Crops and farm animals are favorite subjects. Pigs are usually the most important but since they're not too pretty, piggies give way on the oven to cows, chickens and ducks.
It's freestyle zaohua today for painter Sun, but Zhang from the culture center says there used to be many rules and conventions in the old days.
"Different parts of the oven were supposed to be painted with different patterns," Zhang says.
The center of the oven wall was the place for flowers, such as red peonies, and birds, such as the red-crowned crane and peacock. The lower part and two sides were reserved for heroes from Chinese history or mythology.
The area around the chimney was reserved for aquatic plants, such as lotus and water lily.
"Today in Nanhui, no more than 10 farmers can still create zaohua and most of them are over 70 years old," Zhang says. "Society is changing fast and that's not a good thing for old folk arts like zaohua."
Source: Cultural China
Editor: Shi Liwei
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