放浪形骸见真如
文 / 林良丰
关键词：曾锦德，张晓寒，德化，大写意，文人气质，至情至性，
◇
曦光从武夷山北的岩壑峡中把嫩绿的毛竹映衬得无比娇嫩，慧宛村头的一树老梅枕着流香涧的涓涓细流，伴随着鸟鸣的叽喳，一个瘦长的身影从山中走来，及近，飘拂的美髯、炯炯的目光、一身的布衣，简直是仙风道骨、不食烟火的洒脱气度，曾锦德！这就是张晓寒先生的得意门生曾锦德！1980年的那个夏天，印记着我初次见到曾锦德的那一幕，虽说是擦肩而过，然而其情景至今犹在眼前。
那时，我还在福建工艺美术学校就读，从师友处就得知晓寒老师最得意的门生是曾锦德，他的名字可以说是如雷灌耳，令我仰慕不已。五十年代末，他从惠安来厦门就读厦门工艺美术学院时，就已经是品学兼优才华横溢，其山水、花鸟、人物无所不精，深得学校老师们的青睐，他与晓寒老师情同父子，简直可以说是晓寒老师家中的一员。1963年，他毕业后遵循晓寒老师的嘱咐，只身远赴德化山区，从事陶瓷设计工作，一呆就是一辈子！生儿育女，长伴戴云、九仙；安贫乐道，为福建的陶瓷事业默默奉献着其聪明才智和青春年华！其所设计的陶瓷用具曾为北京人民大会堂、钓鱼台国宾馆所指定，并作为国家礼品赠送与美国前总统里根先生，为福建的工艺美术赢得了荣誉。
锦德兄长期居住在德化山区，得九仙、戴云之熏陶。放浪形骸，山野之气日渐，其为人之秉性逾见纯真，传统文化的蒙养，完善其刚正不阿、淡泊明志的品格。据说文革中，做为鸡山草堂的门生，学校的造反派曾发函勒令其返校揭发晓寒老师的所谓罪行，然而他反而来信赞扬晓寒老师的师表风范，并让老师的儿子到德化避难，其品格由此可见一斑！文革后，晓寒老师重获自由，第一次出门，即是奔赴德化看望锦德兄，并相携畅游戴云山、九仙山，夜阑把酒，挥毫濡墨，留下了一段佳话。
后来，我跟随晓寒老师学画，在鸡山草堂中，也数次见到从德化专程前来看望老师的他，一捆山笋、两瓶高粱，与老师作彻夜长谈，有时还带来其山水画作请教于老师，我见其画作姿意挥洒、狂野不羁，山野之气扑面而来，其至诚至坦的心性跃然纸上，只是我作为一个小字辈，没有和他有过太多的交谈。在晓寒老师因病住院期间，他曾前来探望，在鼓浪屿第二医院的天台上，我还帮其与晓寒老师拍了一张合影，这是他与晓寒老师的最后一次见面！时在1986年的5月。
我和锦德以师兄弟相称，我知道其好酒成性，无酒不以为餐。我也是酒人一个，所以我和他有着共同的嗜好，深切体会到酒后的真性情。他在德化，独来独往，其率意的个性还真让人捉摸不透！记得晓寒老师去世当天，我即拍电报告知他，期盼着他能前来见老师最后一面，为老师送行！可是，他竟然没来！这件事让我长时间的耿耿于怀，后来他对我说：“老师病重时，你们为什么不通知我？等到他死了才通知我，你们对我太不公平！我想见到的老师是活生生的啊！”他虽然这么说，然而，我还是无法原谅他，也不想去理解他。1993年夏，我筹备南普陀寺慈善基金会法物流通处工作时，特地赴德化选购佛像。那天，在他的家中，我赫然看到其客厅正中，供着晓寒老师的遗像，他告诉我，他每天都为老师上香，饮酒时，都要先为老师斟上……。我们俩当时都情不自禁，只有默默地相对着！那天，我们喝了很多酒，说了很多话，我发觉，顷刻之间，我理解了他，也释怀了。
他的家，墙上涂满了字和画，那都是他酒后的杰作，其内容有对老师的倾诉和怀念，有诗词、有对人生的感悟，还有些对艺术独到见解的只言片语，也有高风亮节的松树，人淡如菊的菊花，墙脚边，摆列着他从各处搜集到的石雕、古陶瓷、古砚台，他还特地从中挑选了一方银带歙砚赠送给我，希望我这个小师弟好好作画，不负先师的期望，令我惭愧不已。
1998年，在先师晓寒先生去世十周年之际，我们策划成立了厦门市张晓寒美术研究会，他虽然身在德化，然而却为研究会的生存和发展出谋献策，多方奔走，并起草了关于设立张晓寒旧居纪念馆的倡仪书。他曾经给我看过他写的怀念先师晓寒先生的文章，与其说是文章，不如说是不成篇幅的支离短句，那是一篇“晓寒留下一片云”的感叹，字里行间，情感交织，催人泪下。其狂怪酒人的至情至性，流露无遗！
锦德兄的修养很全面，涉及面也很广，从文学、诗词、考古、工艺美术、美学、画史、画论到儒、道、释、哲学，我认为，他的骨子里具有很强烈的传统文人气质，对酒当歌，把酒作为其艺术创作的催化剂。他推崇徐渭、石涛、八大、石溪、黄宾虹，并博取众长，不为哪家规矩所左右，他的艺术创作是随机性的，是坦诚相见的心性流露和感情渲泻，更贴切地说，是具备了佛眼禅机，不为艺术而艺术，而是为心性而艺术。所以，他的画面所呈现的是具有很强的跳跃性和不可言语性的笔墨符号，是必须用心去感悟的纯净意象。他非常关注现实生活中的群体与个体的切身体验，着重群体的喜怒哀乐在心中意象的再现，数十年的人生坎坷阅历，锤炼并造就了他的艺术面貌。他时常沉浸在酒后的艺术创作状态中，可以说是到了如痴似醉的颠狂状态。前有徐渭，近有石鲁，我感觉到，他们是何等的相似！锦德兄的画，有时是反复题跋，历经数年，有警句，有诗词，有白文，有画理画论，也有对现实生活状态的感悟，这些题款字体不一，交织在一起，看似杂乱无章，却是文人艺术家胸中块垒的倾吐！看似涂鸦，却蕴涵着极其深厚的传统功力和传统文化内涵。“大音无声，大象无形”锦德兄的画，看似披头散发，然而却孕育着人性的真、善、美！常言道，狂怪求理，这一理字，我认为应是纯朴自性的诠释。
锦德兄历经着生活的磨难，几十年患病的妻子需要他的呵护照料，痛失爱子的打击、生活的困苦……，然而，他承受了，他没有任何的外求，没有物质生活的奢望，他依然自信而乐观，他的豁达，造就了他的艺术！他虽然重病在身，然而却还是仙风道骨，与我在武夷山中所见到的他，并没有什么分别，清瞿、健谈、澄心、证道、还有那依然如故的美髯！
林良丰（张晓寒美术研究会会长）
二零零六年三月十四日凌晨 . 厦门辛缘书屋
◇
Unrestrained Freedom Reveals True Nature
Lin Liangfeng
The morning light from the northern gorges of the Wuyi Mountains illuminated the tender green bamboo, making it appear exceptionally delicate. At the entrance of Huiwan Village, an old plum tree leaned over the gentle flow of Xiang Stream. Amidst the chirping of birds, a tall and slender figure emerged from the mountains. As he approached, his flowing beard, piercing eyes, and simple cloth attire revealed an ethereal, transcendent presence — Zeng Jinde! This was Zhang Xiaohan’s prized disciple, Zeng Jinde. That summer of 1980 left an indelible mark on me: my first encounter with Zeng Jinde, fleeting as it was, remains vivid to this day.
At that time, I was still studying at the Fujian Academy of Arts and Crafts. From my fellow students, I learned that Xiaohan’s most distinguished disciple was Zeng Jinde, a name that resonated profoundly and inspired my admiration. In the late 1950s, he came from Hui’an to study at Xiamen Academy of Arts and Crafts. Even then, he excelled in both character and talent, mastering landscapes, flowers and birds, and figure painting alike, earning the deep favor of his teachers. His relationship with Master Xiaohan was like that of father and son, so close that he was almost considered part of Xiaohan’s family.
In 1963, following Xiaohan’s advice, he went alone to the Dehua mountains to work in ceramic design — a place where he would remain for the rest of his life. He raised a family, lived alongside the mountains of Daiyun and Jiuxian, and devoted himself quietly to Fujian’s ceramic arts with his intelligence and youth. Some of the ceramic utensils he designed were designated for the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, and even presented as state gifts to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, earning honor for Fujian’s craft arts.
Brother Jinde lived long in the Dehua mountains, nurtured by the landscapes of Jiuxian and Daiyun. With his unrestrained demeanor and the influence of the wild mountains, his character grew purer. The cultivation of traditional culture shaped his upright, resolute, and unambitious nature. During the Cultural Revolution, as a disciple of Jishan Caotang, he received a letter from rebel students demanding he return to school to denounce Master Xiaohan’s so-called crimes. Yet he instead wrote to praise Xiaohan’s exemplary character and even invited the master’s son to seek refuge in Dehua, revealing the depth of his moral integrity. After Xiaohan regained his freedom, the first place he went was Dehua to visit Brother Jinde. Together, they wandered the mountains of Daiyun and Jiuxian, drinking late into the night and painting, leaving behind a cherished story.
Later, while I was learning painting under Master Xiaohan at Jishan Caotang, I saw Zeng Jinde several times, visiting Xiaohan from Dehua with bundles of bamboo shoots and bottles of sorghum liquor, engaging in long discussions and sometimes bringing his landscape paintings for guidance. I observed his works: spontaneous, bold, and uninhibited, filled with the spirit of the mountains and wilds, his sincerity and frankness radiating from each stroke. As a junior, I had few conversations with him. During Xiaohan’s hospitalization, he came to visit; on the rooftop of the Second Hospital of Gulangyu, I helped take a photo of him with Xiaohan — their last meeting, in May 1986.
I called Brother Jinde a senior brother. Knowing his fondness for wine, and being a drinker myself, we shared this common affinity and could deeply understand his true nature after drinking. In Dehua, he was a solitary figure; his spontaneous personality was hard to fathom. On the day Xiaohan passed away, I sent him a telegram hoping he could see the master one last time and bid farewell. Yet he did not come! I harbored resentment for a long time. Later he said to me: “Why didn’t you notify me while the master was critically ill? Only telling me after he died is unfair! I wanted to see him alive!” Despite his words, I still could not forgive or try to understand him.
In the summer of 1993, while preparing for the Nampo Temple Charity Foundation, I visited Dehua to select Buddhist statues. That day, in his home, I was astonished to see a portrait of Master Xiaohan prominently displayed in the living room. He told me that he offered incense to the master every day, and when drinking, he would pour for the master first. We both felt a silent resonance that day, drinking and speaking much, and in that instant, I came to understand and forgive him.
His home walls were covered with writings and paintings — all his works after drinking. They expressed his devotion and longing for his master, including poetry, reflections on life, unique insights into art, and depictions of lofty pine trees or chrysanthemums, signifying noble character and simplicity. Along the wall, he arranged stone carvings, antique ceramics, and ancient inkstones collected from various places. He even selected a silver-banded She inkstone as a gift for me, hoping his junior disciple would paint diligently and live up to the master’s expectations, which deeply humbled me.
In 1998, on the tenth anniversary of Master Xiaohan’s passing, we planned the establishment of the Xiamen Zhang Xiaohan Art Research Association. Though living in Dehua, Zeng Jinde contributed actively, providing suggestions, drafting proposals for a memorial museum for Xiaohan’s former residence, and supporting the association’s development. He once showed me his writings commemorating Xiaohan — rather than a structured essay, it was a scattered, fragmentary reflection, a sigh of “Xiaohan left a cloud behind,” full of intertwined emotions that moved one to tears. His eccentric, passionate, and alcohol-fueled nature was fully revealed.
Brother Jinde’s cultivation was extensive, encompassing literature, poetry, archaeology, craft, aesthetics, art history, theory, and philosophy — Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and general philosophy. He possessed the essence of a traditional literati, treating wine as a catalyst for artistic creation. He admired Xu Wei, Shi Tao, the Eight Eccentrics, Shi Xi, and Huang Binhong, drawing from all without adhering strictly to any school. His artistic creation was spontaneous, sincere, and an outpouring of his heart and emotions. More precisely, it contained a meditative awareness, not creating art for art’s sake but for the cultivation of mind and character.
Thus, his works exhibit highly dynamic and ineffable brushstroke symbols, pure images requiring heartfelt appreciation. He closely observed both individual and collective experiences in real life, emphasizing the representation of collective emotions. Decades of personal hardship shaped his artistic vision. He often immersed himself in a drunken state of creation, reaching a rapturous, almost ecstatic condition. From Xu Wei to Shi Lu, one can see striking similarities. Some of his works feature repeated inscriptions over several years: aphorisms, poetry, plain text, theories of painting, and reflections on life. The varied scripts interweave seemingly chaotically, yet they are the outpourings of a literati artist’s heart. What appears like doodles carries profound traditional skill and cultural depth.
“In great sound there is no noise; in great form there is no shape.” Though appearing wild and untamed, Jinde’s works embody truth, goodness, and beauty. The saying “eccentric yet seeking truth” exemplifies the essence of his unadorned, natural character.
Brother Jinde endured life’s hardships: decades of caring for a sick wife, the pain of losing a beloved child, and general hardships. Yet he bore it all without external demands or material desires, maintaining confidence, optimism, and magnanimity — qualities that shaped his art. Even in severe illness, he retained his transcendent, almost immortal presence. The Zeng Jinde I encountered in the Wuyi Mountains was the same: clear-eyed, eloquent, serene, enlightened, and still with that distinctive flowing beard.
Early morning, March 14, 2006
Xiamen, Xinyuan Study