江南灶画

有一谜语云:"说它五脏不全,心中热火朝天,人人少不了它,日日与它见面。"谜底是灶头。我的故乡在江南农村,以前家家户户烧柴草的老式灶头上,必定画着吉祥的图案,即所谓灶画。灶画虽非出自美术大师之手,却也画得有板有眼,颇为生动有趣。农村的孩子没什么文娱活动,要不水沟里捉鱼,要不树根旁边挖知了洞,听说有人家打灶头画灶画那

Kitchen Drawings in My Hometown

I remember my home village in Jiangnan or the south of the Yangtze River Delta and remember the old-styled kitchen ranges. When I was a kid, these kitchen ranges could be seen in every house in villages where and when firewood was still used as fuel.