獨腳仙奇傳
民國年間，傳臺灣府城市郊太子廟一帶，有奇獸，獨腳，雙瞳，雌雄撲朔，能化身，一為二，二為三，三為多。形廓與獸相仿，身敏捷；無限於時空時爾來，乎爾去，穿梭自如。其名：獨腳仙。
性好居於山水天地間，常出遊於曠野林間，偶與我族結交為友。嗜酒好樂宴，漫談天地南北，醺醺然奔走高嘯，常運筆狂書作畫。書畫極妙，常言天地之道與幽微之情。其所畫者，時人言：狀似乳丁、山水；然則實為道也，乃其心所感於天地所繪之方寸。
於李昆霖畫室中對淋啤酒，面對著牆面掛滿的作品，在暢快的酒酣耳熱之際，腦中不由自主地出現了這樣的一則傳說，述說著神秘而遙遠的獨腳仙居游軼傳。在獨腳仙的宇宙裡，他獨自的穿越過去、現在、體驗著未來。空間，無論是漂浮著的島與座落著的雲朵，還是神秘的水塘或無限延伸的大洋，獨腳仙總是無聲地，彷彿不存在著時間地踞立其中。席間恍惚中與畫中的獨腳仙對望；因而，在近臘月的寒風冷月底下，我隨著獨腳仙，酒席聲響搖晃著消逝，矮屋螢光遠去，沒入潮濕闇黑。從瀰漫著酒精的空氣中醒來，對面的獨腳仙正仰首咕嚕地喝了一杯啤酒，並幸福地在我的杯子裡倒了倒一杯酒。
「我」---獨腳仙的自述
閱讀李昆霖的畫作，狀似山水亦似人體的物件與莫名的獸（畫家稱之為獨腳仙）是他《獨腳仙行旅圖》系列畫作中主要的，並且也是極其容易辨認的符號。當然，相信部分觀者第一順位躍入眼簾的，大體上是畫面中與狀似「乳房」的符號。在社會倫理的強力加持下，至今大半時間仍屬禁忌尺度的乳房，多數的讀者面對滿畫面的「乳房」，難免會紅著雙頰往情慾方面努力作想像。然而，若僅以此形象的第一意義作想像，不免疏忽了畫作符號系統中的其它層次意涵，而詮釋為肉慾的表現。關於此符號在李昆霖畫作中的意涵探討，將另起段落探討，於此且按下。
另外，則是畫作系列中幾近無所不在的「獨腳仙」。在畫作中，獨腳仙時而輪廓細節分明的單獨出現（如：〈觀看-男人與女人〉、〈面對男人與女人〉、〈男人與女人〉、〈前瞻〉、〈質疑〉、〈疑惑〉、〈女人〉、〈期待〉、〈目視〉、〈搜尋〉、〈轟天雷〉、〈烏印〉、〈對立〉、〈靜觀〉、〈變數〉、〈一朵雲〉、〈消波塊〉、〈居高臨下〉等），卻也經常三三兩兩，甚至成群出現在畫作之中（如：〈環墟〉、〈笑傲江湖-荒野〉、〈笑傲江湖-山頭〉、〈笑傲江湖-黑湖〉、〈笑傲江湖-荒塘〉、〈立山頭〉、〈萬重山〉、〈雀躍〉、〈吹氣〉等）。
而當我們試著從獨腳仙肖像畫般的〈觀看-男人與女人〉、〈面對男人與女人〉、〈男人與女人〉、〈前瞻〉、〈質疑〉、〈疑惑〉、〈女人〉等畫作切入，畫中的主體似乎陳列著獨腳仙的關係狀態及情感狀態，期待、遠望、搜尋、疑惑與質疑，絲毫不迴避地呈現他自身的狀態。以此構築「我」的主體性格，藉由各面向的描繪，凸顯獨腳仙自我的輪廓。
倘若依此結構詮釋，當畫面中出現著成群的獨腳仙時，勢必產生符號上詮釋的矛盾。也就是說一隻獨腳仙所象徵的意義，是作為畫家當下的我；那麼，為什麼在其它的畫作中，會有成群的獨腳仙的狀態？心理學在談論解析夢境時認為，在夢境中所出現的任何人物、事物，都可能是作夢者自身的投射。也就是無論是獨腳仙、或是獨腳仙們，抑或是乳房、身軀般的山水、漂浮的黑雲、山腰曲折的奇木，還是山巔崢嶸的電塔或是莫名的文明物件，都可能是代表著獨腳仙「我」的再現。
從此，筆者才得以理解獨腳仙們的存在關係。也就是在這樣的畫作內容配置裡，體現了自我的多重性格，以及自我的矛盾性格。進一步的，藉由獨腳仙在畫作空間中的出現，表現了李昆霖情感自身的內在空間；另外，對外則是關於其所身處外在環境的思考，亦或是在環境中的經驗。若以創作者本身為符號連結的對象看來，簡單的來說，就是每一隻在畫面中出現的獨腳仙，都是畫家不同當下的自我，並且藉由畫面的並置表達每個自我之間的關係。無怪乎與創作者聊天時，每每在談到獨腳仙的符號意涵時，他總是笑著說：「畫再多隻，其實都是一隻。」
居游內山水
〈朵朵雲〉、〈沈重的雲，漂浮的島〉、〈莊重〉是李昆霖內山水經典的交互象徵型態，藉此，島不再是島、雲不再是雲；而島亦是島，雲亦是雲。在他所描繪畫作主體裡，無論是漂浮著的島與座落著的雲朵，還是神秘的水塘或無限延伸的大洋，都是體現內在心靈宇宙的「內空間」。
在反重力的描繪下，內空間因此產生超現實超現實感，漂浮於蒼穹中的山巒島嶼、座落於地表的浮雲，這種溢出現實的矛盾，反轉來自於現實的景象，在濁色的空間中濃稠地擠壓觀者的感官，在畫作前觀者不由自主地進入創作者的精神世界，得以隨著獨腳仙居游其中。
因此，觀者得以在想像力的帶領下悖反重力原則，漂浮於李昆霖的內在山水，幽遊他那彷彿身軀卻又是山水的神秘世界。在李昆霖的畫作中，這個可居可游的世界雖然與傳統「山水以形媚道」有所契合，但，他的描繪並非一個永恆的烏托邦，而是帶有刻劃著現實記憶的肉身。因此，在返回現實的同時，觀者也將帶著他們在內山水的體悟回到真實世界。而無論是對於環境抑或是對於自身生活哲學的狀態將有更深一層的體悟。
土地即肉身
在給筆者的文字資料裡，有一個標題，李昆霖說：「土地即肉身」。這揭露了李昆霖對於土地的觀感與哲學。若單純的從畫面上來看，經常我們可以看到身軀似的符號形象，形象則以乳房為主要的表現主題。而在整體的畫作中，乳房也經常與山巒層峰、卷卷浮雲交互象徵。而李昆霖所下的標題「土地即肉身」在這樣交互的象徵下，便揭露了他對於山水與人肉身之間的象徵與延伸。
在許多原始民族的神話中，對於世界的認知方式，便是由身體延伸所宇宙；如中國盤古開天的故事，他的眼睛成為太陽、月亮、呼吸成為風與雲、手腳與軀幹身體成為山岳等。據此，人們得以找到遵循自然的秩序，而不至於對於未知的神秘失序恐懼。
在李昆霖的創作哲學中，身軀、乳房與大地、浮雲是相互對等，相互並且在意義上是相互象徵的符號。也因此，當我們在閱讀李昆霖畫作時不應該，僅僅以做為生理身體的乳房的意義加上社會道德的情慾視之。那些肉身軀幹，飽滿、扭曲變形的乳房、身軀，彷彿是古老玉器、金銅器上的乳丁紋般的象徵著大地孕育包容的力量。
然而，誠如在本文談到獨腳仙時所言的夢境象徵或代表的對象，在李昆霖的畫作中，乳房或身軀，亦不僅僅指稱山水、雲朵，而指稱著創作者自身。在他超現實的畫作情境中，每一個符號雖各自陳述著意義，但當觀者進行意義的固著時，符號本身便開始飄移，使得畫作本身不斷循環的產生豐富的意義，同時指向畫作本身以及作者自身。〈遠眺〉與〈萬重山〉便經典地表現了這樣的狀態。在〈遠眺〉中，群聚的乳房在迷濛粉紅的氣氛中，望向遠方的島嶼（軀體？）。島與乳房相互指涉，在神秘而廣藐的空間中，集體向著遠方的乳房，彷彿新生的生命，愉悅幸福的望著未來。〈萬重山〉在高壓凝重的黑灰色彩中，前景是許多佇立於山頭的獨腳仙，黯黑的遠景依稀地分不清是山頭還是獨腳仙，亦或者是山頭正孕生著獨腳仙？或是暗示著難以承受的神秘未來。
自我/情感/環境的交互關係
李昆霖的畫作存在著「自我/情感」與「自我/環境」的雙重象徵結構。如：〈期待〉、〈目視〉、〈小紅帽〉、〈搜尋〉描寫著存在於莫名空間中的獨腳仙，而獨腳仙獨自地在山巒大地地空間裡自處，這部分描繪著獨腳仙的情感狀態。
而〈重嶺〉、〈吊橋〉、〈雙電塔〉、〈涼亭〉、〈供給〉、〈雷峰塔〉、〈黑雕塑〉、〈放風箏〉、〈樹立〉、〈鋒芒〉等作品則以視覺經驗式的方式，表達外在空間環境的狀態，在他的行腳經驗中，文明與自然的對立是他無法迴避的鮮明視覺經驗，也因此他在表現上經常以雙峰上自然與文明物件為對比。另外，作為中介狀態的則是〈環墟〉、〈轟天雷〉、〈笑傲江湖〉系列、〈烏印〉，在此類型畫作中，獨腳仙深處山林間，盤據山頭行腳其間。
而這三類型的畫作系列，似乎說明著創作者依序地說明著自我/內在情感/外在環境間的交互關係。
土地與道
「夫聖人以神法道，而賢者通；山水以形媚道，而仁者樂。不亦幾乎？」
「今張絹素以遠暎，則昆、閬之形，可圍於方寸之內。今張絹素以遠暎，則昆、閬之形，可圍於方寸之內。 豎劃三寸，當千仞之高；橫墨數尺，體百里之迥。豎劃三寸，當千仞之高；橫墨數尺，體百里之迥。」 ---宗炳《畫山水序》
魏晉南北朝時期的美學家宗炳(375年～433年)曾經提過這樣的概念，認為山水的重要性在於它趨近道。而究竟「道」是什麼？老子在《道德經》第廿五章中談到道「有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，獨立而不改，周行而不殆，可以為天下母。」認為道先於天下，永恆不敗，是天下萬物之母。也因此他認為萬物是由道而來，在第四十二章他談到「道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。」也就是說萬物所生來自於道，那一個永恆的秩序及真理，是萬物之母。那麼對於藝術創作如何來體現「道」這樣一個終極的意義，宗炳他認為忠實的描繪山水的精神於方寸間，便能夠透過「山水」來媚道，來體悟那個最終的意義。這樣也就對於山水大地之於人間的重要性作了陳述。
而在李昆霖的畫中，以乳房為象徵的土地確實在創作者的心目中有著極其重要的意義。回到李昆霖的畫作，畫中的山水便是肉身，也就是他自身的道。認為所有人的一切來自於山水大地。也因此，他將孕育人類生命起源的乳房與山水大地連結起來，表現著大地與人的關係。在作品〈黑雕塑〉、〈渾元〉的山形輪廓中，或許可以窺得李昆霖畫作與東方山水理論的關係。
從動機上來看，畫作是李昆霖日常生活的經驗紀錄及進一步的體悟與想像。他畫作的宇宙，便是他情感的內宇宙。在濁色色彩的使用下，濃稠的神秘空間，並不暗示著現實的某地，而是在他內心深處的某種觸動。事實上，在李昆霖的山水裡，他並不是非要悟出或體現永恆存在的道不可，而是他在山水林間居游的經驗。是他在居游山水時，每個當下的感觸再現。也就是說，李昆霖的畫作所謂「證道」，是體現他的情緒感觸，而這些感觸來自於他對於外在空間環境與他的互動關係。
生活態度獨白
從上述「自我/情感/環境的交互關係」段落中，隨著獨腳仙的肖像描繪，呈現獨腳仙情緒感受，進而以「內空間」的方式表現。到獨腳仙基於所處的外在環境身處經驗書寫，描寫獨腳仙所感受的環境視覺更迭。因此，隨著獨腳仙的腳步，觀者得以在他的內在世界幽游，體驗獨腳仙的生活態度，閱讀他的獨白。
在此系列李昆霖以肖像的方式書寫獨腳仙傳，描寫情感、困惑、疑問與對神秘未來的窺望。以獨腳仙引領觀者走看他的「內空間」山水，聆聽他關於肉身與土地的道理，隨著空間中林木、電塔、電線、小屋、涼亭的景觀更迭，思索人與土地的關係，文明與自然的關係。
悠閒幸福時，如〈涼亭〉一般地，半朵浮雲，平遠靜觀大地之巔。無人的涼亭荷畔，在飽滿的土地上，萬籟俱寂地享受著當下。神情激動的〈轟天雷〉中，孤立於枯萎乾癟的大地，仰天狂嘯，而枯枝垂首力竭。抑或是以自嘲的方式牢騷著對於環境衰敗的不滿，〈朵朵雲〉以騷動的黑雲來牽動擠壓觀者情緒；幾乎隱沒的島，李昆霖讓它漂浮著一廂情願地離脫於土地之外。此外，〈雙電塔〉、〈供給〉、〈雷峰塔〉、〈黑雕塑〉、〈鋒芒〉等都是關於他視覺經驗的景觀描繪。在〈鋒芒〉中，藉由並置著山巔尖銳的文明物件與自然的樹木，以枯竭、外露的岩盤來展現自然的韌性；以樹木包圍著的文明物件來呈現文明的介入。
雖然，在他的作品中確實涉及了對環境景觀的描述，但閱讀李昆霖的作品，無須犬儒派的慷慨激昂，只要靜靜地悠閒地觀看他由山水所證悟的哲學，隨著獨腳仙行旅圖，亦步亦趨地旅遊他的內空間山水；或許迴身自照才赫然發現自己亦是不斷行旅的獨腳仙。
(收錄於李昆霖畫冊《山賦》)
Mythology of the One Foot Celestial Being Perng
It is said that in the Republic times, around the Taizi Tempo area near the suburb of the Taiwan Prefectural city, there is a strange animal: on foot, two eyes, unknowing whether male or female It can avatar, one into two, two into three, and three into many. Its shape looks like animal, it moves quickly, time and space cannot limit it, it suddenly come and suddenly go, shuttle freely in and out. Its name is One Foot Celestial Being (OFCB).
It likes to dwell between mountains and waters, between heaven and earth. It often travels around wilderness and among forests. By chance it makes friend with my people. It likes to drink, attend a banquet, and talk about heaven and earth and the universe. When it is drunk, it runs and shouts, and often wields the pen to write and paint wildly. Its paint-ing and calligraphy are extremely ingenious It often talks about the Tao of the heaven and earth, and about its own subtle emotions About what it paints, people say that it looks like breast peaks－mountains and waters, but it is Tao indeed. It is what its heart feels about the universe.
While drinking beers with Lee, Kuen lin in his studio, facing all the works on the wall, in the carefree of a state of drunken ecstasy, it occurs to me this Mythology, talking about the mysterious and faraway story- living and moving- about the OFCB. In the universe of the OFCB, it shuttles alone among the past, the present, and the future. Space, no matter the floating island and the landed cloud, or the mysterious ponds or the unlimitedly stretching ocean, the OFCB is always standing among them silently, as if time do not exist. In the banquet, in a trance, face to face to the OFCB in the paintings, under the cold wind and cool moon of near- December I went away with the OFCB into a humid, dark and low room. The noises of the banquet faded away shakily. Awakening from an air filling with alcohol, an OFCB sitting in front of me is raising its head to drink a bear rumblingly, and happily pour a cup of beer into my cup.
“I”－The One Foot Celestial Being's Self Narration
In reading the works of Lee,Kuen in,tho objects in shapes of mountain and-waters and the human bodies,and the unknown animal（which the artist calls it OFCB）,are the main and very easily recognized signs of the series "The One Foot Celestial Being's Journey Map". Of course, it is to be convinced that for some observers the first thing that jump into the vision is the sign that look like "breast" in the paintings. Under the strong influence of the social ethic,the breast isstill a taboo. So,for the majority of the observer，facing breasts filling the entire frame, it is hard to avoid imaging hardly to the erotic dimension, with red checks. Nevertheless, if one just imagine according to the first meaning of the shape, one is surely to neglect the other dimension of the sign system of the paintings, and just interpret it as eroticism. About the meaning of this sign in Lee's painting,I will discuss later on.
Besides,I want to talk about the "OFCB" that appears almost everywhere in th eries. In the paintings, the OFCB some-times appears solo with clear shape and details（like the "Watching -- Man and woman", "Face to Man and Woman", "Man and Woman", "Looking Forward", "Query", "Wondering", "woman", Expecting",Visual", "Searching", "A Booming Thun der", "Black Print", "Counterpose", "Contemplation", " Variable", "A Cloud", "Wave Breaker", "Looking Down from a Height", etc.）, sometimes appears in two or three or in large numbers（like the "Surrounded Ruins", "Song of the Roamer Waste Land", "song of the Roamer-Hilltop", " Song of the Roamer-Black Lakr", "Song of the Roamer-Waste Pond", " Standing on a Hilltop", “Countless Layer of Mountains", "Jump for Joy", "Blowing",etc.）
When we try to cut into from the portrait-liked paintings of the OFCB-like"Watching-Man and woman", "Facing Man and Woman", "Man nd woman", "Looking Forward", "Query", "Wondering", "Woman", etc.-the themes of the paintings seem to tell about OFCB's relationship and emotion states：expecting,looking forward,searching,wondering and query,all of them slightly do not avoid presenting the states of himself. By this way he constructs the main characters of the"l", by way of the description of many dimensions, he presents the shape of the l of OFCB.
Interpreting this way, when a group of OFCB appears in a painting,there must be a contradiction explaining the sing. Namely, the symbolic meaning of one OFCB is the present I of the artist.Then, why in other paintings there are OFCBs in group？In psychology, when we analysis the dreams, we consider any person and any object that appears in the dream as a project of the dreamer. Namely,no matter it is one OFCB or many OFCBs,or breast,body like mountains and waters floating black clouds,tortuos strange wood on the hillside,or the lofty electricity tower on the hilltop, or an unknown civilized object, all are possibly a representation of the“I”of the OFCB.
In according to this,I can eventually understand the existential relationship of those OFCBs.FCBs.Namely,in this kind of paint. Ings,the artist expresses the multiple characters of the self,and the contradictory characters of the self.Moreover,by way of the appearance of the OFCB in the space of the paintings, Mr. Lee expresses the inner space of his own emotion. In addition,in front of the outside,it is about some thinking of the surroundings of him, or some experiences in the surroundings. If we look at the creator himself as the object connected by the sign, briefly speaking, every OFCB that appears in the paintings is the self of the artist in different instants. And the juxtaposition of them in the paintings expreses the relationships of every self. It is no strange that when I chat with the producer about the symbolic meaning of the OFCB ,he always says with a smile that："No matter how many I paint, all are the same one".
Dwelling and Traveling in the Inner Mountains and Waters
The works "Clouds", "Heavy Cloud-Floating Island", and "Solemnity" of Mr. Lee are the classical inner mountains and waters symbols, in which an island is no longer island, a cloud is no longer cloud; but an island is also island, and a cloud is also cloud. Those themes in his paintings, no matter the floating island or the landed cloud, the mysterious pond or the unlimited ocean,all are presentation of the "inner space" of the inner spiritual universe.
Under a drawing of an antigravity type, the inner space is therefore causing a sense of surrealism：floating mountains and island, landed clouds. The contradiction run out of the reality, reverse the scenes from the reality, squeeze densely the senses of the viewers in a dull color space. In front of the paintings, the viewers cannot help but enter into the spiritual world of the painter, and then live and move with the One Foot Celestial Being.
Hence, leading by the imagination, going against the gravity principle, the viewers can float in the inner mountains and waters of Lee, Kuen lin, travel in the mysterious world that seems body and mountains and waters. In the paintings of Mr. Lee, this world that one can live and travel,is conform to the tradition："the mountains and waters go near the Tao by their shapes". Yet his description is not an everlasting Utopia, but a body that inscribed a memory of the reality. So, when returning to the reality, the viewers will bring with them the enlightenment that they have experienced in the inner moun- tains and waters. And they will have a deeper enlightenment to ether their environment or their life philosophy.
The Earth is the Body
There is a headline "The Earth is the Body" in the data that Lee handed to me. It brings to light Mr. Lee's impressions and philosophy of the Earth. Simply viewing on the paintings, we often see the symbolic signs of the body, and the breast is the main theme of them. In the whole works, the breast is frequently inter symbolizes with mountains and clouds. The headline "The Earth is the Body", under this inter- symbolization, exposes his symbol and extension of the mountains and waters and human body.
In the mythologies of many primitive peoples, human's way of recognition to the world is from the body to the universe. For example, in the Chinese mythology of Pan Gu Created the Universe, his eyes became the sun and the moon, his breaths became the wind and the clouds, his hands and feet and his body became mountains. According to this way, people can find the order to follow the nature, and not feel disorder or fear to the unknown mystery.
In the philosophy of creation of Mr. Lee, the body and the breast, the earth and the clouds are reciprocal signs one to the other, and are signs that inter-symbolize in the meaning. For this reason, when we read the paintings of Mr. Lee, we shouldn't view it just with the meaning of the physical body breast, plus an eroticism of the social ethic. Those bodies, filled or tortuous breasts and bodies, are alike the breast nails or breast veins of the ancient jades and metal bronzes, symbolize the breeding and containing power of the earth.
However，just like the above when we talk about the OFCB and the dream symbol or the representative object, in the paintings of Lee. the breast or the body is not only pointing to mountains and waters, or clouds, but also to the creator himself. In his surrealistic painting circumstances, although every sign states respect- tively its meaning, but when the viewers are trying to fix their meanings, the signs begin to float, making the paintings produce in circulate abundant meanings, meanwhile point to the paintings themselves and the painter himself. The "Looking Far into the Distance" and the "Countless Layers of Mountains" are classi cally expressing this state. in the former one, a group of breasts, in a misty and pink atmosphere, are looking at the island（body？）far into the distance. The island and the breast point to each other, the breasts that look collectively far into the distance in a mysterious and wide space, are like newborn lives, looking forward to the future happily. The latter one, among heavy dark colors, there are many OFCBs Standing on hilltops in the foreground, in the dark background there are somewhat hilltops or OFCBs., or hilltops that are pregnant to many OFCBs？Or does it hint at the mysterious future hardly to endure？
Inter-relationships of Self-Emotion-circumstances
There is a double symbolic structure of "Self-Emotion" and "Self-circumstance" in the paintings of Mr. Lee. For example, the "Expecting", the "Visual", the "Red Cap", and the "Searching" are describing the OFCE that exists in an unnamable space, and the OFCB are staying alone in the space of the mountains and earth. This part describes the emotional states of the OFCB.
Other paintings like the "Countless Mountains", the-suspension Bridge", the "Double Electricity Towers", the "Black Sculpture ", the "Kite Flying", the "Tree Erecting", and the "Spearhead " are using a visual experience to express the outer space. In his travel experiences, the contrast of the civilization and the nature is a clear visual experience unable to neglect. So in the expression, he often contrasts to nature and the civilized objects on the twin peaks。Furthermore, to be in the middle state are the "Surrounded Ruins", the "A Booming Thunder", the"song of the Roamer" series, and the "Black Print". In this kind of paintings, the OFCB is deeply dwelling among mountain forest, being on hilltops, or traveling among them.
These three kinds of painting series seem to say that, the creator is showing in sequence the inter- relationships of the self-inner emotion-outer circumstances.
The Earth and the Tao
A Saint can imitate the Tao by his spirit, and a Sage can, too. The mountains and waters approach the Tao by their forms, and a Benevolent Man enjoys them. Aren't the three near？
To open a white silk for a far scene to reflect on it, then even the huge Kunlung Mountain's form can be enclosed in a square cun. A vertical stroke of three cuns is served as a thousand rens height, several chis of horizontal stroke is served as a hundred miles wide.
An esthetic Zongbing of Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties（375-433 D.C.）had mentioned such an idea that the importance of the mountains and waters is their approaching to the Tao. But what an earth is the Tao？Lao Zi talked about it in Tao Te Ching Ch.25："There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene, empty, solitary, unchanging, infinite, eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. "The Tao is before the universe, eternal and is the mother of all things on earth. So he thought that all things on earth come from the Tao. in Ch.42 he said："The Tao gives birth to one. one gives birth to Two. Two gives birth to Three. Three gives birth to all things." That is to say, all things on earth come from the Tao, which is an eternal order and truth, and the mother of all things. Then, how does an artistic creation presents the ultimate meaning of the Tao, Zongbing thought that：to be loyal in describe the spirit of the mountains and waters in a square cuns, then one can approach the Tao, and can experience the ultimate meaning. As such, he described the importance of the mountains and waters and the earth to the human's world.
In the paintings of Lee, Kuen lin, the earth that symbolizes the breast is indeed having an extremely important meaning in the creator's heart. Back to his paintings, the mountains and waters in the paintings is human body, and is the Tao of himself. He thinks that, all that human has comes from the mountains and waters and the earth. So, he units the breast that breeds all human beings with the mountains and waters and the earth, expressing thus the relation of the earth and the human beings. Perhaps we can see the relationship of Lee's paintings and the eastern mountains and waters theories in the forms of mountains of his works the "Black Sculpture" and the "Primitive Chaos".
From the point of view of motivation, the paintings are records of Lee's daily life experiences and of his advanced understanding and imagination. The universe of his paintings is the inner universe of his emotion. Under the use of dull colors, the dense mysterious space is not a hint of somewhere in reality, but some touches deep in the heart. In fact, Lee does not intend to understand or reflect the eternal Tao in the mountains and waters, but the experiences of his living and traveling among mountains and waters and forest. They are the representation of every present touching when living and traveling among mountains and waters. That is to say, the so-called "testimony of the Tao" in Lee's paintings is in the presentation of his emotions and touching, which comes from the inter-relationship of he and his surrounding.
Live Attitudes and Monologues
From the above paragraph "Inter-relationships of Self-Emotion- circum- stances", we see that：Lee first depicts the OFCB's portrait, presents its emotions and touching, using the "inner space" way of expression. And then, go into the deep experience writing of the OFCB facing his surroundings, describing the touching of the OFCB by the surrounding. Therefore, following the steps of the OFCB, the viewers can travel in its inner world; experience its live attitudes, read its monologues.
In this series, Lee writes the biography of the OFCB in the way of portrait painting, describing its emotions, doubts, queries and peeping into the mysterious future. He uses the OFCB to lead the viewers to see the mountains and waters in his "inner space", to hear his arguments about the body and the earth, and following the change of scenes from the trees, electricity tower, electric wires, small rooms and pavilion, to think about the relationship of the human and the earth, of the civilization and the nature.
When he carefree and happy, as in the "Pavilion", half of the coud contemplates silently on the top of the earth. The pavilion without a person, on the full earth, all is still, enjoys the present. The exited look "A Booming Thunder" erects alone on a withered and shriveled earth, is facing upwards and shouting crazily, but the withered branch is facing downwards and is exhausted. Moreover, there is in a self-ridiculed way, unsatisfied and complaint to the decline of the environment, the "Clouds" uses stirred up black clouds to affect and press the viewers' emotion; an almost disappeared island, Lee makes it float, leaving wishfully out of the earth. Furthermore, the "Double Electricity Towers", the "Provide", the "Thunder Peak Tower", the "Black Sculpture" and the "Spearhead", are all landscape description of his visual experience. In the "Spearhead", by way of the juxtaposition of sharp civilized objects and natural trees on the hilltop, he uses dried up and exposed rocks to show the resilience of the nature; and uses the civilized objects encircled by trees to express the interference of the civilization.
Although in his paintings there are description of landscape of the environment, but there's no need of Cynic excitement in reading Lee's works, all that one needs is to be quietly and leisurely in contemplating the philosophy that he had experienced from the mountains and waters, in following the One Foot Celestial Being's Journey Map step by step and travel in the mountains and waters of his inner space; and perhaps when you turn around and reflect yourself, you'll discover awesomely that you yourself is also an unceasing traveling One Foot Celestial Being.