貓熊之歌-羅青台北九十九度藝術中心 墨彩/陶瓷展兼畫集序


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羅  青  墨彩 / 陶瓷畫展: 貓熊之歌

The Art of Lo Ch’ing: Songs of Panda

99’ 藝術中心  99 Art Center Taipei 

Date: 2012 年 7 月 14 -29 日

Venue: 台北市敦化南路一段 259 號 5 樓

Tel: 2700-3099 Email: 99dac@99dac.com

開幕酒會: 7 月 14 日 (星期六) 下午 3:00

Reception: July 14, 3: 00 PM

連結至貓熊之歌線上畫集

 

 

貓熊:儒家君子新象徵     

羅 青/文

 

繼1961年《世界自然基金會》以熊貓為會徽,喚醒人們的生態及環境保育意識後,北京在七零年代初,也開始以活蹦亂跳的真熊貓為「親善大使」,出訪世界各國,讓瀕臨絕種的熊貓,成了溫和中國的形象商標。

此後,熊貓標誌成了全世界廣受大人小孩歡迎的寵物意象,在政治與商業上,都有過度使用的情形,時常流於膚淺平庸媚俗,甚至陷入甜膩廉價搞笑,至於其做為保育類動物的悲劇角色地位,其複雜矛盾的歷史神話特質,卻早已被人忘懷泰半。

事實上熊貓性屬孤獨宅男,一年只有在交配期間,才與雌性同居,為時一月,其他日子,多半靜靜旁山泉而飲,默默依竹林而居,獨沽一味,只啖琅竿。大似簞食瓢飲居陋巷不改其樂的孔門弟子,視竹子為正人君子的象徵,不畏霜雪,歲寒後凋。

在中國古神話中,熊貓名為貔貅,是威猛勇士,也是反戰份子。《書·周書·牧誓》有言:「武王戎車三百兩,虎賁三百人,與受戰於牧野……勖哉夫子!尚桓桓如虎如貔、如熊如羆」;《史記·五帝本記》亦言:「軒轅乃修德振兵,治五氣,撫萬民,度四方,教熊羆貔貅貙虎,以與炎帝戰於阪泉之野。」二書皆指出貔貅尚武的一面。

在其他古籍中,熊貓展現出另一種特質。東方朔神異經》說:「南方有獸,名曰齧鐵。」,指的就是熊貓。晉 郭璞注《爾雅·釋獸》提及熊貓,也說它:「似熊、小頭、痹腳、黑白駁,能舔食銅鐵及竹骨。」 清 袁枚《新齊諧初集》則記云:「房縣有貘獸,好食銅鐵而不傷人,凡民間犁鋤刀斧之類,見則涎流,食之如腐。城門上所包鐵皮,盡為所啖。」 難怪有傳說要誇稱熊貓尿,可溶解誤吞的鐵針,神妙無比。因此,在古代,熊貓又被視為和平「義獸」,稱之謂騶虞,戰時打出「騶虞旗」,便表示休戰之意。

「熊貓」 此一荒謬的現代名稱,顯示此物一進入二十世紀,就成了現代媒體的受害者。原來在抗戰時期,重慶博物館初次展出標本貓熊,下用名牌橫排現代科學資料由左至右,說明何謂「貓熊」。不料記者不察,在報上刊出照片,誤讀誤書為「熊貓」,大眾遂以訛傳訛至今,弄得大家都認為其模樣可愛似貓,便將錯就錯,以誤為正了。從此,熊貓便開始在熊與貓之間徘徊,迭遭「知感分離」、「名實不符」、「文質互駁」之苦。

自古至今,除了象徵儒家聖王賢能的神龍之外,最受畫家歡迎的瑞獸,就是龍在人世的變形—名馬,象徵勇健奮進。歷代神駿驊騮,不但常常被圖之於壁畫、絹素、綢緞、紙張之上,同時也圖刻於山石石板、銅鐵金屬之間。自唐朝以後,許多新興的吉祥動物,陸續進入畫家的筆下,問世流傳。例如鵪鶉代表平安,游魚代表有餘,猿猴代表侯爵,仙鶴代表祝賀長生不老,孔雀代表富貴榮華,洗象代表氣象一新,貓蝶代表長壽無疆,猛虎代表威武莊嚴,獅群代表師生傳承,棉羊山羊代表吉利呈祥…各有象徵,不勝枚舉。

時至二十一世紀的今日,該是讓熊貓加入吉祥瑞獸傳統的時候了,至於其象徵的作用與範圍,則可從傳統的「吉祥喜慶」、「儒家君子」、「禪家羅漢」功能,擴充至「悲劇英雄」、「野生復育」、「生態保育」、「環境保護」的範疇,甚至可以進入「社會批判」、「政治諷刺」領域,充分與當代文化社會結合。

熊貓的可愛形象,多半來自小熊貓,其中蘊含卡通式的輕鬆與幽默,娛樂全世界的觀眾而不自知。尤其以母子熊貓,組成一幅溫馨天倫家庭照,最為討喜,擄獲千萬人心,永難忘懷。

 

 

Panda, A Pensive Confucian Gentleman of our Times

By Lo Ch’ing                                 

Following the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) employing the image of panda as its logo in the early 60s in order to awaken the awareness of conservation and the conscientiousness of environmental protection, Beijing began to send real pandas touring globally as Goodwill Ambassadors in the beginning of the 70s, consequently turning the endangered species into the icon of a friendlier China.

Welcomed and beloved by children and adults alike around the world, the image of panda has become very popular and sometimes excessively propagated as to be overused both politically and commercially to the point of skin-deep gaudiness, naïve shallowness blended with cheap clown like sweetness. Its true tragic role with contradictory mythological attributions as an extinguished wildlife animal has almost completely passed into oblivion.

The truth is that the male panda who will only take and keep a female company shortly during the mating season within a period of one month is rather of a type of gentle and lonely bachelor. It often lives quietly by the meandering brooks and saunters pensively among the bamboos, its regular diet, like a genuine gentleman recluse praised by Confucius, who regarded bamboo as the proper symbol of a decent upright personality staying fresh and green against bitter and hostile weathers even in the midst of heavy snow.

In ancient Chinese mythology, panda called by the name of Pi-xio (貔貅) was both a warrior and a pacifist. It often dashed with tiger, bear and elephant in the battle field to assist generals and soldiers to defeat the invading enemies. After the war was won, comfortably and nonchalantly would it retire into the mountains eating metals or weapons for a living. It was believed that his urinate could melt needles swallowed and stuck in the throat by accident. Panda, therefore, was also addressed as Zou-yu (騶虞), the animal of righteousness in the Book of History (史記). Warriors enjoyed wearing its skin to show bravery and its image was frequently painted on the flag used as a truce token.

The somewhat ridiculous modern Chinese name of panda, Xiong-mao (熊貓), literally meaning “Bear-cat” proves the poor creature was also a helpless victim of the abuse of modern media. In the 40s during the period of world War II, a stuffed panda was for the first time displayed to the public at the Museum of Chung-qing with a caption read Moa-xiong (貓熊 literally cat-bear) and it was misread by a young journalist who published its photo by labeling it with the following two characters Xiong-mao (熊貓). Soon, the wrong and confusing title had been widely circulated and accepted and people began to address the animal Xiong-mao regardless of its correct genuine scientific name. From then on, panda has suffered a dissociation of sensibility, its name deconstructed from its nature and its form no longer the echo of its content.

Besides the mythological dragon, the symbol of sage king and cultural saint, the horse, the mundane transformation of a dragon, the symbol of bravery and enterprise, has been the most popular model animal for artists ancient and modern to depict passionately and portray devotedly on stones, bronzes and murals to begin with and later on silk, satin and paper from the ancient time to the present. After Tang dynasty, new propitious animals were added into the graphic beneficial imagery repertoire, just to name a few as examples: the crane, brushed as symbol of congratulation and immortality, the peacock royalty and richness, the quails peace and harmony, the fishes abundance and surplus, the monkey high rank marquis, the sheep and the goat lucky and auspiciousness, the elephant washing ushering fresh vision with new hope, the butterfly and the cat longevity and seniority, the tiger austerity and dignity, the lions teacher-students continuity.

Now it is time to add panda into the time-honored list of auspicious model animals with new theme, significance and concept. While the adult panda could continue to play the traditional role of a musing Confucian gentleman or a meditating Buddhist Dharma, sophisticated, idealistic and tragic, it also could acquire new roles such as a conservationist, environmentalist and wildlife protector, exercising its duty as a social critic or political commentator to reflect fully and poignantly diverse contemporary cultural concerns and problems.

As for the cute little cubs, they could play their cartoon roles with lightheartedness and good humor entertaining the world of adult and kid at once without even knowing it. Especially when mother panda and its youngsters being together, a perfect loving family picture would and will have impressed into the hearts of countless viewers of the past, present and future.

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