周豐

2018年10月，剛果（布）青年童小東（本名Onanga-Jolga Gedean）前往東陽廣廈建設職業(yè)技術大學“雕刻藝術與設計國際班”學習木雕技藝，和其他20名同學在萬里之遙的東陽開啟一段全新的人生旅程。這是浙江省首次在木雕藝術方面招收外國留學生，旨在為浙江與非洲國家之間的非遺文化教育交流拓展新領域。

這個24歲的異國人既會入鄉(xiāng)隨俗地騎著小電驢在夜市街頭擼串，也常常前往珍藏木雕精品的景點研究學習。目前已掌握了工具整理、圖案設計、基礎雕刻等技能，未來想利用學到的本領雕刻本國文化，成為中非文化友好的橋梁。

“我最喜歡看《白蛇傳》，最喜歡聽《心太軟》。”1米84的個子，一口略微生硬的中文，聊起影視劇會開心地合不攏嘴……“外表陽光，內(nèi)心‘苦情’”，這是童小東給記者留下的第一印象。

雖然在2018年以前從沒來過中國，但童小東一直對這個國家充滿好奇?！霸趧偣ú迹?，有許多中國人幫助我的國家做了不少事，所以我很想來中國看看?！?/p>

初來乍到，童小東的首要任務是學習語言。難以琢磨的語法、大同小異的漢字、容易懵圈的聲調……對于大多數(shù)剛接觸中文的外國人來說都是難點?；ㄙM一年學習漢語預科的童小東也深有體會，光是如何辨別聲調就讓他十分頭疼，特別是一詞多音、多意?！皑?、á、ǎ、à......剛開始感覺整個人都不好了！”

在中國結對同學的幫助下，童小東成功通過漢語水平三級考試，還熟悉了不少刀具、刻法的專業(yè)詞匯。隨著友情加深，中國同學還用自己的姓氏為他取了中文名——童小東，里面飽含真切的祝福。

每逢周末，童小東和同學都會騎上“小電驢”，前往周邊夜市、景點和鄉(xiāng)村購物游玩?！昂伲±习?，今天請給我們來五串烤肉，嗯……再加份炒飯吧！”對于曾以木薯為主食的留學生們來說，在振興路的夜市上逛街擼串，這種體驗讓他們倍感新鮮。

在東峴峰公園附近，留學生們還會結伴在山間游步道上跑步，山腳下漂亮的房屋、充滿文藝范的禮堂，讓他們感覺走進了一幅畫?！跋Ｍ麑?，我的家鄉(xiāng)也能發(fā)展得這么好?！蓖|說。

在學校運動會上，留學生代表隊為現(xiàn)場增添了一道亮麗的風景線，部分留學生還取得了好成績。

只要有時間，童小東還會前往浙江各地，領略獨特的風土人情。

2019年春節(jié)，他應邀前往寧海的結對同學家。在那里，他受到朋友和家人的熱情款待。貼春聯(lián)、掛中國結、拜新年……親朋之間互致問候的溫馨氛圍，令他倍感溫暖。“他們邀請我圍坐在一起吃飯、聊天，感覺就和在自己家里一樣輕松愉快?！逼溟g，中國同學還帶著童小東出門拜年、逛廟會、購年貨、看表演。在前童古鎮(zhèn)，除了陶醉于古色古香的明清古宅，“前童三寶”、芝麻糖、麥餅也讓他回味無窮。

2019年暑期，木雕班在嵊州走訪，一碗炒年糕徹底征服了童小東的胃。“里面還有蛋、肉和豆腐，味道很美！”在嵊州，能迅速勾起食欲的還有一屜薄皮多汁的小籠包，他覺得這是開啟新一天的最好選擇。

學習之余，看電視劇是童小東最愛的娛樂節(jié)目之一。

虐心催淚的《白蛇傳》，讓童小東印象深刻。在看過92年版的《新白娘子傳奇》后，白娘子對許仙忠貞的感情，讓他深受感動，一直希望有機會能去杭州雷峰塔走走。當?shù)弥椦菰S仙的葉童是女性時，童小東覺得頗為新鮮：“我第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)，女性原來也可以演男主角，還能演得這么好，太神奇了?！?/p>

“在我的家鄉(xiāng)，木雕是一門古老的手藝?！眮淼綎|陽后，童小東發(fā)現(xiàn)，相比粗放、夸張、動感強烈的非洲木雕，中國的木雕在造型和內(nèi)容上更加豐富，雕琢技藝也精巧得多。他覺得，兩者都表達了人們對生活的熱愛。

學習木雕前，童小東特意去參觀中國木雕博物館、木雕小鎮(zhèn)、盧宅等地，還拜訪了木雕大師的工作室，了解東陽木雕背后的文化。在博物館，他驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)了來自非洲的木雕：“中國人不僅重視自己的傳統(tǒng)藝術，還在保護著整個世界的木雕文化?！?020年國慶期間，他和同學相約盧宅，行走在建于600年前的古建筑群里，精致華美的木雕杰作令他難以置信：“和國王住的地方?jīng)]什么兩樣！”

從整理工具，到學會設計、取料，再到雕琢基礎的回紋、花卉、山水……經(jīng)過一年多的學習，東陽木雕的技藝逐漸在童小東面前揭開了神秘面紗。

“剛開始既新鮮又感覺很難，像一朵梅花，需要刻很多次才只能出一個輪廓。”面對記者，童小東微笑著停頓了兩秒，“除了技術，耐心太重要了。”在他的手指上，記者發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些細微的傷痕，記錄著重復而枯燥地打磨基本功的每個日夜。

為了調整情緒，童小東有時會在上課前和班主任杜飛棟開玩笑：“老師，今天上課內(nèi)容是繼續(xù)磨刀嗎？我好像遲到了，會扣分吧？”沒等老師反應，童小東又笑著認真搶答：“沒錯，我們繼續(xù)磨刀！你說對了，要扣分！”

“小東很有天分。”在杜老師眼里，這名“洋弟子”的性格開朗，求知欲強，知識點理解也很到位。

有一段時間，杜老師讓學生們試著了解山水雕刻技法。

剛拿到圖紙時，童小東有些發(fā)愣：高低起伏的山，要怎么表現(xiàn)立體感？

杜老師指了指圖案的高點：“小東，你可以先理解圖紙上的內(nèi)容，了解山川的遠近層次，再根據(jù)形狀來構思如何運刀表現(xiàn)紋路的深淺。”

剛開始制作時，童小東非常擔心雕錯后無法挽回整幅圖案，沒過幾分鐘就滿頭大汗。杜老師看出了他的心思，鼓勵他要膽大心細?！跋露Q心了就去做，心中一定要有數(shù)。拿刀要直，手握刀要緊。下手沉穩(wěn)，推刀才會準確，才能一刀一刀地刻下去?！?/p>

刀口在木頭上轉折、頓挫、用力平推……遵循著杜老師的教導，童小東每天都重復著這一系列動作，慢慢地掌握了如何熟練規(guī)律地運用刀法。

“這里的木雕需要十幾道工序才能完成，這種復雜工藝在我的國家并不多見。”位于非洲中西部的剛果（布）林業(yè)發(fā)達，文化深厚，如何把家鄉(xiāng)文化通過東陽木雕技藝生動創(chuàng)新地表現(xiàn)，是童小東的目標?！霸诩亦l(xiāng)，除了母親河剛果河，還有一座著名的大橋（la corniche）和一座著名的教堂（baselic sainte anne），未來我希望將三者結合，創(chuàng)造出展示我們國家風采的木雕。特別是那座大橋，我想把它雕刻成連接中非文化友好的橋梁?！?/p>

（《錢江晚報》“相聚浙里”為本欄目提供支持，圖片由受訪人提供。）

Dongyang Woodcarving： Bridge of Friendship

By Zhou Feng

In October 2018， Onanga Jolga Gedeon， a 24-year-old Congo lad， went all the way to take a training course of woodcarving in Dongyang city， Zhejiang province， where he and 20 other students were about to start a new chapter in their life. That was also the first time in Zhejiang that woodcarving training cources had been opened to international students.

Now Onanga often eats late-night street barbecue as Chinese locals do， and visits scenic spots where he can study the collection of woodcarving art pieces. Having mastered some basic techniques already， this 6-feet-tall Mr. Sunshine dreams about interpreting his local culture through his own piece of woodcarving one day and becoming a bridge of culture and friendship between China and Africa.

Although he has never been to China before 2018， Onanga has always been curious about this country. “In the Republic of Congo， many Chinese have helped my country do a lot of things， so I really want to go to China.”

As a newcomer， he had to learn Chinese first. However， just like most foreigners， he found the language quite difficult even after taking a one-year preparatory course. How to distinguish tones alone has given him the biggest headache.

Thanks to the help of his Chinese language partner， Onanga successfully passed the Chinese Proficiency Level 3 exam last year and also grew familiar with a lot of professional words related to knives and engraving. His Chinese partner also gave Onanga a Chinese name， Tong Xiaodong， after his own family name （Tong）， as the two of them getting closer.

On the weekends， Tong Xiaodong and his classmates always go sight-seeing and shopping in the surrounding night markets and tourist attractions on their electric motorcycles. “Could we have five skewers of barbecued pork ... and a fried rice， please？" For the international students who used to have cassava as their staple food， eating barbecues in the night market on Zhenxing Road is quite a new experience. So is the view near Donghyeonbong Park， where they have been really impressed by the beautiful houses at the foot of the mountains and the artistic auditorium when jogging on the trails.” I hope that in the future， my hometown will turn out just like this，" Tong Xiaodong said.

He always travels to different parts of Zhejiang to experience local customs and traditions whenever he has time. In the Spring Festival in 2019， he was invited to come to the house of his Chinese partner in Ninghai county， Ningbo city. There， he was warmly welcomed by the host family and his friends. Everyone in the house was busy posting spring couplets， hanging Chinese knots and giving New Year’s greetings to each other， which made him feel so warm. “They invited me to sit with them， eating dinner， chatting ... and I felt as relaxed and happy as if I were in my own home.” During the period， the family also took Tong Xiaodong out with them to visit the temple fair， go holiday shopping and watch festival performances. In the ancient town of Qiantong， he was not only enchanted by the ancient houses of the Ming （1368-1644） and Qing dynasties， but also attracted by the tasty sesame candies and wheat cakes.

During the summer of 2019， the woodcarving class took him to Shengzhou， another city in Zhejiang， and he enjoyed a bowl of local fried rice cakes， which he found amazing. “The rice cakes have egg， meat and tofu in it， and they taste really delicious！”

“In my hometown， woodcarving is an ancient craft.” After coming to Dongyang， Tong Xiaodong found that compared to the African style， which is less sophisticated， but seems more exaggerated and dynamic， the Chinese style is much richer in shape and content， and much more refined in terms of techniques. Yet both are able to express people’s love for life.

Before learning woodcarving， Tong Xiaodong took a special visit to the China Woodcarving Museum and some other sites to learn about the culture behind woodcarving. At the museum， he was surprised to find woodcarvings from Africa： “Chinese people not only value their own traditional art， they also preserve the world woodcarving culture as a whole.” During this year’s National Day holiday， he visited the Lu Residence together with his classmates. Walking around the ancient complex built 600 years ago， they were incredibly impressed by the exquisite and ornate masterpieces of woodcarving： “It’s no different from where the kings lived！”

From organizing tools， to designing and picking materials， and carving the basic patterns ... the skills of woodcarving gradually presented themselves in front of Tong Xiaodong， who has been learning to master them for over a year.

“At first it is both interesting and difficult ... like carving a plum blossom， you need to carve so many times before finally getting only an outline.” Tong Xiaodong smiled and paused for two seconds， “In addition to techniques， patience is also very important.” On his fingers there are some tiny scars， a faithful record of his loneliness every day and night.

“Xiaodong is very gifted，” according to Du Feidong， the instructor. His "foreign disciple" is cheerful， eager to learn， and has a good understanding of the craft.

For a while， Mr. Du has been asking the students to try to understand the technique of landscape carving. When first looking at the drawing， Tong Xiaodong was a bit confused： how to show the three-dimensional sense of the high and low mountains？

Mr. Du pointed to the high point of the pattern： “ Xiaodong， you may want to understand the drawing first， and then think about how to run the knife according to the shape to show the depth of the pattern.”

When he began to carve， Xiaodong was very worried that he would not be able to recover the whole pattern if he made a mistake， and within a few minutes he was sweating profusely. Seeing what was happening， Mr. Du encouraged him to be bold and careful at the same time. “When you make up your mind， just do it with a clear picture in mind. Hold the knife straight and tight， keep your hand steady， so that the knife can be pushed accurately. And remember， you do one cut at a time.”

Following the instructions of Mr. Du， Tong Xiaodong repeated this set of moves every day， and slowly mastered the knife-carving skills.

“The woodcarving here requires more than a dozen processes to complete， a complex craft not often seen in my country，” he said. Located in central and western Africa， the Republic of Congo has a developed forestry industry and a profound culture， and it is Tong Xiaodong’s goal to deliver his home culture vividly and innovatively through Dongyang woodcarving techniques. “In my hometown， besides the mother river Congo， there is a famous bridge （La Corniche） and a famous church （Sainte-Anne Basilica）. In the future I hope to combine the three to create woodcarvings that showcase our country’s style — especially the bridge， which I hope to turn into a bridge of culture and friendship connecting China and Africa.”