200 years after Su Shi wrote his poems,
苏轼作赋二百年后
China's Song dynasty had fallen to Mongol invaders.
宋朝被蒙古征服
The painter Wang Meng refused to serve the Mongol emperors,
画家王蒙拒绝侍奉蒙元皇帝
preferring to retreat to a very particular place,
选择退隐到一个特殊的所在
his family's estate in the Qingbian mountains.
他在青卞山中的祖宅
Those mountains became the subject of his greatest painting.
青卞山便成了他绘画的对象
Well, when you're in the presence of a bona fide masterpiece,
当你面对这样一幅饱含心血的杰作时
which this is, words somehow struggle to be formed.
任何语言都是苍白的
But I'm going to do my best.
但我会尽力而为
Not least because this is an extraordinary painting
因为这不仅是一幅杰出的画作
because it belies all the pleasing stereotypes
更是因为它并不符合我们对中国山水画
we have about Chinese landscapes.
闲适怡人的固有印象
When you think of Li Cheng,
提到李成
you think of that first generation of northern Song painters
你会想到北宋第一代画家
and it is all about feeling protected by the Imperial mountain.
他们画的都是被象征皇权的大山庇护的感觉
None of this is happening with Wang Meng.
王蒙却反其道而行之
This is, above all, a painting about turbulence.
他所描绘的主题是动荡
It's full of a kind of restless,
充满了焦躁不安
writhing, sensuous, intense energy.
痛苦 敏感 紧张的情绪
There's a reason for this turbulence.
这种动荡感是有因可循的
By the time he painted this,
他创作此画时
Wang Meng's family mountain retreat was right in the middle
王蒙家族退隐的山居
of a battlefield fought over by armies 200,000 strong.
正处在二十万大军反复争夺的战场中间
The reality was marauding and massacre.
这是一场劫掠与屠杀
These are not mountains which protect us.
这些山峦不再庇护万民
Instead, they trap and threaten us.
而是步步进逼 紧紧威胁
Here is a man beautifully painted, picked out with a conical cap,
这里有个精心绘制的戴锥帽的男子
which is a cap of this particular region,
这种帽子是当地的特色服饰
and is echoed by the shape of the peak.
与山峦形状相呼应
So, you think the man belongs to the mountains,
所以你会感觉这人居于此山之中
but the man has nowhere to go.
但这名男子无处可去

There are paths which make no sense at all.
周围的道路杂乱无章
He moves his way through scrubby pines.
他只能在乱树丛间摸索前行
Wang Meng has lit this dramatically to make it more difficult,
王蒙用了凌厉的笔法 使这一幕更艰难
to make it more exciting,
也更激动人心
to make it more perilous and energised.
使画面更危机四伏 暗流涌动