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柿子红于秋，初秋藏密叶，深秋傲枝头。“柿子如丹缀土城”2（〔明〕袁宏道），红透了的柿子，也为秋凉缀上了点点暖意。柿子是水果中的一种，但在水果中却不典型。说到水果，人们总会对香蕉、苹果、橘子之类如数家珍，而柿子却极难被提及。柿子属于水果中的杂类3，印象中难登大雅之堂。不过，这雅与不雅并不在口感好坏或者营养大小之上。
Persimmons ripen red in autumn. They stay nestling among the thick foliage of their trees in early autumn， and remain dangling on their branches towards the end of the season. As the Ming poet Yuan Hongdao （1568—1610） has it in his poem， “The persimmon red adds hue to hills.” Persimmons， at their peak in color， cast a warm tone over the coolness of autumn. Though a fruit by nature， they are an atypical member of the fruit family. Upon mentioning of fruit， people tend to enumerate banana， apple or orange， but seldom persimmon， if ever. As a minority， persimmons may not be decent enough to be presentable. The sense of decency or indecency of a fruit is by no means made up by its flavor or nutritional values.
柿树很容易成活，插根枝条就能长于房前屋后。水泽、沟边有丽影，旷野、山坳有野生，像没人疼的野孩子，活得泼皮。柿子不到成熟是不会有人去碰的，因为生涩，且涩到丝毫不可吃的地步，连嘴馋者也望而却步，所以总能“颐养天年”，活出个“林红柿子繁”（〔宋〕范宗尹）、“野鸟相呼柿子红”（〔宋〕郑刚中）的暖秋景象。只有上了年岁的农家人，才会将掉落的青柿子“漤”在水缸里，任其半个多月漤着不动，之后苦涩脱去，摇身一变为脆甜，遂成“漤柿子”是也。
Persimmon trees are easy to survive， able to propagate and grow from cuttings that are planted around a residence. They are well-adapted to a wide range of soils， near the water or by the ditch， and in the wilderness or between hills， and grow up where they are， unhindered， like an unruly child with little parental care. Persimmons are hardly ever eaten before they are fully ripened， for they are so astringent when unripe as to be utterly unpalatable， and will intimidate a true foodie out of his temptation to try them unripe. Owing to this property， the fruit gets to enjoy a happy and leisurely life on their trees until late autumn， at which time they hang ripe among red leaves in numerous clusters， with birds cheeping and chirping around in the air. It is only elderly village folks who will spare time to gather green persimmons that are fallen on the ground， and leave them resting “lazily” in a water vat until more than two weeks later， when these green persimmons are eventually rid of their astringency， and become amazingly sweet and crispy， hence their nickname “lazy persimmons”.
柿子食用是最基本的功能，除了作為水果直接食用外，还可把柿子晒干做成“柿饼”，或者打碎和在面粉里做成“柿馍”4。食用之外，还可药用及其他工业用。即便是苦涩的青柿子，也有它的妙处。它偶尔可作肥皂，而且比肥皂好用。在产烟区，摘青烟叶炕烟的农活最脏不过，即使把肥皂打在手上，不过上几天黑黏烟油也断断挥之不去，但擦上青柿子汁，却事半功倍。男孩子5喜欢涂抹全身，纵身跃入池塘，一洗了之。柿子价值不小，柿木更是如此。在水塘边洗衣服若能用上一根柿木棒槌，算是一种造化，它和桃木梳子、柳木菜墩一起，构成了典型的几种专门用材，就连河南人附和赞同时所说的“是木”（是么），也几乎都会听到一句戏谑的回应：“柿木镟棒槌。” Persimmons are primarily a source of food for consumption. In addition to being consumed fresh， they are often dehydrated in the sun into dried persimmons， or dried and ground into crumbs to be mixed with flour for making “persimmon pancakes”. Persimmons boast a wealth of benefits， medicinal and commercial as well as nutritional. The green and astringent fruit can do a magical job by serving once in a while as a better substitute for an ordinary soap. In the process of plucking tobacco leaves for flue curing in the 1970s， for example， hands were often stained black by sticky tar， and this tarry residue was hard to cleanse off even with soap， and it would stay for at least several days. However， if green persimmon juice was applied， removal of the residue could be done much quicker and easier. Teenage boys who helped parents in this job preferred a better way out simply by slathering the juice to the whole body， jumping into a pond， and having the stubborn stain all rinsed off in there. Persimmons are of great value， and so is the wood of their trees. A laundry bat made of persimmon wood is a sought-after tool that a woman can luckily use in washing clothes in the pond. This wood is among the three typical ones for their specific purposes， the other two being peach wood for combs and willow wood for chopping boards. Therefore， many times， if not always， in communications between natives of Henan province， one’s utterance “shimu” （“shime” being the standard form in Mandarin Chinese）， namely a question tag for affirmation that happens to be a homophone for “persimmon wood”， will be followed by the other side of communication with a facetious “shimu xuan bangchui” （“shimu” for “persimmon wood”， “xuan” for “to shape on a carpenter’s tools”， and “bangchui” for “laundry bat”）.
成熟時，柿子有黄、红之分。黄的如陆游所见“墙头累累柿子黄”，多为方形，个儿较大，我们称之为“蒸馍柿子”，若蒸馍一般大小。但最诱人的莫若椭圆形的红柿子，通红欲滴，娇嫩备至。如果说黄柿子是女汉子，那么红柿子就该是娇小姐了6。
Mature persimmons range in color from orange to red. The orange ones， which the Tang poet Lu You （1125—1210） saw and described in his poem as “Persimmons dangling in orange clusters over the fence wall”， are mostly squat in shape， and slightly bigger about the size of a “zhengmo” （steamed bun）， hence their name “zhengmo shizi （steamed bun-like persimmon）” in Henan dialects. Of the two， the more enticing are the red oblongs， lustrous in color and tender in texture. If an orange one can be likened to a “Miss Robust”， a red one is definitely a “Miss Delicate”. 嬌小姐是需要用心呵护的，你用手托着，她就会在手心里温柔地滚动，但有爱怜意，就有点儿像唐僧看着人参果不忍下嘴7。她很嫩，用土话说的“一掐一股水”，并不足以状述其嫩。将薄如蝉翼的红色嫩皮揭掉，下面竟还有一层更薄的半透明白色嫩膜。为保持好的卖相，卖柿子的断不会一股脑将柿子叠压在一起，而是平着放，且只码一层，下面通常衬层蓝布，冷蓝对暖红，衬托出了柿子色彩的灵动，一件艺术的摆设，就这么自然天成。
“Miss Delicates” are to be loved. Sitting in your open palm， a “Miss Delicate” can rock gently to the movement of your hand. Your heart is melting， and you are hesitant at the thought of ingestion， somewhat like Buddhist monk Tang Seng in Monkey， who cringed with guilt at the baby-shaped ginseng fruit offered to him for eating. “Miss Delicates” are much more tender， such that the colloquial expression “Liquid can be squeezed out of it”， which describes a good state of hydration， is an understatement for their tenderness. After the gauzy red outer skin is removed， there is one more layer underneath， a whitish membrane that is thinner and translucent. For them to present a good look， these red globes are never to be piled up. Instead they are arranged on a flat surface one after another in one layer only. More often than not， a blue cloth additionally goes under the fruit， and in stark contrast to this blue， the persimmon red is even more vivid and lively， making the display enough of an artistic work.
卖柿子的摘下的多是半熟品，软硬不一，所以就有了“老太太8吃柿子——专挑软的捏”这句歇后语，此语虽然经常被用来表达恃强凌弱，但对于柿子而言，却是实情。如果全部等熟透了才去销售，怕是包装和运输都要特别地“小心轻放”了。
Persimmons for sale normally have to be harvested firm-ripe， and they vary in their softness of consistency at this time. The Chinese saying “A toothless granny will pinch and choose a soft persimmon to eat”， which is a metaphor for “bullying the weak”， is indeed a true statement for persimmons. If completely mushy， the fruit must be handled with extreme care in their packaging and transportation.
红柿子中还有猩红的，红得厚重，红得抢眼，我们称之为“柿油”9，土话取柿子的儿子或小柿子之意，体型略小，一棵树上也不过几枚，总是先于其他柿子成熟。此时的树叶还很绿，柿油就“秀”于浓密的绿叶之间，当微风掀起树叶的一角，就会间或闪出柿油红彤彤的身形，惹得行人和小鸟莫不为之垂涎，馋嘴的孩子弹弓、坷垃齐上，而老鸹和大喜鹊总能用长长的尖嘴巧取其肉。等打下柿油或待它自然落下时，有些已经残缺不全，所以一半干瘪10一半满，就成了它的常态，但剩余部分却仍会被喜食者吸吮：小鸟眼力不凡，其猎获对象堪称甜蜜之最。
Some persimmons are crimson red， so intensely and so eye-poppingly. They are called， due to their smaller size， “shiyou” in Henan dialects， meaning “child of a persimmon” or “diminutive persimmon”. “Shiyou” persimmons that a tree can bear are limited in number， several at the most， and they tend to ripen quicker than the others on the same tree. By then， a persimmon tree， still dressed in verdure， provides a green shelter for its “shiyou”. The breeze blowing thick leaves apart unveils “shiyou” persimmons in their charming red， which attracts hungry attention from both humans and birds. To access the fruit， birds like crows or magpies will make a convenient use of their long beak while gluttonous boys will have to resort to the catapult or earth lumps. Among the “shiyou” persimmons that are shot down or fall off by gravity， some are no longer intact in that only half of the globe is left， and the other half gone， having been pecked up by birds with only a dried surface left. What remains of these fallen persimmons will then continue to be enjoyed by human predators as a delicacy. Birds are connoisseurs of fruit， and precisely pick the very most luscious one to feed on.
Persimmons ripen red in autumn. They stay nestling among the thick foliage of their trees in early autumn， and remain dangling on their branches towards the end of the season. As the Ming poet Yuan Hongdao （1568—1610） has it in his poem， “The persimmon red adds hue to hills.” Persimmons， at their peak in color， cast a warm tone over the coolness of autumn. Though a fruit by nature， they are an atypical member of the fruit family. Upon mentioning of fruit， people tend to enumerate banana， apple or orange， but seldom persimmon， if ever. As a minority， persimmons may not be decent enough to be presentable. The sense of decency or indecency of a fruit is by no means made up by its flavor or nutritional values.
柿树很容易成活，插根枝条就能长于房前屋后。水泽、沟边有丽影，旷野、山坳有野生，像没人疼的野孩子，活得泼皮。柿子不到成熟是不会有人去碰的，因为生涩，且涩到丝毫不可吃的地步，连嘴馋者也望而却步，所以总能“颐养天年”，活出个“林红柿子繁”（〔宋〕范宗尹）、“野鸟相呼柿子红”（〔宋〕郑刚中）的暖秋景象。只有上了年岁的农家人，才会将掉落的青柿子“漤”在水缸里，任其半个多月漤着不动，之后苦涩脱去，摇身一变为脆甜，遂成“漤柿子”是也。
Persimmon trees are easy to survive， able to propagate and grow from cuttings that are planted around a residence. They are well-adapted to a wide range of soils， near the water or by the ditch， and in the wilderness or between hills， and grow up where they are， unhindered， like an unruly child with little parental care. Persimmons are hardly ever eaten before they are fully ripened， for they are so astringent when unripe as to be utterly unpalatable， and will intimidate a true foodie out of his temptation to try them unripe. Owing to this property， the fruit gets to enjoy a happy and leisurely life on their trees until late autumn， at which time they hang ripe among red leaves in numerous clusters， with birds cheeping and chirping around in the air. It is only elderly village folks who will spare time to gather green persimmons that are fallen on the ground， and leave them resting “lazily” in a water vat until more than two weeks later， when these green persimmons are eventually rid of their astringency， and become amazingly sweet and crispy， hence their nickname “lazy persimmons”.
柿子食用是最基本的功能，除了作為水果直接食用外，还可把柿子晒干做成“柿饼”，或者打碎和在面粉里做成“柿馍”4。食用之外，还可药用及其他工业用。即便是苦涩的青柿子，也有它的妙处。它偶尔可作肥皂，而且比肥皂好用。在产烟区，摘青烟叶炕烟的农活最脏不过，即使把肥皂打在手上，不过上几天黑黏烟油也断断挥之不去，但擦上青柿子汁，却事半功倍。男孩子5喜欢涂抹全身，纵身跃入池塘，一洗了之。柿子价值不小，柿木更是如此。在水塘边洗衣服若能用上一根柿木棒槌，算是一种造化，它和桃木梳子、柳木菜墩一起，构成了典型的几种专门用材，就连河南人附和赞同时所说的“是木”（是么），也几乎都会听到一句戏谑的回应：“柿木镟棒槌。” Persimmons are primarily a source of food for consumption. In addition to being consumed fresh， they are often dehydrated in the sun into dried persimmons， or dried and ground into crumbs to be mixed with flour for making “persimmon pancakes”. Persimmons boast a wealth of benefits， medicinal and commercial as well as nutritional. The green and astringent fruit can do a magical job by serving once in a while as a better substitute for an ordinary soap. In the process of plucking tobacco leaves for flue curing in the 1970s， for example， hands were often stained black by sticky tar， and this tarry residue was hard to cleanse off even with soap， and it would stay for at least several days. However， if green persimmon juice was applied， removal of the residue could be done much quicker and easier. Teenage boys who helped parents in this job preferred a better way out simply by slathering the juice to the whole body， jumping into a pond， and having the stubborn stain all rinsed off in there. Persimmons are of great value， and so is the wood of their trees. A laundry bat made of persimmon wood is a sought-after tool that a woman can luckily use in washing clothes in the pond. This wood is among the three typical ones for their specific purposes， the other two being peach wood for combs and willow wood for chopping boards. Therefore， many times， if not always， in communications between natives of Henan province， one’s utterance “shimu” （“shime” being the standard form in Mandarin Chinese）， namely a question tag for affirmation that happens to be a homophone for “persimmon wood”， will be followed by the other side of communication with a facetious “shimu xuan bangchui” （“shimu” for “persimmon wood”， “xuan” for “to shape on a carpenter’s tools”， and “bangchui” for “laundry bat”）.
成熟時，柿子有黄、红之分。黄的如陆游所见“墙头累累柿子黄”，多为方形，个儿较大，我们称之为“蒸馍柿子”，若蒸馍一般大小。但最诱人的莫若椭圆形的红柿子，通红欲滴，娇嫩备至。如果说黄柿子是女汉子，那么红柿子就该是娇小姐了6。
Mature persimmons range in color from orange to red. The orange ones， which the Tang poet Lu You （1125—1210） saw and described in his poem as “Persimmons dangling in orange clusters over the fence wall”， are mostly squat in shape， and slightly bigger about the size of a “zhengmo” （steamed bun）， hence their name “zhengmo shizi （steamed bun-like persimmon）” in Henan dialects. Of the two， the more enticing are the red oblongs， lustrous in color and tender in texture. If an orange one can be likened to a “Miss Robust”， a red one is definitely a “Miss Delicate”. 嬌小姐是需要用心呵护的，你用手托着，她就会在手心里温柔地滚动，但有爱怜意，就有点儿像唐僧看着人参果不忍下嘴7。她很嫩，用土话说的“一掐一股水”，并不足以状述其嫩。将薄如蝉翼的红色嫩皮揭掉，下面竟还有一层更薄的半透明白色嫩膜。为保持好的卖相，卖柿子的断不会一股脑将柿子叠压在一起，而是平着放，且只码一层，下面通常衬层蓝布，冷蓝对暖红，衬托出了柿子色彩的灵动，一件艺术的摆设，就这么自然天成。
“Miss Delicates” are to be loved. Sitting in your open palm， a “Miss Delicate” can rock gently to the movement of your hand. Your heart is melting， and you are hesitant at the thought of ingestion， somewhat like Buddhist monk Tang Seng in Monkey， who cringed with guilt at the baby-shaped ginseng fruit offered to him for eating. “Miss Delicates” are much more tender， such that the colloquial expression “Liquid can be squeezed out of it”， which describes a good state of hydration， is an understatement for their tenderness. After the gauzy red outer skin is removed， there is one more layer underneath， a whitish membrane that is thinner and translucent. For them to present a good look， these red globes are never to be piled up. Instead they are arranged on a flat surface one after another in one layer only. More often than not， a blue cloth additionally goes under the fruit， and in stark contrast to this blue， the persimmon red is even more vivid and lively， making the display enough of an artistic work.
卖柿子的摘下的多是半熟品，软硬不一，所以就有了“老太太8吃柿子——专挑软的捏”这句歇后语，此语虽然经常被用来表达恃强凌弱，但对于柿子而言，却是实情。如果全部等熟透了才去销售，怕是包装和运输都要特别地“小心轻放”了。
Persimmons for sale normally have to be harvested firm-ripe， and they vary in their softness of consistency at this time. The Chinese saying “A toothless granny will pinch and choose a soft persimmon to eat”， which is a metaphor for “bullying the weak”， is indeed a true statement for persimmons. If completely mushy， the fruit must be handled with extreme care in their packaging and transportation.
红柿子中还有猩红的，红得厚重，红得抢眼，我们称之为“柿油”9，土话取柿子的儿子或小柿子之意，体型略小，一棵树上也不过几枚，总是先于其他柿子成熟。此时的树叶还很绿，柿油就“秀”于浓密的绿叶之间，当微风掀起树叶的一角，就会间或闪出柿油红彤彤的身形，惹得行人和小鸟莫不为之垂涎，馋嘴的孩子弹弓、坷垃齐上，而老鸹和大喜鹊总能用长长的尖嘴巧取其肉。等打下柿油或待它自然落下时，有些已经残缺不全，所以一半干瘪10一半满，就成了它的常态，但剩余部分却仍会被喜食者吸吮：小鸟眼力不凡，其猎获对象堪称甜蜜之最。
Some persimmons are crimson red， so intensely and so eye-poppingly. They are called， due to their smaller size， “shiyou” in Henan dialects， meaning “child of a persimmon” or “diminutive persimmon”. “Shiyou” persimmons that a tree can bear are limited in number， several at the most， and they tend to ripen quicker than the others on the same tree. By then， a persimmon tree， still dressed in verdure， provides a green shelter for its “shiyou”. The breeze blowing thick leaves apart unveils “shiyou” persimmons in their charming red， which attracts hungry attention from both humans and birds. To access the fruit， birds like crows or magpies will make a convenient use of their long beak while gluttonous boys will have to resort to the catapult or earth lumps. Among the “shiyou” persimmons that are shot down or fall off by gravity， some are no longer intact in that only half of the globe is left， and the other half gone， having been pecked up by birds with only a dried surface left. What remains of these fallen persimmons will then continue to be enjoyed by human predators as a delicacy. Birds are connoisseurs of fruit， and precisely pick the very most luscious one to feed on.