初到深圳创业，公司发展遇到困难、感到前景迷茫之时，偶然在飞机上看到一篇关于成都老乡画家游晓林的报道，那幅《凤凰涅槃》的画作，让我有种灵魂被击中的感觉。
从没有人用这样的色彩、这样的意象、这样的意境来表现凤凰。当我看着如穿破远古厚重浓雾而来的神鸟，那双如刀锋般锐利的双眼，用神秘的蓝、热烈的红、灿烂的金，大气磅礴又有张力地呈现出来，辉煌、神秘、有力到极致。
我看着这只神鸟，心头千头万绪，有远古沧海桑田的感应，也有眼下困境的伤感，不禁潸然泪下。从那时候起，我便在心里暗许，等以后有了条件，一定要收藏这些画。七年前，我奔赴家乡成都，这一次我专为画家游晓林而去。在游老师画室，我们交流了很久。
也许是同为四川人的原因，我对他的古蜀系列尤为青睐。这些画作中，宇宙苍天，远古洪荒，悠悠岁月，人神共生，将幻化如梦的古蜀王国呈现眼前——庄严肃穆的持戈祭祀，浴火重生的凤凰涅繁， 那般璀璨夺目，顷刻捕获人心。与之对视，似乎在与之对话。
我似乎穿越了时空，又或者是时空跨越了我。
同为四川人，对家乡的文化自有一种同频共振。古蜀文化是巴蜀文化的根源所在，古蜀文明是长江文化发源地，而正是蜀人惊人的智慧与创造，以及对宇宙天地、自然、太阳的虔诚心灵，才孕育了成都平原文化。神秘莫测的青铜面具，高大挺拔的青铜神树，威严精美的青铜大立人像……震撼、惊奇、恢宏、浪漫，游老师依然记得初见三星堆的感受，5000 年的古蜀文明神秘浪漫，充满了灵性。只有这样的地方才会孕育太阳神鸟， 也许它并非图腾， 而是真实存在的呢？我们也可以这样想象。
公元前5000 年到公元前 4800 年，那时中国还没有凤凰的概念， 只有神鸟。古蜀先民崇拜宇宙，崇拜上天，崇拜太阳，他们将鸟当作连接天地的信使，希望自己像鸟一样，能够飞上天去，与天“窝” 在一起，探知宇宙的未来世界、宇宙的神秘世界。在遥远的远古时代将太阳神鸟作为精神图腾的古蜀先民， 充满了对天的敬畏， 对宇宙的好奇。作为生于斯长于斯的艺术家， 游老师认为自己有责任用画笔，让大家不要忘了这段历史。
我唯一收藏的画作就是这个系列，并将它们挂在集团办公楼，想让更多人感应祖先的生活与智慧。古蜀文化，这只由远古穿越而来的神鸟，是我们的来路。
也许，也是我们的归途。
A Sacred Bird from Antiquity
When I began my business in Shenzhen, the company had some difficulties and I felt lost. I saw no future. One day, while on a flight, I read a piece of news about You Xiaolin, a painter from Chengdu. One of his paintings, Nirvana, had a tremendous effect on me. I had never seen anyone before representing a Phoenix artistically with the colors, imagery, and atmosphere that he brought to the painting. When I looked at it, the sacred bird looked as if it had flown through a thick mist of time. Its eyes looked as sharp as the edge of a knife. Such a mysterious blue, a passionate red, the bright gold.
Magnificent, gorgeous, mysterious. Powerful.
As I looked at the sacred bird, I felt the pull of antiquity, which I have always loved, but also a mawkishness over the hardships I was experiencing. At that moment, I shed silent tears. I made up my mind that, when I could, I was going to collect his paintings.
Seven years ago, I went back to my hometown of Chengdu. My journey was to You Xiaolin. In his studio, we talked a lot. Perhaps because we are both from Sichuan, I had a strong preference for his “Ancient Shu” series. In those paintings I could see certain elements: the vast universe, primitive ancient eras, the co-existence of gods and humans in a silently flowing time, and the mysterious ancient kingdom of Shu. They weren’t just passive elements—they came alive in front of my eyes. Solemn ceremonies of sacrifice. The rise of the Phoenix from the ashes, resplendent and dazzling. It captured my heart in an instant. I felt as if I were in conversation with it.
I had crossed time to it; or it had crossed time to me.
Since both of us were from Sichuan, we naturally had a resonance with the culture of our hometown. A brief history: The ancient Shu culture was the root of Ba-Shu culture, and the ancient Shu civilization was the seminary of the Yangtze River culture. The present culture of the Chengdu Plain was born thanks to the wisdom and originality of the Shu people and their faith in the universe, in nature, and in the sun. They were a unique people.
Mysterious bronze masks, towering bronze trees, stately and exquisite bronze statues. Shocking, amazing, grand, romantic: these are the words Mr. You uses to describe his reaction when he first visited Sanxingdui. The 5,000-year-old Shu civilization is full of spirit. The sacred bird could only be born in a place like this. I can imagine that such a creature had really existed.
Between 4800 and 5000 BC, the Chinese people lacked the concept of the Phoenix. They were aware of a sacred bird. Our ancestors worshiped the universe, the heaven and the sun, and they hoped that birds could be the messengers between the earth and the heaven, that they could fly like birds, “dwell” with the heavens and explore the future and the mysteries of the universe. The Ancient Shu people had the sacred solar bird as a totem: it demonstrated their curiosity about a universe cloaked in time. As an artist born here, Mr. You regards it as his duty to bring this history to life through his paintings—and to ensure that it is not forgotten.
From all his works, I finally collected this series, and the paintings have been hung as a collection so that more people can interact emotionally and spiritually with the life and wisdom and beautiful creations of our ancestors. Ancient Shu culture, a sacred bird from the remote antiquity: this is where we came from.
Perhaps it is also where we inwardly fly—to our home.
