屋漏痕之美: The Beauty of Water Stains on the Wall

‎Water Stains on the Wall is Mr. Lin Hwai-Min's fourth piece inspired by the aesthetics, spirit, beauty and philosophy behind the art of Chinese calligraphy and writing (after the breathtaking Cursive Trilogy: Cursive, Cursive II and Mad Cursive). Inhabiting a rather different sphere—"air" (clouds were his original source of inspiration in the creative process of Water Stains on the Wall, and images of clouds are used lavishly and beautifully in the stage design of this piece), for me, Water Stains on the Wall is perfection, transcendence, magnificence, the purest form of poetry and consciousness. I think I might be even more in love with it than with Moon Water, which, up until now, is my favourite piece in Mr. Lin Hwai-Min's oeuvre and what started my profound love affair with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre...

It was a magical evening, when I saw ethereal yet exquisitely powerful swans gliding in space with perfectly controlled 氣 ("chi" or "prana"). The dancers' breathing was as beautiful as a calligraphic work, as the movements and music themselves...

水痕 夏雲 飛鳥與驚蛇

唐朝，代宗大曆7年，西元772年，狂草大師懷素，在洛陽拜謁書法界的老前輩顏真卿。

顏真卿問他，對書法有什麼見解。

懷素說，他觀察到夏天的雲彩變化萬千，有如峻奇的山峰，經常揣摩學習，寫起字來「其痛快處如飛鳥出林，驚蛇入草，又遇坼壁之路，一一自然。」

顏真卿問：「何如屋漏痕？」

據說，懷素欣然起座，握住顏真卿的手說：「得之矣。」

傳說的另一個版本說，35歲的「狂僧」懷素激動地抱住顏真卿的腳，吼道：「賊！」

《屋漏痕》是滲入牆壁的雨水，逐漸在壁上浮現的痕跡。

也有人說，《屋漏痕》是穿透窗戶或屋舍裂縫，投到房裡的斑剝日光。

這個書法史上的軼事讓我著迷。水痕，漏光，乃至懷素提到的夏雲，飛鳥，驚蛇，都是大自然的狀態。

醞釀多年，我決定以《屋漏痕》為題編舞，看看自己能不能觸及那「一一自然」的境界。

文／林懷民 (雲門舞集創辦人暨藝術總監)

「行草三部曲」之後，林懷民再與古代書魂邂逅，打造奇幻山水《屋漏痕》。

雲門舞作《九歌》的荷花、《流浪者之歌》的黃金稻米、《水月》的流水、《花語》飄舞的粉色花瓣，是林懷民的大自然物語，《屋漏痕》再以自然為素材，移山引水進劇場。

傾斜8度的白色舞台，雲影飄移，舞者是水墨精靈，是身手矯健的俠客，雲裡雲外飛騰，飄忽如夏天的雲，虛靈如白壁上的水痕，雲峰霧海處舞影躍動，用身體繪出一幅奇幻壯麗的潑墨山水，在陡峭如山的斜坡上。

*{此段轉載自雲門舞集官網; images and the above paragraph: via Cloud Gate's official website of Water Stains on the Wall.}

Water Stains on the Wall rehearsal (see also here), and choreographer/ artistic director Lin Hwai-Min talks about this piece.

台北天空日落日岀屋漏痕
Water stains on the wall, Taipei skies at dusk & dawn...