一个偶然的机会，我结识了云南水彩面面家傅启中先生。

　　记得1987年的端阳节，我为了中国第一届艺术节，专程到昆明组织云南民艺进京展览。因为是节日又是星期天，机关不办公，我只好在招待所闭门读书。突然，一位素不相识的中年人口门来访，并热情地邀我到他家去看看画。盛情难却，我便应邀前往了。这位中年人便是云南艺术学院的教师傅启中先生o我来到傅先生的家之后，他毫无保留地将多年来面的水彩全部搬出来供我欣赏。当我的目光触到一幅幅作品时，深深感到作者是位有艺术志向和抱负的人。他的作品看不到通常水彩 画烟兩缥组的自然灵趣，也没有酒脱奔放的色彩 效果，而是那么深沉坚实、雄浑，看起来像油画，又像版画。他绘的无论是人物、山石、树木还是牛栏村寨，都似有干钧之力。画水仙花和海棠花按说可以画得清新恬淡，翠嫩的叶子，轻盈的花朵，充满水分和芳香的气氛，都是画家门常常追求的意境。但作者却打破了常规，造型虽然是具象的，却不是自然具象的再现，而是作者思想情感的抒发，似乎有种力量在奋力地博争。有的作品像有强劲的磁力，紧紧地吸弓！着我，促使我不得不沉思和联想。

　　在谈话中得知，傅先生曾到过瑞丽、芒市，到过红河江畔的元阳，而更愿去滇西北的中甸、德钦、圭山和大理，那里的高山 雪岭、峽谷、草原更使他神往。他爱边陲的各族人民，更爱他们顾强的精神气质，这里的一切与他的情感相融，由此他获得了艺术的灵魂。几十年来，他就是沿着这条坎坷而怪石嶙峋的路不断向高处攀登。

　　我问傅先生为什么追求这种深沉、凝重的艺术风格。他说：“我到了雪山、峡谷、草原之后，深感环境的恶劣、生存条件的严峻，这儿的人民要想能世世代代生活在这里，就要同大白然进行博斗，于是锤炼了他们坚韧、顽强、豪迈的气质。我认为，在严峻之下顽强的生命力，才是我礼赞的。”我非常赞赏傅先生的艺术观，也钦佩他选择的艺术道路。或许是我个人思想的偏颇对于有的人笔下的少数民族，或绘得愚味、荒蛮，或极力粉饰，纳入文人的雅趣，或着意描绘没有希望、没有生命力的孤寂的角落，这些做法，我不敢恭维。我无意对人家选择的艺术道路进行挑剔，但是，作为一个读者，我更喜爱具有顽强生命力的赞歌。

　　我在 《古树 阳》和 《沉思》两幅画前停留了很久，那古树苍动，枝丫万干，可以想见亡在高原上经历了多少岁月，迎送了多少日月星辰，又遭受过多少风刀兩箭的推残，它依然傲然吃立，不停地生长新的枝叶。以物寄情，便是一首昂扬的生命乐章。那沉思中的藏族老人，腰杆挺直地端坐，埋头倔强地在想什么……是人生旅程的艰辛，是昔日数不尽的苦难，是神幻般的向往他背靠两棵古柳，枝丫残留的不多，而树干依然坚如钢铁，这便是老人精神的写照：

　　《悠悠》更发人深省，画中那位背着草篓缓缓行走的老妇人，习惯地低头用纺锤捻着毛线，像身旁的老牛那样，默默地垂着背。背景以沧源原始古朴越人的崖画相托，两者的岁月相距数千年，又似时空停带了，近在眼前。现代生活的风尚未吹到这横断山脉中的穷乡僻壤，人民世世勤劳、代代总与贫困相伴。

　　《耕》、《人与士》、《辛劳》等画中纯朴的农民形象，虽不是那么沉重，但也浮现出生活的艰辛，因为大自然的赐予太吝啬，只能以勤劳的汗水来换取。那劈柴老妇人的身后已积薪成垛，脸上微露笑容，但在一年年、一刀刀的劈剥中，渐渐使她当年俊俏的面容消失了…

　　汲水的藏族姑娘在 《临流》的江畔凝思什么？《山的女儿》中的花腰傣族姑娘又发现了什么？为何这么惊奇，这么神往，似心潮难以平静······强悍的藏族大汉有些腼腆，安详、倾心地在 《等待》着谁······每幅面都有唱不尽的心曲，道不尽的情怀，怎不叩动人们的心扉。

　　傅先生说：“我是用心灵作画的，难免有泪、有血、有苦涩，有我的同情和爱心。”

　　我想起法国伟大雕塑家罗丹的一句名言：“的确，在艺术中有性格的作品，才算是美的。”他所谓的“性格‘，就是”双臿性的真实“，即”外部真实“与”内在真实“的”灵魂“，也包括作者情感的真实。如果没有长期深入现实的观察和体会，没有真挚而纯正的爱心，是难以办到的。当然作为一名画家，还需要具备相应的造型功力。傅先生的水彩画所以感人肺腑，还应归功于他在绘画技法上刻苦的探索，他不但大胆地采用了油面、版画的技法，还用了各种手段，造成现代肌理的效果，从而形成他”双重真实“的艺术”性格“。这么说，我想不会过分。

　　1988年傅启中先生的水彩 国在中国美术馆展出后，引起首都美术界强烈的反应，不久，他的作品便跨出了国门，在大洋彼岸和亚洲的国家和地区连续展出，同样得到各地观众们的赞誉。

　　时隔五年，傅先生的画集又将出版，他来函约我写一篇短文。我在欣喜之中，写了这篇文字，也算是我对傅先生致孜不倦的追求，不断取得丰硕成果的祝贺吧。

　　艺术的语言是无国界的，纯正的爱心是最美的生命之赞，会在更多人的心灵中得到共鸣。

　　曹振峰（前中国美术馆责任副馆长）

　　1992年1月于北京

　　Praises of Life

　　Cao Zhengfeng

　　Former Vice-Superintendent of China Art Gallery

　　I got to know Mr. Fu Qizhong， a watercolorist from Yunnan by chance. It was on the Dragon Boat Festival of 1987， I went to Kunming to collect the folk works of art of Yunnan to be exhibited in Beijing for the first art festival. Being a holiday， and it happened to be Sunday， the administrative department was off work. I had to stay at the hotel reading books. Unexpectedly， a middle-aged stranger knocked at the door and invited me to go to his home to see his paintings. It was hard for me to turn down such a warm hearted offer， so l accepted the invitation. This middle-aged man was Mr. Fu Qizhong， a teacher of Yunnan Arts Unversity.

　　When I came to Mr. Fu’s home， he took out all his watercolor paintings for me to appreciate. When I cast an eye over the paintings， I knew well that the painter was a man of ambition for art. His works had neither the beauty of nature shrouded in misty rain that we usually saw in watercolor paintings， nor free and untrained color eftect. They were so deep， solid and rough. They looked like both oil paintings and woodcuts. No matter what he drew， figures， mountain stones， trees， cowsheds and villages， all seemed as heavy as a hundredweight. It‘s common for painters to draw the jade green leaves and soft flowers and the atmosphere of moisture and fragrance when they draw the narcissus and Chinese flowering crab apple， but Mr. Fu Qizhong broke the routine. His painting modeling had concrete images， but they were not just the reproduction of the concrete images， but the expression of the painter’s feelings， and there seemed to be a force trying to fight. Some of his works seemed to have strong magnetic force to attract me， making me think deeply.

　　From our chat， I knew that Mr. Fu had been to Ruili， Mangshi and Yuanyang on the side of Honghe River， but he would rather go to Zhongdian， Diqin， Guishan and Dali in the northwest Of Yunnan Province. As the high snowy mountains， canyons and grasslands there were more fascinating to him.

　　He loved the frontier ethnic minorities， and he loved their indomitable spirit even better， which was well mingled with his emotions and gave him the inspiration of artistic creation. He had been getting on the bumpy and rugged road to scale new heights of art for decades.

　　I asked Mr. Fu why he had pursued such a deep and solemn painting style， and he answered， “When I got to the snowy mountains， canyons and grasslands， I experienced great hardships of the adverse circumstances and severe living conditions. People there have to struggle with nature for survival generation after generation， from which they have developed a disposition of being solid， indomitable and heroic. It is the indomitable life force under severe circumstances that I really want to praise. “I appreciate Mr. Fu‘s view of art very much and admire he had chosen such a road. Maybe I have a bias against some painters who depict ethnic minorities， the people in their paintings seem ignorant and rough， or prettified with a refined taste of scholars， or they just concentrate on the depiction of the hopeless and lifeless corners. I don’t intend to be hypercritical of the artistic style other painters choose， but， as a reader， I like the song in praise of the powerful vitality better.

　　I stopped a long time in front of the two paintings An Old Tree Hnder the Setting Sun and Thinking. The tree is old and strong， and it has a lot of branches. We can imagine that it has lived in the plateau for many years， welcoming and seeing off the sun， the moon and the stars for many times.

　　Although it has been damaged by strong wind and heavy rain， it still stands there unyieldingly， growing new branches. It is an inspiring and spirited movement of 1ife to express feelings through an object. The old Tibetan man in contemplation sits there with his back straightened， lowering his head and thinking about something-the hardships of life， numerous sufferings in the past， and illusory hope.He is leaning against two old willows， which have few branches， but the trunks are as tough as steel. It is a vivid portrayal of the spirit of the old man.

　　Long Years sets people thinking deeply. The old woman in the painting is walking slowly， carrying a basket on her back. Being accustomed to lowering her head to twist threads with a spindle， like the old cow beside her， she is a little hunchbacked. The background is the Yue people‘s simple and ancient cliff painting in Cang yuan. The Yue people lived thousands of years ago， but the scenes are so alike， as if time and space had stopped. The wind of modern life hasn’t blown to the poor village in the Hengduanshan Mountain. People there work hard all the year round， but they still live in poverty.

　　The honest and plain farmers in the paintings Ploughing， Man and Earth and Working Hard are not as heavy as in Long Years， but we also can see hardships from the figures， because what nature can provide to them is so little that people there have to work very hard to live on. The old woman who is splitting firewood is smiling， and the firewood behind her has been piled up. Years have gradually worn her beauty..

　　What is the Tibetan girl thinking about when drawing water from the river in Beside the River？ What has the Huayao Dai girl found in Daughter of Mountain？ Why does she look so surprised and rapt？In the painting Waiting， the strong Tibetan man is a bit shy and he is waiting for somebody patiently…Each painting expresses the figure‘s feelings and thoughts， expresses what is weighing on his or her mind. It’s no wonder that they can touch us to the depth of our souls.

　　Mr. Fu said， “I paint with my heart and soul. There are bound to be tears， blood and bitterness in my paintings， mixed with my sympathy and love.

　　I remembered a well-known saying by Rodin， a great French sculptor， “Indeed， works with character in art are the most beautiful.” “Character here means” dual reality“， that is， the” soul“ of “external reality” and“internal reality”， including the real emotions of the painter. It is difficult to achieve if the painter hasn‘t gone into the realities of life， observing and experiencing the life with his sincere and pure love. Of course， as a painter， he must have the ability to portray the figures. The reason why Mr. Fu’s watercolor paintings can move us deeply is that he has taken pains to explore the new painting

　　technique， adopting the techniques of oil painting and woodcut and other techniques boldly. I think it‘s no exaggeration to say tMt the result of modern texture in his paintings forms his artistic“character” of“ dual realitv” After the watercolor paintings of Mr. Fu Qizhong were exhibited at China Art Gallery in 1988， they caused strong repercussion in the circles of the fine arts in the capital. Before long， his works went abroad and were exhibited in some overseas and Asian countries， and praised by the audience everywhere.

　　Five years later， the collection of Mr. Fu’s paintings is going to be published. He wrote to me to ask me to write an essay. I write this article with joy considering it as congratulations to Mr. Fu on his diligent pursuit and rich reward.

　　The language of art has no national boundary. True love is the most beautiful praise of life， and it will arouse sympathy of more people.

　　Beijing， January of 1992