把中国的儿童文学传播到世界，要求的不仅仅是传播者的外语能力、写作天赋，作者在中、西方社会的生活阅历，和受中、西方文化的长期浸泡，是令其在文化传播领域有着独具鳌头的先决条件。

 

分别在中国和加拿大生活了二十多年的我，因独具这种优势而倍感幸运。虽然我在国外用英文从事儿童文学写作，作品内容多是反映了以西方社会为背景的中西文化交融，我偶尔也写几个“纯中国故事”。西方儿童文学的权威们认为：“王若文写的故事中，属中国故事最迷人。”（我的书在北美公共图书馆都有收藏，我鼓励读者们去免费借阅。）

 

随着中国在世界舞台的日益瞩目，西方社会对中国充满了好奇和憧憬。作为一位加拿大华裔儿童文学作家，我的举手投足和写作、出版动向，备受西方儿童文学界和教育界的关注。这个链接是多伦多大学教育学院为我独设的一页： http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/oise/About_OISE/ruowen_wang_110912.html

 

西方的父母们和教育者们渴望孩子们读到更多带有东方色彩的儿童故事，他们见到我就问起这个话题。于是，我开始着手了 “中国式的一千零一夜” 系列，取名为《莲花集》。这个系列取材于中国古老、美丽的民间传说，比如《莲花-一个秃女孩儿的故事》、《蓝花龙鱼缸》、《人参娃》、《画中人》等。

 

小时候我听的《画中人》的故事是这么几句：一个穷小子在集市上买到了一幅画，回到家挂在了墙上，从此，他每天放工回来都发现饭菜已做好。于是，他心生一计，有一天他提早回家，藏在暗里想看个究竟，当他看到画中的仕女走下来给他做饭时，便冲上去一把撕毁了那张画，仕女回不去了，于是做了他的媳妇。

 

这个故事如果是“原样”讲给西方人听，也许会令他们从座椅上跌下去，因为故事里有几处令他们震惊、和“不舒服”的地方（随后我会在《写作心得》里详述）。于是，我将东方的柔美情感和西方的叙事逻辑结合起来，把这个故事改写、翻新，赋予了它普世的道德观、人文精神、仁爱的社会价值、以及唯美的文学价值，将它变为能被西方主流社会所理解、接受、并且欣赏的“新”东方儿童文学。相信我的精心雕琢，给予了这个故事一个超越国界、超越时代的不朽生命。

 

以下是我的英文原著《画中人》（中文版的链接是: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_7a1b216f0100wth1.html）。

 

A Lady from the Painting

By Ruowen Wang

Illustrated by Hechen Yu

 (意在交流，勿转载，禁商用）

 

 

Long ago, there lived an orphan named Da Shan.

 

Every day, Da Shan tended his family rice field from dawn to dusk, for when Father was alive, he used to say, “Son, work hard and you shall never go hungry.”

Even though Da Shan worked hard and never went hungry, he lived from hand-to-mouth. However, Da Shan was kind and generous to other people, because before Mother died, she told him, “Son, be kind and you will always be happy.”

 

Da Shan was happy and would be even happier had he had a family. People said such a good lad deserved a good wife. But who would want to marry a poor orphan?

 

By late spring, Da Shan’s rice was running low. So he took his small savings and went to the country fair.

Da Shan went from one pedlar to another, looking for affordable rice. By the end of the day, he was still hanging on to his money.

 

 

 

At dusk, the fair was winding down. Pedlars were packing to leave, except for one old man who sat alone shivering in wind. The old man had only one item for sale – a paper scroll.

The old man stopped Da Shan and unrolled the scroll: It was a picture of a beautiful lady! “Good-hearted lad, would you please buy this painting from me?”

 

“It’s beautiful, but…” Da Shan shook his head. “I have no spare money for paintings.”

 

The old man looked very hungry. His pleading eyes reminded Da Shan of his late father.  

 

Da Shan sighed and reached for his money.

 

As Da Shan dug his money out, the old man vanished, leaving Da Shan holding the painting,rather puzzled.

 

Nevertheless, upon returning to his small mud hut Da Shan hung the painting on the wall.

 

The lady in the painting was so beautiful that she looked almost alive. Da Shan fell in love with her.

 

The next evening, when Da Shan came home from work, he was stunned: the aroma of steamed rice filled his mud hut with warmth!

 

“Who has cooked dinner for me?”

 

 

 

Da Shan thought of his neighbour, Grandpa Huang, and went to thank him. But Grandpa Huang was surprised, too. He couldn’t believe what he heard. “Truly?”

 

From then on, every evening after work, Da Shan had an aroma-filled, warm home to return to.

 

Da Shan was happy.  

 

Grandpa Huang was happy for Da Shan, too, but he was very curious. He decided to find out the truth.

 

One day, Grandpa Huang stopped Da Shan with great delight, “Son, are you ready to hear a big secret?”

 

Da Shan replied, “If it’s someone else’s secret, no. But if it’s mine, go ahead. I don’t think I have a secret.”

 

“Yes, you do. Right in your house!”Grandpa Huang exclaimed. “Every day, just before you come home, the lady in the painting comes down to cook for you.”

Da Shan was thrilled.

 

But he soon shook his head. “No. It’s too good to be true.”

 

“Why don’t you come home early tomorrow and see for yourself?” asked Grandpa Huang.

 

Then Grandpa Huang whispered, “Tomorrow, pretend to go to work as usual but suddenly come back early. When you find her on the floor cooking, rip the picture off the wall and tear it up before she can go back into it. Then she will have to stay and be your wife.”

 

Throughout the night, Da Shan lay thinking about the beautiful lady and her delicious dinners, dreaming of their happy life together. He was excited about carrying out Grandpa Huang’s plan. 

 

The next morning, Da Shan took another look at the beautiful lady in the painting before left for work. He couldn’t wait to meet her in person and make her his wife.

 

 

But, as the day went by, a feeling of uneasiness crept over him.

 

“What if she doesn’t want to stay and be my wife? If I tear up her painting, she’ll have no home to return to. She will be sad.”

 

This thought stayed heavy on his mind. Da Shan dragged his feet and arrived home even later than usual.

 

Days went by, and Da Shan just could not follow Grandpa Huang’s advice.

 

One afternoon, the clear sky rapidly turned dark. Soon it thundered and rain began to pour down. Da Shan dashed to his house for shelter. 

 

He burst through the door, shocking the lady who was on the floor cooking for him!

 

In a flash, the lady leapt up the wall, trying to return to her painting. But “Thump!” She fell down.

 

Aha, the paper scroll was torn from the wet where the roof had leaked and let in the rain.

 

The lady was in tears. Da Shan was sad, too.

 

How he wished the lady knew how much he loved her, and how he wished that she would want to stay with him. But he didn’t say a word. Instead, he stayed up the whole night, mending the paper scroll.

 

The following morning, Da Shan hung the mended scroll back on the wall, ready for the lady to return. 

Da Shan took one last look at the lady whom he loved very much and then left the house, heartbroken.

 

The lady’s bright eyes sparkled with gratefulness. She appeared happy, and her pretty face blushed!

 

That night, with a sunken heart, Da Shan returned home very late.

 

As he pushed the door open, he was stunned again: the aroma of steamed rice filled his mud hut with warmth. A dinner for two had been prepared!

 

The lady from the painting was still there, waiting for his return. The scroll Da Shan had mended for her lay in the stove, burning!

 

Its glow lit up two happy faces.