原文

陈孟长瓦器

新会陈孟长，居崖门，称高逸士。美周谓其人性巧嗜奇，每拾沟中零瓦，因其方圆，磨大礲凑合，为盆盎瓶盂诸器，精雅绝伦。湛若谓孟长削竹为箸，琢瓦作釜，饰以箴铭，疾如风雨，使人得其精而忘其粗，尚其象而升其质，莫不以为异宝。其人深湛好书，工吟咏，尤善集古。能不自运，托古人以运，矢口成声，随触生变，吻其新容，夺其故相，如出一口一时之语。以彼之才，托之于诗与物如此。天固以无用奇孟长，而孟长亦欲以无用自奇耶！

白话

中文

新会人陈孟长，居住在崖门，被称为“高逸士”。美周（人名）说他天性灵巧、喜好奇特，常常捡拾沟渠中破碎的瓦片，根据瓦片本来的方形或圆形，用大磨石打磨并拼接组合，制作成盆、盎、瓶、盂等各种器物，（成品）精美雅致、无与伦比。湛若（人名，或指湛若水）说孟长削竹子做筷子，雕琢瓦片做锅釜，还用箴言铭文来装饰，（动作）快捷如风雨，能让人（欣赏他的作品时）领会其精妙而忘记材质的粗陋，看重其形态而提升了对其本质的评价，没有人不把它们当作奇珍异宝。陈孟长这个人学问精深、喜爱读书，擅长作诗，尤其擅长“集古”（集取古人诗句或模仿古人风格作诗）。他能够不直接运用自己的构思，而是依托古人的（诗句、风格）来表达，（作诗时）随口而出便成佳句，随着接触的事物而生发变化，（使古人的东西）呈现出新的面貌，改变了它们原来的样子，（诗作）如同出自一人一时之口。（陈孟长）将他的才能，像这样寄托在诗歌和器物制作上。上天本来就是用这些看似“无用”的（瓦片、古诗句）来成就孟长的奇特之处，而孟长自己大概也想凭借这些“无用”的东西来使自己显得与众不同吧！

英文

Chen Mengchang of Xinhui, who lived in Yamen, was known as the "Lofty Scholar-Hermit". Mei Zhou said that he was naturally skillful and fond of the peculiar. He often picked up broken tiles from ditches and, according to their original square or round shapes, ground them with large grindstones and fitted them together to create various vessels such as basins, jars, vases, and bowls, which were exquisitely elegant beyond compare. Zhan Ruo (or Zhan Ruoshui) said that Mengchang could carve bamboo into chopsticks and shape tiles into pots, decorating them with maxims and inscriptions, working as swiftly as wind and rain. He enabled people (viewing his works) to grasp their refinement and forget the crudeness of the materials, to value their form and elevate their substance, so that everyone regarded them as rare treasures. This man, Chen Mengchang, was profound and well-read, adept at composing poetry, and particularly skilled at jigu (composing poetry by assembling lines from ancient poets or imitating ancient styles). He was able not to rely solely on his own invention but to express himself through the works of the ancients. Verses flowed readily from his mouth, changing according to circumstance, giving ancient forms a new appearance, transforming their original look, as if spoken by one person at one time. He channeled his talents into poetry and object-making in this manner. Heaven indeed made Mengchang extraordinary through these seemingly "useless" things (tiles, ancient verses), and perhaps Mengchang himself also sought to distinguish himself through these "useless" things!

文化解读/分析

1. 化腐朽为神奇的艺术创造：陈孟长最突出的特点是能将“沟中零瓦”这种废弃、粗陋的材料，通过“磨大礲凑合”的技艺，制作成“精雅绝伦”的器物。这体现了中国传统工艺中“变废为宝”、不拘泥于材料贵贱、注重匠心巧思的创造精神。
2. 技艺与审美的统一：他的作品能让人“得其精而忘其粗，尚其象而升其质”，说明其工艺水平极高，足以让人忽略原材料的低廉，而专注于作品的艺术形态和内在价值。这达到了艺术创作的较高境界，即技艺服务于审美，并能提升物质本身的价值。
3. 文人与工匠身份的融合：陈孟长不仅是技艺精湛的工匠，更是被称为“高逸士”的文人，他“深湛好书，工吟咏，尤善集古”。这反映了明清时期部分文人参与或精通某种手工艺的现象，他们将文人的审美情趣、学识修养融入到器物创作中，提升了工艺品的文化内涵。
4. “集古”的诗学与艺学相通：条目特别提到他擅长“集古”诗歌创作，其特点是“托古人以运”、“吻其新容，夺其故相”。这种在继承传统基础上的巧妙转化和再创造，与其利用旧瓦片创造新器物的做法，在精神内核上是相通的，都体现了在既有形式（古诗、旧瓦）中注入新生命力的能力。
5. “无用之用”的哲学思考：结尾处的议论点睛：“天固以无用奇孟长，而孟长亦欲以无用自奇耶！”这引入了道家“无用之用”的哲学意味。常人眼中的“无用”之物（零瓦）和“无用”之事（集古，相对于经世致用），在陈孟长这里却成为了成就其“奇”的途径。这既是对其独特才能的赞赏，也可能隐含着对主流价值观之外的生存方式和艺术追求的肯定。
6. 岭南地方人物与风尚记录：此条目记录了新会崖门地区一位奇特的文人艺术家，丰富了《广东新语》关于岭南人物和地方技艺的内容，展现了地方文化的多样性和独特性。

关键词

陈孟长, 广东新语, 屈大均, 瓦器, 陶瓷, 工艺美术, 变废为宝, 化腐朽为神奇, 文人工匠, 高逸士, 集古, 无用之用, 清代, 广东, 新会, 崖门, 岭南文化, 民俗, 湛若水, 美周