Row Row,Row to Grandma's Bridge

Row Row,Row to Grandma's Bridge

"Row Row,Row to Grandma's Bridge, Grandma calls me a good baby." This century-old nursery rhyme originates from the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River.

In the old days, rivers crisscrossed the country, and people often traveled by rowing boat.

The nursery rhyme depicts the heartwarming scene of a child rowing a small boat to their grandmother's home.

On a misty morning, Nan followed her father in a black-sailed boat to her grandmother's home.

The river swayed as her father hummed "Rocking, Rocking to Grandma's Bridge," startling a few white-bellied gulls.

Under the willow tree, Nan, with her wicker basket, eagerly awaited the sight: sesame twisted dough sticks wrapped in oil paper, osmanthus cakes tied with red string, and the sweet aroma of glutinous rice candy wafting into her nose as she opened her lotus leaf wrapping.

Red bean porridge with rock sugar simmered on the stove, and Nan, Nan, quietly slipped a piece of maltose she had been hiding for three days.

On the return journey, the setting sun dyed the river red. Anan, clutching her mugwort sachet, dozed off to the sound of the oars.

The lanterns on both banks reflected in the water resembled sparks from Grandma's stove, warming the entire nursery rhyme.

Row Row,Row to Grandma's Bridge,

Grandma called me a good baby.

A bag of candy, a bag of fruit,

And some cakes and pastries.

The baby ate until he doubled over with laughter.

This short Jiangnan nursery rhyme, sung by a black-sailed boat and Grandma's osmanthus cake, has been rocked through the ages, woven into the childhood memories of generations of Chinese.

Transmitting kinship through food was a powerful emotional medium during the agricultural era, holding the warmest childhood memories of countless people.