詩人書法家潘受（1911-1999）享有新加坡國寶級的藝術地位。本文從潘受的交遊、詩歌與書法藝術觀，探討潘受的創作主體意識。所謂「主體意識」，指生命個體的自我定位和存在價值。潘受1930年南渡新加坡，除1942至1949年因戰亂返回中國，一生大多年歲在新加坡度過。但是他稱自宅為「海外廬」，經常流露「異鄉異客」之感。研究指出：潘受與徐悲鴻、司徒喬、傅抱石等人交往，留下豐富的題畫詩，奠定他的藝術觀。潘受認同的是文化上的祖國，他所樂於棲身的「海內」，正是詩詞和書法。為了保有語言文字的純粹性和音樂性，他捨白話文學而多寫作舊體詩詞。他主張創作要讓人「看得懂」、「起共鳴」，反對隨意變革書法，這些見解，實為慎重從藝的嚴謹態度。筆者認為：處於中西文化匯聚的新加坡，潘受對藝術求新求變的時代趨勢深有自覺，他選擇以「法度中新變」的方式，樹立個人的藝術風格。
潘受百年紀念國際研討會(新加坡：南洋理工大學，2012年3月31日)
The Authorial Consciousness of Pan Shou’s Poetry and Calligraphy
Pan Shou （1911 – 1999）, a Chinese calligrapher and poet, is highly regarded as a national treasure of Singapore. This article attempts to investigate the authorial consciousness of Pan Shou’s poetry and calligraphic works from the perspectives of his travels, poetry and calligraphic beliefs. Pan Shou journeyed south to Singapore in 1930 and spent much of his life here, except during the war-torn years from 1942 to 1949 when he escaped to China. However, he viewed his dwelling as a “hut in a foreign land” and often exuded feelings of “being a foreigner in a foreign land”. Research studies revealed that Pan Shou, as a result of his association with Xu Beihong, Situ Jiao, Fu Baoshi and others, had left behind an extensive repertoire of poetry and calligraphic works. He had a profound insight into Chinese literature and history, and derived joy from poetry, prose and calligraphy. In the interest of retaining the originality and cadence of language and phrases, Pan Shou preferred to use the ancient style in composing poetry and prose. He advocated that creative works should be easily discerned by viewers and objected to a freely-changing style of calligraphy. This stance probably stemmed from him being a staid artist. The author is of the opinion that Pan Shou, having lived in Singapore where Eastern and Western cultures are fused, had a deep awareness of the era where the trend in the artistic arena is “to seek the new”. He elected to adopt an approach of “expanding and building upon the old”, and thereby developed his own unique and personal artistic style.
International Conference on Pan Shou. Singapore, Nanyang Technological University. 31 March, 2012.