啟功是清雍正皇帝的第九代孫，家學(xué)淵源。他的詩、書、畫有“三絕”之稱，享譽(yù)國內(nèi)外；他在文物鑒賞、鑒定上獨(dú)具慧眼；他對中國文學(xué)史、中國美術(shù)史、中國歷代散文、古詩詞等教學(xué)與研究上下過苦功，自出機(jī)杼為學(xué)人垂范；為獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)后學(xué)他無償捐出許多珍貴字畫，創(chuàng)立以恩師命名的“勵(lì)耘獎(jiǎng)學(xué)助學(xué)金”……他對國家民族、對九三學(xué)社的貢獻(xiàn)自有定評，是“貴胄天潢”之后中自食其力、非同尋常的人才?？墒亲钭尯筝吀心畹模瑓s是他與朋友們純真如水的君子之交。

結(jié)緣臺靜農(nóng)

當(dāng)年，輔仁大學(xué)校長陳垣（字援）先生慧眼識人，聘請啟功在輔仁大學(xué)附中任國文教師。有人持陳腐謬見，認(rèn)為“中學(xué)畢業(yè)者教中學(xué)，學(xué)歷不夠”，然援先生見啟功不但能教中學(xué)而且能勝任大學(xué)的國文，由此，他力排眾議，竟把啟功從中學(xué)部調(diào)到了大學(xué)部。其時(shí)，臺靜農(nóng)（字簡伯）是輔仁大學(xué)的副教授和援先生的秘書，也是五四新文學(xué)運(yùn)動(dòng)未名社的六成員之一，與魯迅先生相交相知甚深。啟功來到大學(xué)部后，臺靜農(nóng)見他學(xué)識淵博，為人和藹，當(dāng)即視為知己。

他們倆一為時(shí)代驍將，一為清室嫡傳；一為科班出身，一為私塾熏陶；秉性相投，只認(rèn)實(shí)學(xué)；不媚世俗，只信真義；不屑功名，只好書藝，而且都深抱民主平等思想，因而相處極為親密。

教書之余啟功喜歡到臺靜農(nóng)處品茗閑聊，臺靜農(nóng)也樂于隨啟功到清室書畫大家的府上切磋書藝。當(dāng)時(shí)啟功受宗老溥雪齋之教，正在臨摹趙松雪的字，但當(dāng)臺靜農(nóng)說及王夢樓之字“側(cè)媚、少筋骨，不可取”之后，啟功似乎也晤到趙松雪的字同出一源，難逃針砭，于是他決意改弦更張，另辟蹊徑練就自成一體的書法。

1934年12月的—天，臺靜農(nóng)突然被國民黨憲兵三團(tuán)抓走。這是臺靜農(nóng)第三次被捕。啟功完全清楚臺靜農(nóng)是為參加進(jìn)步活動(dòng)而被捕的，心里又擔(dān)心又敬佩。不久臺靜農(nóng)由援先生保釋出監(jiān)，下午三四點(diǎn)鐘啟功去看臺靜農(nóng)。啟功見他正在獨(dú)飲，便問：“你怎么這時(shí)候喝酒了？”“麻醉?！迸_靜農(nóng)淡然回答，—如平常。他慢慢喝著酒，說他將攜眷南下。

1946年，臺靜農(nóng)應(yīng)許壽裳先生之邀，赴臺灣大學(xué)中文系任教授。他以“歇腳”命名書齋，以寄寓并無久居之意。怎料時(shí)局變幻，兩岸隔絕，此時(shí)他只好請張大千揮筆，把書齋易名“龍坡丈室”，專心執(zhí)教。此后由于“每感郁結(jié)，意不能靜”，故酒也越喝越烈，越喝越多，常常用碗。他稱自己的養(yǎng)生之道是“不養(yǎng)生而壽，處濁世亦仙”。啟功留在大陸，歷經(jīng)政治風(fēng)浪而初衷不改，以教書為業(yè)，“無心圓月自從容”。自從上世紀(jì)80年代末兩岸交往露出曙光后，啟功便托朋友帶去自己的—些作品，臺靜農(nóng)也托人捎回了手卷。其中一卷錄的是蘇東坡貶謫黃州后寫的詩，以此寄托寥落、荒涼的心境和以求解脫的自嘲。啟功得之，品字品詩，如嚼橄欖。

1990年春節(jié)，臺靜農(nóng)被確診患上食道癌。這年春天他托人帶來了他的三本書，里面的題款都親筆寫著“永念”二字。啟功拿著書，目睹上面筆跡顫抖、蒼郁頓挫的題款，三本書內(nèi)就像系著三塊石頭，沉甸甸地直墜在心底。這年初夏啟功先生赴港訪問，他想借此機(jī)會與靜農(nóng)促膝敘舊，—償夙愿?？墒桥_靜農(nóng)已經(jīng)步履維艱，難離臥榻，無法來港；而啟功雖然走動(dòng)尚好，但因人為的政治阻隔，亦無法往臺看望病中的摯友。

“你趕快過來吧!不然見不著了?！焙{那邊，臺靜農(nóng)先生躺在病床上對著電話呼喚，聲音出奇洪亮，然愴痛至深。“我過不來，臺灣方面不讓來。現(xiàn)在情況算是好一點(diǎn)了，可以打電話了，我們等機(jī)會再見面”。海峽這邊，啟功寬慰著、祈愿著。他讓人把他拿著話筒與靜農(nóng)先生通話的情景拍下來，放進(jìn)為慶祝臺靜農(nóng)90壽辰并記錄兩位大家人品、書品、畫品的《臺靜農(nóng)·啟功專號》里，借此留下了最有意義的記錄?？上Ｌ栁闯霭?，靜農(nóng)先生已經(jīng)辭世。于是啟功囑咐，把融著墨香的《專號》放進(jìn)臺靜農(nóng)的棺木里，借此承載心意、承載綿長的舊雨因緣。啟功說：“我們還是在一起了?！?/p>

相知鐘敬文

啟功和鐘敬文是北京師范大學(xué)小紅樓的鄰居。他們—個(gè)住在6棟，一個(gè)住在2棟，前后樓間不過十余米。他們逾半世紀(jì)交往，或小坐，或長聊，平常如自家人。

啟功比鐘先生年少10歲，與鐘先生的藹然端肅相比，啟功似乎更多一份頑皮和幽默。他們解放之初就同在中文系任教授，1957年啟功和鐘敬文夫婦在反右中亦都被劃為右派，發(fā)配“勞動(dòng)改造”。鐘先生年紀(jì)大，干重活吃力，有時(shí)就會生氣，而啟功年輕些，脾氣好，總是樂呵呵地幫鐘先生夫婦完成任務(wù)，于是患難中三人結(jié)成了別有滋味的“互助組”?！拔母铩睍r(shí)，造反派批判他們是“反動(dòng)學(xué)術(shù)權(quán)威”。鐘先生說“我權(quán)威有一點(diǎn)，但不反動(dòng)”；啟功卻說“我反動(dòng)有余，權(quán)威不足”，兩人對大批判的藐視，可謂異曲同工。

鐘先生是國際學(xué)界稱譽(yù)的“中國民俗學(xué)之父”；潤澤于詩書傳家的啟功是蜚聲世界的“中華文化菁英”，但兩位老人都不看重這些，啟功特別討厭“國學(xué)大師”之類的稱謂。平日里他們各自勤勉耕耘著自己的“一畝三分地”，空暇時(shí)互相串門，談天論地相得益彰。兩老尤其推崇人品第一、學(xué)問次之的育人標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，對學(xué)生的修身有著嚴(yán)格的要求，教學(xué)中實(shí)行因材施教原則，完全摒棄“一山難藏二虎”的陋俗。

有一次鐘先生認(rèn)真地對啟功說：“我的字還不行，就拜你為師吧?！眴⒐πξ溃骸拔业乃街荒芙棠愕膶W(xué)生?！彼麄z的舊體詩都做得好，詩書交流習(xí)以為常，直言不諱，鐘先生更是稱啟功為他的“—字師”、“二字師”。有一回，年過九五的鐘先生向啟功建議說：“咱們兩人開個(gè)課，就叫‘學(xué)舊詩’，你干不干？”啟功說：“我不干。”鐘先生問：“為什么？”啟功說：“俗話講‘富于千篇，窮于一字’，現(xiàn)在的學(xué)生平仄都不知，咱們得費(fèi)多大勁?。　眴⒐︾娤壬f，我的熱情不如你。鐘敬文百歲辭世，所有的桂冠榮銜中，鐘先生子女認(rèn)為最貼切是啟功先生所概括的“人民的學(xué)者”五個(gè)字，因?yàn)殓娤壬鞘箤W(xué)術(shù)平民化的倡導(dǎo)者和領(lǐng)路人。

趣交黃苗子

與臺靜農(nóng)、鐘敬文都年長啟功10歲不同，黃苗子比啟功小不到l歲，僅8個(gè)月。兩人相似的地方很多，都是博大精深又謙和諧趣、不落塵俗的人。探訪他們，最喜歡是看他們無拘束暢笑——眉心舒展，嘴巴大咧，只見牙齒不見眼睛，可掬的憨態(tài)里，仿佛儲藏著不盡的智慧和寬容。哥倆般的兩老，有長達(dá)半世紀(jì)之誼。

苗子生于書香門第，早年就讀于香港中華中學(xué)，八歲學(xué)書畫，師從鄧爾雅先生，幾十年不懈努力，被譽(yù)為書畫家、美術(shù)史家、美術(shù)評論家、作家。但他說：“我是個(gè)沒正經(jīng)的人，20多歲在繪畫藝術(shù)方面偏愛漫畫，三十多歲才從漫畫圈中下崗；書法呢，一開頭就喜歡上怪怪的鄭板橋體；做詩喜歡打油，詩、書、畫，都傾向歪門斜道一路。”他認(rèn)為：像錢鐘書、啟功這些人真正在某個(gè)方面取得成就，才能算家，自己和妻子郁風(fēng)只是“行走在藝術(shù)世界里的小票友”，與啟功稱自己“無家可成”實(shí)是異曲同工。

啟功說：“寫字不用童子功?！泵缱右宰约簽槔C明這是很有說服力的。他說：“有童子功的人，大了也不一定寫得好；沒有童子功的人，中老年后練字也有成功的，自己寫字也是近三十年成體。不要把寫字看得太神秘。關(guān)鍵是要不斷學(xué)習(xí)，互相研究和自己琢磨?！弊鳛闀嫶蠹?，兩人的書畫常常被假冒。

有人曾問啟先生，潘家園賣的字孰真孰假，啟功說，別管了，反正寫得壞的都是我的，寫得好的都是人家的。苗子也是同樣的態(tài)度，管不過來嘛，你生氣也沒用，不了了之也罷。藝術(shù)本來就是一種心靈游戲，自己鬧著玩之余，愛好此道的人打個(gè)哈哈，也就滿足了。

啟功先生稱自己是“大熊貓”，苗子則描述自己“從外形到內(nèi)在，都很矮小，這輩子沒有‘日高千丈’的希望了”。有一次，啟功先生為苗子先生夫婦的畫展題額時(shí)，署上“啟功敬題”。苗子即電話抗議，說不應(yīng)該用“敬”字。啟老樂呵呵道：“不不不，我改名‘啟恭敬’了?！痹溨C間充滿了相知之趣。

有人給啟功寫信，信封上自以為是地寫“愛新覺羅·啟功”收，啟先生屢勸不止，索性注明“查無此人，請退回”；苗子先生呢，他給別人信如果署名“黃苗子”，常常會被人偷走，為免誤事，他索性參照兒子的名字給自己也編上一個(gè)，以應(yīng)付不良之人。

他們雖然功成名就，卻嚴(yán)于律己。啟先生在常用的方硯上刻著“堅(jiān)凈”二字，取的是“一拳之石取其堅(jiān)，一勺之水取其凈”之意，他的書齋名為“堅(jiān)凈居”，號為“堅(jiān)凈翁”，其內(nèi)涵是說柔中有剛，濁流中葆有清流之意。苗子先生深為佩服。對于啟功先生駕鶴西行，苗子先生懷念地說：“大多數(shù)人只知道啟先生是一位著名書法家，事實(shí)上，他的成就遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不止于書法。他在古字畫鑒定、古典文獻(xiàn)學(xué)以及詩詞研究方面，都保存著大量成果和學(xué)識，在中國傳統(tǒng)文化的許多領(lǐng)域，隨著啟功的離去，將成為絕學(xué)?！彼爬▎⒐Φ囊簧牵航虝惠呑?、做學(xué)問一輩子、詩書畫一輩子。

Qigong and His Three Friends

By Fang Xiaoning

A ninth-generation great grandson of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)， Qigong (1912-2005) came from a family of scholars. He enjoyed an enormous reputation of being accomplished in poetry， calligraphy and painting both at home and abroad. His contributions to the country’s cultural undertakings are highly recognized and admired. To some people， however， his friendship with three scholars sheds light on the precious aspect of his personality.

Qigong and Tai Jingnong

Qigong was hired by Chen Yuan， president of Fu Jen University to teach Chinese at the middle school affiliated with the university. The employment evoked some criticism. Some people contended that Qigong was not qualified to teach at the middle school because he did not have the required educational background. President Chen decided to disregard all the dissenting views. He transferred Qigong to teach at the university. Tai Jingnong was then an associate professor at the university and also worked as a secretary for the president. Tai was a high-profile writer during the New Culture Movement in the early 20th century.

When Tai found Qigong a genial gentleman of profound knowledge of Chinese classics， the two became fast friends. Their backgrounds were in sharp contrast: Tai used to be a radical writer while Qigong came from the royal family; Tai had received formal education whereas Qigong received private education. However， the two had a great deal in common: both were scholars; both pursued truth and stayed away from conventions; both cared nothing for fame and fortune; both explored the highest realm of calligraphy; and both embraced the ideology of equality and democracy. Personal chemistry occurred between the two and a lifelong bond started.

In their spare time， Qigong loved to visit Tai and the two enjoyed chatting over a cup of tea. Tai loved to visit Qigong at Qigong family’s magnificent house and study calligraphy with Qigong together. It was at Tai’s suggestion that Qigong decided to stop imitating a style and started his own calligraphy style. The decision ushered in an excellent style which the country had never seen before.

In 1946， Tai Jingnong went to teach at the Chinese Language Department of the Taiwan University at the invitation of Xu Shoushang. Tai thought he would stay in Taiwan only for a short while， but the national situation changed and he stayed put in the island province. To fight his sinking depression， he relied more and more on alcohol. Qigong remained on the mainland and went through the political chaos. In the late 1980s when the tension across the straits began to soften and exchanges started， Qigong asked friends to take some of his artworks to Tai in Taiwan， who replied with some handwritten calligraphies. During the Spring Festival in 1990， Tai Jingnong was diagnosed with esophagus cancer. Later he sent someone to take three of his books to Qigong. Each of the books carried two characters in Tai’s handwriting on the fly page: Everlasting memory. Holding the books in the hands and viewing the laconic testimony of their lifelong friendship， Qigong felt heartbreakingly sad.

The two old friends never met again. In the summer that year， Qigong went to Hong Kong on an academic trip. He cherished the hope that Tai could come to Hong Kong， but Tai was too sick to fly. They chatted over the phone. Qigong asked someone to photograph his phone call with his friend. The photo was printed in a special album of Tai and Qigong’s artworks published in celebration of Tai’s 90th birthday. Tai did not live to see the publication. A copy was placed into the coffin of Tai.

Qigong and Zhong Jingwen

Qigong and Zhong were close neighbors on the residential quarters of the Beijing Teachers University. They knew each other for more than 50 years.

Ten years younger， Qigong had a sense of humor in contrast with Zhong who was of a genial personality but was quite serious in speech and manner. They were professors at the university in the early years of New China and， classed as “ightists”in 1957， both were condemned to reform through hard labor. Qigong often helped Zhong and his wife to complete onerous tasks. A bond grew and the three somehow organized themselves into a cooperative taskforce to complete assignments.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)， Qigong and Zhong were both denounced as counterrevolutionary academic authorities. Zhong claimed he was an authority but he was by no means counterrevolutionary while Qigong said that he might be regarded as counterrevolutionary， but he was by no means knowledgeable enough to be an authority. The two ignored the denunciation in their own ways.

Zhong was internationally recognized as the father of Chinese folklore studies while Qigong was acknowledged as a master of Chinese culture， but the two thought little of their honors. Each worked hard in pursuit of truth in respective fields. As teachers， they both adhered to an education principle of moral standing first and knowledge second.

One day， Zhong expressed his earnest wish to Qigong that he wanted to learn calligraphy from Qigong. Smiling， Qigong said he was only adequate to teach Zhong’s students. As Qigong and Zhong were both learned poets in the ancient style， they often engaged in discussions of the art of poetry. Zhong regarded Qigong as a master of “One word? meaning Qigong was so proficient in poetry that he could often suggest a key word to make a whole poem look wonderful. At 95， Zhong proposed to Qigong that the two join hands in teaching the old-style poetry to young students. Again， Qigong declined， saying that with little knowledge of tonal patterns in classical Chinese poetry， the students of today would find it impossible to master the art. Qigong later admitted to Zhong that he was less enthusiastic over the idea than Zhong. Zhong passed away at 100 with all the honors. His family believes that the “people’s scholar” suggested by Qigong， fits Zhong best， for Zhong was a pioneer and leader of a movement that advocated education for people.

Qigong and Huang Miaozi

Unlike Tai Jingnong or Zhong Jingwen， who were ten years older than Qigong， Huang is 8 months younger than Qigong. They had a lot in common， too.

An established artist， calligrapher， art historian， critic and writer， Huang thinks little of fame and fortune. Qigong said that calligraphy did not necessarily require you to start at a young age. Huang couldn’t agree more. He practiced thirty years before he established his own style， believing that many people started in their mid-ages and still became accomplished calligraphers.

Qigong took a“Het-it-be?attitude toward the fake calligraphic works in his name on an antique market in Beijing. So does Huang Miaozi.

Qigong loved to joke. So does Huang. Qigong disregarded and returned those letters， addressing him in his family’s royal surname. Huang uses a fake name to put on the envelopes so that his letters will not be intercepted by those who would pay everything to get his handwriting.

Since the two shared so much in common， no wonder their friendship lasted more than 50 years. Huang Miaozi comments on Qigong’s lifelong achievements this way: “Many people only know that Qigong was an accomplished calligrapher. In fact， Qigong achieved more than calligraphy. He was a great scholar of poetry and art authentication. In some fields， he was the only master.?(Translated by David)