江海沧，奇人也，书画篆刻兼善，却长期以易经演卦著称。近几年，他又重返久违的绘画，专攻数年，画风大变。这些作品，有具象的有抽象的，总体在具象与抽象之间而趋向抽象。言其抽象，实际上与西方抽象艺术的观念有很大不同，它实乃易象—一种深受易学思想影响的天地化肓之图像。其图像特征正应老子所云：“道之为物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象;恍兮惚兮，其中有物。窈兮冥兮，其中有精;质精甚真，其中有信。”

　　平心而论，追慕宇宙气息和天地意象的画家如今不在少数，但大都泛泛。我之所以关注江海沧，是因为他的艺术追求摆脱了“泛泛”。摆脱泛泛最主要的有两个方面。

　　一、我用我法。艺术，当以法致道，正如卦，当以象致理。无法门空言道，不查象空言易，均属忽悠。所谓“泛泛”，就是指一种空洞的人云亦云的无自家法门的所谓的“天人合一”绘画。江海沧法门其一在媒介物质，油彩水墨兼施，宣纸画布共用，由此形成了复杂的作画程序，也形成了独特的笔墨语言和画面肌理。其二在造型，他创造了一种山石、云水、人物互相转换的独特图像语言。

　　二、以法致道。问题还有另一面：有法未必明道，看卦未必通易。有特殊面目而止于技法者多矣。法不载道，败矣。法道两参，浑然天成方为上境。

　　试挑选若干有代表性的作品简述如下。

　　《坤造》(图1)：江海沧的创意，初发于局部观照山石时引发的结构意象。山石结构是他的造型基础。没有山石不会引发如此强烈的结构冲动，没有独特的结构冲动又不会以这种眼光去观照山石，是为物我两参。当他的结构意象与汶川地震激发的心灵震撼撞合时，石中唤出苍生，苍生化为巨石。挤压、冲撞、苍厚、坚实、顽强、有力、悲天悯人。力悲两参，石灵化一。

　　《天根》(图2)：江海沧早年画写意山水，对笔墨抒怀这一写意精髓早有体悟，因此，他不可避免地要将这种体悟发挥到新的创作当中去，又因此，描绘山石的用笔越来越凸显，从兼工带写逐渐转向了写意，从笔墨从属于造型逐渐转向了造型与运笔互动，笔墨与结构两参。这里十分重要的是油彩水墨兼施，宣纸画布共用的新技法。水油相斥的斑驳感，形成了一种新的力透纸背的运笔，并以笔墨书写的方式强化了造型的斑驳感和力度感。水油两参，相克相生，对江海沧来说至关重要。

　　《梦魇》(图3)：与山石的阳刚坚实相比，自由书写的笔痕墨迹显得阴柔虚畅，江海沧顺势导出了云水意象。与此相应，他的创作理念发生了重大变化，长期研究易经的种种感悟势不可挡地渗透进来，他由此从面对苍生逐渐转向了面对天地。这张画是江海沧的精品之一，最妙处在山石亦云水，云水亦山石，云水与山石转换自如，不见斧凿痕迹;笔墨亦造型，造型亦笔墨，笔墨与造型转换自如，复不见斧凿痕迹。由此山水是山水又不是山水而转化成为“易”的载体，转化成为两仪相参，阴阳互动，天地化生，澄怀观道的载体。

　　“烟云皆般若，花石尽真如。”这是江海沧的画梦。

　　《涅槃》(图4)，《梵音》(图5)：“易”有入世的一面，以天则推演人事是也;也有出世的一面，超凡出尘与天地同游是也。江海沧易经演卦名动上海侧重于前一面，他的绘画逐渐向抽象演变侧重于后一面。《涅槃》可以代表山石结构的抽象化，它追寻的是易理天规;《梵音》可以代表云水气雾的抽象化，它追寻的是大化流行。两者都指向形而上。

　　抽象艺术在本质上是形而上的。但如果不明了形上在形下之中，必导致抽象绘画流于泛泛。江海沧比较成功的作品，都是在法与道、天与人、阴与阳、虚与实、笔与形、水与油之间保持两极张力的作品。

　　两仪相参，天地化育矣。

　　2013年3月30日于三亚

　　1《老子》第21章。不同版本略有差异，此处据任继愈主编《中国哲学史·第一册》，人民出版社，第1版第14次印刷，1985年，第46页。

　　Impressed by Recent Paintings of Jiang Haicang

　　Liu Xiaochun

　　Jiang Haicang is an extraordinary talent，experting at painting，calligraphy and seal cutting，but famous for divination upon Book of Changes for a long term. In recent years，he has been focusing on painting which had separated with him for long time，and welcomed a huge change in his painting style. His works are both concrete and abstract，generally in intermediate state between the concrete and the abstract with slightly more abstract. As far as abstract is concerned，it is strikingly different from western abstract art，the abstract is characterized by changing image，a image of enlightened and cultivated by heaven and earth and influenced by the idea from Book of Changes profoundly. The characteristics of the image are just as explanation of Laozi: “The so-called Dao is not a clear and fixed object. It is so moony，but there is an image. It is so moony，but there is an entity. It is so far-reaching and ambiguous，but there is an essence;such essence is authentic and such essence is credible.” 1

　　Frankly speaking，numerous painters pursue universal atmosphere and natural images，but most are superficial. I am concerned with Jiang Haicang since his art pursuit is free from superficiality，displayed mainly in two aspects.

　　1. Unique style of his own. The art reaches Taoism by the methods just as the divination reaches understanding by the images. It is impossible to discuss the Taoism without any method or discuss the changes without any image. Otherwise，it would be lies. The superficiality herein refers to a so-called painting by combination of heaven and man which is hollow，goes with the tide and is of no its own methods. Knacks of Jiang Haicang are in two aspects. One is the medium，oil painting and Chinese ink painting are applied simultaneously，and Chinese art paper and Canvas are used together so as to establish complex painting procedures as well as unique ink language and image texture. The other is modeling. He has created a distinctive image language based on mutual

　　conversion of stones，clouds and rivers and human images.

　　2. The Taoism is achieved by the methods. There is still another aspect: Taoism is probably not reached even methods is grasped，just as the divination practicer is probably not familiar with Book of Changes. Numerous special expressions end with the techniques. The method would fail if it were not sublimed to Taoism. Interaction of method with Taoism and integration of method with Taoism as a whole is the best realm of art.

　　Several representative works are selected for brief introduction as below.

　　《Destiny of Woman》The inspiration of Jiang Haicang stems from the structural images when he observed stones locally. The stone structure is base of modeling. There would be no so intensive structure sensation aroused without stones;the stones would not be observed in this vision without unique structure impulse. It is from interaction between object and mentality. When his structural images come across spiritual shock arisen from Wenchuan Earthquake，the stones reflect the natural life and the natural life is embodied by huge stones. Relevant painting works are of extrusion，impact，dignity，solidness，perseverance，power and overwhelming love of humankind. The power and sadness interacts with each other，the stones and the people are integrated.

　　《Origin of Life》Jiang Haicang’s early works center on landscape painting and the sketching essence that feeling is expressed by the ink painting has been fathomed by him in early period，therefore，it is inevitable for him to apply such inspiration into his new works. Further，his strokes are prominent increasingly in depicting the stones，changing from fine-brush with freehand style to freehand style gradually and from the ink serving for modeling to the interaction of modeling and ink and thus achieve interaction between the ink and the structure. The crucial point here is the new technique characterized by the simultaneous application of oil painting and ink painting and the integration of Chinese art paper and canvas. The mottled sense from mutual exclusion of water and oil constitutes a kind of new technique of stokes which penetrates the paper with power. Furthermore，the ink painting elevates the sense of mottling and strength of modeling. The interaction and mutual promotion and exclusion between water and the oil are vital to Jiang Haicang.

　　《Nightmare》Compared with the strength and solidness of stones，the ink marks of freehand painting display gentleness and freedom，from which Jiang Haicang derives the imagery of clouds and water. Accordingly，his creative concept is changed greatly，various inspirations from its long –term study of Book of Changes penetrate into his painting overwhelmingly and he is thus converted gradually from people to the heaven and earth. This painting works is a masterpiece of Jiang Haicang. The best point lies in the follows: the stones embody clouds and waters，the clouds and waters embody the stones，the clouds and waters are converted to the stones freely without any artificial mark;the ink shows the modeling，the modeling shows the ink，the ink is converted to the modeling freely without any artificial mark too. Hence，the landscape is the landscape while the landscape is not the landscape so as to become a carrier of “changes” and convert to a carrier in which Yin and Yang interacts，Methods is enlightened and cultivated by heaven and earth and reaches realism of Taoism.

　　“The haze is the embodiment of wisdom，the flowers and stones are external phases as authentic as the nature.” This is a painting dream for Jiang Haicang.

　　《Nirvana》and《Sound of Buddhism》: “Changes” have one side as nature of society，of which the manpower is deduced from the natural laws;and the other side beyond nature of society，of which the person is beyond the secular and travel with the universe. Jiang Haicang values the former side in his divination in Shanghai，but his painting evolves gradually to abstractness and develops towards the latter. 《Nirvana》represents abstractness of stone structures and pursues Yi’s principles and natural laws;《Sound of Buddhism》 indicates abstractness of clouds and water and pursues the utility and popularity. Both point at Taoism.

　　The abstract art is intangible in nature. However，without awareness of that the intangible arises from the tangible，the abstract painting will be superficial. The relatively outstanding works of Jiang Haicang are always full tension of the two counterparts，including law and Taoism，heaven and man，Yin and Yang，virtual and actual，the ink and the modeling，as well as the water and the oil.

　　Interaction of Yin and Yang，Spirit of Heaven and Earth.

　　Sanya，Mar. 30，2013

　　① Chapter 21 of the Laozi. A slight difference among different versions，according to History of Chinese Philosophy·Volume I compiled by Ren Jiyu，People’s Publishing House，Issue 14 of Version 1，1985，Page 46.