利诺威、堪萨斯、哈佛、斯坦福、伯克莱等20多所大学竞相邀请他前往开设书法班、举办讲座与展览。就这样，一个中国艺术家在吃着汉堡、喝着可乐的美国，推动中国书法艺术教育开拓生发，这是前所未有的。在这片当代艺术的热土之上，他向西方教授着最中国的书法，也学习着最先锋的西方艺术。中国书法的线条美，深深吸引着美国师生；而西方艺术的创新精神，也进一步打破了曾經套在中国书法上的教条禁锢。

三年零十个月后，王冬龄毅然地放弃了当时人们欣羡的美国绿卡，回归故土，回归母校中国美术学院任教。最初的“去”，是为了向西方传播中国书法，而这次的“回”，是为了向国内传播新的艺术理念。“中国书法从来不缺乏创新性，每一种书体的创立，都是对前人的革新。没有创新，王羲之不会成为王羲之。”王冬龄的书法从此有了截然不同的面目，融音乐、舞蹈入书法；他用粗壮如腕的几十斤毛笔书写百米巨幅；甚至冒“书法之大不韪”，故意打破“章法”的金科玉律，将字与字交叠“乱书”，使得作品看上去似书非书，似画非画，亦书亦画。

而每一次全力一击的“打破”背后，是他对于传统书法精神的深深敬畏。工作室里放着厚厚一沓练字用纸，如果没有其他事务，每日雷打不动地进行基本功的练习，篆、隶、草、楷、行，一丝不苟。又如他在书写创作之前，要对内容进行成百上千次的背诵、练习。为了hold住长达1小时甚至几小时猫着腰挥动粗重毛笔的大字创作过程，他平日通过游泳、打拳积蓄体能。所以，“乱”不是无序之乱；“大”也不是想大则大的。宝剑锋从磨砺出，好艺术是“十年一剑”的苦心经营。

2002年，中国美术学院率先成立现代书法研究中心，由王冬龄任中心负责人，现代书法第一次进入高等艺术教育。越来越多人加入到现代书法的行列中来，相较于30年前的“寂寞”，如今的王冬龄有了更多也更年轻的同行者，然而“但开风气不为师”，王冬龄始终强调个人性与创造力，在教学中更是如此，这或许正如吴昌硕所言：“化我者生，破我者进，似我者死”，书法艺术的创新也永无止境。

獨乐众乐：笔墨当随时代

艺术界的王冬龄鼎鼎大名，但在大众心中，对于这个名字的熟知与“苹果”息息相关。2015年新年伊始，在人潮如织的杭州平海路，亚洲最大苹果官方旗舰店的白色外墙上出现了一幅巨大的书法作品，龙飞凤舞的字里行间，还有一个小小的红色苹果标记。当年，苹果公司CEO库克特意打“飞的”远渡重洋来向王冬龄学书法，于是就有了中国书法与苹果的不解之缘，“这个委托项目最吸引我的是，大型书法在进入户外空间后会产生怎样的效果，因为当代艺术和传统艺术最大的区别之一，就是和现代人生活所发生的关系，在美术馆看书法作品是一回事，而当书法在公共空间、以非常规方式呈现的时候，又是另外一种效果。”回忆当时的情景，王冬龄也感慨互联网带来的神奇缘分，“库克就是在网络上看到了我的书法，很喜欢，他就来了。”显然，这次书法与科技的公共艺术跨界尝试是极其成功的。记得，当时不少朋友特意赶去现场拍照纪念，一个即将开业的数码产品旗舰店，是如何带着诗情画意的优雅气质来到杭州；而“王冬龄”这个名字也随着铺天盖地的媒体报道进入了寻常百姓视野；更重要的是，老百姓知道了：原来书法还可以这么玩。

中国书法从来不是小部分精英的特权，从过去家家户户的春联，到帝王百官的收藏，中国人惜字爱字是一种血液里的传承。2011年，王冬龄与浙江日报报业集团合作创办兰亭书法社，凭借媒体的品牌力量，大力推进浙江书法艺术的全国化、全球化传播：通过“兰亭书法社双年展”挖掘书法界的创新力量；通过一系列的进课堂活动，用生动有趣的书法体验课，激发孩子们对书法的兴趣。

当年的大喇叭广播声还萦绕在耳畔，当年的激情岁月仍在燃烧，40年，大潮奔流，一代人的起起落落。而王冬龄在这滚滚大潮中，用他的经历，成为中国书法事业发展的一个见证者、参与者和推动者，也将成为中国漫漫书法艺术长河中一个历史的刻度，一座未来的坐标。

（部分图片选自视觉中国）

Wang Dongling： Calligrapher Portrays World in Eastern Style

By Zhou Yi

A look at 73-year-old Wang Dongling reveals nothing about his global reputation of Chinese calligraphy. Among his wardrobe are trendy sun glasses and Nike athletic shoes； he is a coffee buff and carries an Ipad wherever he goes. But he embodies seemingly clashing combinations of the west and the east， tradition and avant-garde， introvert and extrovert， adherence and experiment， nativity and internationalization. All these contradictions juxtapose in him. Though his calligraphy indicates his genius， dedication and hard work， his reputation bespeaks the successful four decades of Chinas reform and opening-up to the outside world.

He remembers clearly a December day 1978 when he heard the communiqué of the third plenary session of the 11th central committee of the Communist Party of China broadcast everywhere in Nanjing， where he had already established himself an outstanding artist after graduation from the art department of Nanjing Normal University. It was an epoch-making session and epoch-making document. Sweeping changes soon took place in China and in everyones life. “Young people rushed to Xinhua Bookstores early in the morning long before business hour and stood in long queues to buy novels， novels they had heard of but never read before，” Wang recalled.

In the following year， calligraphers all over the country learned about a piece of unprecedented news： Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts， the predecessor of present-day China Academy of Art， was to offer a graduate course in calligraphy. It was the first time ever that calligraphy was to be taught and learned in a graduate course in higher education. Before then， all calligraphy education was conducted privately between a master and a student. Wang Dongling knew what the news meant. He decided to take the chance. He became one of the five graduate students enrolled in that course and studied under the guidance of renowned calligraphers such as Lu Weizhao and Sha Menghai. His life became intimately entangled with calligraphy in this historical encounter.

“Reform and opening to the outside world gave young talents opportunities. The move injected meta-energy into the society. I treasured the opportunity to receive an advanced education after my college graduation，” recalled the calligrapher.

Another big event concerning calligraphy occurred in 1981 when China Calligraphers Association came into being in Beijing. The 1980s saw the booming of calligraphy education across the country. A school in Wuxi offered a correspondence course on calligraphy and within a year about 18，000 people signed up.

While amateur calligraphers everywhere were grappling with the basics of calligraphy， some master calligraphers began exploring whether they could add an avant-garde touch to the traditional Chinese penmanship. Wang Dongling， a teacher with Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts， went all out to chase his dream. In 1987， he held his solo exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

March 1989 saw him start his series of lectures on calligraphy in the United States. His first stop was at University of Minnesota. Then he held exhibitions and gave lectures at 20 some universities including Harvard and Stanford.

Three years and ten months later， he came back and resumed teaching at his alma mater. In the United States， he promoted the beauty and majesty of Chinese calligraphy. Now back home， he promoted innovation. “Chinese calligraphy has kept innovating itself all the time. Each new script is an innovation. But for innovation， there would have been no Wang Xizhi，” Wang Dongling said. Wang Xizhi （303–361） is generally regarded as the greatest Chinese calligrapher in history.

By then he had already been experimenting on writing with a supersized brush pen which weighed more than 15 kilograms and which was as thick as a wrist. Since then Wang has broken away from traditional rules. He writes larger-than-life characters that overlap each other. His calligraphy looks like something half calligraphy and half painting. Though his calligraphy looks chaotic， there is an innate order. Large-size characters present beauty and power irresistible and fascinating. He offers a modernist twist on a classic form， an approach that has garnered him critical acclaim. He has expanded the ground for modern calligraphy and transformed traditional elements， making them compatible with contemporary experience. What he has accomplished with his monumental calligraphy is more than a technical breakthrough. He has enhanced the visual experience of calligraphy and reconfigured its image as a form of contemporary art.