在国画岭南画派中坚人才中，多少年来，每易想到司徒乃钟，一位有守有为之代表性人物。司徒乃钟先生近应南京博物院举办个展，行将出版画集，遥嘱我为序言，在此八月溽暑炎蒸中，却真令我精神为之一振。多年过从，既已欣其《岭南春风红艳图》的木棉高树之壮，更曾于其所绘老竹孙笋，及画题“写生终竟胜盲从”既浅白亦深刻之认知题句中，感其治学之诚。尤有进者，乃钟贤盟，事父至孝，绘事更祖武于其尊人。可谓发扬潜德，以至光大宗风。于今浊世艺林中，一泓清流，洵为难得。
我曾得接对其尊人苍城司徒奇道丈，于当年港澳之间，早仰前辈之人格画风。而且在岭表诸贤中，尤能以人文古意，及西学写生写实二者兼资，俱树楷模。乃钟绘事进境，克能一日千里，植基于家学者亦至多，司徒奇道丈与赵少昂老师交厚，绘事理念亦同，既属通家，乃钟除其所受家学之外，还得他山之助。曾由尊人引领，正式拜从赵少昂老师学画。昂师独特之风范，自然对乃钟笔墨经营，绘事发展，亦有一定程度之影响。对我而言，此真是一段难能可贵同门之谊。平日偶聆追述庭训种切，尤有足以令人向佩动容，是知乃钟贤盟之克绍家风是有守，而其奋发创作，是真真大有为也。
犹忆昔日画坛守旧之辈，有讥岭南画派为野狐襌者，即谓不中规矩，不能全守古法;然而百年之间，创始者高剑父、高奇峰及陈树人三家，所倡导之方向，在于融古以铸今，既能以古人合，亦能与古人离。三家各自戛戛独造，和而不同，故终成划时代之宗师。近数十年间，赵少昂师，以及司徒奇、关山月、黎雄才与杨善深诸位前贤，亦皆有守有为，继武前修，而自出蹊径，各有发扬。事实上国画百年以来，万壑争流，与上述守旧辈之讥言，已相去不知几千万里。今日复有时辈讽言岭南派诸家之不够新鲜者，奈何古意今情，莫衷一是，取舍适应，投合为难。此一时尚之偌大课题，亦惟以小题大作，不屑一顾目之。艺术家若能以一己之诚明，创造时风，自我作古;更不为西方一时画廊摇摆不定之尚好所惑。不作风前之弱草。则有守者斯有为;有识者亦斯有胆。能臻此境界，则无为有为，无法有法，终抵大成。乃钟贤盟方当盛年，已见独造如此，他日更不可量，是知苍城道丈之家学，继武有人，岭南画学宗风，亦必巍然屹立，重开新页于廿一世纪矣。
欧豪年
二零零五年九月
PrefaceAmong the elites of Lingnan School of Chinese painting in these years, I always think of Nigel Szeto, the representative figure that can both preserve and develop his art field at the same time.  Mr Szeto will hold his solo exhibition in Nanjing Museum and published his art album. When he invited me to write a preface, I was excited in this burning heat of August.  For several years, I have savored the spectacular of Kapok tree in his work “The Spring Reds in Lingnan”, and also deeply impressed by his devotion to his pursuit of knowledge by his work of old bamboo and young shoots as well as the simple but profound inscriptions of this piece of work “Portraying is better than copying eventually”.  Moreover, Nigel is not only virtuously filial; his painting skill is also in succession to his father.  It can be said that he is enhancing and glorifying his progenitors.  He is just like a scarce stream of pure water amid the turbid art circle.
In the early years when I was in Hong Kong and Macau, I had already admired Nigel’s father, Szeto Kei (Cang-Cheng), for his moral integrity and his painting style.  Among the masters of Lingnan School, he is the one who establishes a good model for combining Chinese humanity and ancient style with Western realistic sketching.  The reason that Nigel can achieve such great stride of painting skill at a tremendous pace is greatly due to his family’s influence.  His father Szeto Kei is befriending with my teacher, Chao Shao-an who also shared a similar approach in art, therefore Nigel not only learnt from his family, but also benefited from other’s guidance. Under his father’s recommendation, Nigel had become a pupil of Master Chao.  Chao’s unique spirit is definitely influencing Nigel’s painting technique and arts career.  For me, it is really a remarkable fellowship.  After occasionally heard of their reminisce, I am already impressed and aspired by those lecturing and admonitory talks.  I therefore understand that Nigel’s attachment and faithfulness towards his family is a kind of preservation of art style; whereas his innovative attempts in art is the main reason for his accomplishment today.
In the past there were conservatives in the art field who mocked Lingnan School as gibberish and scold it as violation and misbehaviors towards the old rules and norms.  However, in the recent hundred years, the three founders of the Lingnan School, Gao Jian-fu, Gao Qi-feng and Chen Shu-ren, were advocating an art direction that merged classic with modern style so that the artist can be free in attaching to or detaching from the ancient masters.  Though these three masters worked independently, they were on the same direction with different styles, and then became epochal masters finally.  During these few decades, masters like Chao Shao-an, Cuan Shan-yue, Li Xiong-lai and Yang Shan-shen were both preserving and expanding the style; both inheriting and innovating this school of thought.  They have developed their own paths and enhanced their ideas respectively.  In fact, there are various styles appeared in Chinese painting field in recent hundred years, and the art scenes have been totally different when there are imitating from the old masters that I have mentioned above.  Even though nowadays there are still people deriding Lingnan School as not innovative enough; it is hard to rapport all opinions but need compromising when it comes to discussion of classic and modern art criticism.  I tend to ignore such trivial arguments and endless disputes.  If an artist can be faithful to himself, dare to create an unique style and produce his own masterpieces, stands firmly without bewildered by the swinging Western art climate, and rejects being as a weak grass that bends with the wind, then this artist as an art preserver can be capable to accomplishment and become a man with insight and courage.  When a man had reached such state of mind, he will be a master whatever he attempts to achieve or not and to follow any regulations or not.  Nigel has already reached such attainment in his prime of life; it can be predicted that his success will be immeasurable in the future.  When I know that Master Cang-Cheng had got such qualified successor, Lingnan School’s style will also stand toweringly and open a new page in the twenty first century!Au Ho-nien