江南看见敦煌

史春波

2022年的金秋，杭州，一个“看见敦煌”的展览吸引了很多人专程前来观看。人们感叹，能在千里之外的杭州看到如此精彩的敦煌艺术，是一种惊喜和意外。

这背后，蕴含着一位73岁老人大半生的心血、智慧和才华，也浓缩了他们这一代学人的坚守、奉献、责任、理想，甚至还有青春。

他就是谢成水，中国美术学院客座教授、硕士生导师。

从心灵的感应到二十年的践行

谢成水的话并不多，但一聊起敦煌却是兴奋的，他的双眼能放出光芒，讲起来滔滔不绝。

在展览开幕的同时，同名新书《看见敦煌》也发布了。“敦煌艺术是要花真功夫去认识，才能够使心灵得到感应。关于这一点，谢老师是真正有感悟的。”敦煌研究院现任院长赵声良这样评价。

几十年的时光，在敦煌的飞沙里，在几百个洞窟里，在枯燥和孤独里，无声消逝。

几十年后， 关于敦煌考古研究所鲜有人报名的新闻再次引起公众关注。是待遇太低？是要求太高？还是缺少考古热情的年轻人太少？

在纷杂的声音里，谢成水试图用自己的这个展览，让更多的年轻人看见敦煌、热爱敦煌，成为敦煌下一代的守护者。

今天，站在自己临摹的一面面敦煌壁画和一尊尊塑像前，满头银发的谢成水是否想起1984年的那个秋天，他扛住了几乎所有亲友的反对，一脚踏进了敦煌莫高窟的大门。

“34个人报名，最后只去了我一个人。”

1984年10月的一天，敦煌考古研究所里走进一个来自南方的年轻人。他是学油画的谢成水，高高瘦瘦，戴副眼镜。

这次敦煌之行，是很不容易的。来之前，谢成水几乎受到所有人的反对：“不能去。”

“敦煌在大西北，沙漠戈壁，你一个南方人受不了的。”

“你去了，连喝水都会拉肚子。”

“你从小身体不好。”

……

动身前，全家人这样反对。以前出远门，母亲总会高兴地送行，对他说“好男儿志在四方”，可这一次，母亲哭了。

但是，谢成水下了决心，一定要去敦煌。这种发自内心的渴望已经有好几年了。

在这前面的两年，即1982年，谢成水在浙江美术学院（今中国美院）油畫系进修，他对中国的传统艺术很感兴趣。一次偶然的机会，谢成水在报纸上看到了敦煌文物研究所（今敦煌研究院）招聘研究人员的一则信息。谢成水就报了名，通过了招聘组的面试。当时，研究所招了34名绘画方面的研究者。

这期间，谢成水利用暑假，向同学们借了钱，独自往敦煌走。果然，第一个困难出现了，就是喝水拉了半个月的肚子。尽管如此，大半个月里，他看了400多个洞窟，粗粗地看了。

离开那天，段文杰所长送他到了大牌坊下，谢成水答应他，学业结束了就回来。在美院进修结束后，谢成水就准备践行自己的承诺。但是，却遇到了家里的反对。当地有关部门也不同意，扣了他的一些证件，不过，在谢成水的坚持下，还是放行了。

出发前，他差不多用半年时间准备去敦煌的行李，主要是赶制一套家具。那时候搬家才是真正的搬家，桌椅、床、柜子都要自己带。因为没有家具店，每家每户的家具修饰要申请批条来买木头，请木匠定制。就这样，大大小小的行李一共运了18件。

但是，一到敦煌，谢成水的心忽然凉了半截。他想起一共有34个美术生报名，他想见见他们。“没有呢，就来了你一个。”没想到，同事们这样说。“有的来看了一下，上午来的，下午就跑掉了。”

谢成水一下愣住了。“怎么只有我一个人来，是不是我脑子有问题？”他这样想。

他决定再看看，然后决定是不是值得留下来。

研究所给了他一把万能钥匙，可以打开几乎所有洞窟的门。就这样，他每天看洞窟，看了一个星期，再一次被敦煌艺术所震撼，

他决定留下。签了合同，必须留下来工作五年以上。而这一待，就是二十年。

“樊锦诗送了我一个锅，但也拿不出一双筷子”

在敦煌生活，一半是艰苦的。不过，研究所非常善待这位来自南方的年轻人。比如，给谢成水安排了最好的一个房子。

隔壁那栋楼住的是杭州人樊锦诗，如今她被誉为“敦煌的女儿”“敦煌的守护神”。

樊锦诗比谢成水大十二岁，是当年招聘组的组长。

刚到没几天，樊锦诗就让工作人员给谢成水送了好多大米，主要是担心谢成水是从南方来的，喜欢吃米饭，一下子吃不惯面食。后来才知道，这些大米是从食堂每天做稀饭的3斤大米中省出来的。为了让他吃上米饭，所里的一些同事自愿吃了一个星期的馒头和米汤。

这让谢成水很感动。

樊锦诗还给了谢成水一口铝锅。“这里条件很苦，我这里也没什么可以给你的，有一口锅你拿去可以做饭。”要放多少水才能煮熟，她比划着告诉谢成水。

“我再给你双筷子吧。”可是最终她还是没有找到，“对不起，我这里也没有，不过，还有一个叉子。”

睡觉时空气太干了嗓子冒火，就在地面上浇些开水；衣服脏了有污渍，就在细沙子里踩踩，再拿出来抖一抖，污渍就没了；水是最大的难题，谢成水买了几个水桶，趁着每周去城里买菜时，装满水回来，四十来斤的水桶一直搬了三年。

但和看洞窟的快乐比起来，这些苦都是微不足道的。

有一次，所里有几张电视机票，在那个年代，能有一个电视机，是很不容易的。所里照顾谢成水，打算给他一张票。

这让很多同事羡慕。

不过，谢成水拒绝了：“有这么多洞窟在，还看什么电视啊，你们谁想要就拿去。”

每天，在敦煌的日子，枯燥而寂寞，但是却也很开心。睡不着的时候，他就拿着手电去洞窟看，研究那些穿越了千年的壁画和雕塑。

沙漠上的星星也特别亮，他和同事们一起散步，坐在沙丘上聊到半夜。

1986年，谢成水在敦煌结婚了，没有办婚礼，只是给同事分了些喜糖。妻子是一名叫华文艳的南京女孩。

在谢成水来敦煌前，他们在南京认识，她是唯一支持他去敦煌的人。“为了艺术，你想去敦煌，就应该去。”这名家境优越的姑娘说。

这样的支持给了谢成水莫大的惊喜。女孩还给他汇了50元，说去敦煌一定用得上。

1986年，她同样不顾亲友的反对，义无反顾地从江南来到了敦煌，跟着他一起吃苦。他们在敦煌生下一个女儿，取名“漠兮”，成为茫茫大漠上最让人惊羡的诗意。

用敦煌技法在杭州实现梦想

杭州中天竺法净寺圆通殿里，150平方米的壁画，妙相庄严，恢宏大气，这是谢成水用了敦煌壁画的技法画成的。

其难度之大，外人是不知道的。

敦煌地处沙漠气候干燥，所以壁画能保存千年，如果是南方潮湿地区的壁画，三个月就损坏了。

1984年，谢成水去敦煌时，就曾梦想用敦煌的技法回南方画壁画。为了实现这个梦想，他在敦煌一边画，一边进行各种测试和实验。他收集了各个地区的雨水并记录下它们的湿度，前后考察了龙门石窟、永乐宫等，取样化验作了检测。

他离梦想越来越近了。

2009年，杭州中天竺法净寺邀请谢成水到寺院画壁画。此前，谢成水为灵隐寺、永福寺等塑造佛像，名气越来越大。

谢成水决定把敦煌220窟的唐代壁画用敦煌的技法画在中天竺寺。不过，这幅画太大了，尺寸要比220窟的原作大四倍。

他花了一年多的时间完成了放大的线描稿。可正当他信心满满地准备正式画时，遇到了一个难题。

杭州梅雨季时，中天竺寺的湿度可以达到80%以上，玻璃和瓷砖都会冒出水。而在传统壁画的绘制中，壁画墙面始终要保持干燥。

怎么办？

结合前些年搜集的记录和检测数据，经过不断测试和研究，谢成水发明了防潮防霉的古代壁画制作新工艺。

运用这项工艺绘制的中天竺壁画，经受住了梅雨天的考验，没有出现剥落和霉变。这项工艺还获得了国家发明专利。

2013年，常书鸿的女儿常沙娜来到杭州，看到谢成水在中天竺的壁画和永福寺的大佛雕塑，很是兴奋和震撼。

2012年，谢成水塑造的韬光寺脱胎漆宝珠观音，获得了“首届中国当代佛教艺术展”金奖。

“这些成绩得益于我在敦煌的耳濡目染，也算是一个意外收获。”他这样说。

“让更多的人看见敦煌”

谢成水在敦煌的几十年经历，是一代学人的缩影。从常书鸿开始，一大批老一辈学人为了守护这座艺术宝库，无私奉献了青春和才华。

和那个年代相比，如今的生活自然是天差地别。文博考古在近年来看起来很是热门，但为何敦煌考古研究所依然罕有报考者？

“我这一代人已经努力了，之后就是要看下一代接力了。”在自己临摹的壁画《萨埵太子舍身饲虎》前，谢成水感慨地说。

“研究古代艺术是一趟很艰苦很枯燥很孤独的人生之旅，现在能忍受孤独和艰苦的年轻人太少了。”谢成水就常常把自己比作是“苦行者”。也正因如此，这么多年来，谢成水一直在南方做敦煌艺术的传承和推广。从敦煌回来后就在杭州工作、生活，在这里的院校传授敦煌壁画、彩塑艺术的课程，为寺院做艺术雕塑。他也经常带着学生去敦煌，感受这座艺术宝库的无穷魅力。

中国美院在读博士阳帆是谢成水的学生，如今已是一名画家。他回忆说：“是谢老师亲自带着我们去敦煌考察，亲自讲解，让我们年轻人感受到了敦煌藝术的魅力。”这段经历至今滋养着他现在的艺术创作。

对于谢成水来说，他的希望依然是“让更多的人看见敦煌”。“我没什么遗憾的了，我去敦煌的初心，就是为了看见敦煌。”他这样说。

A Glimpse into Dunhuang from Jiangnan

By Shi Chunbo

In the autumn of 2022， a cultural exhibition See Dunhuang attracted many a visitor to Hangzhou. It was a wonderful eye-opener for them to appreciate cave art in Hangzhou， a major city in the Jiangnan （South of the Yangtze River） area thousands of miles away from Dunhuang， where the caves are located. Behind all this were the hard work， wisdom and talent of a 73-year-old man in decades of his life， which also condense the persistence and dedication of his generation of scholars. His name is Xie Chengshui， a visiting professor at the China Academy of Art.

Though taciturn， Xie would flow on without stopping when it came to Dunhuang， his eyes lit up. On the opening of the exhibition， his new book See Dunhuang was also released. “It takes real hard work to get an insight into Dunhuang cave art， in which Professor Xie is genuinely insightful，” said Zhao Shengliang， director of the Dunhuang Academy.

Recently， news that no one signed up for a job vacancy at the Dunhuang Academys Archeological Institute attracted public attention. With decades spent in hundreds of Dunhuang caves in solitude， Xie tried to engage the interest of the youth via the exhibition， which might encourage them to be the next guardians of Dunhuang art. Standing in front of the murals and statues he copied， the silver-haired man remembered the autumn of 1984 when he embarked on his career in Mogao Caves despite the opposition of almost all his relatives and friends. “Some 34 people signed up， but I was the only one who actually stayed.” In October 1984， Xie Chengshui， a tall and slender young man from southern China who majored in painting， stepped into Dunhuang Academys Archeological Institute.

Xies trip to Dunhuang was never made easy， as he was opposed by almost everyone. The local authorities did not agree to his decision either， and withheld several documents from him. But longing for Dunhuang for years， Xie was determined. Two years before in 1982 when he was studying in the Department of Oil Painting at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts （now China Academy of Art）， he saw a notice in the newspaper by chance about the recruitment of 34 painting researchers for Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute （now Dunhuang Academy）. Xie signed up and passed the job interview. During that summer vacation， he paid a short visit to Dunhuang alone with money borrowed from his classmates. The first dilemma he encountered there was drinking water， as he suffered from diarrhea for half a month. Yet during the fortnight， he went through more than 400 caves. On the day he left， Xie promised Director Duan Wenjie that he would come back after his graduation. Two years passed by， and Xie was ready to fulfill his promise.

Half a year before his Dunhuang-bound journey， Xie began to prepare his luggage. One priority was to rush out a set of furniture. It was a time when people had to take along their own furniture when moving away. And with no furniture stores available， people needed to apply for approval to buy wood and ask a carpenter to customize a set. Xie had a total of 18 pieces of luggage transported. But upon his arrival at Dunhuang， his heart sank. Remembering that a total of 34 art students had signed up， he wanted to meet them. “Youre the only one who really came.” Though shocked， Xie decided to wait and see if the place was worth staying in. As the institute gave him a “master key” that could open the doors of almost all caves， Xie observed and examined them every day for a week， and was once again stunned by Dunhuang cave art. He decided to stay， which lasted two decades.

Life was hard in Dunhuang. However， the institute treated the young man kindly and arranged the best house for Xie Chengshui. In the building next to Xies lived Fan Jinshi， the head of the recruitment team at the time. Just a few days after Xies arrival， Fan， who was also from Hangzhou， asked the staff to give him 10.5 kilos of rice， considering that southerners were more used to rice than to wheaten food. Upon receiving the rice， Xie felt that the living conditions were not that bad after all， but he later found the rice was saved from the daily ration of 1.5 kilos that was used to make porridge， and that to cater to his appetite， the whole institute of 60-odd people ate steamed buns and rice soup for a week. This greatly moved Xie. Fan also gave him an aluminum pot.

“Life heres difficult， and I have nothing to give you but the pot. You can cook for yourself. I can give you a pair of chopsticks too.” But she couldnt find them in the end. “Im sorry I dont have them. But Ill give you a fork instead.”

When the air got too dry to go to sleep and his throat went on fire， he poured some boiled water on the ground. When his clothes were dirty and stained， he stepped them on fine sand， took them out and shook them， and the stains would be gone. Drinking water remained the biggest challenge. Xie bought several buckets. On weekly shopping tours in downtown for vegetable and meat， Xie asked his colleagues to carry the buckets with water， which weighed up to 20 kilos， a quest that continued for three years. Compared with the joy of scrutinizing the caves， these sufferings and hardships were negligible. When unable to sleep， he would take a flashlight and visit a cave， studying murals and sculptures that had been there a thousand years before. Besides， with stars in the desert particularly bright， Xie would walk with his colleagues and sit on the dunes chatting until midnight.

In 1986， Xie Chengshui married a Nanjing girl in Dunhuang with no wedding ceremony， except for distributing sweets to colleagues. His wife， Hua Wenyan， had met Xie in her hometown before he went to Dunhuang， and became the only person supporting Xies Mogao-bound journey. The girl also remitted Xie 50 yuan before he set off. In 1986， regardless of the opposition of her relatives and friends， she went all the way from southeastern China to join him in the northwest. They gave birth to a daughter named Moxi， which turned out to be a moving verse sung in the vast desert.

In the Yuantong Hall of the Fajing Temple in Hangzhou， a 150-square-meter mural stands solemn and magnificent. It was produced by Xie Chengshui using the painting techniques of Dunhuang cave art. The complexity of its production is beyond imagination. Located in the desert， Dunhuang features a rather dry climate， which enables the murals to be preserved for a thousand years. Yet it is humid in southern China， which is fatal to murals. In 1984， Xie once dreamed of painting murals in the south with Dunhuang techniques. Thus， he performed various tests and experiments while painting in Dunhuang， and also collected precipitation and humidity records in various regions， inspected the Longmen Grottoes， the Yongle Palace， and took samples for laboratory tests. He moved inch by inch toward the dream.

In 2009， the Fajing Temple invited Xie to paint wall murals in Hangzhou again， and Xie decided to reproduce the Tang dynasty （618-907） murals in Mogao Cave 220 with the Dunhuang techniques. Previously， he had created Buddha statues for the Lingyin Temple， the Yongfu Temple， and others， for which he grew increasingly famous. The mural for the Fajing Temple is four times larger than the original， taking him over a year to sketch the outline. But just as he was confidently preparing for the full painting， he encountered another problem. During the rainy season in Hangzhou， the humidity of the temple could reach 80 percent or higher， even glass and tiles getting watery， whereas in traditional mural painting， the wall should always be kept dry.

Combined with the records and testing data collected over the years， and after continuous testing and research， Xie invented a new technique for reproducing moisture-proof and mildew-proof murals. Such murals for this temple have withstood the test of the rainy season without peeling or mildew. The process is now patented in China. In 2013， Chang Shana， daughter of Chang Shuhong （1904-1994）， one of the founders of Dunhuang Studies， came to Hangzhou and was excited and shocked to see Xies murals in the Fajing Temple and his Buddha statues in the Yongfu Temple. “These achievements benefit from my experience in Dunhuang， which is an unexpected gain，” Xie said. In 2012， his lacquer pearl Guanyin at the Taoguang Temple won the gold medal of the “First China Contemporary Buddhist Art Exhibition”.

Xie Chengshui is an epitome of his generation of scholars. Starting from Chang Shuhong， many scholars of the older generation have selflessly dedicated their youth and talent to protecting this treasure house of art. Museology and archeology have become popular in recent years， but why are so many still unwilling to apply for positions in the Dunhuang Academy？ “The future relies on the next generation，” Xie said with emotion. However， unfortunately， a younger generation of researchers are now absent from the archeological research of Dunhuang， which Xie has attributed to a lack of publicity. Besides， the spirit of asceticism is in scarcity in the young generation today. “Study on ancient art is an arduous， tedious and lonely journey. Now there are few young people who can endure loneliness and hardship.” Considering this， Xie has been inheriting and promoting Dunhuang cave art in southern China for many years. After returning from Dunhuang， Xie has lived and worked in Hangzhou， not only offering courses on Dunhuang murals and painted sculpture in universities， but making sculptures for temples. He has also taken his students to Dunhuang to experience the infinite charm of this artistic treasure.

Yang Fan was a student of Xies and is now a painter. “Mr. Xie personally took us to Dunhuang to investigate and explain Dunhuang caves in person， teaching us young people to appreciate its charm，” he recalled. It has nourished his current artistic creation.

For Xie Chengshui， his hope is still to “make more people see Dunhuang.”

“I have no regrets for myself，” Xie said. “My original intention of going there is to see it.”