天下何人画竹枝，金阊门里瓣莲居。

　　三竿两节风和雨，未解平生折腰支。

　　这是好多年前我作客吴门，在瓣莲巷访蒋风白先生，在他的寓所看蒋老的大作时有感而写的一首诗。那次，我们在细雨中一起游了用直的保圣寺，观赏了甪的名迹杨惠之的泥塑，还观看了诗人陆角蒙的斗鸭池。在细雨霏霏中，我们途经了石湖、横塘，但是无论是范石湖还是陈圆圆都已化为陈迹，只留下一点好古者的惆怅了。

　　回到家里，灯下一边茗话，一边看蒋老的画。蒋老喜画四君子，而尤擅兰竹。兰竹本是中国画的老题材，画史上擅画兰竹的可以数出一大排名字。在清代最负盛名的大概可推石涛，而实际上与他同时而稍前的八大，较后的李方膺也都擅画兰竹‘;而与李方膺同时的郑板桥却独以兰竹鸣后世，以至于后来的人论兰竹只知道有郑板桥了。近世的画家中，吴昌硕、蒲作英、符铁年、白蕉、陈定山、萧龙士也是画兰竹的名家。当代画坛名家朱屺瞻老先生画竹，如狂飚突起，风雨夜惊，又如铁骑奔腾，金戈齐鸣。其笔挟风雷、神参造化、气吞六合的气概，我以为当代难有其匹;有之，我以为只有蛰居吴门的蒋风白先生了。

　　我曾与蒋老的弟子辈说过，世人心目中只知道郑板桥的画竹可贵，我却以为蒋老的兰和竹都超过了郑板桥。

　　清代的画竹的大家中，我最推重石涛，以其得自然之理，一任天籁，无定式，无俗笔。李方膺的风竹，写胸中逸气，一以神行，然而已是承文人画竹的先路。他意胜于笔，意在笔先，后来的吴昌硕则更加发扬之，可以说是意远于笔了。以上诸家，在清代的画坛上，都应是高标独树。至于郑板桥，自是劲风临节，异军突起，蔚然大家。然而仔细评量，总觉其画有定式，笔有定势，方之石涛之变化莫测，笔随意转，意与物迁，一任自然，就大不一样了。

　　风白先生的兰竹，鄙见以为方之板桥而有余，方之石涛犹未足，或者说恰在两者之间，论形，则板桥居多，而又有所变化;论神，则石涛居多而又有所涵藏。故我以为风白先生的兰竹，其清在骨，其秀在神，其韵在墨，其雅在笔。在此清、秀、韵、雅，自然是名家笔墨，不同反响，自足不朽了。

　　风白先生不但是画兰竹的专家，而且兼擅翎毛花卉和山水人物。风白先生的翎毛，不论是八哥、腊嘴、苍鹰、麻雀等等，都能栩栩如生，形神兼备。

　　中国画的难度，用笔是其一端。用笔不准确，则想象也就不准确、不生动。而最难的是下笔就准，不能修补涂改，真正是需要“下笔如有神”，才能见笔墨的峻利，才能达到飘逸流畅和书卷气。风白先生的翎毛确能达到这个境界。

　　风白先生的山水也是造诣极高的，我非常欣赏他画的《踏雪寻梅》，虽然这还是蒋老早年的作品，但已见其笔墨的风采和功力了，无怪乎这幅画上有卢前、梁实秋、张充和等名家的题诗。昔年汪东先生还曾为风白先生的画展写序，称他的画“工而兼逸，形神具似”，这是最精到的见解，也是最准确的评价。

　　风白先生还擅长画梅花。近世画梅，吴缶翁自是大家，并世画梅者，无不受其风靡。但风白先生却另辟溪径，结构布图，一反缶翁结习。风白先生专以虬枝屈曲，以写梅之傲寒清奇，所以在缶老之外，画梅又得一绝品。

　　风白先生的书法，功力甚深，颇得潘天寿先生的遗意，所以，在他画上的题句落款，都能与书面相衬托，收到相得益彰之效。加之，风白先生对印章、印泥亦甚讲究，而于作品的出手更严，因之，每一幅成，必定是书法题跋画面印章四者相互衬托，相映成趣，成为一幅完美的艺术品。

　　风白先生又富收藏，精于鉴赏，他日日与许多古人古迹相对，久之，自然而然地心与古会，笔有灵逸之气了。

　　我与风白先生游，屈指垂二十年，每过吴门，必造高居。而风白先生谦谦君子，暖暖春云，每论画，必言已之不足，而羡诸公之长，如此胸怀，可师可风，岂品画竹而解心虚，画兰而挹清芬乎?

　　然而风白先生实以君子之情操，画四君子之高风，是以人画同化，人笔双清矣!

　　质之当世之知者，其然乎?其不然乎!

　　I made a home call on Mr. Jiang Fengbai many years ago. We toured the Baosheng Temple and historic sites if Yang Huizhi’s clay sculptures and Gameduck Pool of poet Lu Guimeng in drizzle. It made both of us, who are past-time meditators, disconsolate when we walked together along the places of historic interest.

　　While sipping tea at my home I delighted in Mr. Jiang’s paintings. Mr. Jiang is good at drawing four things, especially bamboo and orchid. Bamboo has become one of subjects in many painters’ brushes. In the Qing Dynasty Shi Tao was the most famous painter in drawing bamboo. Then, painter Li Fangying was also very good at drawing bamboo. But Zheng Banqiao living in the sametimes with Li Fangying is known among most of the Chinese people for generations for his bamboo paintings. Among other bamboo painters in modern times are Wu Changshuo, Pu Zuoying, Fu Tienian, Bai Jiao, Chen Dingshan and Xiao Longshi. Mr. Zhu Qizhan, 106, is the only one, as I know in our time, good at drawing bamboo. Mr. Zhu’s bamboo paintings look like sudden hurricane and night wind and rain as well as ten thousand galloping horses in fighting battles. Is there anyone like Mr. Zhu good at drawing bamboo. Yes, Mr. Jiang Fengbai is the only one. Mr. Jiang is 82 years old now, he is certainly much younger than Mr. Zhu. But as an old Chinese saying goes “A man seldom lives to be seventy years old.” Mr. Jiang is certainly aged with his brushes.

　　People know that Zheng Banqiao is the only one good at drawing bamboo. But in my view Mr. Jiang is much better than Mr. Zheng both in drawing bamboo and orchid.

　　Shi Tao in the Qing Dynasty is the most outstanding painter in drawing bamboo in my view. Because he knew well the nature of bamboo. He drew any bamboo only in his own way. Li Fangying’s “bamboo in wind” describes his leisure mind and something similar to those scholars in drawing bamboo. When analizing and judging carefully Zheng Banqiao’s bamboo paintings, you may find the pattern in his works and einstellung in his brushed. But Shi Tao’s brushes are changeable in drawing bamboo naturally.

　　Mr. Jiang is better than Mr. Zheng, but not as good as Shi Tao in drawing bamboo and orchid show delicate in character, pretty in life-like, charm in ink and elegant in his brushes. So he is a master painter in drawing bamboo and orchid.

　　Mr. Jiang is good not only at drawing bamboo and orchid, but also at drawing birds, flowers, mountains and water as well as figures. He has made lots of lifelike works about myna, hawfinch, goshawk, duck, and sparrow etc.

　　One of the most difficulties in Chinese paintings is to know how to use brushes. Otherwise, one can not make vivid and natural paintings. The most difficult is to know how to make the first touch, because one can not alter in his works. You make a drawing just like an angel. That’s the way of a master painter like Mr. Jiang Fengbai.

　　Mr. Jiang is also good at drawing mountains and plum blossom. But Mr. Wu Fouweng is the most outstanding painter in drawing plum blossom in modern times in China. Most painters have been affected by Mr. Wu in drawing plum blossom. But Mr. Jiang has found his own way in drawing plum blossom.

　　Mr. Jiang has a remarkable workmanship in calligraphy and is particular to his seal and inkpad. His perfect art works are shown with four things: calligraphy, postcription, seal and painting.

　　Mr. Jiang has collected lots of paintings and is a connoisseur as well. He spends most of his time in reading ancient paintings and calligraphies. That’s the reason he is a master painter in drawing bamboo and orchid as well as other things.

　　The last tour Mr. Jiang and I made together are 20 years ago. But now whenever passing by Mr. Jiang’s House I would like to make a home call on Mr. Jiang’s. He is always modest and a gentleman.

　　(中国艺术研究院副院长 冯 其庸)