启功是清雍正皇帝的第九代孙，家学渊源。他的诗、书、画有“三绝”之称，享誉国内外；他在文物鉴赏、鉴定上独具慧眼；他对中国文学史、中国美术史、中国历代散文、古诗词等教学与研究上下过苦功，自出机杼为学人垂范；为奖励后学他无偿捐出许多珍贵字画，创立以恩师命名的“励耘奖学助学金”……他对国家民族、对九三学社的贡献自有定评，是“贵胄天潢”之后中自食其力、非同寻常的人才。可是最让后辈感念的，却是他与朋友们纯真如水的君子之交。
　　
　　结缘台静农
　　当年，辅仁大学校长陈垣（字援）先生慧眼识人，聘请启功在辅仁大学附中任国文教师。有人持陈腐谬见，认为“中学毕业者教中学，学历不够”，然援先生见启功不但能教中学而且能胜任大学的国文，由此，他力排众议，竟把启功从中学部调到了大学部。其时，台静农（字简伯）是辅仁大学的副教授和援先生的秘书，也是五四新文学运动未名社的六成员之一，与鲁迅先生相交相知甚深。启功来到大学部后，台静农见他学识渊博，为人和蔼，当即视为知己。
　　他们俩一为时代骁将，一为清室嫡传；一为科班出身，一为私塾熏陶；秉性相投，只认实学；不媚世俗，只信真义；不屑功名，只好书艺，而且都深抱民主平等思想，因而相处极为亲密。
　　教书之余启功喜欢到台静农处品茗闲聊，台静农也乐于随启功到清室书画大家的府上切磋书艺。当时启功受宗老溥雪斋之教，正在临摹赵松雪的字，但当台静农说及王梦楼之字“侧媚、少筋骨，不可取”之后，启功似乎也晤到赵松雪的字同出一源，难逃针砭，于是他决意改弦更张，另辟蹊径练就自成一体的书法。
　　1934年12月的—天，台静农突然被国民党宪兵三团抓走。这是台静农第三次被捕。启功完全清楚台静农是为参加进步活动而被捕的，心里又担心又敬佩。不久台静农由援先生保释出监，下午三四点钟启功去看台静农。启功见他正在独饮，便问：“你怎么这时候喝酒了？”“麻醉。”台静农淡然回答，—如平常。他慢慢喝着酒，说他将携眷南下。
　　1946年，台静农应许寿裳先生之邀，赴台湾大学中文系任教授。他以“歇脚”命名书斋，以寄寓并无久居之意。怎料时局变幻，两岸隔绝，此时他只好请张大千挥笔，把书斋易名“龙坡丈室”，专心执教。此后由于“每感郁结，意不能静”，故酒也越喝越烈，越喝越多，常常用碗。他称自己的养生之道是“不养生而寿，处浊世亦仙”。启功留在大陆，历经政治风浪而初衷不改，以教书为业，“无心圆月自从容”。自从上世纪80年代末两岸交往露出曙光后，启功便托朋友带去自己的—些作品，台静农也托人捎回了手卷。其中一卷录的是苏东坡贬谪黄州后写的诗，以此寄托寥落、荒凉的心境和以求解脱的自嘲。启功得之，品字品诗，如嚼橄榄。
　　1990年春节，台静农被确诊患上食道癌。这年春天他托人带来了他的三本书，里面的题款都亲笔写着“永念”二字。启功拿着书，目睹上面笔迹颤抖、苍郁顿挫的题款，三本书内就像系着三块石头，沉甸甸地直坠在心底。这年初夏启功先生赴港访问，他想借此机会与静农促膝叙旧，—偿夙愿。可是台静农已经步履维艰，难离卧榻，无法来港；而启功虽然走动尚好，但因人为的政治阻隔，亦无法往台看望病中的挚友。
　　
　　“你赶快过来吧!不然见不着了。”海峡那边，台静农先生躺在病床上对着电话呼唤，声音出奇洪亮，然怆痛至深。“我过不来，台湾方面不让来。现在情况算是好一点了，可以打电话了，我们等机会再见面”。海峡这边，启功宽慰着、祈愿着。他让人把他拿着话筒与静农先生通话的情景拍下来，放进为庆祝台静农90寿辰并记录两位大家人品、书品、画品的《台静农·启功专号》里，借此留下了最有意义的记录。可惜专号未出版，静农先生已经辞世。于是启功嘱咐，把融着墨香的《专号》放进台静农的棺木里，借此承载心意、承载绵长的旧雨因缘。启功说：“我们还是在一起了。”
　　
　　相知钟敬文
　　启功和钟敬文是北京师范大学小红楼的邻居。他们—个住在6栋，一个住在2栋，前后楼间不过十余米。他们逾半世纪交往，或小坐，或长聊，平常如自家人。
　　启功比钟先生年少10岁，与钟先生的蔼然端肃相比，启功似乎更多一份顽皮和幽默。他们解放之初就同在中文系任教授，1957年启功和钟敬文夫妇在反右中亦都被划为右派，发配“劳动改造”。钟先生年纪大，干重活吃力，有时就会生气，而启功年轻些，脾气好，总是乐呵呵地帮钟先生夫妇完成任务，于是患难中三人结成了别有滋味的“互助组”。“文革”时，造反派批判他们是“反动学术权威”。钟先生说“我权威有一点，但不反动”；启功却说“我反动有余，权威不足”，两人对大批判的藐视，可谓异曲同工。
　　钟先生是国际学界称誉的“中国民俗学之父”；润泽于诗书传家的启功是蜚声世界的“中华文化菁英”，但两位老人都不看重这些，启功特别讨厌“国学大师”之类的称谓。平日里他们各自勤勉耕耘着自己的“一亩三分地”，空暇时互相串门，谈天论地相得益彰。两老尤其推崇人品第一、学问次之的育人标准，对学生的修身有着严格的要求，教学中实行因材施教原则，完全摒弃“一山难藏二虎”的陋俗。
　　有一次钟先生认真地对启功说：“我的字还不行，就拜你为师吧。”启功笑嘻嘻道：“我的水平只能教你的学生。”他俩的旧体诗都做得好，诗书交流习以为常，直言不讳，钟先生更是称启功为他的“—字师”、“二字师”。有一回，年过九五的钟先生向启功建议说：“咱们两人开个课，就叫‘学旧诗’，你干不干？”启功说：“我不干。”钟先生问：“为什么？”启功说：“俗话讲‘富于千篇，穷于一字’，现在的学生平仄都不知，咱们得费多大劲啊！”启功对钟先生说，我的热情不如你。钟敬文百岁辞世，所有的桂冠荣衔中，钟先生子女认为最贴切是启功先生所概括的“人民的学者”五个字，因为钟先生是使学术平民化的倡导者和领路人。
　　
　　
　　趣交黄苗子
　　与台静农、钟敬文都年长启功10岁不同，黄苗子比启功小不到l岁，仅8个月。两人相似的地方很多，都是博大精深又谦和谐趣、不落尘俗的人。探访他们，最喜欢是看他们无拘束畅笑——眉心舒展，嘴巴大咧，只见牙齿不见眼睛，可掬的憨态里，仿佛储藏着不尽的智慧和宽容。哥俩般的两老，有长达半世纪之谊。
　　苗子生于书香门第，早年就读于香港中华中学，八岁学书画，师从邓尔雅先生，几十年不懈努力，被誉为书画家、美术史家、美术评论家、作家。但他说：“我是个没正经的人，20多岁在绘画艺术方面偏爱漫画，三十多岁才从漫画圈中下岗；书法呢，一开头就喜欢上怪怪的郑板桥体；做诗喜欢打油，诗、书、画，都倾向歪门斜道一路。”他认为：像钱钟书、启功这些人真正在某个方面取得成就，才能算家，自己和妻子郁风只是“行走在艺术世界里的小票友”，与启功称自己“无家可成”实是异曲同工。
　　启功说：“写字不用童子功。”苗子以自己为例，证明这是很有说服力的。他说：“有童子功的人，大了也不一定写得好；没有童子功的人，中老年后练字也有成功的，自己写字也是近三十年成体。不要把写字看得太神秘。关键是要不断学习，互相研究和自己琢磨。”作为书画大家，两人的书画常常被假冒。
　　有人曾问启先生，潘家园卖的字孰真孰假，启功说，别管了，反正写得坏的都是我的，写得好的都是人家的。苗子也是同样的态度，管不过来嘛，你生气也没用，不了了之也罢。艺术本来就是一种心灵游戏，自己闹着玩之余，爱好此道的人打个哈哈，也就满足了。
　　启功先生称自己是“大熊猫”，苗子则描述自己“从外形到内在，都很矮小，这辈子没有‘日高千丈’的希望了”。有一次，启功先生为苗子先生夫妇的画展题额时，署上“启功敬题”。苗子即电话抗议，说不应该用“敬”字。启老乐呵呵道：“不不不，我改名‘启恭敬’了。”诙谐间充满了相知之趣。
　　
　　有人给启功写信，信封上自以为是地写“爱新觉罗·启功”收，启先生屡劝不止，索性注明“查无此人，请退回”；苗子先生呢，他给别人信如果署名“黄苗子”，常常会被人偷走，为免误事，他索性参照儿子的名字给自己也编上一个，以应付不良之人。
　　他们虽然功成名就，却严于律己。启先生在常用的方砚上刻着“坚净”二字，取的是“一拳之石取其坚，一勺之水取其净”之意，他的书斋名为“坚净居”，号为“坚净翁”，其内涵是说柔中有刚，浊流中葆有清流之意。苗子先生深为佩服。对于启功先生驾鹤西行，苗子先生怀念地说：“大多数人只知道启先生是一位著名书法家，事实上，他的成就远远不止于书法。他在古字画鉴定、古典文献学以及诗词研究方面，都保存着大量成果和学识，在中国传统文化的许多领域，随着启功的离去，将成为绝学。”他概括启功的一生是：教书一辈子、做学问一辈子、诗书画一辈子。
　　
　　Qigong and His Three Friends
　　By Fang Xiaoning
　　
　　A ninth-generation great grandson of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Qigong (1912-2005) came from a family of scholars. He enjoyed an enormous reputation of being accomplished in poetry, calligraphy and painting both at home and abroad. His contributions to the country’s cultural undertakings are highly recognized and admired. To some people, however, his friendship with three scholars sheds light on the precious aspect of his personality.
　　
　　Qigong and Tai Jingnong
　　Qigong was hired by Chen Yuan, president of Fu Jen University to teach Chinese at the middle school affiliated with the university. The employment evoked some criticism. Some people contended that Qigong was not qualified to teach at the middle school because he did not have the required educational background. President Chen decided to disregard all the dissenting views. He transferred Qigong to teach at the university. Tai Jingnong was then an associate professor at the university and also worked as a secretary for the president. Tai was a high-profile writer during the New Culture Movement in the early 20th century.
　　
　　When Tai found Qigong a genial gentleman of profound knowledge of Chinese classics, the two became fast friends. Their backgrounds were in sharp contrast: Tai used to be a radical writer while Qigong came from the royal family; Tai had received formal education whereas Qigong received private education. However, the two had a great deal in common: both were scholars; both pursued truth and stayed away from conventions; both cared nothing for fame and fortune; both explored the highest realm of calligraphy; and both embraced the ideology of equality and democracy. Personal chemistry occurred between the two and a lifelong bond started.
　　In their spare time, Qigong loved to visit Tai and the two enjoyed chatting over a cup of tea. Tai loved to visit Qigong at Qigong family’s magnificent house and study calligraphy with Qigong together. It was at Tai’s suggestion that Qigong decided to stop imitating a style and started his own calligraphy style. The decision ushered in an excellent style which the country had never seen before.
　　In 1946, Tai Jingnong went to teach at the Chinese Language Department of the Taiwan University at the invitation of Xu Shoushang. Tai thought he would stay in Taiwan only for a short while, but the national situation changed and he stayed put in the island province. To fight his sinking depression, he relied more and more on alcohol. Qigong remained on the mainland and went through the political chaos. In the late 1980s when the tension across the straits began to soften and exchanges started, Qigong asked friends to take some of his artworks to Tai in Taiwan, who replied with some handwritten calligraphies. During the Spring Festival in 1990, Tai Jingnong was diagnosed with esophagus cancer. Later he sent someone to take three of his books to Qigong. Each of the books carried two characters in Tai’s handwriting on the fly page: Everlasting memory. Holding the books in the hands and viewing the laconic testimony of their lifelong friendship, Qigong felt heartbreakingly sad.
　　
　　The two old friends never met again. In the summer that year, Qigong went to Hong Kong on an academic trip. He cherished the hope that Tai could come to Hong Kong, but Tai was too sick to fly. They chatted over the phone. Qigong asked someone to photograph his phone call with his friend. The photo was printed in a special album of Tai and Qigong’s artworks published in celebration of Tai’s 90th birthday. Tai did not live to see the publication. A copy was placed into the coffin of Tai.
　　
　　Qigong and Zhong Jingwen
　　Qigong and Zhong were close neighbors on the residential quarters of the Beijing Teachers University. They knew each other for more than 50 years.
　　Ten years younger, Qigong had a sense of humor in contrast with Zhong who was of a genial personality but was quite serious in speech and manner. They were professors at the university in the early years of New China and, classed as “ightists”in 1957, both were condemned to reform through hard labor. Qigong often helped Zhong and his wife to complete onerous tasks. A bond grew and the three somehow organized themselves into a cooperative taskforce to complete assignments.
　　During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Qigong and Zhong were both denounced as counterrevolutionary academic authorities. Zhong claimed he was an authority but he was by no means counterrevolutionary while Qigong said that he might be regarded as counterrevolutionary, but he was by no means knowledgeable enough to be an authority. The two ignored the denunciation in their own ways.
　　Zhong was internationally recognized as the father of Chinese folklore studies while Qigong was acknowledged as a master of Chinese culture, but the two thought little of their honors. Each worked hard in pursuit of truth in respective fields. As teachers, they both adhered to an education principle of moral standing first and knowledge second.
　　
　　One day, Zhong expressed his earnest wish to Qigong that he wanted to learn calligraphy from Qigong. Smiling, Qigong said he was only adequate to teach Zhong’s students. As Qigong and Zhong were both learned poets in the ancient style, they often engaged in discussions of the art of poetry. Zhong regarded Qigong as a master of “One word? meaning Qigong was so proficient in poetry that he could often suggest a key word to make a whole poem look wonderful. At 95, Zhong proposed to Qigong that the two join hands in teaching the old-style poetry to young students. Again, Qigong declined, saying that with little knowledge of tonal patterns in classical Chinese poetry, the students of today would find it impossible to master the art. Qigong later admitted to Zhong that he was less enthusiastic over the idea than Zhong. Zhong passed away at 100 with all the honors. His family believes that the “people’s scholar” suggested by Qigong, fits Zhong best, for Zhong was a pioneer and leader of a movement that advocated education for people.
　　
　　Qigong and Huang Miaozi
　　Unlike Tai Jingnong or Zhong Jingwen, who were ten years older than Qigong, Huang is 8 months younger than Qigong. They had a lot in common, too.
　　
　　An established artist, calligrapher, art historian, critic and writer, Huang thinks little of fame and fortune. Qigong said that calligraphy did not necessarily require you to start at a young age. Huang couldn’t agree more. He practiced thirty years before he established his own style, believing that many people started in their mid-ages and still became accomplished calligraphers.
　　Qigong took a“Het-it-be?attitude toward the fake calligraphic works in his name on an antique market in Beijing. So does Huang Miaozi.
　　Qigong loved to joke. So does Huang. Qigong disregarded and returned those letters, addressing him in his family’s royal surname. Huang uses a fake name to put on the envelopes so that his letters will not be intercepted by those who would pay everything to get his handwriting.
　　Since the two shared so much in common, no wonder their friendship lasted more than 50 years. Huang Miaozi comments on Qigong’s lifelong achievements this way: “Many people only know that Qigong was an accomplished calligrapher. In fact, Qigong achieved more than calligraphy. He was a great scholar of poetry and art authentication. In some fields, he was the only master.?(Translated by David)