此集要我写一下我的身世，我的身世很简单，所以只能叫“简历”。在《大器丛书·何建国》这部集子里只用几十个字就写完了。

我很喜欢黄永玉先生画中的一段题记：“小屋三间，坐也由我，睡也由我。老婆一个，左看也是她，右看也是她”。我说这不像是黄先生的写照（恕我冒昧，黄先生是个盖房子的专家），倒像是我，所以我拿到这里借用。下面我抄一下我的那份简历：

何建国，1951年生，父系四川，母系东北，生于山西，长于北京。四方水土，集于一身。若有先天，此是惟一。初中二年，当兵三年，工人十三，隐于燕市几二十年，卖画为生，有行无市。所居门前，梨树一棵，“梨花书屋”，四字由来。树死家搬，屋名依旧。

“建国”之名，太多太俗。年过半百，已不思改。

“初中”二年，等同文盲。努力扫盲，终是无奈：“江山易改，体制难移。”

卖画为生，有名无实，画徒四壁，门可罗雀。“逼上梁山，秦琼卖马，杨志卖刀，开源不足，只节流耳。”

今日画坛，泥沙俱下，鱼虾并出，美术者少，骗术者多，你方唱罢，我登场。论余之画，切齿痛骂，欣喜若狂，兼而有之。骂焉，喜焉，有真知焉？余拭目以待焉。

抄完了才知道可不是几十个字，而是百十个字，总之不多，要想凑成一篇过万字的大简历可就使人犯难了！

还是先说我的“小屋三间”。要是按“两居室”来算的话也还是不够，必得把我用隔段隔出来的这间小厅加到一起凑成三间之数，我把我这屋的名字就如上所说，起做“梨花书屋”。

但这还不是“梨花书屋”的起始，“梨花书屋”起始在20世纪70年代末的1977年底，当时我去看房子，瞧见门前有棵梨树（这就是“所居门前，梨树一棵”），于是我就想入非非，想到春暖花开时节，有花枝伸到我屋里来。妻倒是很现实：东房一间，朝向不好，到夏天西晒，但是有树荫遮挡就比没有树荫好。于是就相中了，就搬了进去。大概是第二年的夏天，我比照我父亲装当年参加和毛主席合影照片留下来的镜框尺寸裁了一张纸，骑自行车到三里河李可染先生宅子里求题这几个字，李先生题完后觉得字写小了点，但纸只有一张，只可做罢（这就是“梨花书屋”四字由来）。现在想来，当时真傻，如果拿张大纸去……现在的字画可都是论尺卖的！

说到去李先生宅还得再说一小插曲，李先生屋里经常挂一些名人字画，他的大作《钟馗嫁妹》我在《自述》一文里评论过，此处不表。这次见到的是齐白石画的一张小山水，也就一平尺左右。“山用朱点，房用白描”，那是一种“点与线的结构”，“黑与白的对比”。我赞不绝口。李先生则介绍说：“这是用包鞋的纸画的，上面还有鞋的号码”！这大概启发了我后来的牛皮纸扇面，因为有相当一段时间我是连小纸都没有！

梨花在“梨花书屋”窗前绽放的时间并不长，大约只有一个春天是花开满枝，而且花枝真的伸到屋里来了。这以后梨树闹了病虫害，院里有一位好事者拿着锯，一小段一小段地锯，最后终于只剩下一截树桩（这时候，“树死”，家还没有搬）。这也就是我画的《梨花书屋图》里始终不见梨花的原因所在。

在这个小院里我生活的时间比较长（大约是17年），我的女儿也是生在这里。当时的情景是——白天到工厂做工（这就是“工人十三”），晚上则是写字、画画。因为体力透支，营养又跟不上，有一段时间我很怀疑自己是不是得了什么慢性病。好在迎来了“改革开放”，我的画很受在京的外国人的赏识，当时据云只要一摆上“工美服务部”的柜台就被一抢而空！但伴随“改革”而来的还有个“下岗失业”，当时的人一听到这个词都感到很恐怖。而我则迫于形式的压力又不得不辞去国有企业的工作，为了画画，我被“逼上梁山”，选择了一条在当时根本看不到希望的不归路！（这就是“卖画为生，有行无市”的开始。）

自1984年离开工厂，1986正式辞职，我靠卖画为生整整过去了22个年头，这就是“隐于燕市几二十年”。这二十多年来可谓历尽甜、酸、苦、辣五味杂陈。有“日入斗金”的时候，也有“十年不开张”的年成，这就是“卖画为生，有名无实，画徒四壁，门可罗雀”。有“秦琼卖马，杨志卖刀”的时候，而更多的时候则是“开源不足，只节流耳”的日子。我想我之所以能坚持画到今天，借用孔夫子的一句话：“知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者”，做一注解，不为过。正是这一“乐”字使我乐此不疲，乐而忘忧。有钱画，没钱也画，应该说我生下来就是块画画的料，所谓“天生我才难自弃”。所以有些怕我画出来的人也是没办法，因为我想画不出来都难！（在这里我只能说声抱歉！）

行文至此明眼人都应该看出我这里用的是“倒叙法”，再倒回到35年前我住过的“九重楼墨屋”。所以叫“九重楼”是因为我住在九层，而楼高又只有九层。那时候我刚二十出头，意气风发，不知世界上还有“困难”二字！时值“文革”中期，被下放的老头都被陆续放回，赋闲在家，我这个爱好艺术的小青年正好陪他们消遣，打发时光。我记得当时画界的名流：张正宇、张仃、黄苗子、郁风、李苦禅、李可染、蒋兆和、阿老、叶浅予、王雪涛、黄永玉、宗其香、彦涵、吴冠中、崔子范、庞薰琴、罗工柳、吴作人、李桦以及后来的袁运甫、袁运生兄弟等一大批人，我现在想也想不全，都打过交道。而这同时我又跟着阿老叔叔（当时画“黑画”的负责人，因为阿老是一位对年轻人最循循善诱的长者，故对别人我称“先生”，对阿老称“叔叔”），拿着局级介绍信逛内部书店买了很多当时在外面根本不可能看到的书。当时琉璃厂的“庆云堂”也开始对外卖书，都是解放前珂罗版线装画册。我这人花钱有个特点，那就是既能“节流”也能“一掷千金”！我当时工资一月40元，多一半是用来买书。我记得几年下来“庆云堂”已经被我买的无书可卖！人家就干脆送给我一句话：“我们的书都让你给搬走啦！”（最让我感动的是若干年后，居然还有店里的人认出我来，当然那些老掌柜的都先后死掉了。）我当时买书的选择和我现在画画的选择颇为一致，那就是：一半是西方现代，一半是中国传统。

说了以上这些，读者们就该知道我当时的营养是多么丰富了！接触的都是第一流的学者，看的都是别人看不到也不敢看的画册，再加上二十多岁正是吸收能力强的时候，你想想，我的画能不“身强体壮”吗！

如果在这众多的前辈中择出几位对我影响最大的，那就是：张正宇、张仃、黄永玉、吴冠中。这四位有别于一般的传统形画家，他们都富有开创性。我在《自述》、《美的规律》等文里对他们描写得很多，但接触最多的其实只有张正宇一人。人的眼睛往往很奇怪，我十来岁的时候最迷恋的是徐悲鸿画的奔马，当时在“和平画店”看张正宇画的猫“四四方方，顶天立地，平平均均”，甚至连胡子都左右分开好像数过的，很不以为然。但是二十几岁后就看不上徐悲鸿了，而嗜张正宇如命！这也使我后来感觉到看好画应该如品茶、饮酒、嚼橄榄，小孩是以甜为美，而大人则是苦、辣、酸。这也就是伊秉绶所云：“书如佳酒不宜甜”！而“九重楼墨屋”的匾额也是张正宇题的，它和李可染题的“梨花书屋”至今都挂在我的墙头。

沿着“九重楼墨屋”再往上推就回到了55年前我刚落生的时候，那就是：“1951年生，父系四川，母系东北，生于山西，长于北京。”按着“文革”的规矩要查“三代”，但据我所知我们家祖辈，无论父系、母系没有一个是画画的。这就要谈到“优生”，所谓：“四方水土，集于一身，若有先天，此是惟一。”在这众多的先决条件里我想谈这么几条：一是我生在山西大同，一听地名就可以使人连想到许多，“云岗石窑”是其中最有名的。但对云岗的印象我只能在我们家相册里查到——父母抱着我在大佛底下的合影。二是我父亲当时任大同矿务局的局长，而这时叶浅予恰巧带着中央美院的学生到矿上写生，接待他们的自然是我父亲。时隔二十多年后叶先生还能清楚地描述出我父亲当时的模样：“南方人，小个子，非常年轻。”但以上这两条都还只能属于“先天”一类，属于“唯心”。因为当时我要么没生，要么生出来也不懂事。那么这最重要的就是第三条了：“长于北京”。

对于北京的描述我在《自述》一文里讲了很多，本文也讲到我和前辈们的接触，去内部书店买书。应该说北京于我是得天独厚！站得高，自然就看得远；接触的东西多，自然就见多识广。不要说是外地的小青年，就是时下的这帮小青年也再没有我当时的条件了。现在难得一见的国宝，唐宋元的古画，那时候每年秋天“故宫”都要拿出来展览一个月，名曰“晾画”。明清两代的就更不用说，天天都在展览。那会儿门票也便宜，一毛钱看一天也没人管你。不是吹牛，我小时候是临摹古画的高手。我的儿童时期和一般的儿童不一样，我就喜欢老东西，喜欢传统，对当时流行的描写工农兵的政治题材的画我不屑一顾！以致美院的一些学生们很怀疑我是一个小老头、“小古董”！而我前面提到的那些前辈们在世的已经屈指可数，你想想现在哪个大学的学生还能得到这么多著名老师的指点？所谓“曾经沧海难为水，除去巫山不是云”。只有北京才有可能造就我就样一个不世之才！

当我看到“奥运”火炬传递的时候，我就想到什么叫“薪火相传”。我看这才叫“薪火相传”！

“简历”到此，55年的人生眨眼间就写完了。还有一点不好意思写，没法吹牛的，那就是：“初中二年，当兵三年，工人十三”。实话实说：“我上学不是一个好学生，当兵不是一个好兵，当工人也不是一个好工人。”为什么这三样都没有干好？因为我太喜欢画画了。喜欢到什么程度？为了画画，我耽误了功课。为了画画，我当够三年义务兵，就只想着复员回家画画。为了画画，我砸了自己的铁饭碗，走上了一条“卖画为生”之路。

至于我的名字“太多太俗”，那是父母给起的，“年过半百，已不思改”，关键是也不能改。按朱新建讲话：“好容易出一回名，改了就没人认识他！”（彼之名也不雅。）

学历也是如此：“初中二年，等同文盲，努力扫盲，终是无奈：‘江山易改，体制难移。’”现在干什么都讲“学历”“文凭”，有一次电话调查高中以上学历人的生活状况，小姑娘很认真，一定要我配合她们的工作，我坦言我初中也没有毕业，她不相信，她觉得我说话不象一个没文化的人。我不知有文化或者有文凭的人说话应该是个什么样子，但我只能实话实说，至于别人是怎么看我，那是别人的事，因为谁也拦不住你去做那些有文化的事。文化是创作出来的，不是说出来的；学问是学出来的，不是学历填出来的。“文化”和“文凭”、“学历”和“学问”本来是两码事，我们现在非要生拉到一起来扯，既无知，也无理，也人为地造成了很多人的无耻！

我现在又坐回“小屋三间”的“梨花书屋”朝北的这间屋里写这篇新的“简历”，而床头上坐着的就是我的老婆。回首我的半生，无大喜，也无大悲，平平淡淡。我也想像别人似的把我这一生吹响一点，可手头资料有限，既没获大奖，也没挣大钱，又是一介平民里的下岗职工、待业人员。足不出国门，甚至足不出户，画笔所及，围绕题材最多的还是我的“梨花书屋”。在现代人管地球叫“村”的时候，我想如果地球真的小到了以“村”为单位的话，那么在这村里有三间小屋叫“梨花书屋”，我也就足以自傲了！

我很自知，也很自信，像我这样好的画家想不出来也难。我知道国内外的很多人士对我是“知其画，而不知其人”。所谓“神龙见首不见尾”！我想这篇写了又写，加了又加，还是不过万字的“简历”，或许对那些喜欢我画的人，想了解我的人有所帮助吧。

2006年6月18日

Resume

He Jianguo

I am asked to write about my life experience, since it is quite simple, I call it a “Resume”.In Great Minds Series·He Jianguo I brief it with only scores of words.

I like an inscription in the painting of Mr. Huang Yongyu ：“in a 3-room cabin，I feel free to sit or sleep. With one wife, I can see her from different directions.” I think this is not a portrait of Mr. Huang (saving your presence, Mr. Huang is expert of construction) but a vivid description of me, therefore I will borrow it here. The following is my brief resume：

He Jianguo，born in 1951，Father comes from Sichuang and Mother comes from Northeast, born in Shan Xi and grown up in Beijing, integrate water and soil of the four dictions into the unique innate feature. 2-year middle school study, 3-year soldier, 13-year worker and almost 20-year life in Beijing; Live on selling paintings without stable income. one pear tree in front of the house which is the reason for “pear-blossom chamber”，after the tree died , make a move and still keep the name.

My given name“Jianguo” is quite common, but I am more than 50 years old and don’t want to change my name.

2-year middle school study is equal to illiteracy. I work hark to be literate but end up failure: “It's easy to change rivers and mountains, but hard to change the system.”

It is nominal to say I live on selling painting because my house is filled with painting but seldom buyers come to me. “forced up to Liang Mountain, Qinqiong selling horses and Yangzhi selling knives, open insufficient source, it is a must to throttle.”

In nowadays painting circle, the good and bad are intermingled and angry lashing and crazy rejoicing exit side by side. Among the people who are railing or exciting, is there any one who know the truth？Let’s wait and see.

After fishing the copy I get to know there are hundreds of words not just dozens of words, but it will make me in trouble to add up a large resume with over ten thousand words！

I think it is better to talk about my“3-room cabin” first. In order to get the three rooms, I have to use a partition to separate the house and I name it“pear-blossom chamber”.

But it is not the start of “pear-blossom chamber”, in fact it started at the end of 1977 when I went to see the house and found a pear tree in front of the house（that is “one pear tree in front of my house”） and then I imagined when the spring coming with flower blossoming, some branched would spread into my room. My wife was more practical and she decided to buy the house because the east room with bad facing direction would be hot in the summer and the tree shadow would make it cool. Possibly in the second summer after moving into the house, I cut a paper in the size of the frame that my father used to pack his picture with Chairman Mao and ride a bike to Mr. Li Keran’s in Sanlihe and asked him to write some characters on the paper. Although Mr. Li thought the characters were a little small, I just got one paper（ this is how the characters“pear-blossom chamber”came）. Now I think I was silly at that time and how good it would be if I took a larger paper because now calligraphy and painting are sold according to size！

At the mention of Mr. Li’s, I want to tell an episode. There are some famous calligraphy and painting at Mr. Li’s and I have already reviewed his masterpiece Zhongkui Marrying off His Sister in my Self-portraying so I will have no word about this work here. This time I saw a small landscape painting by Qi Baishi at the size of one square chi. “The Mountain is dotted with red color and the house is line drawn” is a “structure of dot and line” and a “contrast between black and white”. I was full of praise. But Mr. Li told me: “ it is painted on shoe package paper and there is the shoe size on the paper”!  It is this that possibly enlightens me to make brown paper fan in the later because during a long time I even can’t own small paper！

Pear flowers didn’t blossom for a long time before the window of “pear-blossom chamber” and maybe there was only one spring with blossoming pear flowers and the branches stretching into my room. Thereafter, the pear tree was inflected with insect disease and some person in the garden came to saw it bit by bit and finally only the trunk was left (at that time, “the tree was dead” but we didn’t move our house). This is why there is no pear flower in my painting pear-blossom chamber.

I lived there for a long time (about 17 years) and my daughter was born there. The situation at that time is to work at the factory on daytime and to write and paint at night. Due to overdraft health and insufficient nutrition, I felt I was suffering from some chronic disease. I am lucky to greet “reform and open” and my paintings are quite popular among the foreigners in Beijing. It is said as long as my paintings are displayed on the counter of “Gong Mei Service Section” they will be sold out quickly! But “lay-off” is accompanying with  “reform and open” and people are sacred by this word. But I am forced to quit the job in the state-owned enterprise and for seek of painting I am “forced up to Liang Mountain” and choose a hopeless road! （this is the beginning of “Live on selling paintings without stable income”.）

Since I left the factory in 1984 and formally quit in 1986, I have lived 22 year on selling painting, which is “almost 20-year life in Beijing”. During the 20 years I experienced the bitterness and happiness of life. Sometimes I earn a lot in one day and sometimes I sell nothing for a long time, which is “It is nominal to say I live on selling painting because my house is filled with painting but seldom buyers come to me.”. There is time when “Qinqiong selling horses and Yangzhi selling knives”and more often “open insufficient source, it is a must to throttle”. I think it is proper to illuminate why I insist on painting till now with a word of Confucius “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”The “love” makes me inexhaustible of painting. I will paint no matter how much I can earn. I was born a painter and that is “to be difficult to abandon the innate talent”. So those who don’t want me to create works have no way to do because it is difficult for me not to paint!(here I make an apology!)

Obviously I use “flashback” to write. Back to “9-floor building” I lived in 35 years ago. Because it was a building of 9 floors and I lived in the 9th floor, I named this building “9-floor building”. At that time I was just a little over 20 years ago and too vigorous to know there was difficulty in the world. During the middle of “literature revolution”, the senior have all been sent back and free at home. I— a literature-lover accompanied with them. I remember there were the masters in the painting circle at that time including Zhang Zhengyu, Zhang Ding, Huang Miaozi, Yufeng, Li Kuchan, Li Keran, Jiang Zhaohe, A Lao, Ye Qianyu, Wang Xuetao, Huang Yongyu, Zong Qixiang, Yan Han, Wu Guangzhong, Cui Zifan, Pang Xunqin, Luo Gongliu, Wu Zuoren, Li Ye, Yuan Yunpu and Yuan Yunsheng. I with Uncle A Lao( the director of painting “unallowable painting”, because A Lao is best at teaching to the youth, I called others “sir” and called him “uncle”) went to buy books many of which are not available except in the internal book stores. “Qing Yuntang” of the colored glaze sold books too. I am the kind of person who is prudent on something but generous on other things. I could earn 40 yuan for one month and most of the salary went to book. Several years later “Qing Yuntang” was out of books because of me! So they told me “all of our books are moved to your home!” To be most moved many years later some store sellers recognized me. The option I bought book is as same to my painting, that is: one half is western modern and the other half is China tradition.

Now you will now how much I was nourished at that time! I kept in touch with the first-class scholars and accessed to the albums others had no way to see or dare not see and also importantly I was just 20 years old and eager to learn. It is no wonder that my painting is “strong and healthy”!

Those who most influenced me are Zhang Zhengyu, Zhang Ding, Huang Yongyu and Wu Guangzhong and they are different from traditional painters because they are innovative. I have told a lot about them in Self-portrait and the Rule of Beauty. My close contact is just Zhang Zhengyu. Human eyes are strange. When I was in my teenage, I admire the running horses of Xu Beihong and the “square, indomitable and even” cats with clearly-divided beard of Zhang Zhengyu in “Peach Painting Store” didn’t touch me. When I reached to 20 years old, I lost the sense on Xu Beihong but was obsessed in Zhang Zhengyu, which makes me feel enjoying good painting is like tasting tea, drinking wine and chewing olive. Kids like sweet and adults like bitter, hot and sour. Yi Bingshou said that “books should not be sweet just like good wine”. “9-floor building” written by Zhang Zhengyu together with “pear-blossom chamber”by Li Keran are hanging on my wall.

Before “9-floor building” it was 55 year ago when I was born, that is “born in 1951，Father comes from Sichuang and Mother comes from Northeast, born in Shan Xi and grown up in Beijing”. According to the regulation of “literature revolution” it is a must to look through three generation, but as far as I know, all the forefathers of my father and mother are not painters. As to “prepotency”, that is “integrate water and soil of the four dictions into the unique innate feature”. Among the numerous preconditions, I want the mention the following points: 一I was born in Shan Xi Da Tong where “Yungang Grotto”is the most famous, but my only memory about Yun Gang is the picture of my father and mother and me at the foot of Buddha; 二 my father is the director  general of Ta Tong Mineral Affairs Bureau at that time. When Ye Qianyu took students to paint there, my father treated them. 20 years later, Mr. Ye still vividly remembers my father: “a southerner, small and young 三 the most important is “grown up in Beijing”

I have told a lot about Beijing in my Self-portrait and I just told the close contact with the senior and the story about buying books in internal book stores. I should say I am advantageous to live in Beijing! Standing high makes you see further and contacting more makes you more informed. Not even to see the youth in other cities, those nowadays are unable to get what I had at that time. The rare national treasure, the ancient paintings of Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasty would be displayed for one month during each autumn. Those of Ming and Qing Dynasty were displayed everyday. The ticket is very cheap and if you spend one jiao you can stay there for a whole day. It is not exaggerated to say I am a master to copy ancient paintings. My childhood was different from others because I like old things and tradition and think it scorn of the popular painting themed on the politics about worker, farmer and soldier. Some students in arts institute thought I was a little old man. Only a few of the senior I mentioned above are alive today and no students can get the guide from so many famous teacher as I did. “No waters wide enough when you have crossed the sea, No cloud is beautiful but that which crowns the peak.” It is only Beijing that can bring up me into such a talent!

When I saw Olympics torch passing one by one, I got to know what is “Pass the Flame”. I think my experience is the real “Pass the Flame”.

Here, I have finished my experience of 55 years. Another point of this resume is “2-year middle school study, 3-year soldier, 13-year worker”. To tell truth, I was not a good student when I was at school, not a good soldier when I was in the army, not a good worker when I was in the factory. Why did not I do well in these three things? The reason is that I like painting too much. How much do I like painting? For seek of painting, I delayed my study, directly went back home to paint after 3-year incumbent soldier and threw away the stable job and live on “Live on selling paintings”.

As to my name is“quite common”which is given by my parents, “but I am more than 50 years old and don’t want to change my name.”but the true reason is that I can’t change it. Just as Zhu Jianxin said “it is uneasy to be famous and if I change my name, nobody will know me!”(His name is not elegant too)

As to my degree, “2-year middle school study is equal to illiteracy. I work hark to be literate but end up failure: ‘It's easy to change rivers and mountains, but hard to change the system.’” Nowadays “degree” “diploma” is quite necessary. Once over a telephone investigation about the life situation with degree over high middle school, the girl is earnest and asks me to help her work. I was am frank to tell her that I even didn’t graduate from middle school but she didn’t believe me because she thought I talked like an educated person. I don’t know how educated people talk but I tell truth and don’t care how people think of me. Nobody can stop you from doing literary stuff. Culture is not talked out but created; knowledge is not be gotten by degree but learning. “Culture” and “diploma”, “degree” and “knowledge” are totally different but we are trying best to mix them together, which is ignorant, unreasonable and shame!

Now I am writing this new “resume” in the room facing north in“pear-blossom chamber”of “3-room cabin”with my wife sitting on bed. Looking back to my first half life, it is simple without unbearable ecstasy or pain. I want to brag my life but I can’t do it because I have not receive grant reward and make a lot of many and what’s more I am a layoff worker. I seldom go out of my door, not even to go abroad. My painting material focuses on my “pear-blossom chamber”. When modern people compare the world to “a village”, I feel proud that I have a 3-room cabin named “pear-blossom chamber”！

I know myself and feel confident. it is difficult for me not to paint. I know many people at home and abroad know more of my painting than I. “one can see the head of a heavenly dragon, but not the tail” This resume with less than 10 thousand words will be of some help for those who like my painting and want to know of me.

June 18, 2006