Xu Xing is a person of remarkable purity, a kind of character that has become rare in contemporary China. Given his reputation and credentials, it would not have been difficult for him to rise through the ranks within institutional structures, yet for a long time he remained an outsider—without official status, affiliation, or income. It's hard to imagine that he isn't even a member of the Writers' Association. He graciously declined the membership forms the organization repeatedly sent him, showing no interest. At one point, his mother was even paying his rent.

He never sought to make money, never networked, and never tried to attach himself to powerful figures. Instead, he lived in a small house, making documentary films and videos on niche subjects, focusing on marginalized, lower-class individuals.

In stark contrast to his modest lifestyle is the international recognition and honors he has accumulated. In 1995, he was selected by *Le Nouvel Observateur* as one of the 240 most outstanding novelists in the world. In 2003, he was awarded the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. That same year, his novel *What Remains Belongs to You* was published in France, and works like *Theme-less Variations* have been published multiple times in Germany.

Going back to 1989, Xu Xing lectured at the University of the Arts in West Berlin and later at the University of Hamburg, where he also began a Ph.D., only to abandon it after a year. His untethered nature left him uninterested even in Western institutional paths of success and advancement.

While his life may seem to lack a fixed course, there has always been a subtle underlying theme—to experience what he believes is the humane or just world beneath the surface of the objective one, through a natural, effortless engagement with life.

“Art, when it reaches a certain level, transcends boundaries, and different disciplines become interconnected. Phrases, melodies, rhythms, and lines are all flows of emotion. I started painting and holding exhibitions simply to release my emotions and to convey the world as I perceive it to others.”

“For many years, I’ve said that writing literature is deeply personal; it’s something that others cannot fully comprehend. This idea is simple, yet few truly understand it, which is why good writers are so rare. The same goes for painting. I cannot impose my preferences on others. Let the works be interpreted subjectively. However, achieving a unity between one’s life and creative expression, as Vincent van Gogh did, is something else entirely—he’s long gone from us now…” (Xu Xing)

Xu Xing's temperament is strikingly similar to that of German avant-garde painters like Gerhard Richter and Anselm Kiefer, though such influences are often subconscious and hard to articulate. Modern painting, for example, has largely stripped away literary and historical connotations, merging the language of painting with its themes. It becomes almost impossible to separate them, creating theme-less variations where each person’s imagination drives their interpretation. Color blocks and lines act directly on the nervous system, resonating at a genetic level, rendering language ineffective.

In Heidelberg, Xu Xing said during a conversation: “For over 30 years, I’ve never stopped painting, though I’ve mostly treated it as a respite from my busy filmmaking and writing. This time, invited as a visiting professor at the University of Heidelberg, I’ve had more leisure, so I’ve picked up the brush for the second time in Germany. 

“This series of works completed in Heidelberg marks the second time I’ve taken up painting in Germany. The first was 35 years ago at Heinrich Böll’s home in Dören, where I completed several paintings while also working on my literary writing. Interestingly, the motivation to pick up the brush 35 years later is almost identical to what it was then. Germany seems to have a kind of magical influence on me, and this gives me many reflections.”

Heinrich Böll was a Nobel Prize-winning author who had passed away before Xu Xing arrived. The Heinrich Böll Foundation arranges for renowned writers from around the world to stay and write at his former home. Before Xu Xing, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn had stayed there.

Ink painting holds a special significance in modern abstract art, and many Chinese contemporary artists are experimenting with it. This is one of the contributions that traditional Chinese materials have made to modern art.

“The marvel of abstract ink painting lies in controlling the natural changes of ink on traditional rice paper, achieving a perfect composition. By using lines to express a balance of texture, shape, and space, I fix rhythm on the canvas. As a writer and filmmaker, I integrate my artistic philosophy into my paintings. I prefer to make decisive statements in my work, though this is no easy task. In doing so, I seek the narrative and cinematic quality of the image, producing not just decorative works, but ones with emotional significance.” (Xu Xing)

Xu Xing's paintings resonate with me and with many viewers. His explanation of his ink works also provides an entry point to understanding his literature. Not many people in China know about this exhibition, but a few art world peers commented, “It’s hard to imagine someone who hasn’t practiced easel painting for so long suddenly skipping realism and diving straight into more essential abstraction” (though they were unaware that Xu Xing had already gone through a realism phase). I believe this leap is a result of his years of experience in modern literature, where he has explored the relationships between life and art. It's not a matter of hardship—just a different perspective. This time, Xu Xing used ink to express his modern sensibility, and in my view, it feels lighter and more direct than his novels.

Since the early 20th century, the world that Western avant-garde artists have seen, Xu Xing has seen as well, only with a Chinese perspective. There’s no hidden meaning, just a difference in understanding. His life’s rhythm is as it is, and the words and lines he produces reflect that.

In essence, Xu Xing serves as an intermediary between modern European and Chinese cultures (though "bridge" might be too grand a term). If you understand Xu Xing, you will, to some extent, understand the West outside of its classical traditions—the modern West.

徐星是一较纯之人，这种人格国内时下已很少。以他的声名条件，在体制内混个级别应该不难，而他很长时间却是三无人等，无身份、无单位、无收入。很难想象，他连作协会员都不是，他曾几次三番对组织主动递过来让他填报的会员表敬谢不敏。有段时间租房费用都是母亲替他出的。

他没有去弄钱，没有去走动，没有去攀附……在一个小房子里制作冷门纪实影片、视频，所拍摄的都是边缘底层人士。

与之对比强烈的是他身载的名气荣誉很盛：1995年，他被法国《观察家》评选为全世界240位杰出小说家之一。2003年获法国文学艺术骑士勋章。同年，长篇小说《剩下的都属于你》在法国出版，《无主题变奏》等多次在德国出版……

延宕到1989年，徐星赴西柏林艺术大学讲学，后又到德国汉堡讲学，并读博一年又放弃。他的无主题天性让他对即便是西方的“体制内”的正常攀升途径也兴致索然。

他半生看似无定，但实际上一直有一个最隐性的主题，就是在自然无为中，感受客观世界背后他认为是人道的或者公正的那一层世界。

艺术到了一定的境界，就不分彼此，门类相通，语句、弦律、节奏、线条，其实都是情绪的流动。徐星拿起画笔办展览不过是为了情绪喷发，告诉人们他所感知的世界。

“多年来我一直说，文学写作是极其个人的事情，个中滋味无以为外人道，所谓天机不可泄露，这道理简单，但真正懂得人不多，所以好的作家真的不多。画家何尝不是如此，我不能把我的偏爱强加于人，作品且见仁见智把，但能把自己日子过的和创作表达高度统一的，历史上有梵高，他离我们远了去了……”（徐星语）

其实徐星与里希特、基弗等德国著名前卫画家的气质很相似，互相洇濡影响是难以言传的。许多是作用于潜意识的，比如现代绘画。已经屏除文学性和历史意味，绘画语言和主题高度融合，难分彼此，基本上是无主题变奏，每个人用自己的想象去理解，色块和线条直接作用于神经线，在基因层次相投，语言在此已然无效。

在海德堡，徐星与笔者通话道：“三十几年来，我一直没有停止过我的绘画创作，只是把它当作忙碌的拍片和写作的空闲调剂，这次应邀海德堡大学做客座教授，时间相对宽松，我在德国第二次拿起画笔。

“在海德堡完成的这个系列作品，是我第二次在德国拿起画笔，第一次是35年前，在Dören的海因·里希伯尔家中文学写作的同时也完成了一批画作，有意思的是，35年后我第二次在德国拿起画笔的动因，几乎与35年前完全一样，德国似乎对我有某种神奇的推动力，这让我有很多感触。”

海因·里希伯尔是诺贝尔文学奖获得者，在徐星到来前已经去世。海因·里希伯尔基金会安排世界各国著名作家在其旧宅写作，徐星之前在这里写作的是索尔仁尼琴。

水墨之于现代抽象有一种特殊的意义，许多中国现代画家在做尝试，这也是中国传统材料对现代艺术的贡献。

“抽象水墨的奇妙之处在于，控制水墨笔在传统宣纸上的自然变化，完美呈现构图，用线条表达出平衡、肌理、形状和空间的组合，把节奏固定在画面上。作为一名作家和电影导演，我把自己的艺术创作理念融入到我的画作中，我喜欢呈现出果断表达，这并非易事，从果断的表达中寻求画面的叙述性和镜头感，使作品具有装饰性的同时也产生情感意义。”（徐星语）

徐星的画作，之于我，对于很多观众，很有眼缘。他上述对自己水墨的解释，也是理解他文学的一个通道。

这次画展国内知道的人并不多，少数几个画界同行评论，“很难想象一个长时间没有实践过架上绘画的人，能够一下子超越写实阶段，直入那种更本质的抽象”（其实他们不知徐星有过写实阶段）。

我理解这得益于他多年在现代文学耕耘中所体验的那种生命关系。其实并没有多么艰辛，也就是眼光不同而已。徐星这次用水墨来表达他的现代感，我觉得比之于他的小说更轻捷、更直达。

20世纪初以来西方先锋者所看到的世界，他又看到了，中国人的看到而已。

还是那句话，并没有藏有什么深意，只是理解不同，他的生命的韵律就是那样，所做出的文句和线条就是这样。

本质说徐星是现代欧洲文化和中国文化之间的一个中介（桥梁一词太大），你理解了徐星，你在某种程度上就理解了西方古典以外的另一种西方，现代西方。