用我的葫芦梦承载我的中国梦
凤凰新闻社讯  来源：韩国新华报社 记者/ 金相律 摄影报道   

用我的葫芦梦承载我的中国梦Achieving My China Dream through My Gourd Dream【本报讯】 记者/ 金相律 摄影报道这里是联合国大...

用我的葫芦梦承载我的中国梦

Achieving My China Dream through My Gourd Dream

【本报讯】 记者/ 金相律 摄影报道

这里是联合国大厦，总会有很多人慕名来到这里，他也是其中之一。眼下正值十二月，迎着刺骨的寒风，找角度、调镜头、按快门，看着照片里意气风发的自己和背景中迎风飘扬的中国国旗以及联合国大厦，他在这一刻忘却了自己在前一秒还被冻得瑟瑟发抖。

This is the United Nations Headquarters, a place which many people have visited, including him. It was December. He looked for an angle, adjusted the lens and pressed the shutter in the biting wind. Looking at himself in the picture, the Chinese national flag fluttering in the wind and the United Nations Headquarters building in the background of the pictures, he totally forgot the shivering cold. 
 

这个质朴温和、不论去哪里都十分低调的人，头一次这么认真地去给自己拍一张照片。

For the first time, the honest gentleman who have always been keeping a low profile, took a picture of himself so seriously.
 

“这里是我的梦想。”他指了指背后的联合国大厦，鼻头冻得有点泛红。

"It has been my dream to come here." He pointed to the United Nations Headquarters, and his nose was a red with cold. 
 

他指的是希望有朝一日“最葫芦·葫芦文化丝路行”活动走进联合国，在联合国的舞台上展示中华民族的特色文化。此刻站在这里，他不禁涌起一股向世界宣誓的冲动：“将葫芦文化进行到底！”。

He was referring to the hope that one day "Glamour of the Gourd -- Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road" would enter the United Nations and display the unique Chinese culture there. Standing here at that moment, he felt an impulse to swear to the world, "Carry on the gourd culture to the end!" 
 

这个立誓把一生献给葫芦文化的人，每每一谈起葫芦，便立刻变得兴奋和激昂起来，话匣子如开了闸的江水，滔滔不绝。

The man who vowed to devote his life to gourd culture immediately became excited and talkative when it came to the gourd.

扈鲁在联合国大厦

Hu Lu at the United Nations Headquarters

他是扈鲁，本名扈庆学，曲阜师范大学教授、硕士生导师，当代“葫芦画派”创始人，葫芦画社社长，著名画家，葫芦文化研究著名学者。他出生在沂蒙山区“葫芦崖”脚下，神话传说“八仙过海”之一“铁拐李”的宝葫芦即采自此山。因古代曾称葫芦为扈鲁，遂以此为笔名，寓意“扈姓鲁人”。

He is Hu Lu, whose real name is Hu Qingxue, a professor and postgraduate supervisor of Qufu Normal University. He is the founder of the modern Gourd Painting School, President of Gourd Painting Studio, a famous painter and renowned scholar of gourd culture research. He was born at the foot of the "Gourd Cliff" of the Yimeng mountainous area, where the precious bottle gourd of a mythical figure Tieguaili in the Chinese folklore was picked. Since the gourd was called hulu in Chinese, he made Hu Lu his pseudonym to show his surname "Hu" and his identity as a native of Shandong (commonly known as Lu in short). 
 

这次，他带着自己的葫芦画作“漂洋过海”，专程到访美国，意在传播中华传统文化“瑰宝”。这也是扈鲁继北京、上海、辽宁、云南、山东、河南和俄罗斯、白俄罗斯、加拿大、日本、马尔代夫等地之后的又一次“最葫芦·葫芦文化丝路行”巡回展演。 

This time he made a special visit to the United States with his gourd paintings to spread the treasures of traditional Chinese culture. It was another show of the "Glamour of the Gourd -- Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road" after it entered Beijing, Shanghai, Liaoning Province, Yunnan Province, Shandong Province and Henan Province in China, as well as countries like Russia, Belarus, Canada, Japan and Maldives.
 

葫芦，福禄也。应当说，葫芦祝福了他，他也给葫芦带来巨大的福气。

The Chinese pronunciation of gourd sounds like the Chinese word fu lu (happiness and wealth). It could be said that gourds bless him, and he also treasures gourds. 

 

筑梦：“葫芦是他生命中的图腾”

Building the dream: "gourd is the totem of his life"

第一次见到葫芦，他便被那种雅致、和谐的造型，以及其中散发的神韵所打动。那从天棚上面垂下来的葫芦，层层掩映在扇叶之后，硬质的外壳逐渐由青绿变成深棕，裹在里面的似乎是一种神秘的内力，一直带给他无限的向往与想象。那拥有着浑然天成圆润球形的葫芦，似乎就是福禄祥和与和谐美满在人世间的化身，只要和葫芦在一起，他心里便满是安稳，心也因之淡然、恬适。“我上小学时的第一幅素描作品就是家门前的葫芦。”他说，从那以后他有了成为画家的梦想，葫芦也就成为他的第一个“知己”，从此便结下了一生的缘分。 

The first time he saw the gourds, he was attracted by their elegant and balanced shape and the charm it exuded. The gourds hanging from the ceiling hide behind the leaves, and their hard shells gradually turn from green to dark brown. It seems that a mysterious internal force gives him infinite yearning and imagination all the time. The natural round outline of gourds looks like a perfect embodiment of happiness, wealth, auspiciousness, and a harmonious and perfect life. As long as he is with gourds, he feels safe, simple and reposeful. "My first sketch in the elementary school was about the gourd in front of my house." He said that from then on, he had the dream of becoming a painter, and the gourd became his first "bosom friend", and since then their friendship had begun. 
 

1983年，扈鲁以优异成绩考入了曲阜师范大学美术学院，师从杨象宪、高天祥、杨硕等先生。为创作好葫芦题材花鸟画，扈鲁梳理了历史上从吴昌硕到齐白石，再到潘天寿等先生关于葫芦题材的绘画作品，潜心研究学习。更为人称道的是，他对葫芦有着极强的艺术感悟力，善于捕捉到葫芦细微之处的魅力，笔下葫芦风格鲜明自有神韵，在博取现代绘画各流派之长中渐成一派。

In 1983, Hu Lu was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts of Qufu Normal University with outstanding exam results, and learnt from Yang Xiangxian, Gao Tianxiang, Yang Shuo and other professors. In order to create gourd-themed flower-and-bird paintings, Hu Lu studied the gourd-themed paintings by renowned painters in history like Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi and Pan Tianshou, and devoted himself to the study. What is more commendable is that he has a sharp artistic perception and is good at capturing gourds' subtle charm. The gourds in his paintings have distinctive features and charm, which gradually constitute a unique school that absorbs the advantages of schools of modern paintings. 

扈鲁写意葫芦画作

Hu Lu's freehand gourd painting

观扈鲁的葫芦画，挥洒自如的线条看似桀骜不驯，却在摇曳的姿态中达成了一种内在的秩序和平衡，透射出苍劲拙朴、法于自然的恢宏气势。孔仲起先生就曾称赞道“扈鲁的作品构图完整并富于变化，画面形式或若即若离或痛快淋漓，尤其是画藤，将书法中的狂草技法融于画中，流露出中国书法应有的气势和神韵。”扈鲁所画无论是葫芦、叶片，还是鸟雀，皆动静相宜，在构图上有破有立，可谓是“计白当黑，无画处皆成妙境”。得益于精勤研习、精诚所至，扈鲁的葫芦作品日益精进：《福禄》获第十四届当代中国花鸟画大展精英奖、《墨葫》被中国葫芦文化博物馆收藏展出……其艺术作品被海内外众多博物馆、画廊、学术研究机构和收藏家争相收藏。陈玉圃先生感叹道“葫芦已经成为扈鲁的一种文化符号，成为他生命中的图腾”。

In Hu Lu's gourd paintings, the free flowing lines seem to be unruly, but an internal order and balance are achieved in the swaying posture, reflecting the magnificence of vigorousness, plainness and naturalness. Kong Zhongqi, a professor of China Academy of Art, praised that "the composition of Hu Lu's paintings is complete and full of changes, displaying either blurred or clear-cut beauty. The gourd vines, in particular, absorb the techniques of cursive scripts and embody the charm of Chinese calligraphy". Whether on gourds, leaves or birds, Hu's painting keeps dynamism and stillness in a balance. In terms of the composition, he breaks the old rules and creates new ones, and even the blank space in a painting reveals exquisite artistic conception. Thanks to his hard work and perseverance, Hu Lu's gourd works are getting better and better. "Fu Lu" won the Elite Award of the 14th Contemporary Chinese Flower-and-Bird Painting Exhibition, and "Mo Hu" was collected and exhibited by the Chinese Gourd Culture Museum. His art works have been collected by many museums, galleries, academic research institutions and collectors at home and abroad. Chen Yupu exclaimed that gourd had become a culture symbol of Hu Lu and a totem in his life. 
 

难能可贵的是扈鲁不仅是一位专注于葫芦画的艺术家，还是一位葫芦文化研究专家，正如有专家所言：“扈鲁先生笔下的葫芦画是有灵魂的，他多年致力于学术层面的葫芦文化挖掘，无疑使他的创作超越葫芦本体，赋予更加丰富的内涵”。十多年来，正是为追求绘画创作与葫芦文化内涵发掘的相长共进，扈鲁一直在逐梦的路上坚定前行：2007年创办葫芦画社，开通葫芦画社网站、葫芦画社公众平台，并定期出版发行《葫芦画社报》；2010年创办集历史、文化、艺术于一身的多功能葫芦文化博物馆，收集海内外的葫芦图像、葫芦器物、非遗藏品和工艺品等几千余件。在研究领域，扈鲁在《文艺研究》《美术观察》《国画家》《民俗研究》《理论学刊》等核心学术期刊发表《葫芦文化互通：“一带一路”沿线国家民心相同的独特路径》《葫芦题材中国画的图像意义及风格特征》《葫芦民俗文化意义浅析》《全球化语境下的中国画艺术精神》等专业研究论文和画作一百余篇(幅)；出版专著《扈鲁画语》《写意葫芦》两部，担任总主编，由中华书局出版九卷本《葫芦文化丛书》一套，出版《霓舞华声·最葫芦》光盘一件；主持完成“葫芦题材花鸟画及其民俗文化意义阐释”“葫芦民俗及葫芦文化产业发展研究”“拉祜族葫芦文化研究”等省部级重点课题4项，其葫芦文化研究成果荣获山东省社会科学优秀成果奖3项，并多次应邀在国内外葫芦文化学术研讨会上做主题演讲。后来，扈鲁又将努力拓展至非物质文化遗产的抢救性保护与还原方面，积极支持建立了“曲阜师范大学·济宁市圣地非物质文化遗产协同创新中心”，推动建立了“曲阜师范大学·枣庄市葫芦非物质文化协同创新中心”，将对非物质文化遗产的研究保护与利用提升至校地合作层面；恢复了已经失传的“峄山道乐”——道教中葫芦器乐和道乐乐谱与其他相关习俗；整理了《葫芦与建筑》《葫芦与风水》《葫芦与神话》《葫芦与民俗》《葫芦与宗教》《葫芦与器皿》《葫芦与绘画》《葫芦与器乐》《葫芦与生殖崇拜》等十余册文化资料等等。

What is commendable is that Hu Lu is not only an artist who specializes in gourd painting, but also an expert on gourd culture research. As some experts said, "Hu Lu's gourd paintings have souls. He has devoted himself to exploring gourd culture at the academic level for many years, which undoubtedly contributes to richer connotations of his works." For more than ten years Hu Lu has been firmly pursuing his dreams, striving for a mutual development in both painting art and the exploration of gourd culture. In 2007, he established the Gourd Painting Studio, opened a WeChat Official Accounts platform and website for the Gourd Painting Studio, and regularly published Gourd Painting Studio Papers. In 2010, he established a Gourd Culture Museum with historical, cultural and artistic functions, where thousands of gourd images, gourd utensils, non-legacy collections and handicrafts have been collected at home and abroad. In the realm of research, Hu Lu has published more than 100 academic research papers and paintings such as "Gourd Culture Exchange: A Unique Way for Countries along the Belt and Road to Enhance People-to-People Connectivity", "The Characteristic and Symbolic Meaning of Gourds in China", "Brief Analysis of Cu What is commendable is that Hu Lu is not only an artist who specializes in gourd painting, but also an expert on gourd culture research. As some experts said, "Hu Lu's gourd paintings have souls. He has devoted himself to exploring gourd culture at the academic level for many years, which undoubtedly contributes to richer connotations of his works." For more than ten years Hu Lu has been firmly pursuing his dreams, striving for a mutual development in both painting art and the exploration of gourd culture. In 2007, he established the Gourd Painting Studio, opened a WeChat Official Accounts platform and website for the Gourd Painting Studio, and regularly published Gourd Painting Studio Papers. In 2010, he established a Gourd Culture Museum with historical, cultural and artistic functions, where thousands of gourd images, gourd utensils, non-legacy collections and handicrafts have been collected at home and abroad. In the realm of research, Hu Lu has published more than 100 academic research papers and paintings such as "Gourd Culture Exchange: A Unique Way for Countries along the Belt and Road to Enhance People-to-People Connectivity", "The Characteristic and Symbolic Meaning of Gourds in China", "Brief Analysis of Cultural Meanings of Gourd Folk" and "The Artistic Spirit of Chinese Painting in the Context of Globalization" in core academic journals such as Literature and Art Studies, Art Observation, Traditional Chinese Painter, Folklore Studies and Theory Journal, two monographs entitled Paintings of Hu Lu and Freehand Painting of Gourd, and one CD of Ni Dance Voices·The Best Gourd. The nine -volume Gourd Culture Series edited by the chief editor Hu Lu was published by Zhonghua Book Company. He has undertaken and completed four key provincial research projects, such as "Gourd-themed flower-and-bird painting and its folk culture significance", "Research on the development of gourd folklore and gourd culture industry", "Gourd Culture Research of Lahu Nationality", etc. The research results won three awards of outstanding achievements in social science of Shandong Province. And he was invited to give keynote speeches at academic seminars on gourd culture at home and abroad. Later, Hu Lu extended his efforts to the preservation and restoration of intangible culture heritage. He actively supported the establishment of "Qufu Normal University·Jining Holy Land Intangible Cultural Heritage Collaborative Innovation Center" and "Qufu Normal University·Zaozhuang Gourd Intangible Cultural Collaborative Innovation Center", which promoted the research, protection and utilization of intangible culture heritage to the level of cooperation between the university and local governments. The lost Mount Yi Taoist Music on gourd instrumental music and Taoist music scores and other related customs in Taoism has been restored. And he sorted out more than ten volumes of cultural materials, such as "Gourd and Architecture", "Gourd and Geomancy", "Gourd and Myth", "Gourd and Folklore", "Gourd and Religion", "Gourd and Utensils", "Gourd and Painting", "Gourd and Instrumental Music", "Gourd and Reproduction Worship", etc. 

功夫不负有心人，越来越多的人知道了齐鲁大地这位“痴于葫芦文化的扈鲁”，他的艺术事迹被《人民日报》《光明日报》、《中国文化报》、《羲之书画报》、《中国网》、《腾讯新闻》、《新浪网》、《凤凰网》、《今日头条》、《网易》、美国《世界日报》、《环球评报》、《亚太新闻中心》、《西班牙新华报》、《波兰网》、《非洲时报》、《乌克兰网》、《迪拜新闻报》、《亚太新闻中心》、日本《全日本爱瓢会会报》、韩国《韩国新华报》和中央电视台、中国网络电视台、山东卫视等诸多海内外新闻媒体报道。中国葫芦文化发起人游琪女士对他赞誉有加：“中国是葫芦的故乡，有你长期这样坚持葫芦题材花鸟画创作和葫芦文化研究真是太好了”。

God helps those who help themselves. More and more people know that Hu Lu of Shandong is obsessed with gourd culture. His artistic activities have been widely reported by the media at home and abroad, including People's Daily, Guangming Daily, China Culture Daily, Xizhi Fine Arts, China.com.cn, Tencent News, Sina, Ifeng, TouTiao, Netease, the World Journal of U. S., Global Pingbao, Asia Pacific News Center, Asfuchina, Plwnews, African Times, Cnual, Dubai News, Journal of Japanese Scoop Admirer Association, South Korean Xinhua News, CCTV, CNTV, Shandong TV, etc. Ms. You Qi, the initiator of Chinese gourd culture, praised him: "China is the hometown of gourd. I am glad that you have been sticking to the creation of gourd-themed flower-and-bird paintings and devoted to gourd culture research all along." 

逐梦：“选择一条最有意义的航线”

Pursuing Dreams: "Choose the most meaningful course."

荣誉没有让扈鲁迷失自我，即使有了今日的成就，在他身上却找不到一点浮华，就像潜滋暗长、伸藤爬架的葫芦一般，有的只是质朴与坚定，好似外界繁华的世界跟自己毫无关系，在高铁上也会去习字、创作、学习，他享受着属于自己的那份对葫芦的执著追求和对目标的矢志不移，对于葫芦文化的那份初心不曾有过动摇：“我要在这个生我养我的土地上干出点样子来，让家乡的葫芦蘸满中国传统文化的色彩走出去，让更多的人了解葫芦文化、热爱葫芦文化，给葫芦打开一个更广阔的世界。”

Hu Lu doesn't lose himself in honor. Even with today's achievements, Mr. Hu doesn't show any vanity. He is just like the gourds which grow in the dark and stretch their vines on the vine frame. They are simple but tough, as if the outside world has nothing to do with them. Besides, even on the high-speed train, Hu always spends his time in practicing penmanship, writing or learning. He enjoys his persistent pursuit of studying gourds and the commitment to his goal. Hu Lu's original determination to study gourd culture has never been shaken, and he said, "I'm going to do something on the land where I was born and raised. I want to present gourd culture to the world as a part of Chinese traditional culture and let more people know about gourd culture and love it so as to open a broader world for it."

逐梦路上，扈鲁在关注着国内外的葫芦文化“同行者”，希望能够相互切磋，结交朋友，提携后辈。对一位在北京地下室对葫芦进行几个月彩绘创作的艺术家，扈鲁感动于她对葫芦艺术的诚挚热爱与追求，同时也分享着自己对于葫芦文化的理解——“只是有着艺术家们一般的努力是不够的，需要将当代审美需求融合在一起，让更多的人了解热爱参与其中”。在扈鲁看来“要扬帆起航，就必须选择一条最有意义的航线”。

On his way of pursuing dreams, Hu Lu has been paying attention to his "companions" in studying gourd culture both at home and abroad. He expects to make friends with them so that they can learn from each other and help the successors. There is an artist who has created colored paintings on gourds for several months at a basement in Beijing. Hu Lu was moved by her sincere love and pursuit of gourd art. Meanwhile, he also shared his understanding of gourd culture. "It is not enough just to make efforts as ordinary artists. We need to combine gourd culture with modern aesthetic demand so that more people can know it, love it, and eventually get involved in it. In Hu Lu's opinion, "To start the journey, we must choose the most meaningful course." 

逐梦的航线上，扈鲁的视野不仅在中国，更把目光投向了世界，他说“作为一种人文瓜果，葫芦文化所蕴含的追求幸福、和谐、包容等价值是超越国界的，葫芦不仅是中华民族的文化符号，也是世界各国共有的吉祥图腾“。他以“推动中华优秀传统文化传承弘扬，为中华文化繁荣兴盛贡献力量”为舵，以深刻挖掘‘民间’‘民俗’‘民族’中的神话传说、文学艺术、饮食医药、节庆民俗等优秀传统葫芦文化为帆，立志利用葫芦这一没有国界的载体，宣传推介中国的葫芦民俗文化，传播好中华优秀文化。扈鲁说：“中国进入了新时代，劲风鼓帆催征途，把葫芦文化传向世界的信心更足了”。

On the course of pursuing his dreams, Mr. Hu not only casts his eye on China, but also on the whole world. He said, "As a cultural product, the gourd contains values of pursuing happiness, harmony and tolerance, all of which are shared by the world. Gourd is not only the cultural symbol of Chinese nation, but also the common auspicious totem of other countries in the world. He takes promoting the inheritance of excellent traditional Chinese culture and contributing to the prosperity of Chinese culture as his goal; he takes deepening exploration of the excellent traditional gourd culture, which includes myths, legends, literature, art, diet, medicine, festivals, folk-customs, as his major tasks. Hu resolves to use gourds, the carrier without border, to promote China's gourd folklore culture and spread the excellent Chinese culture to the world. Hu Lu said, "China has entered a new era. Just as a strong wind can push a ship to set sail, it greatly boasts our confidence to push the gourd culture to the world. 

为此，扈鲁克服重重困难聚合海内外学术研究资源，吸引不同国家的学者专家共同加盟编纂《葫芦文化丛书》，推动葫芦文化研究的国际化进程。他还策划开展了“最葫芦·葫芦文化丝路行”这一享誉海内外的传播工程，借助极富民族传统文化特色的艺术表现形式，同时融入特有的葫芦文化元素，在“一带一路”沿线国家展示交流葫芦文化，并特地将自己的作品无偿捐献出来，永久留在展地国。每一处展演，扈鲁既是策划组织者，也是身体力行的一份子，他参与其中也乐在其中，以至于有人好奇“那么多次的葫芦文化展演，为什么每次他精力都那么充沛？”扈鲁有点腼腆地告诉记者“葫芦文化已成为生命中不可缺少的一部分，每次面对的是不同的人，慕名前来交流的葫芦爱好者也都带来了自己的心得，所以难抑心中的兴奋与激动。”每一处展演，都会引起当地的“葫芦文化热”。一位参与过“一带一路”展演的同仁对此感叹“只要听过他的讲述，谁都会被他打动，我现在就成了一个葫芦迷。”

To this end, Hu has overcome numerous difficulties to gather academic research resources at home and abroad and invited scholars and experts from different countries to join in the compilation of the Gourd Culture Series, which will promote the internationalization of gourd culture research. He also carried out a project named "Glamour of the Gourd – Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road", which was well-known at home and abroad. This project relied on the artistic manifestation rich in features of national traditional culture and incorporated the unique culture elements of gourd. Hu Lu displayed gourd culture in countries along the Belt and Road and specially donated his own works to those countries. In every exhibition, Hu was not only the organizer, but also a participant. He enjoyed himself when he participated in it. Some people wondered why he could keep energetic all the time. When answering the journalist, Hu Lu was a little shy. "Gourd culture has been an indispensable part of my life. Visitors are different in every display, and those gourd enthusiasts who come to communicate also bring their own experience. That's why I can't help being excited," he said. Every exhibition would spur a “gourd culture fever” in local people. A companion who has participated in the Belt and Road Exhibition commented, "Anyone who has heard his story will be moved by him. I also became a gourd fan from then on." 
 

《葫芦文化丛书》

The Gourd Culture Series

在扈鲁的收藏中，有四件葫芦与众不同。这四件葫芦虽然不如葫芦文化博物馆中那两米多高的长柄巨型葫芦或是形似花生粒大小的微型葫芦那么引人注目；也比不上扈鲁从草原上背回来的那三只大小形状各异已经有三百多年历史的葫芦油桶那般古老，亦不是美国的七星葫芦糖盒、新西兰的彩绘葫芦、澳大利亚的陶制葫芦、越南的特色绾结葫芦和葫芦牙签盒，俄罗斯的葫芦套娃、秘鲁的葫芦沙槌、非洲的葫芦乐器姆比拉……中的任意一种。它们甚至还是破碎后又修补好的，可正是这些修补的痕迹让它们如此与众不同，那每一条修补的痕迹里都是故事。它们是由美国葫芦协会的艺术家亲手制作，几经周折跨海而来的，虽然运输过程中不幸略微损坏，却是一段美好友谊的见证。

In Hu Lu's collection, four gourds are different. The four gourds are not as striking as the two-meter-high huge gourd or the peanut-sized mini gourd in Gourd Culture Museum, nor as old as the three gourd oil tanks in different sizes and shapes Hu Lu has brought back from the prairie which enjoy more than three hundred years of history. They do not belong to any kind of gourd among the following species: gourd candy bowl with seven stars in America, gourds decorated with colored drawings in New Zealand, ceramic gourds in Australia, knotted gourds and gourd toothpick boxes in Vietnam, gourd Matryoshka dolls in Russia, gourd marakasies in Peru or gourd instrument--Mbira in Africa. They are fixed from broken ones, but it is these patches that make them so special. Behind every patch, there is a story. The four gourds are made by artists from the American Gourd Society and shipped to China from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Although slightly damaged during the transportation, they are testimony of a beautiful friendship.
 

美国葫芦艺术品新旧对比

Contrast between old and new American gourd artworks

还有几件葫芦艺术品的作者为美国葫芦协会的副会长。尽管已是一位七十多岁的老人，但为了参加在密苏里州立大学举办的葫芦文化展，他带着自己的得意之作，驱车千里从美国南部赶过来。尽管此前两人从未谋面，但两个来自不同国度、有着大洋之隔的人却有相见恨晚之感，谈起葫芦来滔滔不绝。这次异国之遇不禁让扈鲁有了新的感悟——“葫芦可谓一个世界范围共通的文化符号”，小小的葫芦同样能搭起跨文化沟通的桥梁，感慨于此，扈鲁以一口价买下了其中的四件作品。“我更看重的是不同的葫芦身上所蕴含的民俗文化，通过世界各地的葫芦文化可以窥探到不同民族的民俗文化，所以收藏葫芦是认识世界的一种方式，是增进不同民族文化间交流的一种途径。”扈鲁说。 

Several other gourd artworks are made by the Vice President of the American Gourd Society. Although he was in his 70s, he drove a distance of thousands of miles from South America to Missouri State University to attend the gourd culture exhibition with his masterpieces. Though they had never met each other before, the two people from different countries separated by the ocean felt like old friends and talked a lot about gourds. This foreign encounter gave Hu Lu new insights. "Gourd is indeed a common cultural symbol all over the world," and the little gourd can be a bridge for cross-cultural communication. Impressed by this, Hu Lu bought four of the gourd artworks. "What I value more is the folk culture contained in different gourds. Through the gourd cultures around the world, we can have a glimpse of the folk cultures of different nations. Therefore, collecting gourds is a way to understand the world and to promote the cultural exchanges of different nations." said Hu Lu. 

正是以葫芦为媒，扈鲁与海外的葫芦研究者与葫芦制作艺术家们建立了一段段跨越国界的友谊。美国葫芦协会会长比尔·艾伟，美国民俗学会执行理事蒂姆·罗伊德，俄罗斯莫斯科州立社会人文大学副校长克拉施尼夫，英国伯明翰大学Martin Russii教授，全日本爱瓢会会长时田勉，韩国全球文化产业学会会长李永求，新加坡新中友好协会会长曾繁如……一位位国际友人慕名造访中国，专程了解中国葫芦文化与民俗，为增进中外人文交流植下了种子。

Connected by gourd, Hu Lu has built friendship with many overseas gourd researchers and gourd artists. Many foreign friends including Bill Ivey, President of the American Gourd Society, Tim Royd, Executive Director of the American Folklore Society, Krasniv, Vice President of the Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow), Professor Martin Russii of the University of Birmingham in the UK, Tsutomu Tokida, President of Association for All Nippon Gourd Fanciers, Lee Young Koo, President of the Global Cultural Industry Association in South Korea, and Zeng Fanru, President of Singapore China Friendship Association in Singapore have visited China to learn more about our gourd culture and folklore, which promotes the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. 
 

在动画《葫芦娃》中，“葫芦”成熟后化成几个法力非凡的少年，葫芦也成为他们手中的法宝。在传承弘扬葫芦文化的跋涉之路上，并非一直坦途，总会风雨兼程。最困难的时候，他何尝不幻想能变来一个法力无边的“宝葫芦”？

In the cartoon Gourd Brothers, when the gourds were ripe, they transformed into seven young boys with magic, and gourds also became their magic weapons. The way of inheriting and spreading gourd culture is not always smooth. Mr. Hu also went through trails and hardships. In the hardest times, how could he wish that he had a "magic gourd"? 

星光不问赶路人，如果没有他一以贯之的坚持，写意葫芦画也许依旧是画家零散触及的题材，而成不了葫芦题材花鸟画创作体系、缺少系统的葫芦文化研究；

No pains, no gains. Without his consistent perseverance, freehand gourd paintings can hardly gain the favour of artists, and a creation system of gourd-themed flower-and-bird paintings and a systematic study of gourd culture would not be possible.
 

如果没有他放眼四海的视界，葫芦文化不会走出山东，更不会迈出国门，也许依旧在角落里“孤芳自赏”；

Without his broad horizon, gourd culture wouldn't go out of Shandong Province, let alone China.
 

如果面对一路走来的种种压力，他因之退却，葫芦文化这条路上就不会聚集如此之多的“同行者”；

Had he yielded to pressure along the way, there wouldn't have been so many "companions" in the cause of studying gourd culture.
 

他用自己心中的坚守、眼光的坚定、步履的坚实，为葫芦文化创出了一片新天地，有人因此评价说“扈鲁成就了葫芦的热度，葫芦也成就了他的事业，成就了更多人的梦想。”

With his perseverance, determination and firm footsteps, he created a new world for gourd culture. Someone commented, "Hu Lu makes gourd a hit, and in turn, the gourd helps him achieve his career goals and also helps more people fulfill their dreams."
 

谈到未来，扈鲁坦言收藏葫芦、研究葫芦文化、创作写意葫芦画是他喜欢的事情，他会一直做下去。“我要做最好的葫芦文化，给这些或那些尚未被完全开发的优秀传统文化符号，在传统文化大观园里开辟一条新的梦想之路来。”寻梦、逐梦、筑梦，一步一步，“幸福就是能一辈子做自己喜欢的事，并把这件事和为国家作贡献相连。这是一种莫大的幸福。”扈鲁道。

Talking about the future, Hu Lu says frankly that collecting gourds, studying gourd culture and drawing freehand gourd paintings are what he loves. Therefore, he will keep doing these in the rest of his life. "I want to build the best gourd culture. I want to open up a new path of dreams for those excellent traditional cultures which have not been fully discovered." Step by step, he chased and then built his dreams. "Happiness is to be able to do what you like all your life and to connect it with contributing to the country. This is the greatest happiness." Hu Lu said. 

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