武当山的前世召唤
一天傍晚,我被好友徐瑛和黄克俭叫到华北大酒店和一帮文人骚客吃了顿饭,跟各路大仙神侃一晚后,回家写了两页关于中国传统文化的解读提纲,结果便被稀里糊涂地邀请参与了2008年北京奥运会开闭幕式的策划撰写,并因此与美国华裔导演李安进行了几个月的合作。让我们与李安导演结缘的正是中国传统文化。李安虽然生活在美国,但他对中国传统文化充满了真挚的感情,而他本人就是这个文化孕育出来的高人,其为人和作品充满了中国文化的特质:包容、温和、谦逊、中庸,但如水的温柔中却充满力量、独立不羁。在他的心中,中国文化如同大地充满包容、吸纳、孕育的特征,所以被他称为“地母文化”。如何诠释中国文化中的阴阳、五行、礼乐和地母般的包容力成了一项挑战。因为2008年北京奥运会开闭幕式实际上是主办国对本国传统文化的一次展示机会,所以主创人员必须以最精练的方式总结本国文化,而且必须在传统的内容和现代的表现形式之间达成和谐。大家在北京奥运会开幕式上看到的“礼仪”、“文字”、“意境”、“丝路”、“戏曲”、“太极”等节目都是我们在这段时间里创作的。
这是为北京奥运会设计的“太极”节目效果图
有一次,我在好莱坞跟随李安及亚特兰大奥运会开闭幕式的总导演当·米歇尔Don
Mischer做2008年北京奥运会开闭幕式的中英文合成,有幸在李安的直接指导下工作,并听他详解对“太极”与“阴阳”的导演细节,让我大开眼界,由此方知导演的文化底蕴能将视觉画面导入何等不同的境界!
在策划北京奥运开闭幕式期间,大家一直在为如何解读中国传统文化而争论不休。我悲哀地发现,连许多中国高级文化官员和艺术家们都对中国“阴阳五行”和“天人合一”茫茫然!这还谈何向外人展示?于是策划北京奥运会开闭幕式,成了大家对中国传统文化追溯、想象、归纳和论证的契机。我力推中医和中文,因为这两者已经成了诠释中国传统文化的生动工具,尤其是中医,兼具儒释道三家之精神,而且从形式到内容,从形而上到形而下,中医都与人类的世俗生活紧密相连。
命中注定通医达道
仿佛冥冥之中自有天意,也就在这段长期住酒店搞创作的日子里,我收到一封《股色股香》读者的电子邮件,读来甚感有缘,因为从其文字中可以直觉到一种东方传统的意象,我们在电话里一聊也投机。待到见面叙谈,我才发现此人竟是个和尚,名叫乐后圣(释新德)。和尚怎么会读《股色股香》这种描写股市和性的小说?原来他非一般因失业、失恋和失意才遁入空门之人,而是一位真正的隐士。他对金融和文化产业都很精通,中国第一本关于奥运产业的专著就是他写的。他多年当兵,又多年出家,现在心出家而身不出家。他既通佛、道、儒、医和西方宗教,也通政治、经济、军事、文化,并在这些领域都出版过专著。我们有缘相见,是因为他以其独特的眼光从《股色股香》一书中发现了一个挣扎求“道”的灵魂。
还没聊几句,他就看着我笃定地说,“你不仅与佛有缘,与道也有缘,而且你的前世修过道。”我笑问:“何以见得?”他说,“我读《股色股香》时就有种感觉,现在一看你的面相更证实了我的判断。”
他还具体指出了我的前世曾经修道的几个地方。我更觉好奇,于是我们谈笑甚欢!他当即让助手从车上拿了一套他主编的《道家精华丛书》赠予我。和尚赠道书,奇乎?
乐后圣(释新德)
我们俩对儒释道甚至基督教都没有偏见,认为大道归一,法门不同而已。但“天人合一”是东方文化的显著特征,正好弥补了西方文化的缺陷,这正是我们要在2008年北京奥运会开幕式上弘扬的主题。我问起他遁入空门的经历,原来也是一段传奇。继续谈下去,发现我们居然还是湖北老乡,老家相距不过二三十里,我们童年赶集的地方是同一个叫刘家场的古镇。分手的时候,他说我应该把胡子留起,我问何故?他笑曰:“道人要有道相!”于是我好奇地留起了胡须,没做任何修饰。久不见面的朋友一见我果然问:“你现在怎么像个道士?”
数月后,我一个人在美国的小镇过年,突然接到此和尚的电话,他问我在忙什么?我说在写一本小说。他问是哪方面的?我说是关于中医的。他一听乐了,说他刚刚写完一本书,也是关于中医的,叫《医道》。这下我也乐了!世上竟然有如此巧合!我们第一次见面只有一个多小时,还未论及“医道”,没想到殊途同归。于是我们的第二次见面以论医道为主。我们都认为医中有道!中国文化就是“道”的文化,儒释道和诸子百家讲的都是这个道。我们深感我等不幸,也幸!
中国大陆第一版《股色股香》
台湾版《股色股香》
中国大陆第二版
和尚认定我与中医有缘,吾命即通医达道,他建议我沿着自己前世修道的地方去云游,最好沿途住庙,大概的路线是武当山、长阳中武当、鄂西、湘西、南岳衡山、北京白云观,他说我自然会在途中巧遇良缘。有人说,这种话岂不是天方夜谭,能当真吗?可是我岂止当真?我二话没说,抛下一切“重要的事”,背着行囊就上路了!完全走他指定的路线。就这样,我孑然一身,以云游的方式,身体力行地投入到复兴中医的“虚幻”事业中去了。
Going to Mt. Wudang
to Relive a Journey in My “Previous” Life
One evening in 2006, my friends Xu
Ying and Huang Kejian invited me to dine with some literati at
Northeast Grand Hotel in Beijing. We had a great chat together.
After that, I went back home and wrote an outline on the
interpretation of traditional Chinese culture. This got me a job in
Director Ang Lee’s team as one of the two script writers working to
present a concept proposal for the opening and closing ceremonies
of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. This collaborative effort lasted
for several months. It was during these months that we wrote the
scripts for Ceremonial Rites, Chinese Characters, Ambience, Silk
Road, Chinese Operas, Tai Chi, and other programmes
performed at the opening ceremony of the Games.
What exactly attracted Director Ang
Lee and me together? Traditional Chinese culture. Although he lives
in the U.S., he feels a profound and sincere love for traditional
Chinese culture. And he himself is a master nurtured in this
culture. From the way he behaves and directs movies, one can feel
the distinct characteristics of Chinese culture — inclusive,
gentle, humble and moderate, yet his gentleness radiates energy and
freedom from restriction. In his heart, Chinese culture, like the
Earth, is symbolic of tolerance, inclusion, conception and nurture.
Hence he calls it the “Mother Earth
Culture”.
Once, I followed Director Ang Lee
and Mr. Don Mischer (executive director of the opening and closing
ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games) to synthesize Chinese
and English subtitles for the opening and closing ceremonies of the
Beijing Games. I worked directly under Ang Lee’s guidance, and
listened to his detailed explanation of how he was to direct the
Tai Chi and Yin-Yang programmes. It was an
eye-opening experience for me, and I thus knew how a director with
deep cultural roots could elevate visual images to an unusual
spectacle.
The Taichi image effect made
for the Beijing Olympic Games
During this period, I heard
incessant debates on how to interpret traditional Chinese culture.
Much to my grief, I found that many artists and senior officials
governing this sector were quite ignorant of Yin-Yang
interactions, the Five Primary Elements, and oneness of man and
nature. How then was it possible to present them to others? Thus,
planning for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic
Games opened up an opportunity for us to trace back to, visualize,
sum up and clarify traditional Chinese culture. I believed (and
still believe) that, of all treasures in traditional Chinese
culture, Chinese medicine and Chinese characters are representative
of it, for they have become vivid media through which people
approach Chinese culture. In particular, Chinese medicine is a
combination of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist thoughts, and
it is closely related to people’s secular life, from its form to
content, and at both metaphysical and physical levels.
Destined to Manifest the
Tao through Practice of Medicine
Perhaps it was God’s will. It so
happened that, when I was staying for months at a hotel working on
a script for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, I
received an email from a reader of Sex and Stocks. I could
feel an imagery of Chinese tradition from the words in the email.
After that, we had a great chat over the phone. By the time we
actually met up, I was quite amazed to find him a Buddhist monk
named Shi Xin De (also called Yue Hou Sheng, hereinafter referred
to as Monk Shi). How come a monk should be interested in Sex and
Stocks, a novel that describes the stock market and
sex?
I then got to know that he was a
true hermit, not someone who escaped into Buddhism because of
unemployment, a broken relationship or other frustrations in life.
He was quite an expert in finance and culture, and he wrote China’s
first book on the Olympic industry. He had been in the army for
years, and had converted to Buddhism many years before. Now he had
the heart of a Buddhist monk, but was still involved in secular
matters. Apart from being an expert in Buddhism, Taoism,
Confucianism, medicine and western religions, he was also quite
accomplished in deciphering the political, economic, military and
cultural sectors, and had already published books on all these
themes. When he read Sex and Stocks, he could feel a soul
struggling to approach the “Tao”, hence our fateful
meeting.
Mr. Yue Housheng, the
monk(Shi Xinde)
Not long into our chat, he looked at
me and ascertained, “You have a bond with Buddhism, and
Taoism as well. And you engaged in Taoist practice in
your previous life.”
I laughed and asked, “How to prove
your point?”
He said, “I felt it while reading
Sex and Stocks. Now looking at your face, I find my judgment
confirmed.”
He also pointed out a few specific
places where I had engaged in Taoist practice in my previous
life. I got more curious and we had a great chat. He then asked an
assistant to get from his car A Collection of What’s Best in
Taoism, and handed it to me as a gift. A monk sending me books
on Taoism, wasn’t it odd enough?
Both of us are not biased in
religion and believe that whether Confucianism, Buddhism,
Taoism, or Christianity, they are different paths leading to
the same end. Oneness of man and nature is a prominent feature of
Oriental culture, which makes up for what’s mostly missing in
Western culture. And oneness was the theme we were working to
present at the Games.
I asked about how he had become a
monk and got to know his legendary life story. We continued our
chat and were pleasantly surprised to find that we had come from
the same hometown in Hubei province in central China. Our homes
were just 10-15 kilometers apart, and we used to go to the same
market place in an ancient town called Liu Jia Chang.
When we were about to bid farewell
to each other, he said, “You should have a beard.”
“Why?” I asked.
He smiled and said, “A Taoist
should have a Taoist look.”
So out of curiosity, I stopped
shaving and began to grow a beard. Friends that hadn’t seen me for
a long time would ask the moment they met me again, “How come you
look like a Taoist now?”
A few months later, during the
Chinese Spring Festival, I was alone in an American town. Suddenly
I received a phone call from the monk.
“What are you busy with?” he
asked.
“Writing a novel.” I
replied.
“On what?”
“On Chinese medicine.”
He was amused to hear it and said,
“I’ve just finished a book on Chinese medicine titled The Way of
Medicine.”
I was also quite amused. What a
coincidence! We had talked over an hour during our first meet but
hadn’t come to the topic of Chinese medicine, yet we were heading
in the same direction. During our second meet, naturally our topic
turned to the Way of Medicine. We both believed that the Tao
is embodied in Chinese medicine, Chinese culture is one that
follows and manifests the Tao, and what Confucianism,
Buddhism, Taoism and all ancient masters have been
expounding is the Tao. We felt it deeply that we were
unfortunate and yet fortunate to be born in this era.
Sex
and Stocks first published in Mainland China
Sex
and Stocks published in Taiwan
Hard cover
of Mainland China copy
Shi Xinde asserted, “You are
destined to learn and practice Chinese medicine, through which you
will manifest the Tao.” He advised me to follow my spiritual
pursuit in the previous life, and best of all, stay at temples and
monasteries along the way. Places on my itinerary were to include
Mt. Wudang, Mt. Zhongwudang, western Hubei province, western Hunan
province, and Baiyun Taoist Temple (White Clouds Temple) in
Beijing. And he assured me that I would have magical encounters on
the way.
“How could you possibly take such
nonsense seriously?” you may wonder. Well, I not only took it
seriously, I actually dropped all “important matters” and started
off with my backpack right away.
And just like that, I began to rove
alone and dedicated myself to the “unrealistic” mission of
restoring the glory of Chinese medicine.
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