│撰文───龔卓軍│翻譯───黃暉峻
2015年的3月底到4月上旬，臺南藝術公社的工作團隊，與府城的老畫師潘麗水有了一次奇妙的遭逢。
我們首先在3月21日與28日在水交社聆聽了油畫與彩繪修復師蔡舜任的演講。這位蔣勳的學生，曾進入義大利烏菲茲美術館（Galleria degli Uffizi），穿越時空，修復過喬托（Giotto di Bondone）畫作的修復師。回臺後他參與過北港朝天宮、彰化老畫師柯煥彰門神彩繪、臺南佳里黃氏崇榮堂的陳玉峰濕壁畫的修復工作。4月1日我們的訪問團隊進入到他的工作室，工作室裡正進行著潘麗水門神彩繪修復。然後，他又領著我們到八吉境關帝廳修復計畫的工作現場，在燠熱的廟宇主樑頂部，示範說明各種清洗溶劑與建築樑柱彩繪修復的過程。
不過，讓我印象最深刻的，還是被蔡舜任當作藝術品在修復的潘麗水四十多年前的門神。透過科學的鑑定工作，確定潘麗水的底稿，刮除不當保護的膠質與重繪的部分後，清洗時，還判斷出在日治時期即已入選過臺灣美術展覽會、日治末期因鋤佛和寺廟改正運動而不得不從事電影看板彩繪工作的潘麗水，有很好的西畫技巧。他處理墨線與皺褶時會佈下陰影的筆法，鬍鬚、色彩與金箔的交錯疊韻，炯炯有神的四顧眼與手掌手腕的鮮活握姿，都在修復師的努力下重新獲得生命。
4月2日的午後，就在我們要訪問專研府城彩繪美術史的蕭瓊瑞教授前一天，我因為趕赴「絕對空間」畫廊時走錯路，誤打誤撞，彷彿不小心穿越了時空，走到了沙淘宮空間整建的現場。當天，主其事者莊先生非常客氣，告訴我這間宮廟的歷史。我突然注意到整建的現場牆壁壁堵，有許多黑色花岡岩的石刻畫，剛好翻閱了手邊帶來蕭瓊瑞教授所著《豐美．彩繪．潘麗水》一書第一百五十二頁，驚見牆上的《劉聖者》，正是潘麗水在1978年沙淘宮整修時的圖稿作品。正因為這張圖版，苦於找不到相關拆卸技術的莊先生，就邀請我一起思考如何保存牆上的這些作品。
非常巧合的是，4月2日下午，我們在訪問蕭瓊瑞老師時，他很大方地送給我們《丹青廟筆：府城傳統畫師潘麗水作品集》這本1996年出版的畫冊，裡面詳實記錄了潘麗水作品普查的成果。翻開這本畫冊的第四十五頁，我查到沙淘宮的石刻畫，據書上統計有四十九幅之多，雖然「這類畫作大多是拿潘麗水已繪製好之畫稿，交由石雕師照稿臨摹刻製而成的」，但是，這可能是臺南宮廟中保有潘麗水的石刻畫最多的一間宮廟。於是，在當天訪問完之後，與臺南藝術公社的朋友經過一番討論，我們決定先用拓印的方式留下這些石刻的痕跡，再去思考有沒有確切技法加以切割保存的可能。
依據《雲山麗水：府城傳統畫師潘麗水作品之研究》一書的調查記載，臺南市宮廟的壁堵石刻，以沙淘宮為大宗，經過我們實地訪查計算，若包含潘麗水墨畫稿所成以外的其他壁堵，總共有六十幅，分列空間兩側壁面，估計為1978年整修時所作。
經過了三十七年，因為地勢低漥，遇雨動輒淹水，沙淘宮為將地基墊高，遂由莊先生主持修茸。我因為走錯巷子，在改建現場遇見了莊先生，以書上記載詢問相談之下，他引我注意到牆面上石刻壁堵的優雅線條，尤其是「四聖者」這四面壁堵，特別引人注目。依據臺灣宮廟三十六官將的三十六員咒語中，有所謂：「高龍興聖併天罡，張蕭劉連鎮四方。中壇哪吒李太子，統領天兵展神通。」指出了張蕭劉連四位聖者鎮守四方角色，與中壇元帥、哪吒李太子統領天兵的角色。關於張聖者，則有「赤腳修行行正法，兜蛇妙相顯威靈。」顯現在壁堵上，正是赤足兜蛇的張聖者形象，其餘三位聖者，亦依此描繪衪們赤足兜蛇、持劍伏魔斬妖的動態感，在此，蛇形的飄逸與延伸的吐信，既強化又呼應了潘麗水一般門神彩繪中環形衣帶的皺褶位置，顯現了某種巴洛克式的邊飾翻飛動感，相較其他廟畫或木刻的四聖者形象，平面上靈動的多重上下擺線條配置，反而使四聖者具有凌空而行的力度與趣味。這是在六十幅壁堵中，不可忽略的系列形象。
在四月天的艷陽下，臺南藝術公社的成員們，加上召募的眾多志工約十五人左右，早早出發，在清晨六點左右，先在廟口集合，坐在口碑遠揚的菜粽攤吃了菜粽，喝了湯，一直進行拓印工作到上午十點左右，太陽當頭為止。剛開始我們嘗試墨拓，後因種種問題，改為碳精筆拓印，大約前後花了四個工作天，直到月底，才把六十幅壁堵一一拓在棉紙上，希望藉由這種方式，保存潘麗水的畫稿圖像，也包含牆上其他的各色書法、壁畫、樑堵石刻。也許是太子爺與我們的誠心有了感應，讓我們有了這一次奇特的歷史交遇，亦有機會代廟方保存了幾片拆卸下來的石板，但是，四聖者的靈動形象，彷彿銘刻並置了往返於沙淘宮進行拓印的記憶，具有一股難以磨滅的力量。
Making Rubbings:
A Meeting with Li-shui Pan in Shatao Temple
─── Arts Commons Tainan
─── Jow-jiun Gong Translated by Hui-jun Huang
rom late March to early April in 2015, the work team of Arts Commons Tainan had a wonderful encounter with Li-shui Pan, a legendary artist of Tainan.
First, we had attended Shun-jen Tsai’s lectures on oil painting and art restoration in Shuijiaoshe on March 21 and 28. Tsai, a student of Xun Jiang, was the Taiwanese art restorer that had worked in Galleria degil Uffizi in Italy for Giotto di Bondone’s works. After returning to Taiwan, Tsai had also participated in various restoration projects, including Chao-Tian Temple of Beigang, Huan-zhang Ke’s door god paintings in Changhua, and Yu-feng Chen’s frescoes at the Huang Family Ancestral Shrine in Jiali, Tainan. On April 1, we visited his studio where he was working on restoration of Li-shui Pan’s door god paintings. He led us to Guan Di Temple in Bajijing, his another restoration project, and explained about various cleaning solvents and processes of restoring paintings on pillars to us on the main beam, where surely was sultry.
Yet, what impressed me the most was still those Pan’s door god paintings, which was made more than forty years ago. Tsai treated those paintings as artworks in the restoration. He used scientific methods to identify Pan’s original designs, while removing inappropriate protection of gum and later added drawing parts. When cleaning, he found that Li-shui Pan, who was elected to exhibit his works in Taiwan Art Exhibition by the Japanese government and later was forced to paint movie billboards to earn a living due to the government’s anti-Buddhism and temple policies in the end of Japanese period, really had excellent skills in Western drawing. With the restoration, Pan’s techniques and skills in his works, such as shadows cast in lines and folds, beautifully crossed colors, gold leaves and hair, vigorous eyes, and vivid holding hands, were being revived via the restorer’s efforts.
It was the afternoon of April 2, the day before we interviewed with Professor Chong-ray Hsiao, who was an expert on history of Tainan paintings. I was threading the way to Absolute Space for the Arts, but went to a wrong direction. I was just like going through a time travel and accidentally arrived at a restoration work site at Shatao Temple. Mr. Chuang, the main organizer of the restoration project, was very friendly and kind to tell me the history of the temple. Suddenly, I noticed that on walls of the site were many pieces of carved black granite. I checked Richness, Paintings, Li-shui Pan by Professor Hsiao I brought with me, and surprisingly found at page 152 that one of those carving pieces of Saint Liu was designed by Li-shui Pan in 1978 for Shatao Temple’s renewal. The piece was also what worried Mr. Chuang much because he could not find a way to restore it. Therefore, he asked me to join him in figuring out how to well preserve these art pieces on the walls.
When we had an interview with Chong-ray Hsiao in the afternoon of April 2, he generously gave us Dan Qing Miao Bi: Works of Li-shui Pan, A Traditional Artist of Tainan, which was published in 1996. In this collection of Li-shui Pan’s works, I found the carving pieces in Shatao Temple at page 45, and the book indicated that forty-nine pieces by Pan were in the temple. Although, “these pieces were made by other stone carvers with Pan’s existing drawings,” Shatao Temple was still possible to have the greatest amount of Pan’s stone carving works in Tainan. After the interview, we had a discussion with members of Arts Commons Tainan, and decided to restore the carvings first by rubbing before finding a way to correctly cut it down completely in the future.
According to Yun Shan Li Shui: A Research on Works of Li-shui Pan, A Traditional Artist of Tainan, Shatao Temple had the most stone carving works in Tainan City. We actually counted on the wall at both sides of the temple, and found in total there were sixty carving pieces, including Pan’s designs and other ones’ works. They were estimated to be made in 1978 when the temple was renewed.
In these thirty-seven years, the temple had often encountered flood issues because it was in the lowland and decided to raise the foundation. The rework was organized by Mr. Chuang, whom I met because I mistaken the path. With information of books I brought with me, I discussed with Chuang and he pointed me those elegant lines on stone carvings on the wall. Pieces of “Four Saints” were the most impressive. According to the poems of thirty-six gods of Taiwanese temples, “With dragons, saints and gods, the four directions are guarded by Chang, Hsiao, Liu and Lian. The prince god Nezha leads celestial warriors to show his almighty.” It pointed out the guarding duty of the four saints of Chang, Hsiao, Liu and Lian, and Nezha was the leader of celestial warriors. In those poems, it also described Saint Chang as “A walker with bare foots and righteous behaviors wears a snake to show his power.” On the wall, Saint Chang was also portrayed as a god with bare foots and a snake; other three saints were also drawn as dynamic warriors with bare foots, snakes and their weapons to smite devils. From those graceful outlines with their long tongues out, one could see that those snakes were reflecting girdles on other paintings of door gods by Li-shui Pan with a stronger touch. It greatly showed dynamic traits of Baroque ornamental edging. Compared with drawn or wooden four saint works in other temples, Pan’s pieces had lively lines spread out to make those flying saints look vivid and energetic. Such excellent artworks were impossible to be overlooked in those sixty carving pieces.
Under the sun in April, members of Arts Commons Tainan and about fifteen volunteer workers gathered at the entrance of Shatao temple. At about six in the morning, we had nice peanut rice dumplings and soup first in a nearby famous rice dumpling stand, then started our rubbing works until ten in the morning with the sun being blazing. At first, we tried to use ink, but later changed to charcoal pencils due to many issues we had encountered. It had taken us about four days, until the end of the month, to copy those sixty carvings on cotton paper by using the rubbing method. Via this way, we wanted to well preserve drawings of Li-shui Pan and other calligraphy, mural, stone carving works on the wall and pillars. Maybe we were sincere enough to be directed by Nezha himself to have this surprising and wonderful experience to meet our own history. We also had an opportunity to store some stone carvings on behalf of the temple with us. Yet, going through all of this, the holy and vigorous images of four saints seemed to deep root in this memory of making rubbing works in Shatao Temple. It was indeed a great power that could hardly be subdued by other things.