纵观中国美术史，举凡有成就的绘画大师，都是有理论创见的美术史论家。从东晋顾恺之开始到清代的石涛、八大山人、郑板桥，现代的傅抱石、李可染、徐悲鸿、林风眠、潘天寿和谢稚柳等人，比比皆是绘画大师和美术史论家。可以说，美术史论上的造诣成就了这些大师的绘画艺术。不过每个时代的历史情景各有不同，绘画大师的艺术成就各有千秋，不可同日而语、一概而论。就绘画的创新发展而言，中国现代新文化运动的倡导者、美术史论家、画家有感于社会制度变革的历史情景，对中国画如何在新的历史条件下继承发展，纷纷发表理论看法。不论是持“变种进化”论以西法改良中国画的革新派，还是持“物种进化”论以化旧为新改良中国画的国粹派，绝大多数人都主张革故鼎新，青睐清代个性派绘画大师石涛、八大，“美术革命”成了时代的最强音。于是探索研究争鸣中国画的变革热烈一时，从形式变革到内容变革的理论与实践纷纷涌现，追求的共同目标是中国画的创新。艺术观念和实践的更新引起中国画走上多元化、多样化的现代历史进程。在这一创新时潮的历史进程中，谢稚柳的中国画创新理论与实践具有典型性和代表性，他采取兼容并蓄的创新理念，认为“中国画要发展，要创新，什么材料都可以试试，什么艺术样式都可以包容、并存。”[1] 主张笔墨当随时代，呼出“别开生面意如云，落墨江南张一军”。[2] 真知灼见使他另辟蹊径，从“少时弄笔出章侯”发展到“杂彩缤纷落墨新”，以“绝叹新裁好骨格”脱颖而出，彪炳于中国现代画坛。

　　一、“少时弄笔出章侯”

　　众所周知，中国画家习画一般都是从师古临古开始。一些现代绘画大师，如齐白石、刘海粟、徐悲鸿、 林风眠等人，是从学《芥子园画谱》起步的;另一些现代绘画大师，如黄宾虹、谢稚柳等人，则是从观摹临习古画登堂入室的。谢稚柳早在18 岁时即爱画梅花，惜无人指授。1930年他到南京工作，时逢南京中央博物院举办古代画展，使他有机会可以看到陈老莲的国画真迹，并攒钱购得陈老莲一幅《梅花》原作摹写，开始了致力于研习中国画的生涯。他在1975年作的《绘事十首》中，谈论自己学画的经历时写道：“春红夏绿遣情多，欲剪烟花奈若何。忽漫赏心奇僻调，少时弄笔出章侯。”章侯即明末大画家陈洪绶(1598-1652年) ，字章侯，号老莲，擅长山水、人物和花鸟画，以画风奇诞古拙，妙趣横生，富有装饰意趣驰名，他的绘画艺术风格颇受谢稚柳的垂爱，所以有“忽漫赏心奇僻调”之说。“奇僻调”就是谢稚柳在其著作《水墨画》中称赞陈洪绶“明代三百中，它是独立不倚的格调。”

　　显然，谢稚柳从20岁开始对陈洪绶的研习，崇尚的是“独立不倚的格调”。但谢稚柳所“赏心”陈洪绶的“奇僻调”，主要是学他的花鸟画和书法，而不是学他名扬天下的山水、人物画。明末清初大画家周亮工评价陈洪绶说：“人但知其工人物，不知其山水之精妙。”[3] 虽然谢稚柳也画过一些仿陈洪绶的大头小身的夸张变形人物，如1943年作《仿老莲人物画》扇面和《仿老莲人物》轴，但随着他对敦煌石窟壁画的考察研究，他的人物画转向了唐代写实的人物画风，1946年作的《倚春图》轴，张大千为此画作题一语道破天机：“稚柳敦煌归后，其运笔及衣饰并效唐人，非时贤所能梦见也。己丑十月大千居士题。”[4] 此后1949年作《旗亭赌唱图》卷、《四美图》卷继续发扬了这种人物画风。至于为什么谢稚柳没有学陈洪绶变形夸张的奇诞山水画风格，很可能与他学画不久，就见到巨然《秋山问道图》、范宽《溪山行旅图》和燕文贵《溪风图》，并潜心临摹有关，所以他说“少耽格律波澜细”。[5] 当然，虽说陈洪绶的花鸟画不及人物、山水画名气大，但在民国初期追崇石涛、八大和扬州八怪的热潮中，谢稚柳不赶时尚，偶然在南京中央博物院举办的古代画展上看到了陈洪绶的花鸟画，令他像发现新大陆一样，“忽漫赏心奇僻调”。他不但购买陈洪绶花鸟画原作临摹，作了许多仿陈洪绶的花鸟画，如《临陈洪绶莲石图》轴、《蛱蝶桃花》扇面、《荷花》扇面，《荷蝶奇石图》轴、《红叶双禽》轴、《青城玉鸦图》轴、《桃花鸣禽图》轴等，直到1959年作《红树秋禽图》轴，而且致力于研究探索绘画艺术创作方法。他在自作《竹石双鸟》扇面上题道：“自古高人薄有名，悠然孤往气鸥盟。秋来雕落山中树，寂寞双禽说雨晴。刻意学老莲，乃不知所似，书画一道，诚有会心之苦矣。”此段自题和盘托出谢稚柳刻意学陈老莲“奇僻调”，已由“赏心”发展到尝到“会心”之苦了。尤其是好友张大千为他学陈洪绶花鸟画，特意用白描双钩了一幅陈洪绶的荷花，画上题款为“溪山陈洪绶写于南峰之老铁轩”。[6]并附言：“此老莲中岁(三十余)极用意之作，其体物之深，平生所见为第一。吾弟老莲后身，当亦许爰为赏音也。”张大千称谢稚柳为“老莲后身”，名副其实。功夫不负“会心”人，1937年他创作的《竹石茶花》轴，入选第二届全国美展，时年仅26岁，其实是刻意“会心”陈洪绶花鸟画所取得的成就。

　　“会心”之苦既使谢稚柳的花鸟画创作深得陈洪绶精神，又使谢稚柳成为陈洪绶花鸟画的研究鉴定专家。他在《蛱蝶萱花》扇面上自题道：“曾见老莲写华二，一故宫所藏老莲画册，一大风堂藏明人画扇。一藏故宫者，吾友皆病其拙，大风堂画扇则为老莲早年之作，画法柔媚。此参杂其两画成之，使吾友见之，当病其不媚不拙耳。”读罢此段谢稚柳自题，我们完全有理由说这是谢稚柳最早从事绘画鉴定实践的案例，他确定了故宫和大风堂所藏两件陈洪绶花鸟画的艺术品质和作画时间，还说出了自己创作此件扇面的方法是参融两画而成。可见，谢稚柳首先是一名年轻有为的画家，再由绘画创作实践的探索，派生出对绘画作品的鉴定学识。在此基础上，他甚至热衷于考证陈洪绶的生平与绘画艺术，发表了他平生第一篇学术论文《论陈老莲》，1948年又重新发表在《京沪周刊》上，正式开始了美术史研究。就这样，绘画创作、书画鉴定和美术史研究水乳交融，相辅相成、循相推进的血缘关系，伴随他成就终生艺术。

　　至于他所说的“少时弄笔出章侯”，细究起来有以下重要意义：

　　其一，在花鸟画的创作方法上，谢稚柳往往把陈洪绶几幅作品古拙奇诞的花鸟树石重新组合，“参杂其两画成之”，构成自己花鸟画的“奇僻调”。 以谢稚柳1941年作的《荷蝶奇石图》轴为例，系参杂多幅画而成，其荷花插瓶素材来源于陈洪绶的折枝荷花与岁朝图，而奇石和蝴蝶，则出自花蝶写生与梅石蛱蝶图。供瓶中除插荷花外，还插入墨竹，经过重构组合不仅成一新图，而且化其古拙奇诞为隽雅奇逸，竹荷双清，瓶石平实，荷蝶拂春，出新意于“奇僻调”之中，意境深邃，洋溢着清新活泼的时代气息。又如1937年所作《茶花竹石图》轴，看样子有点像台北“故宫博物院”收藏陈洪绶的《山石茶花图》轴;但以突兀奇石屹立画前，其后双勾的竹叶和绽放的茶花交相穿插，双勾的竹叶很像来台北“故宫博物院”藏陈洪绶的《寿萱图》轴。这些陈洪绶花鸟画中的花鸟树石经过谢稚柳的临见妙裁，取舍组合，不但构图上脱胎换骨，出奇制胜，新颖别致，而且特写突兀奇石的造型，淡雅之中饱含优美艳丽的情调，充分地反映了谢稚柳执著花鸟画“奇僻调”的艺术个性和创新追求，并始终贯穿在他一生的画风之中，如1959年作《红树秋禽图》轴，奇石突兀的造型格外醒目，最终在80年代，创以突兀奇石花鸟图式，《拒霜蛱蝶图》轴、《梅竹迎春图》镜片、《红梅迎春图》轴、《墨笔竹石图》轴和《荷花图》等相继问世，尽管这时谢稚柳已用落墨画作花鸟画了，但奇石突兀和蛱蝶，分明是从陈洪绶花鸟画中“奇僻调”变化而来。

　　其二，在笔墨设色和造型上，谢稚柳对陈洪绶“奇僻调”的变革是强化其笔墨设色清劲秀雅、造型自然天真的一面而弱化其用笔奇硬方挺、造型怪诞奇岸的一面。陈洪绶的写意花鸟画有两种形态，一种是水墨写意形态，以中锋笔法挥运浓淡深浅变化的水墨，写造型方、折的花鸟竹蝶树石;一种是工笔形态，以侧锋浓墨，笔法折转方劲，写树石花鸟竹蝶。谢稚柳则兼融并蓄，兼工带写，得陈洪绶钩勒精美、设色古艳、造型奇崛之灵趣。如1937年所作《蛱蝶萱花图》扇面，刻画入微的蝴蝶、萱花，用笔虽清劲却不刚硬，设色明丽古艳;奇石完全用浓淡的水墨写出，造型如山峦起伏，因而花蝶奇石造型，脱却陈洪绶怪诞奇岸的“奇僻调”，显得自然天真。又如1937年作的《临陈洪绶莲石图》轴，一看便知笔墨设色、造型完全是从陈洪绶画风中脱胎而来，但谢稚柳师其意而不师其迹，圆浑壮硕的荷花与奇石用笔明显带有水墨写意笔意;特别是奇石，造型奇异如峰峦叠嶂，其上石纹笔法灵动，刚柔相济、方中见柔，墨法深浅浓淡见渴见虚，变化有致，加上浅绛设色，秀雅之趣明显。到40年代，谢稚柳的花鸟画别开生面，遗陈洪绶古朴奇拙之意，融入宋人折枝花鸟画之姿，画面所透露出清新秀逸的气息，形成自己“奇僻调”风格。1949年谢稚柳画《四季花鸟》条屏，其中有三条屏可视其花鸟画“奇僻调”的格体。例如画梅树条屏，梅干折转盘曲，其体以繁密的浓墨细点反复点染衬出夸张了的疤节，加之花瓣以细笔淡勾染，梅树之奇倔古拙，玉骨冰肌，在一定程度上受了南宋扬无咎、李迪等人画梅的影响，全画显得清雅秀逸，古意盎然，温润可人。正如吴子玉在《谢稚柳的艺术》中所言：“花鸟画方面，早年学的是陈洪绶，肆意于花木竹石而没有学陈洪绶的鸟，神气十足陈洪绶，逼近原作，只情调不全相同，没有陈洪绶倔强情意。三十后，立足于两宋，追踪‘宣和体’，工整细笔，清丽幽娴，在风神上直是压倒两宋院体画人，可以这样说，他的花鸟之作，是新的‘宣和体’。”[7] 到50年代，谢稚柳的花鸟画兼融宋元，自出机杼。如1959年作《苔枝红萼》轴(上海中国画院藏)，以尖利细笔写梅枝枯瘦劲拔的傲骨，出新意于法度之中，枯干瘦枝缀绿为苔枝，与绽放寒香的冰红梅花相映成趣，给人暗香浮动，生气勃勃的美感，真可谓“绝叹新裁好骨格”。从此画透出的气息中，我们可以发现谢稚柳的花鸟画已超逸陈洪绶了。

　　二、“杂彩缤纷落墨新”

　　“杂彩缤纷落墨新”是谢稚柳晚年艺术的成就所在。从20世纪70年代起，谢稚柳开始精心研治落墨法。1972年，他在《徐熙雪竹图》题道：“落墨为格杂彩副，除是江南谁有此。辛苦苏州吴倩庵，劝我莫题徐处士。”自此，每作画，他都喜题“落墨”二字，作有《落墨拒霜》、《苦篁斋落墨图》。可以说，“落墨法”是谢稚柳绘画艺术的衰年变法和独特创新。1978年，他在《落墨荷花图》卷上自题道:“已褪怀中旧笔痕……杂彩缤纷落墨新。”

　　所谓“已褪怀中旧笔痕”，即他发展了徐熙的落墨法，广泛运用到绘画创作之中，用笔越发豪放粗犷，水墨越发波澜荡漾，色彩越发缤纷浓丽，由精工细写的宋元花鸟与山水风格转向大片水墨泼洒的江南景致。“落墨法”使得他的画风一变再变，尤其是山水画的风格发生巨大变化，并取得辉煌的成就。他在《绘事十首》中写道:“少耽格律波澜细，老去粗豪是本师。”换言之，谢稚柳山水画的艺术风格形成发展，经历了“少耽格律波澜细” 与“老去粗豪是本师”两大阶段。

　　1、“少耽格律波澜细”

　　在中国画中，所谓“格律”就是事物规律与自然规律。笔法墨法为事物规律，四季阴晴等为天地自然规律。凡学山水画，人们既要熟习笔墨技法，同时又要从自然中讨取真本。对山水画人来说，笔墨技法可摹习，是为格法;大自然千变万化，以笔墨之自然合乎天地之自然，应变自然也是格法。山水画格法造化事物规律与自然规律，是为“格律”。清代“画状元”唐岱在其画学理论著作《绘事发微》中所言“用古人之规矩格法，不用古人之丘壑蹊径。……气韵与格法相合，格法熟则气韵全”。所以，谢稚柳会说“少耽格律波澜细”，因为他学山水画，是从摹习、掌握笔墨规律和以笔墨之自然应变自然的规律开始的。

　　谢稚柳学山水画迟于花鸟画。据可靠文献记载，1927年他在南京见到巨然的山水画《秋山问道图》，用心进行了临摹。1936年，又临摹了范宽《溪山行旅图》、燕文贵《溪风图》等名迹。1943年开始创作山水，并在同年11月成都举行的“谢稚柳画展”展出。翌年又作有《水村图》《夏壑松风》《群峰秋霁》《泼墨山水》《仿陈老莲山水》《仿宋人青绿山水》等山水画。1945年前后他对宋代李成、郭熙、王诜和元代盛懋的山水画产生了浓厚的兴趣，所画《柳阴泛舟图》轴，系从盛懋的《秋舸清啸图》化出。抗战胜利后他的山水画发生一小变。具体表现在两个方面：

　　其一，是重点放在对宋元山水画的临习和研究，掌握事物“格律”，山水画已呈现出淳厚幽深的宋元气息。从1946年起作的《仿黄鹤山樵山水》《仿郭河阳关山春雪》《山寺松泉图》《仿董源山水》《雪江归棹》《溪山晚翠》《仿燕文贵溪风图》《碧嶂乔柯图》和《仿吴渔山山水》等。其中《仿黄鹤山樵山水》，明显是从王蒙的《春山读书图》的笔墨和结构中变化而来;《山寺松泉图》是从范宽笔墨图式化出。《雪江归棹》是从宋徽宗《雪江归棹》化出。《溪山晚翠》为仿效郭熙《溪山秋霁》。《仿燕文贵溪风图》是兼用董北苑笔墨，从燕文贵《溪风图》化出。《碧嶂乔柯图》为仿郭忠恕。当时有人评价谢稚柳道：“工书画，所画山水、人物萧散秀逸有宋元遗韵。”[8]

　　其二，通过对宋元山水画的临习摹仿和鉴赏，谢稚柳探索融汇宋元各家山水画的艺术表现方法，掌握事物规律与自然规律，逐渐形成个人画风。如他作《平岗烟霭》，按画上题识：“学梅道人，得似黄鹤山樵，概老董风流，两家俱此还丹。”显而易见，兼取吴镇、王蒙笔墨构图和气韵风格。从他1948年作的《仿王蒙山水图》也可见一斑：皴法为披麻与牛毛皴交织，得王蒙、董源笔墨神韵，点苔为浓墨葫椒点，乃吴镇笔墨风韵。构图为长松高岭幽斋式章法，文人书斋依山傍水而建，为松阴笼罩，意境幽深恬静，犹如王蒙《春山读书图》。又如他的《雪江图》……是他在大收藏家张伯驹家中见到王诜《烟江叠嶂图》及宋徽宗《雪江归棹图》之后“能以己意变化”之作。潘伯鹰评论“道君《雪江图》……思融出剪裁，笔微印深浅。若云是赵佶，匿笑恐不免。”[9] 他游览峨嵋山后创作的《峨嵋金顶图》，是用郭熙之法写出峨嵋金顶，以熟习笔墨技法度自然之真，从而掌握造化山水画的“格律”。

　　通过力学宋元山水画，到1950年代，谢稚柳始冶江南画派。由宋元上追五代，将董巨派的平淡天真、王诜的俊爽清峭，李郭派的多姿风格和笔墨造型元素结合起来，形成自己特有的丘壑伟岸之美图式和笔墨秀润的风格。如1951年作的《山谿清胜图》自题：“为写江南一片山，苍茫咫尺与相看。应怜老董风流尽，平淡天真下笔难。” 竭力尝试将李成、郭熙的淡墨轻岚与董源、巨然平淡天真的江南山水气象融合在一起。其代表性成就从《江南山水通景屏》(八幅)可见一斑，全图以巨然山川高旷之景为宗，整个画面为延绵不绝、秀丽多姿的崇山峻岭，山峦浑厚，林木丰茂，山势伟峨，古峰峭拔，远山如烟，广水浩渺，尽显江南丘壑伟岸、“岚气清润”的山水美景象。而山谷幽涧之中瀑流潺潺，平台楼宇时隐时现，山路崎岖，栈桥跨水，游船飘移，一片江南平淡天真、荒远野逸之景，跃然于画。另外，由于50年代谢稚柳对敦煌壁画深入研究的缘故，继1943年作过《仿宋人青绿山水》、1948年作《绿水青山图》轴后，他又对青绿山水画产生了兴趣，所作《山村晴色图》卷，水墨与丹青并举，以青绿与浅绛设色结合，通过简洁的水墨勾皴和轻淡的水墨点染，表现江南靑山绿水“崔巍起山势，苍翠夺晴空”的天真烂漫景象。从此他的靑山绿水佳作源源不断，如1971年作的《重岭叠岫图卷》(上海美术馆藏)，于浓丽浑厚中又有疏放灵动的笔墨意韵。后来这种靑山绿水以泼墨泼彩的方法创作，发展成为一种“杂彩缤纷落墨新”的山水画，1983年作的《碧山清晓图卷》(上海美术馆藏)，就是典型之作。

　　2、“老去粗豪是本师”

　　“老去粗豪是本师”是谢稚柳晚年绘画走向纯熟的标志，也是“杂彩缤纷落墨新”艺术风格成就形成的基础。早在1953年，他作论画诗：“纤细霜毫重写真，黄家轻色得清新。百年画笔归天水，已绝江南落墨人。”[10] 对徐熙落墨画野逸画风的近千年失传叹息不已。1954年写《水墨画》一书，有一节专门谈论徐熙落墨。特别是1956年，他发现并鉴定《唐五代宋元名迹辑》中的《雪竹图》就是徐熙落墨，此说一出即成了书画鉴定和美术史研究重大学术课题。1969年，谢稚柳突患眼疾，赋闲居家;于是他一方面潜心绘事，锐意变革画风;另一方面对久已悬而未决南唐徐熙的落墨画研究，余情未了。后来眼疾有所好转，他又继续研究徐熙《雪竹图》落墨法。他的绘画风格也恰好因为研究落墨法引发灵感而发生巨变，用笔粗犷豪放，水墨泼洒淋漓，设色浓丽缤纷。陈佩秋在题谢稚柳《秋岭云泉图》上写道：“壮暮翁山水画早岁崇尚李郭董巨，笔致俊逸，70年代后，一变而为雄健豪放，此图秋岭云泉则为蜕变初期之佳作，尤为难得。”[11]

　　确切地说，谢稚柳所谓“老去粗豪”的画风是从70年代开始形成的。上海美术馆收藏的1970-1971年《山水横册页》(12片)，无一不是老辣粗笔挥就;其中有一片作于1970年，林木粗枝大叶，草草点就，峰峦用笔更粗，粗得看上去像没骨法一样，几乎难辨笔法;从山腰墨色流淌水渍来看，分明还使用了泼墨泼色。诸如此类粗放泼洒笔墨作的山水画，还有1970年作的《山郊晴霭图卷》，成片的山林以雄健纷披粗笔写出，显得郁郁葱葱。上海美术馆收藏的1973年作《山水横册页》(8片)，用笔不是粗豪，而是阔毫，所画山石林木，俨如没骨法绘出。可想而知，雄健豪放的“粗豪”一变再变，如泼墨破墨泼彩，扬扬洒洒，气象万千，焕发出变化无穷的表现力。当这种“粗豪”与“落墨法”相濡以沫水乳交融时，其纵横驰骋的落墨随画家骋其奇气，催化出泼墨破墨，甚至泼彩。

　　1973年，谢稚柳在为郑重作《落墨法杂画册》中，对“落墨法”画理格法特意作题道：“当五季江南徐熙以落墨为花竹写生，所谓落墨，盖以墨为格，而副之以杂彩，其迹与色不相映隐。徐熙画迹久绝于世，予奇其所创，推此画理，斟酌去就，演为此体。易工整为放浪，而不离乎形象之中。且不独施之于花竹，兼推及于山水，思欲骋其奇气，以激扬江山之佳丽。” 从中可见，他致力于探讨“落墨法”的目的，就是为了“易工整为放浪”，放笔挥墨，化旧为新，借古开今。1975年，谢稚柳在《绘事十首》中谈论自己画学思想时多次提到“落墨”：“别开生面意如云，落墨江南张一军。”“落墨缤纷有信书，灿然遗说见清图。”随着谢稚柳对五代徐熙“落墨法”的迷恋和深入研究与实践，以落墨之法激扬江山之佳丽，写野趣、放逸怀抱，就成了他“别开生面”、独树一帜的理论思想。他由“落墨法”画花竹，推广到画荷、芙蓉和葡萄以及山水;以落墨为格骋其奇气，化落墨为粗毫、泼墨、破墨，“老去粗豪”，落墨缤纷;变轻淡杂彩为重彩泼染，杂彩缤纷，在泼墨破墨的基础上设色戓泼彩，泼墨泼彩往往表现出一片江南秀润多姿、烟雨空濛的气象。如上海美术馆藏《碧山清晓卷》，除画中近景的茅亭、林木和部分山石以及中景的瀑流、拱桥稍作刻画外，其他中远景山水，全用浓淡水墨与石青石绿重彩交互泼染，戓以色泼墨，戓以墨泼色，戓色墨调合泼洒入画，浓重的石青石绿与浓墨泼洒交织、交融，杂彩缤纷，带有西方印象派绘画色彩对比强烈明快的特点，泼彩绚烂，充分体现江南清晨山光云影的光色变幻。而上海美术馆藏他1982年作的《山水册页》(单片)，近景山头泼墨的基底上，泼洒了成片的头靑，又在其上点缀红色苔点，带有印象派油画色彩单纯明快的风格特点，不仅有光色效果，更有对自然物象的高度抽象趣味和现代笔墨写意情趣，画风清新，别开生面。

　　“落墨法”使谢稚柳晚年的绘画面貌焕然一新，形成个人独树一帜的艺术风格。谢稚柳总结其别开生面的艺术创作方法有二：

　　一是突破传统局限，融徐熙、黄荃二家精神于一体，创出自己清新别致的风格。1975年，他在《落墨牡丹图》卷上自题：“富贵黄家未足矜，江南野逸愿为朋。梦中彩笔原虚诞，落笔清新得未真。”诗中表明他既要有黄家富贵不傲的精神(即“黄家轻色得清新”)，又要有徐熙野逸清高品质。泼墨泼彩来自魂牵梦萦，落墨加杂彩，“易工整为放浪”，化落墨为粗毫、泼墨，落笔自然清新，他称之为“老去粗豪是本师”。

　　二是把握艺术创新规律，专心致志，才能创作出优秀绘画作品。1979年，他在《落墨山水图》自题：“流派同更异，江山故易新。画通出冥契，用志入凝神。”诗中“用志入凝神”出自《庄子·达生》“用志不分，乃凝于神”。大意是说艺术流派的成立重在不同，才能随时创新。要创作出优秀绘画作品，必须潜心探索，画生灵感。他创作的《落墨黄荷花》《落墨山水图》《落墨牡丹》《落墨松泉图》(约1978-1980年作)《苦篁斋落墨图》等一大批“落墨”为画题的作品，都足以说明他才思敏捷、矢志于中国画的探索创新精神。

　　真知灼见往往是艺术家成功的真理。谢稚柳在《落墨黄荷花》上很自信地自题：“已褪怀中旧笔痕，自沉冥思返清真。无多又让江南格，杂彩缤纷落墨新。”总之，“杂彩缤纷落墨新”，是他的中国画杰出艺术成就。

　　附：本文在写作过程中，得到谢定琨先生提供的图书资料帮助，借此特致鸣谢!

　　注释

　　[1] 郑重：《谢稚柳系年录》，上海书店出版社2009年9月版，第251页。

　　[2] [5] 谢稚柳：《绘事十首》，载《谢稚柳系年录》，第155页。

　　[3] 清·周亮工：《读画录》卷一。

　　[4] 见《谢稚柳画集》，中国美术出版社2010年9月版，第15页。

　　[6] 此荷花为插在供瓶中的折枝，张大千勾摹时把瓶省去，空下来的地方写了一封信给谢稚柳。

　　[7] 引自《谢稚柳系年录》，第138页。

　　[8] 见1947年在台湾出版《谢稚柳画集》一集，画集前谢稚柳传略。

　　[9] 郑重：《谢稚柳系年录》，第59页。

　　[10] 郑重：《谢稚柳系年录》，第84页。

　　[11] 郑重：《谢稚柳系年录》，第108页。

　　From “Learning painting from Chen Hongshou in youth” to “New charm is added with rich colors and reformed Luomo inking”

　　— About the Development and Achievement of Xie Zhiliu’s Art of Painting

　　By Hu Guanghua

　　Looking back through the Chinese history of art，master painters with great achievements are also theorists and historians of art with achievements in theory. From Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty，to Shi Tao，Ba Da Shan Ren，Zheng Banqiao of the Qing Dynasty，and Huang Binhong，Fu Baoshi，Li Keran，Liu Haisu，Xu Beihong，Lin Fengmian，Pan Tianshou，Xie Zhiliu and others in the modern era，they are all masters both in painting and art history and theory. We could say that the accomplishments of them in art history and theory led to the art of painting of these masters. Yet different ages have different historical contexts and artistic achievements of all these art masters cannot be commented with one criterion. Concerning the innovation in painting，against the historical context of social reformation in system，promoters，art historians and theorists as well as painters of the China's Modern New Culture Movement expressed various opinions on how Chinese traditional painting should be inherited and developed in the new historical conditions. No matter innovators holding the “change for evolution” theory and reform Chinese traditional painting with western approaches，or those from quintessence school holding the “develop for evolution” theory and reform Chinese traditional painting through changing the old into new;most people advocated reforming the old to establish the new，and they favored masters of unique personalities in the Qing dynasty like Shi Tao and Ba Da Shan Ren and “art revolution” was the strongest tone of that era. Thus researches，discussions and explorations on reforming Chinese traditional painting were hot at that time;theories and practices of revolution both in form and content emerged one after another with the same goal of pursuing innovation in Chinese traditional painting. The renovation in artistic concept and practice led the Chinese traditional painting to a diversified modern historical period. In this historical process featuring innovation，Xie Zhiliu is typical and representative both in his innovative theory and practice in Chinese traditional painting;he adopted the innovative idea of being fully eclectic and believed that “all kinds of materials can be tried，all kinds of styles can coexist and be accepted if we want to be innovative and develop Chinese painting.”[1]He asserted that ink and wash should go with the times and wrote down the verse “special taste expressed free spiritual significance;Luomo ink approach opened a new school in southern China”. [2] The correct and profound insight enabled him to develop a new way;he became outstanding with his “amazing new style with good temperament” all through his effort from his “I learned painting from Chen Hongshou in youth” to his “new charm is added with rich colors and reformed luomo inking”，and stood splendidly in modern painting circles of China.

　　1. “Learning painting from Chen Hongshou in youth”

　　As is known to all，Chinese painting artists normally start to learn painting from imitating ancient masters' art. Some modern painting masters like Qi Baishi，Liu Haisu，Xu Beihong，Lin Fengmian and others started from imitating The Manual of Mustard Seed Garden;and some other masters like Huang Binhong and Xie Zhiliu started from imitating ancient paintings. Xie Zhiliu loved painting plum blossom early when he was 18 years old，yet it is a pity that there was no one teaching him. In 1930，he came to work in Nanjing，when an ancient painting exhibition was on show in Central Museum of Nanjing，which gave him the chance to see the authentic paintings of Chen Laolian and saved money to purchase the “Plum Blossom” of him to imitate from;he started his way of studying Chinese painting from then on. In the “Ten Poems about Painting” he created in 1975，he talked about his experiences of learning painting with the following verses：“The red spring and green summer are all entertaining，and how can I keep the beautiful scenery. Suddenly I saw the special tone which is so charming;and I learned painting from Zhang Hou in my youth.” Zhang Hou is the nickname of the master painter Chen Hongshou (1598-1652) of the late Ming Dynasty who is also named Chen Laolian. He is good at landscape，figure，as well as flower bird paintings and is famous for his special，weird，antique，interesting and decorative painting style. His painting style is fairly loved by Xie Zhiliu，so Xie had the verse “Suddenly I saw the special tone which is so charming”. “Special tone” is the “unique style and specialist tone in the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty” of Chen Hongshou praised by Xie Zhiliu in his monograph Ink and Wash Painting.

　　Obviously，what Xie Zhiliu has been advocating in his study of Chen Hongshou since he was 20 years old is the “unique style and specialist tone”. Yet the “charming” and “special tone” of Chen Hongshou mentioned in Xie Zhiliu's verse is that in Chen's flower bird painting and calligraphy which Xie learned from，rather than his famous landscape and figure paintings. Zhou Lianggong，a master painter of the late Ming and early Qing dynasty evaluated Chen Hongshou like this：“People only know Chen's masterly painting of figure，and have no idea of his wonderful landscape painting.”[3]Although Xie Zhiliu also drew some exaggerated figures with big heads and small bodies as imitation of Chen Hongshou，for example the “Figure Painting Learning form Laolian” fan painting and “Figure Painting Learning from Laolian” scroll created in 1943，yet along with his research and study on the mural paintings of Dunhuang grotto，his figure painting turned to the realistic style of the Tang Dynasty;as for his “In the Spring” scroll created in 1946，Zhang Daqian's inscription revealed the key point：”After Zhiliu came back from Dunhuang，his brush work and expression of pleats learned from the Tang Dynasty style is so outstanding that cannot be imagined by the contemporary men of wisdom. Inscription by Daqian in October 1949.” [4]Later in the “Gambling and Singing in the Restaurant” scroll and “Four Beauties” scroll created in 1949，he continued developing his style of figure painting. As to why Xie Zhiliu didn't learned Chen Hongshou's deformed weird landscape painting style，maybe the reason is that not long after he started learning painting，he saw Ju Ran's “Asking the Way in the Autumn Mountain”，Fan Kuan's “Traveling in Xishan Mountain” and Yan Wengui's “Breeze on the Stream” and imitated them wholeheartedly;therefore he said “refined brushstrokes showed the slightly varied ancient taste”. [5] Of course，although bird and flower paintings of Chen Hongshou is not that famous as his figure and landscape paintings，in the great fervor in early Republic of China pursuing Shi Tao，Ba Da Shan Ren and Yang Zhou Ba Guai，Xie Zhiliu didn't follow the fashion;the accidental chance of him seeing Chen Hongshou's flower bird paintings in the ancient painting exhibition held by Nanjing Central Museum made him feel like discovered a new land， and said “Suddenly I saw the special tone which is so charming”. He not only purchased authentic flower and bird painting of Chen Hongshou to imitate from，but also created a lot of flower bird paintings imitating Chen Hongshou's style，including “Imitating Chen Hongshou's Lotus and Stone” scroll，”Butterfly and Plum Blossom” fan painting，”Lotus” fan painting，”Lotus，Butterfly and Wonder Stone” scroll，”Red Leaves and Two Birds” scroll，”White Crow in Qingchengshan Mountain” scroll，”Plum” “Blossom and the Singing Bird” scroll，and “Red Tree and Birds in Autumn” scroll;he also devoted himself to researching the creation methods of painting art. He wrote down inscriptions on a fan painting of himself titled “Bamboo，Stone and Two Birds”：“Noble men think little of being famous since ancient times;they are carefree and leisurely in seclusion being friend with birds. Autumn came and leaves fall down from trees in mountains，two lonely birds are singing about the rainy or fine weather. I learned from Chen Laolian consciously yet I have no idea about how similar my painting is with his;concerning painting，to grasp the inner spirit is really hard.” This self-inscription well expressed that Xie Zhiliu's conscious learning from Chen Laolian's “special tone” has developed from “appreciatng” to “finding it hard to grasp the inner spirit”. Specifically，his good friend Zhang Daqian drew a lotus of Chen Hongshou with traditional line drawing and added the inscription “Painted at Laotiexuan Study on Southern Peak by Chen Hongshou in Xishan Mountain” [6] especially for his learning of Chen Hongshou's flower bird paintings. He also made a postscript：“This is the work of Chen Laolian in his 30s in which he devoted great time and effort;his appreciation of things is the best among all I have seen. My brother learned from Chen Laolian and therefore we are bosom friends who could understand each other the best.” Zhang Daqian called Xie Zhiliu “student of Laolian”，it is true. Hard work pays the “painstaking” people. The “Bamboo，Stone，Camellia” scroll he created in 1937 was selected into the 2nd National Arts Exhibition;at that time，Xie was only 26 years old. This is the achievement acquired in his “painstaking” study of Chen Hongshou's bird and flower painting.

　　The “painstaking” effort of Xie Zhiliu made him masterly in painting flowers and birds with Chen Hongshou's spirit，and also made Xie an expert in studying and identifying Chen Hongshou's bird and flower paintings. He wrote down the self-inscription on his fan painting “Butterfly on the Orange Day Lily”：“I had ever seen two flower paintings of Chen Laolian，one is an album of Laolian collected in the Palace Museum，another is the fan painting collected in Dafengtang Study. The one in the Palace Museum is criticized by my friends to be clumsy，while the fan in Dafengtang is a work of Laolian in his early years and the brushstrokes are refined and beautiful. This fan painting of myself combined characters of the two，so if my friends see it，they may not criticize it to be too clumsy or too refined.” After reading the self-inscription of Xie Zhiliu，we have every reason to say that this is Xie Zhiliu's earliest practice in identifying paintings;he confirmed the art quality and creation time of the Chen Hongshou bird flower paintings collected in Palace Museum and Da Feng Tang，and also talked about his own approach in creating a fan painting which is combining the features of them both. Obviously，Xie Zhiliu is firstly an outstanding young promising painter，and then he generated his identification capability through his practice in painting. Based on this，he is even quite interested in proofing Chen Hongshou's life experiences and painting art;he published his first academic thesis “on Chen Laolian”，which was re-published in 1948 on Beijing & Shanghai Weekly when he formally started his study on art history. Thus，artistic creation，painting and calligraphy identification and study on art history are merged harmoniously;they supplement each other and develop together，formed the career of art in the whole life of Xie Zhiliu.

　　As for his words “I learned painting from Chen Hongshou in youth”，there are several important meanings upon careful study as the following：

　　Firstly，on the approaches in drawing bird and flower paintings，Xie Zhiliu usually re-groups the ancient and weird birds，flowers，trees and stones in several artworks of Chen Hongshou，to “combine the characters of the two” and composes his own “special tone” in bird and flower painting. Take the “Lotus，Butterfly and Stone” scroll of Xie Zhiliu painted in 1941 as an example，it combined the features of several laolian's paintings;the lotus in a bottle came from Chen Hongshou's “A Lotus and The First Day of the Lunar New Year”，while the stone and butterfly came from Laolian's “A Sketch of the Beautiful Butterfly “and “Plum Blossom，Stone and Butterfly”. In the bottle，except for the lotus，bamboo is also inserted;the regrouping not only composed a new painting，but also transformed Chen's ancient and weird style to be clear and free;with the fresh bamboo and lotus，sober stone and bottle，butterfly in the spring breeze，new conception is produced in Xie's “special tone”，which has profound artistic conception and fresh，lively modern atmosphere. We take his “Bamboo，Stone and Camellia” scroll created in 1937 for another example：this painting looks a little bit similar to the “Stone and Camellia” scroll of Chen Hongshou collected in Taipei Palace Museum;yet in the foreground a stone stands lofty and behind it，outlined and colored bamboo leaves interweave with the blooming camellia. The bamboo leaves look quite like those in the “Orange Day Lily” scroll by Chen Hongshou collected in Taipei Palace Museum. The birds，flowers，trees and stones from Chen Hongshou's bird flower paintings became special，new and charming both in composition and modeling through Xie Zhiliu's masterly regrouping;beautiful and gorgeous sentiments are contained in the elegance，which fully reflected Xie Zhiliu's artistic characteristic and innovation pursuit in his “special tone” in bird and flower painting. They are kept in his painting style throughout his whole life. His “Red Tree and Birds in Autumn” created in 1959，for instance，its modeling of stones which is specially striking finally led to his innovation of stone and bird flower picture style in 1980s，when his “Butterfly Fighting against the Frost” scroll，”Plum Blossom and Bamboo in the Spring “painting，”Red Plum Blossom in the Spring” scroll，”Ink Bamboo and Stone” scroll and “Lotus” were created successively;although at this time，Xie Zhiliu had started his “Luomo” (a freehand approach in using ink) bird and flower paintings，but the towering stone and butterfly were obviously transformed from the “special tone” of bird and flower painting of Chen Hongshou.

　　Secondly，on ink，brush，coloring and shaping，Xie Zhiliu's reformation of Chen Hongshou's “special tone” was to strengthen the fresh，powerful，exquisite ink and coloring as well as the natural and pure shaping of Chen while weaken his weird brushwork and shaping. There are two kinds of freehand flower and bird paintings of Chen Hongshou：one is ink and wash freehand painting，for which Chen used the middle part of the brush and the shading changes of ink and water to represent the squarely shaped birds，flowers，bamboos，betterflies，trees and stones another is fine brushwork painting，for which Chen used the side part of the brush and thick ink，strong and powerful brushstrokes，to represent trees，stones，birds，flowers，bamboos and butterflies. Xie Zhiliu，however，merged advantages of both kinds and adopted both freehand and fine brushwork approaches. He acquired the strengths of Chen Hongshou and his refined outlining，ancient and brilliant coloring，and peculiar shaping. For example，the “Butterfly and Orange Day Lily” fan painting showed a finely depicted butterfly，lily flowers with powerful yet not rigid brushwork and brilliant colors;of which the stone was completely depicted with ink and water;the shape of it is waving like mountains;therefore the modeling of butterfly and stone looks natural and pure out of the “special tone” of the weird Chen Hongshou style. And the “Imitating Chen Hongshou's Lotus and Stone Painting” scroll created in 1937，can be recognized on one glimpse that it is completely from Chen Hongshou's style in coloring，ink and brush as well as modeling;yet Xie Zhiliu only learned Chen's spirit and didn't copy his form;Xie's plump and strong lotus and the stone obviously feature a kind of freehand ink and wash interest;especially the rock is shaped like towering mountains，depicted skillfully and masterly with softness hidden behind the hardness. The shading of ink enlarged the space to be colorful and rich，together with the light red coloring，a kind of graceful elegance is well revealed. In 1940s，Xie Zhiliu's flower and bird painting created its original world：Xie merged the beauty of flowers and birds of Song Dynasty painters based on the antique and special temperament inherited from Chen Hongshou;the fresh，free and refined atmosphere in the painting formed Xie's personal “special tone” style. The vertical screen painting “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” painted by Xie Zhiliu in 1949 contained three screens which can be regarded as his “special tone” style artworks among his flower and bird paintings. For example，the one that drew plum tree showed the twisting trunk of plum presented with dense fine dots drawn with thick ink highlighted the scars in a exaggerating way;yet the plum blossoms are outlined with fine brushwork and light ink;the peculiar and old style of the plum tree as well as the pure fresh flowers showed the influence of Yang Wujiu and Li Di of the Southern Song Dynasty to a certain extent;the whole painting looks elegant and free，mild and sweet. Just like Wu Ziyu said in Xie Zhiliu's Art，”Xie learned from Chen Hongshou in his early years on bird and flower paintings，he grasped the spirit of Chen's flower，tree，bamboo and stone，yet he didn't learned Chen's representation of bird;Xie's painting is spiritually similar with Chen Hongshou's，but has differences in tone;Xie has no stubborn attitude of Chen. Xie traced the 'Xuanhe Reign Style' of the Song Dynasty after he was 30 years old and made it refined，clear，delicate and peaceful;he even surpassed those academic painters of the Song Dynasty in temperament. We can even say that Xie's flower and bird paintings are new 'Xuanhe Reign Style'.”[7]In the 1950s，Xie Zhiliu merged advantages of painters in the Song and Yuan dynasties in his flower and bird painting，and established his own style. For example the “Red Flowers on Branches” (collected by Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy) he drew in 1959，depicted the thin yet powerful branches of plum trees with fine brush;with innovative ideas in it，the green withered branches and the fragrant red plum blossoms in cold winter contrasted finely with each other and gave audiences the wonderful feel of its lively beauty and vividness;what a “good temperament expressed with the new style”. From the aura revealed in this painting，we could discover that Xie Zhiliu's flower and bird paintings have already surpassed Chen Hongshou's.

　　2. “New charm is added with rich colors and reformed luomo inking”

　　“New charm is added with rich colors and reformed luomo inking” showed Xie Zhiliu's artistic achievement in his later years. In 1970s，Xie Zhiliu started to research Luomo skill (a kind of freehand inking) wholeheartedly. In 1972，he did an inscription on his Xu Xi's Bamboo in Snow：“With Luomo inking and colors interspersed，whoever can be so masterly in Southern School;I appreciate Wu Qian'an although he adviced me not to learn from Xu Xi's Luomo inking.”. From then on，Xie loved to give a title with “Luomo” to most of his paintings. He created “Luomo Resisting Frost”，”Kuhuangzhai Study Luomo Painting” and others. We could say that “Luomo Inking Approach” is a special innovation of Xie Zhiliu's art in his later years. In 1978，he made a self-inscription on his “Luomo Inking Lotus” scroll the following sentences：“The old brushwork traces have faded …and new charm is added with rich colors and reformed Luomo inking.”

　　The so called “the old brushwork traces have faded” means that he developed Xu Xi's Luomo inking and used it widely in his own painting creation;his brushstrokes are more bold and free，ink and wash is more charming and colors are more brilliant and gorgeous;he transformed refined Song and Yuan bird flower paintings and landscape paintings to the representation of south China scenery with freely used ink and water. “Luomo inking” changed his painting style time and time again，especially in his landscape paintings;he achieved splendid achievements in it. In his “Ten Poems about Painting” he said，”Refined brushstrokes showed the slightly varied ancient taste，wild openness and unrestrained feature are real teachers in old age”. In other words，Xie Zhiliu's establishment of and development in art style of landscape painting experienced the two periods of “Refined brushstrokes showed the slightly varied ancient taste” and “Wild openness and unrestrained feature are real reachers in old age”.

　　a. “Refined brushstrokes showed the slightly varied ancient taste”

　　In Chinese traditional painting，the so called “law” is the law of things and nature. Ink and brush are laws of things，while four seasons and weather conditions are laws of nature. Anyone who learns landscape painting should be skilful at the ink and brush techniques while knowing how to learn the essence from the nature. For people who draw landscape paintings，the skill in brush and inking can be learned from others which is a learning of law;meanwhile，to pursue the essence of the ever-changing nature is also a learning of law. One should learn from both the things and the nature for landscape painting，that is the so called “law”. The “Number One Painter” of the Qing dynasty，Tang Dai，said in his painting theory monograph that “learn from the ancients in their laws，rather than their specific skills in drawing mountains… Temperament is unified with the law，so the good temperament can be well acquired if the law is well learned. “Therefore，Xie Zhiliu said “Refined brushstrokes showed the slightly varied ancient taste”，because he learned landscape paintings from imitating and grasping the law of ink and brush as well as the pursuit of law of nature with ink and brush by ancient people.

　　Xie Zhiliu's learning of landscape painting was later than his bird and flower painting. According to reliable documents，in 1927 he saw Ju Ran's landscape painting “Asking the Way in Autumn Mountains” in Nanjing and imitated it diligently. In 1936，he imitated Fan Kuan's “Travelers Among Mountains and Stream”，Yan Weigui's “Breeze on the Stream” and other master pieces. In 1943，he started landscape painting creation and showed them in November of this year，at the “Xie Zhiliu Painting Exhibition” held in Chengdu. In the next year，he created “Village at the Riverside”，”Breeze Blowing though Pine Trees in Summer Mountains”，”Peaks in the Clear Autumn Sky”，”Ink and Wash Landscape”，”Imitating Chen Laolian's Landscape”，”Imitating Green and Blue Landscape Painting of Song Dynasty People” and other landscape paintings. Around 1945，he generated strong interest in landscape paintings of Li Cheng，Guo Xi，Wang Shen of the Song dynasty and Sheng Mao of the Yuan dynasty;the “Boating in the Shadow of Willows” scroll is originated from Sheng Mao's “Boating in Autumn River”. His landscape paintings took on slight changes after the Anti-Japanese War succeeded specifically in the following two aspects:

　　Firstly，he focused on imitation and research of landscape paintings of Song and Yuan dynasties in order to grasp the “law” of things;his landscape paintings at this time represented pure，strong and elegant aura of Song and Yuan dynasties. He created “Imitating Huang He's Landscape Painting”，”Imitating Guo Heyang's Spring Snow in Guanshan Mountains”，”Pine Trees and Spring Beside the Temple” scroll，”Imitating Dong Yuan's Landscape Painting”，”Returning Boat on the Snowing River”，”Green Mountains and Stream in the Evening”，”Imitating Yan Wengui's Breeze on the Stream” scroll，”Green Mountains and Trees”，”Imitating Wu Yushan's Landscape Painting” and others from 1946 onward. Among them the “Imitating Huang He's Landscape Painting” was obviously originated from the ink and brush as well as structure of Wang Meng's “Reading in the Spring Mountains”;as for “Pine Trees and Spring beside the Temple”，we could see his origin in Fan Kuan's ink and brush. “Returning Boat on the Snowing River” came from a painting of Huizong Emperor of the Song dynasty of the same title;while “Green Mountains and Stream in the Evening” imitated Guo Xi's “Mountains and Streams in the Clear Autumn”;“Imitating Yan Wengui's Breeze on the Stream” was originated from Yan Wengui's “Breeze on the Stream” while using the ink and brush of Dong Beiyuan;and “Green Mountains and Trees” imitated Guo Zhongshu. At that time，someone had ever evaluated Xie Zhiliu with the following words：“Xie is skillful in calligraphy and painting;his landscape paintings and figure paintings are free and elegant with the temperament of Song and Yuan dynasties. “ [8]

　　Secondly，through imitating and appreciating landscape paintings of Song and Yuan dynasties，Xie Zhiliu gradually established his own painting style through exploring the art expression approach merging advantages of landscape painting masters in Song and Yuan dynasties and grasping the laws of things and nature. For example the inscription on his “Smaze on the Hill”：“In learning to draw plum blossom，I absorbed advantages from Huang He and Dong Yuan;in this painting their essentials are both included.” Obviously，he adopted the inking，brushwork，composition and aura from Wu Zhen and Wang Meng. This can also be seen in his “Imitating Wang Meng's Landscape Painting” created in 1948：The texturing methods merged two different types;the ink and brush well showed his adoption of the aura in Wang Meng and Dong Yuan's arts;the scattered dots painted with thick ink showed the charming of Wu Zhen and the composition is the often used combination of pine trees on towering peaks with secluded pavilion among them;the study of literati is built in the mountains at the riverside and shaded by pine trees;the secluded and peaceful artistic conception is quite similar to that in Wang Meng's “Reading in Spring Mountains”. Take his “River in the Snow” as another example，it is a painting that “can change on his own will” after he saw Wang Shen's “Peaks of Mountains on the Misty River” (Yan Jiang Die Zhang Tu) and “Returning Boat on the Snowing River” by Huizong Emperor of the Song dynasty at the great collector Zhang Boju's home. Pan Boying commented that “concerning his “River in the Snow” …the masterly composition is out of his mergence of thoughts;the subtle brush works well realized the shading effects. If anyone says that it is a work of Zhao Ji，then snicker will not be avoided. “ [9] “The Golden Peak of Emei Mountain” was created after his visit to Emei Mountain used Guo Xi's approach to depict the golden top of Emei;with skillful ink and brush he represented the pureness of the nature，thus he grasped the “law” in depicting natural landscape paintings.

　　After great effort made in learning landscape paintings of Song and Yuan dynasties，in 1950s，Xie Zhiliu started to absorb advantages from south China painting school. Tracing back to the Five Dynasties from Song and Yuan，he combined the sober pureness of Dong Yuan and Ju Ran，the clear beauty of Wang Shen，the gorgeous style and ink brush modeling factors of Li and Guo，to form his unique grand mountain images and moist delicate style in ink and brush. As his self-inscription for the “Clear and Fresh Picture of the Gully” created in 1951：”To depict the mountains in south China，I represent the vastness on only a piece of paper. Loving Dong Yuan's temperament of sober and pure，yet how difficult it is to press the stroke and express them.”He made effort to merge the light ink and mist of Li Cheng and Guo Xi with the landscape temperament of south China by Ju Ran which is pure and sober together. His achievements can be seen in the “South China Landscape Screen” (8pc)，of which the frame is the grandeur scenery of Ju Ran's landscape with range upon range of beautiful mountains winding endlessly on the whole picture;with dense flourishing forest，grand mountains，towering peaks and misty remote mountains and rivers，the “fresh misty sense” of south China scenery. The gurgling waterfall in the gully，the now visible now hidden pavilion，the winding mountain paths，the bridge crossing the river，the floating boat—all are vivid on the painting to show the sober，pure，remote and wild scenery of south China. Beside，because of Xie Zhiliu's deep research on Dunhuang Mural paintings in 1950s，after his “Imitating Song Dynasty Green Blue Landscape” in 1943，”Green Blue Rivers and Mountains” in 1948，he had interest in green blue landscape painting again and the “Clear Scenery of Village” he created combined ink water and colors;with the combined coloring of green blue and light red，the brief ink water outlining and light ink dots，he well represented the pure gorgeous view of south China green blue mountains and rivers :”The towering mountains are grand，and the dense forest are highlighting the clear sky”. From then on，masterpieces of green blue landscape painting were created one after another. For example，the “Range upon Range of Mountains Scroll” (collected by Shanghai Art Museum) created in 1971 showed his masterly and free ink and brush style in brilliant grandness. Later this kind of skill was developed into a kind of new landscape painting where “new charm is added with rich colors and reformed Luomo inking” and the “Fresh Morning in the Green Mountains Scroll” (collected by Shanghai Art Museum) is a representative work of this style.

　　b. “Wild openness and unrestrained feature are real teachers in old age”

　　“Wild openness and unrestrained feature are real teachers in old age” marked Xie Zhiliu's becoming mature in painting in his later years，which is also the foundation of his “new charm is added with rich colors and reformed Luomo inking” art style. Early in 1953，he had composed the verse：“Refined brushworks are more realistic，Huang gained fresh beauty in this kind of painting. For hundreds of years the painting brushworks are always like this，and we had long never seen Luomo inking painters like Xu Xi.” [10]He sighed sorry for the lost wild painting style of Xu Xi who painted flowers with Luomo inking skill. In 1954，he wrote a monograph Ink and Wash Painting，in which a section was specifically discussing Xu Xi's Luomo. Especially in 1956，he discovered and identified the “Bamboo in Snow” collected in the Masters Pieces of Tang，Wudai，Song，Yuan Dynasties Painters is the Luomo painting of Xu Xi，which became an important academic subject in calligraphy and painting identification and art history research immediately after Xie proposed it. In 1969，Xie Zhiliu suddenly suffered from an eye disease and idled at home;so he was devoted to painting and determined to reform painting style on one side;and on the other side，he kept on concerning the Luomo painting research of Xu Xi from the Southern Tang dynasty which was not finished then. Later his eyes turned better and he picked up the research of Luomo inking of Xu Xi's “Bamboo in Snow”. And Xie's painting style also took on great changes because of the inspiration in research of Luomo inking，to be bold and free in brushwork and ink wash，brilliant and luxurious in coloring. Chen Peiqiu inscribed on Xie Zhiliu's “Spring in the Autumn Mountains under the Misty Clouds”：“Old Xie learned from Li Tang，Guo Zhongshu，Dong Yuan and Ju Ran in landscape painting when he was young and was elegant and refined in brushwork;after 1970s，his style was changed to be powerful，bold and free. This painting depicting autumn mountains and spring in misty clouds is a wonderful work in the early period of his changes and is specially cherishable.”[11]

　　To be precise，Xie Zhiliu's so called painting style “bold and free in old age” was firstly formed up in 1970s. The “Landscape Painting Horizontal Album” (12 pc) created from 1970 to 1971 and collected by Shanghai Art Museum are all painted with big brush powerfully and boldly;one piece among them was created in 1970，of which the big branches and leaves are painted freely while the mountains were drawn with even larger brush;they were so rough that we cannot even identify the brush strokes of it;seen from the ink and wash representing the hillside，obviously splashing ink and color were adopted. Such landscape paintings created with bold splashing ink and brush also include the “Misty Days in Mountains Scroll” created in 1970，in which the forests were drawn with powerful big brush and looked luxuriant. And the Landscape Painting Horizontal Album (8pc) created in 1973 and collected by Shanghai Art Museum is even more bold and free in brush work;the mountains，stones，and forests are just like being painted with boneless skill. It can well be imagined that the “boldness and free style” changed again and again，just like the splashing ink and color，natural and unrestrained，showing endless expressiveness. When the “boldness” and “Luomo inking” are harmoniously merged，then with the artist's masterly skill and thought，the free Luomo is developed to splashing ink and coloring.

　　In 1973，Xie Zhiliu especially inscribed his Luomo Inking and Coloring Album for Zheng Zhong with the laws of “Luomo” painting：“Xu Xi from south China in the Five Dynasties sketched flowers and bamboo with Luomo inking;the so called Luomo means painting with ink and adding colors to it;they highlight each other charmingly. Xu Xi's paintings haven't been seen for a long time;I'm interested in what he originated and developing his painting style according to my own preference. I changed the refined to be bold and unrestrained，yet I'm not deviated from the true look. Moreover，I not only use this in painting bamboos and flowers，but also in landscape painting，hoping to develop the wonderful temperament of it and represent the beauty of our motherland.” From those words we could see that his purpose in exploring “Luomo inking” is to “change refined to be bold and unrestrained”，to reform the old to new and develop the present upon the ancient with free ink and brush. In 1975，Xie Zhiliu mentioned “Luomo” for many times when he discussed his thoughts in learning painting in his “Ten Poems about Painting”：“special taste expressed free spiritual significance;Luomo ink approach opened a new school in southern China”. “The brilliant Luomo inking is gorgeously represented in today's fresh and clear painting.” Along with Xie Zhiliu's infatuation in and deep research and practice on the “Luomo Inking” of Xu Xi in the Five Dynasties;he represented the beautiful scenery of the land with Luomo inking and opened his unique theoretical thoughts with his wild and free paintings. From painting flowers and bamboo with “Luomo inking”，he developed it to the painting of lotus，grape and landscape;he inherited the spirit of Luomo and transformed it to be big brush and splashing ink，”big brush in old age”，brilliant colors on ink and turned light colors to be strong splashing colors;with such coloring on splashing ink，a moist，misty and delicate scenery of south China is well developed. Taking the “Fresh Morning in the Green Mountains” collected by Shanghai Art Museum，only the pavilion，trees，some stones in the foreground and waterfalls，bridge in the middle ground are depicted with some refined brushstrokes;other landscapes in middle and distant view are all expressed with splashed ink，water，green and blue colors，or merged color and ink;the strong green and blue interweave and merge with the thick ink，showed a kind of brilliant and splendid color style of western impressionism pai