文/ 雷曉燕

牛腿。The corbel, a classic joinery of ancient Chinese architecture.

如果人生可以分為上下半場(chǎng)，那么麗水人王開明在60歲之前，在人生的上半場(chǎng)，為了生計(jì)而奔波；在60歲之后，也就是人生的下半場(chǎng)，畫麗水牛腿、推介麗水牛腿、保護(hù)麗水牛腿成了他的新使命。

牛腿，是中國(guó)古典建筑構(gòu)件，專業(yè)術(shù)語(yǔ)叫撐拱，又叫雀替，是明清古建筑中上檐柱與橫梁之間的撐木。在浙江古民居中，?？梢?jiàn)到各式各樣精美絕倫的牛腿。

被雕工細(xì)膩、題材豐富的牛腿所吸引，5年前，王開明邁開了他的牛腿人生路。去年5月，他的牛腿系列油畫展開展，再現(xiàn)了處州（麗水古稱處州）老宅風(fēng)情和古民居鄉(xiāng)土文化。一年多過(guò)去了，他還在為牛腿奔忙?！耙?yàn)榕Ｍ?，我的人生更精彩?！苯衲?5歲的王開明如是說(shuō)。

跑百村只為發(fā)現(xiàn)最美牛腿

王開明自幼喜歡繪畫，繪畫愛(ài)好伴隨著他的成長(zhǎng)。雖然先后就讀的是礦山機(jī)械和企業(yè)管理專業(yè)，貌似都與藝術(shù)失之交臂，但繪畫在他學(xué)習(xí)、工作以及生活中起到了極其重要的作用，成為了生命中不可或缺的一部分。2017年4月，他去岳父的老家景寧沙灣鎮(zhèn)東堡村祭祀。在村中閑逛時(shí)，一棟墻面倒塌、瓦片掉落的老房子里，他發(fā)現(xiàn)因?yàn)榕Ｍ纫廊挥辛Φ刂沃?，梁柱雖然有些傾斜，但卻堅(jiān)挺撐起廊檐，這棟老房子因此沒(méi)有完全坍塌下來(lái)。

頓時(shí)，王開明對(duì)牛腿產(chǎn)生了興趣。

回家后，他查找了許多資料。隨著了解越來(lái)越深入，對(duì)牛腿的好奇、心動(dòng)、喜歡和狂熱，驅(qū)使他開始在麗水九縣（市、區(qū)）尋找最美“牛腿”。

一輛小車、一臺(tái)單反和一只平板電腦，就是他的裝備。而做攻略的內(nèi)容，就是從網(wǎng)上找到的幾十個(gè)古村落和親朋好友提供的線索。

5年尋“腿”路，有風(fēng)雨，有失望，更有收獲和感動(dòng)。

王開明介紹，有的古村落，好不容易找到，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)古村落遺址只剩下地基；有的古村落，按照導(dǎo)航駕駛，路都到盡頭了，村子還不見(jiàn)蹤影。

比起這些尋而不得的失望，淳樸善良的鄉(xiāng)親們讓他忘記了所有的艱辛。

在蓮都區(qū)大港頭鎮(zhèn)張山村，王開明尋到一個(gè)精美的牛腿?！澳翘焓顷幪欤由侠衔莨饩€不好，牛腿怎么也看不清、拍不清，急得團(tuán)團(tuán)轉(zhuǎn)?！?/p>

老屋里的住戶看到后，主動(dòng)問(wèn)他：臺(tái)燈有用嗎？得到試試的答案后，住戶夫妻倆找來(lái)兩三個(gè)接線板，妻子負(fù)責(zé)看管、按緊插頭，丈夫負(fù)責(zé)奮力高舉臺(tái)燈，好讓王開明看清、拍清自家牛腿的每一個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)。

牛腿。The corbel, a classic joinery of ancient Chinese architecture.

5年尋“腿”路，王開明喝過(guò)百家茶、吃過(guò)百家飯。尋訪結(jié)束，大爺大媽總是依依不舍地把他送到村口，握著他的手，叮囑他有空再來(lái)走走看看。“麗水的鄉(xiāng)親，太令我感動(dòng)了?！彼锌卣f(shuō)。

畫牛腿獨(dú)具一格

王開明一邊尋找最美牛腿，一邊整理資料，并以照片為基礎(chǔ)進(jìn)行創(chuàng)作。

5年來(lái)，他拍攝了3個(gè)移動(dòng)硬盤的照片，牛腿多達(dá)上千個(gè)。但不是所有的牛腿，都能成為創(chuàng)作對(duì)象。他介紹，只有具備有獨(dú)特造型、有獨(dú)特寓意、有感人故事其中一個(gè)或一個(gè)以上標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的牛腿，才有可能被選中。所以，東堡村的牛腿，雖然造型簡(jiǎn)單，卻成為88幅油畫中的首幅。

王開明坦言，他不是畫家，只是名繪畫愛(ài)好者。如何用最完美的畫技，展現(xiàn)精美絕妙的牛腿之美？

他經(jīng)過(guò)思考，決定把牛腿當(dāng)作舞臺(tái)上的主角，當(dāng)光束打在主角上，那么，主角一定是最突出、最顯眼的。

那么，梁柱交錯(cuò)間，如何讓畫面立體、構(gòu)圖嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)？

王開明說(shuō)，他采用的是平面制圖設(shè)計(jì)和繪畫透視的融合方式，有效地利用了建筑結(jié)構(gòu)本身所形成的幾何圖形輪廓，使線條錯(cuò)落有致，畫面呈現(xiàn)出立體感。

現(xiàn)實(shí)中，很多牛腿遭到損毀。有一個(gè)牛腿，雕刻了多個(gè)人物，但所有人物的頭部都不見(jiàn)了。他了解牛腿所處年代建筑的風(fēng)格和特色后，走訪住戶，查找資料，通過(guò)合理的想象將其補(bǔ)齊，嘗試著讓它變得完美如初，在畫面上不留遺憾。

有的古民居灰暗破敗，他選擇給牛腿打上光的同時(shí)，也順便美化一番畫面。比如，給柱子“貼”上紅對(duì)聯(lián)，給梁柱間掛上紅燈籠或彩帶—也許，這才是他心目中古民居的最美模樣。

為了這88幅油畫，王開明付出了很多。埋頭創(chuàng)作的日子里，每天上午9時(shí)，他開始創(chuàng)作，午飯后午休一個(gè)多小時(shí)，接著畫到凌晨?！巴砩?時(shí)到凌晨3時(shí)，是創(chuàng)作的黃金時(shí)間，沒(méi)人打擾，效率極高?！蓖蹰_明介紹說(shuō)。

守護(hù)“木頭的史書”

5年的尋“腿”路，讓王開明這個(gè)北方人兼麗水女婿，徹底愛(ài)上了麗水的鄉(xiāng)土文化。

王開明在采風(fēng)途中，與居民合影。Wang Kaiming takes a photo with a local resident during one of his field trips.

王開明在作畫。Wang Kaiming works on a painting.

他說(shuō)，作為麗水女婿，愛(ài)屋及烏，愛(ài)上了麗水這塊熱土，愛(ài)上了這里的鄉(xiāng)土文化。通過(guò)了解古民居建筑裝飾，通過(guò)畫牛腿，讓他看到了麗水這個(gè)古老城市的靈魂和生生不息的動(dòng)力?！斑@次畫展，目的之一，就是將麗水這位可親可愛(ài)、可尊可敬的‘丈母娘’那博大胸襟里一顆顆璀璨的明珠穿綴成鏈后，展示給世人?！?/p>

在王開明的眼里，牛腿就是一部“木頭的史書”，通過(guò)它，可以折射出不同歷史時(shí)期、不同地理區(qū)域、不同民俗習(xí)慣和不同的文化心理等。

古往今來(lái)，健康長(zhǎng)壽、富足平安和子嗣繁盛等，一直是人們的追求和目標(biāo)。這些文化心理，通過(guò)圖案組合，大量使用諧音、暗喻、象征等手法，在牛腿上得到了淋漓盡致的體現(xiàn)。如蝙蝠，寓意“?！保换ㄆ?，諧音“平安”。而白頭鳥和牡丹花，寓意“白頭富貴”；在駿馬上雕刻一只猴子，諧音“馬上封侯”……

寄托了人們美好情懷和愿望的牛腿，同樣得到了市民的喜愛(ài)，引發(fā)了鄉(xiāng)愁和很多美好回憶。

2021年5月，《畫說(shuō)處州古宅風(fēng)情 繪染牛腿民俗神韻》牛腿油畫展在麗水美術(shù)館開展。用王開明的話說(shuō)，“實(shí)現(xiàn)了一次當(dāng)代人與先輩能工巧匠的時(shí)空對(duì)話”。

在蓮都區(qū)譚宅牛腿油畫前，一名70多歲的女士流連忘返，久久不肯離去。王開明見(jiàn)狀，上前詢問(wèn)，原來(lái)她是位退休老師，她說(shuō)她出生在這座老宅，少年時(shí)期在這屋檐下度過(guò)。問(wèn)她是否還記得這牛腿，她說(shuō)：“記得，比我記憶中的漂亮……”

“問(wèn)她有何感想，對(duì)方卻擺擺手，沒(méi)有多說(shuō)什么，接著久久凝視著那幅牛腿畫作陷入沉思。也許是她在回味老屋炊煙的味道吧，也許是她再次聆聽(tīng)到了母親搖籃曲的吟唱吧?！蓖蹰_明介紹說(shuō)。

來(lái)自松陽(yáng)的周火亮也來(lái)到了油畫展?？粗约业呐Ｍ茸兂闪水?，他激動(dòng)地說(shuō)，“我從小看著牛腿長(zhǎng)大。今天，看到牛腿變成了油畫，讓更多人了解到我們麗水原來(lái)有這么多寶貝。高興！”

隨著時(shí)間推移，王開明的牛腿情結(jié)越來(lái)越濃烈。眼下，他正在為牛腿做三件事：一是申報(bào)2022年度麗水市文藝精品和文藝人才扶持獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)項(xiàng)目；二是將所繪105幅牛腿油畫結(jié)集成冊(cè)、出版；三是在積極對(duì)接，希望在浙江省內(nèi)實(shí)現(xiàn)巡展，希望引發(fā)更多人對(duì)牛腿這個(gè)“木頭的史書”的興趣、了解和喜愛(ài)，希望社會(huì)各界加強(qiáng)對(duì)牛腿的保護(hù)、修繕和挖掘，弘揚(yáng)工匠精神和牛腿文化。

Painting the Beauty of Corbels

By Lei Xiaoyan

If life could be divided into halves, then Wang Kaiming was busy making a living before the age of 60 while after 60, he began to paint, promote and protect corbels in Lishui city.

The corbel, a classic joinery of ancient Chinese architecture, is a support wood between the upper eave column and the crossbeam in the buildings of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1944) dynasties. Different kinds of exquisite corbels are common in Zhejiang’s ancient vernacular dwellings. Attracted by the fine carving and rich styles of corbels five years ago, last May, Wang held an oil painting exhibition featuring corbels and representing the folk customs and culture of ancient houses in Lishui. “Corbels add color to my life,” said the 65-year-old painter.

Wang has been into painting since he was a young boy. In April 2017, he went to his wife’s hometown to offer sacrifices to her ancestors. Wandering around the village, he found an ancient house whose walls collapsed with tiles falling down. However, the beam-columns, though inclined, were able to support the eaves firmly with the help of corbels, so that the house still stood there,which aroused his interest in corbels.

After that, he searched for information and gained a deeper understanding of corbels. His curiosity and obsession for corbels led him to discover the most beautiful corbels in Lishui, guided by online information and his relatives and friends.

During these five years, Wang experienced disappointment,harvests and excitement. He said that some ancient villages retained nothing but the foundations, while others were nowhere to be found even though he came to the end of the road. Despite those disappointments, the kindness of villagers made all the hardships worthwhile.

In Zhangshan village, Wang found an exquisite corbel. “It was an overcast day, and too dim for me to see it clearly inside the house, so I was very anxious.” Seeing this, the host asked if he needed a desk lamp. When Wang said they could have a try, the hospitable couple brought the lamp, and held it as high as possible,so that every detail of the corbel could be photographed well.

All these years, Wang Kaiming was entertained by many villagers with tea and meals. Before he finished a visit, the elderly villagers always saw him off reluctantly, telling him repeatedly to come back when he had time. “I’m so touched by the villagers in Lishui,” said Wang with gratefulness.

While searching for the most beautiful corbels, Wang Kaiming put the materials in order and drew from his photos. He had taken photos of a thousand corbels and stored them in three mobile hard disks. But only those corbels with unique shapes,special meanings or touching stories could be chosen. And his first work among 88 paintings was a simple corbel at Dongbao village.

Wang Kaiming said frankly that he was no artist, but a painting enthusiast. So how could he execute the perfect painting techniques to demonstrate the beauty of exquisite corbels? After a long deliberation, he decided to regard the corbels as the protagonists on the stage, because they would definitely become the star attraction when light shone on them. Another difficulty was how to make the pictures three-dimensional, with a careful composition to present the complicated interlocks between beams and columns.

Wang Kaiming adopted the integration of graphic design and perspective, using the geometric outlines of the building structure to show well-spaced lines, so that the painting appeared three dimensional. Many corbels had been damaged. There was a corbel with several headless carved figures. After determining the style and features of the house in the specific era, he visited the villagers,consulted books and completed the work with imagination,hoping to make it as if it was just carved.

Some ancient dwellings were gray and dilapidated. When he added lighting effects on the corbel, he was able to beautify the whole painting. For example, red couplets were “pasted” on the columns, and red lanterns or colorful ribbons were hung between the beams and columns, which might be the most beautiful sight of ancient vernacular dwellings in his mind.

牛腿。The corbel, a classic joinery of ancient Chinese architecture.

Wang Kaiming exerted himself into these 88 oil paintings. In those days, he began at 9 o’clock every morning, took a nap after lunch, and then continued till the small hours. He said, “From 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., it was the golden time for painting. No one intruded, so I was highly efficient.”

During years of corbel searching, Wang Kaiming, a northerner and a son-in-law here, completely fell in love with Lishui’s folk culture. Through understanding the architectural decoration and painting corbels, he experienced the spirit and endless vitality of Lishui. “One of the purposes of this exhibition is to show the beauty of my second hometown to the world by stringing those bright pearls together,” he said.

For Wang Kaiming, the corbels are wooden history books reflecting different historical periods, geographical regions, folk customs and cultural psychology. Since ancient times, people have always pursued wellness, longevity, prosperity, peace and incessant offspring. This cultural psychology is vividly reflected on the corbels by combining patterns of paronomasias, metaphors, and symbols.For example, bats imply “happiness”; vases are homophonic with“peace” in Chinese; bulbuls and peony flowers mean “l(fā)iving together till old and grey”; a monkey carved on the horse is pronounced as“being granted with the title of marquis soon” in Chinese.

Corbels are also a favorite of citizens, evoking their nostalgia and good memories. In May 2021, Wang Kaiming’s solo art exhibition of corbels was held in Lishui Art Museum. According to him, “It opened a dialogue between modern people and our ancient artisans.” In front of a painting of the corbel from the Tans’house, stood a 70-year-old lady, who was lingering intoxicated. She said that she was born and bred in this ancient house. Wang asked if she still remembered the corbel, she replied, “Of course, but it’s more beautiful than I remember”. When asked how she felt, she shook her head silently, deep in meditation. Wang said, “Maybe she was savoring the smoke from the kitchen, or her mother’s lullaby.” Looking at a painting, Zhou Huoliang from Songyang county said excitedly, “I grew up with this corbel. Seeing it appear in the painting, I am so happy that more people can get to know these treasures in Lishui!”

As time goes by, Wang Kaiming’s love for corbels is getting intensified. At present, he is working on three things. First, he will apply for the 2022 Project for Awarding Literary and Artistic Works and Talents in Lishui. Second, he intends to publish a book of his 105 corbel paintings, and third, he wants to hold an exhibition tour in Zhejiang, hoping to arouse more interest,understanding and love for corbels. Meanwhile, he called for all sectors of society to attach greater importance to the protection,repair and discovery of corbels so as to promote the spirit of craftsmanship and corbel culture.