翟倚卫的人生是绚丽多彩的，他早年学习玉雕，打下了坚实基础。之后，为了追求艺术离开这个行业，辗转游历于日本、欧洲，并定居海外数年；正是文化的多样性，成就了他艺术的非凡灵感，也为他后来的回归埋下了精彩的伏笔。于是，我们才能得见他为行业注入的一脉新风。
Zhai Yiwei’s life is colorful. He learned jade sculpture in his early years, which set a solid foundation for his art life. After that, he travelled to Japan and Europe, and settled there for several years. It is the cultural diversity that stimulates his exceptional artistic inspiration, and hints that he will return some day. Hence the new style he has brought to this area.

但凡从事艺术的人，对艺术都有一种天然的亲近，那么你是怎么对绘画感兴趣的？
People in the art world seem to engage closely with art. How did you get interested in painting?

这得益于母亲的影响。我母亲喜欢绘画，有空了经常会画一些东西，尽管她画的并不能说非常好，但她有这方面的兴趣。小时候，她看到我喜欢绘画就给我买了黑板、粉笔这些东西，这在当时是很好的条件了。当然，那时候绘画也没人教，自己全凭兴趣乱画。有一次我在路边看人家画毛主席像，文革时期画这个题材的很多，那人画完了就教我画，我特别兴奋，回家之后还画个没完，我对这件事记忆特别深刻。这种情形一直持续到进入上海玉雕厂工业中学，之后才开始正规地学习美术，从此就一发而不可收拾，几乎笔不离手了。这么多年来我对绘画从没感到厌倦，一直很有乐趣。
My mother was a great influence on me. She loved painting very much. She usually drew something when she wasn’t busy. She didn’t paint very well, but she was very interested in it. When seeing my interest in painting as a child, my mother bought me a blackboard and chalks, which were in quite a good condition then. No one taught me painting at that time. I learned it myself. Once I saw a person drawing Chairman Mao on the roadside, which was a popular subject during the Cultural Revolution, after he finished the job, he taught me. I was so excited that I could not stop painting even after I returned home. It was impressive in my memory. That lasted until I got to Shanghai Jade Sculpture Plant Industry Middle School. Then I started to learn painting in a formal way. After so many years, I have never been tired of painting.

小时候的绘画基础与特长，应该说对你进入上海玉雕厂工业中学起到了关键性作用吧。
Has your painting experience in early years played an important role in you getting into Shanghai Jade Sculpture Industry Middle School?

上海玉雕厂之前都是直接从美术学校招人，后来开办了上海玉雕厂工业中学，从上海的小学毕业生中招收一些学生定向培养，作为厂里的人才储备。那时候不存在考试的概念，而是直接从各个小学选拔综合表现比较优秀的学生，尤其是有绘画基础的。我那一届玉雕厂在卢湾区和徐汇区共挑选了100个人，组成两个班，我就这样被选进去了，那年是1975年，我14岁。工业中学的这种培养模式在当时算是很先进的了，一是保证了玉雕厂人才的供应，再就是改变了手工业师徒传承的传统，让玉雕这种技艺的传承更具规模和系统性，兼顾了理论和实践，让人才的发展更加全面，有利于行业整体水平的提升。对当时的我而言，玉雕与美术紧密相连却又充满新奇，可以说我在玉雕中发现了一个全新的天地。另外，这件事对我的人生也有着特殊的意义。按照当时的政策，我原本是该去插队落户的。因为我姐姐是上海工矿企业的产业工人，她所在的企业属于全民所有制，相当于现在的国企。按照当时的规定，我姐姐进全民所有制企业了，我谈也不要谈，就必须插队落户。现在看来我的运气还是不错的。
Shanghai Jade Sculpture Factory recruited workers directly from the art school. Later the factory established Shanghai Jade Sculpture Industry Middle School and recruited some graduates of primary schools in Shanghai, training them especially for the factory. The students, especially those who had painting basis, were directly selected from each primary school without any entrance exams. The jade sculpture factory chose 100 students in Luwan District and Xuhui District, and formed two classes. It was in 1975 when I was 14 years old. The educational pattern of our middle school was quite advanced then. It guaranteed ample craftsmen for the jade sculpture factory, and changed the tradition of masters and apprentices. It offered an in-scale and systematic educational system which gave consideration to both theory and practice, promoted the development of talented people and improved the level of the whole industry. For me at that time, jade sculpture was closely related to fine art but full of novelty. I found a brand new world in this area. Moreover, it has a special meaning in my life. According to the regulations, I was supposed to go to live and work in a production team in rural areas, because my elder sister was a worker in one mining enterprise in Shanghai. The enterprise was owned by the locals, which was similar to state-owned enterprises. I was lucky to stay at the Jade Sculpture Factory instead of going to the countryside.

本文由北京翻译公司品格翻译提供，未经允许，不得转载。