The Golden Era (2014) - full transcript

I'm Xiao Hong

My real name is Zhang Naiying

I was born on June 1st, 1911

It was the day of the Dragon Boat Festival

My family were land-owners
in Hulan County, Manchuria

At 11 am on January 22nd, 1942...

...I died

I was in a makeshift hospital

in Hong Kong

I was thirty-one

"Blossoms appeared
in our back garden in May"



"Then the fruits In June"

"Cucumbers, eggplants,
corns, kidney beans..."

"...watermelons, tomatoes..."

"...and pumpkins with creeping vines"

"But the mood in our place was desolate"

How old were you when your mother died?

Eight

I was only seven months when my mother died

My father beat her

So she took opium to die

I heard that when she died,

she was only 19 or 21

I don't know what she looked like

There were no pictures



"I'll probably never understand

people like my father"

"To servants, to his own children"

"and to my grandfather. .. ”

"...he was mean and aloof"

"It was my grandfather who taught me that"

"life includes love and warmth..."

"...as well as coldness and hatred"

Hurry and grow up!

Things will be fine when you're grown up

"I ran away from my father's house
when I was 20"

"Ever since then, my life has drifted"

"I've grown up, but things are not fine"

"ZHANG XIUKE Xiao Hong's brother"

When my sister was
about to finish high school...

...father arranged

a marriage for her

My sister resisted

She was in love with our cousin, Lu Zheshun

And he was already married

When they ran away to Peking together...

...Lu Zheshun was pressured by his family

and soon abandoned her

My elopement

made me notorious throughout the county

Our family felt disgraced

I got back from Peking
in the middle of the night

My father responded by ordering
the whole household...

...to move to our place in the countryside

Xiao Hong was locked up for ten months

Then she fled to Harbin

"SHU QUN Xiao Hong's friend, a writer"

Later, Xiao Jun asked her many times
how she escaped

She didn't answer

We know nothing at all...

...about what happened to her in Harbin

But her later writings show that
she was almost destitute

Cut off from everyone she knew

"In early winter..."

"...while walking in the bracing cold..."

"...I ran into my young brother"

"The coffee-shop windows..."

"...were frosted up"

"I hung my coat
with its worn-out collar on a hanger"

You should come home

It's so cold!

You still play basketball at school?

How's it going?

You still like it?

I'm better at it now

I wish you still came to watch us

Sister...come on home

You look unhappy

You'll get ill before long

Why do you say I'm unhappy?

Your hair's grown long

You should get it cut

Are you going to go on drifting?

It's getting colder and colder

"My young brother's eyes are pitch black"

Since sister ran away, our family was ruined

My father was fired by his Department

...on the grounds that he'd brought up
his daughter badly

I couldn't stand being mocked by my classmates

So I changed school twice

I ended up in Harbin Second High School

That chance meeting with my sister...

...became the subject
of her essay "Early Winter"

She never saw our father again

before she died

Not long after our meeting...

...she rejoined the man
she was supposed to marry

His name was Wang Enjia,

a primary school teacher

Brother...

Where's your dignity?

You may not care, but your family does

Why have you taken her back?

This bitch all but ruined us!

And you sit here, eating and drinking with her!

Aren't you ashamed?

Show some backbone!

Come back, don't run!

Welcome!

You from one of the brothels?

- Are you?
- Come on in!

What is it?

I'm coming

That summer evening,

Wang Enjia walked out of her life

He was never heard of again

"BAI LANG literary editor"

They had moved into...

...a swanky hotel in November 1931

"LUO FENG writer"

They stayed there for seven months,

until they were broke

They owed the hotel more than $400

It was $600

A huge sum at that time

Later, the hotel locked Xiao Hong...

...in a storeroom

She hoped that Wang would reappear

She wrote...

"In May last year

I tasted green apricot"

"In May this year,
the misery of my life..."

"...tastes like that green apricot"

But Wang Enjia never did come back

Stranger yet, the whole Wang family
disappeared too

Yet another unsolved mystery
in the life of Xiao Hong

Excuse me, are you Zhang Naiying?

I'm the editor
of International Gazette, Lao Fei

He writes for us

We received your letter

In her letter, she said
if she couldn't pay the bill...

...the hotel owner was going
to sell her to a brothel...

...in lieu of payment

It turned out to be true

The woman has guts

It was smart of her to write to us

We must help her!

Really help

Damn it!

I'm a woman too

And the money?

Where do we find that much cash?

If we pooled all we have...

...it wouldn't come to $600

We could publish her letter

Appeal for assistance

You think anyone would donate a cent?

San Lang hasn't said a word all evening

I have nothing...

Except the hair I can't afford
to cut these past few months

If I could turn my hair into cash...

...I would go bald

San Lang is drunk

Write something and sell it!

The only ones who'd buy my stuff are ghosts!

I can't write stuff that sells

The evening of July 13th, 1932...

Xiao Jun and Xiao Hong
were destined to meet.

Xiao Jun mentioned that first meeting twice

in his writings

"Her pale, round face was framed"

"by long, straggly hair"

"She seemed nervous"

"and her voice

sounded frightened"

A letter for you

So you're Mr San Lang
(better known as "Xiao Jun")

I'm reading one of your articles

Haven't finished it yet

This one... The Orphaned Child

I like it

Here are the books you wanted

Lao Fei asked me to bring them

I'll be going

Can we talk?

All right?

Let's talk

Who drew this?

I did it in an idle moment

And the calligraphy?

Yes

You copied a master?

We did it in class

And the poem?

I wrote it

"At that moment,
I felt the world was changing”

"The season was changing"

"People were changing"

"My thoughts and feelings were changing too"

"Right in front of me"

"was the most beautiful woman
I'd ever known"

What's your philosophy of love?

What philosophy?

Either you love...

...or you ditch the whole business

What if you can't do that?

Then you're stuck with it

I've grown quite fond
of a girl who lives downstairs

When she gives me a smile...

...I feel I'm the happiest guy in the world

What do people live for?

Why do you live?

You have plenty of reasons to kill yourself now

Me?

Because there's something in this world...

Some mystery that I cling to...

That's why I go on living

Me too

"We had too much to say"

"I was ready to go several times..."

"But I stayed"

Buy something to eat

That money was his bus fare!

That night, Xiao Jun had to walk
ten miles to get home

And next day,

he went to the hotel again

Why?

Why do I have no strength

I can hardly open my eyes

Why is that?

Love does that to you

The power of love may be great...

But not greater than $600

Xiao Jun and the rest of us were useless

We couldn't raise the money to save Xiao Hong

Xiao Jun tried everything

We were at a complete loss...

...when Harbin was suddenly flooded

Uncle!

Uncle! Uncle boatman!

Here!

I'm here!

Uncle,

I'm pregnant

I'll give birth soon!

Help me!

Turn the boat around

The baby for Bed 2

It's a boy

Your family will be happy!

The baby for you

No!

Xiao Hong had the baby adopted

Nobody knew the details

A year later she wrote The Foundling,

which told us how she felt

Your belly still hurts?

Come along!

Come on!

Watch your step!

Over here, you two

I'm coming

Sign here?

Sit down

All right?

Yes

Take it slowly

It's slippery

I'm all right

Nothing to drink from...

You want the bedding?

Yes

Fifty cents per day

Then never mind

Stingy bastards!

Hungry?

No

Your belly still hurts?

No

It's freezing outside?

Cold and hard

Eat

You're back

What's that?

I redeemed the clothes

we pawned

Put this on

I'll wear the sweater

Where did you get the money?

Stole it!

I got a job as a tutor

Really?

It's a good place

The rickshaw pullers all eat here

Excuse me...

Come...

Taste good?

I haven't started

- You want meat?
- Yes

Boss...

Five cents-worth of pork

OK

- Which part do you want?
- This

And this

- Thank you
- Here you are

Pig's head meat!

Look!

Try it?

Nothing special

Look!

We have plenty already

We don't need meatballs

It's meatballs in soup

We'll have one bowl

Okay

It's hot!

It's very good!

We should have a drink with this

I'll keep you company

My shoelace broke!

"Electric lights ablaze in the packed city"

"With cash in our pockets,"

"the two of us stride boldly down the street"

Madam Xu!

I'm reading Xiao Hong's Market Street

She writes so well about cold and hunger

We all know about poverty these days...

But no-one writes about it better than she does

Keep your arm and leg straight

Straight!

You're too padded!

Point!

Use your wrist

Good

And back

And back

Thrust!

Swing!

Roasting your legs?

Let's eat!

This is Lao Huang

Zhang Naiying

Come on in

San Lang's here

Zhang Naiying

This is my wife

San Lang

Sit down

Saline betrays Our Lord...

...by following the Communist path!

I will reclaim her for Our Lord

Lord, please grant me the strength...

Amen

Saline

Saline

you are so kind...

Saline...

Saline...

Auntie...

In our family,

the second miss
and the eldest son are both kind

But the elder sister's children

are annoying

Auntie...

Bai Lang!

I warn you, if you keep on giggling,
I'll punish you!

You too, Jin

I won't laugh

I won't look

You shouldn't be laughing either!

Try it again

No more laughter!

Auntie...

Your fever is raging...

Listen, stop laughing!

Be serious!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Later, our life improved a great deal

We even hired a Russian tutor

Xiao Jun started learning how to drive

One day he came back and said

he'd made a new friend

A high school student from Shanghai

Her name was Cheng

Miss Cheng came by very often

Xiao Jun borrowed skates

so that we could go skating together

New friends...well,
we got closer day by day

But she got closer to Xiao Jun

She began to write to him

They met often, but still needed to write
to each other

San Lang...

San Lang...

Was it true, what you said?

That day at the hotel

That if you hadn't seen my writing
and drawings,

we wouldn't be together now?

What do you mean?

Was it true?

As I said...

I love you for your talents

And if I had no talents, what then?

"The Orphan"

After a While, though,
Miss Cheng stopped coming

Maybe she was afraid of me

The final time she came...

Xiao Jun is out

I've come to say goodbye

I'm going back to the south

This is my boyfriend

Hello

I'll tell San Lang when he gets back

He will see you off

Good

I'll be off, then

That spring,

Shu Qun lost contact with the Communist Party

He was in danger

He left Harbin in a hurry, for Qingdao

And once he'd gone,

there were consequences

Are you Miss Bai Lang?

Yes, and you are...?

You are Luo Feng?

Please come with us to the Bureau

Bread, please

We can go

3.5 cents for the bread and sausages

Sausages?

I didn't ask for sausages!

Don't blame me

I didn't ask you to buy anything

Hey, kid

The Bureau isn't stupid

They see that

Luo Feng is mocking
the "Manchukuo Day" celebrations

They're sure to hold Bai Lang responsible too

You need to take care, Jin

Oh yes...

San Lang is at risk too

For non-Party members,

he and Xiao Hong are too conspicuous

They don't even know that we're Party activists

I've asked permission for them

to be evacuated right away

Let's go

We saw the couple off

They left Harbin for Qingdao

A week after they left,

Luo Feng was arrested again

Two years later, Jin was killed

by the Japanese

Lao Huang disappeared

We never saw him again

I ran around trying to save Luo Feng

"In the village..."

"...men and beasts were occupied
in the business of living...and dying”

"The cycle of life and death there
went on..."

"...exactly as it had ten years earlier"

"The same number
of sparrows congregated on rooftops"

"The sun was just as warm"

"Nothing had changed in ten years"

"Ping and Lnock-Knee were adults!"

"Aunt Wang stood, with flying hair"

"Outside her plot listening to songs
from the mountain"

"Flags which the villagers
never saw in cold weather”

"Flew up, fluttering skywards"

Xiao Jun, I have received your letter

I shall answer your two questions

First, don't ask what we writers want now

Ask instead what you can do

We never expected

Lu Xun to answer our letter

Nor that he'd answer so quickly

When I finished The Field of Life and Death,
I was at a loss

I had no idea how to get it published

I hadn't moved in literary circles

After Lu Xun's reply arrived...

...Shu Qun and his new bride
were arrested by the Kuomintang

Then the wife's whole family was arrested too

We made a hasty escape from Qingdao

The political situation in Shanghai is grim

The Kuomintang is in charge everywhere

except the foreign concessions

In tandem with the suppression

of the Communists...

...the government targets cultural activities

Lu Xun has been in hiding for four years

He lives a semi-clandestine life

There are literary groups,

with different political orientations

The debates between them are bitter

As the most prominent writer in China,
Lu Xun stands...

...attacked...

...from all sides

"NIE GANNU poet & essayist"

In his seventh letter...

...to Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun...

...Lu Xun invited them to a meeting

You are Mr Xiao Jun?

Yes

Then let's move, shall we?

This café is mainly patronized by clients
from the ballroom nearby

It's quiet in the daytimes

Very few Chinese

So I tend to meet friends here

How are you doing these days?

Thank you, Mr Lu Xun

Thanks

Thanks

Help yourselves

Is Madam Xu coming?

They're on their way

Daddy!

Daddy!

Let me introduce you

Mr Xiao Jun

Miss Xiao Hong

This is Madam Xu

Hello

Do sit down

You look pretty!

What did he say?

He says you're pretty

Thank you!

What's your name?

He's called Haiying

But he thinks the "ying" is too feminine,

so he doesn't like it

He'll change it when he grows up

It's sometimes interesting to observe a child

But to raise one entails
giving up all your own time

It's troublesome

Hey...

You should answer the question

Xiao Hong posed in her letter

Do I look like a loose woman?

I told you it was just a rumor!

I'm always surprised by the kind of rumors

they spread about me

Most are made up by so-called writers

Do they hate me so much?

Most just differ on approaches to writing

I don't socialize with them

They're basically just amusing themselves

I can see that we've overrated
the writers in Shanghai

We've come from the far north

We've been longing
to come to this cultural center

We thought leftist writers

were exemplary fighters

I think writers tend to have a character flaw

Their lines of thought are not too steady

Sometimes they bend to the east,
sometimes to the west

Few of them have firm convictions

When the left prospered...

...they rushed to join what seemed
a fashionable cause

Then, when the persecutions began,

they changed direction

Some even betrayed their friends,

handing them over to the other side

It happens in other countries too

But I think it's endemic in China

It's really a bad thing

How is Ding Ling doing since they seized her?

She's still under house arrest in Nanking

We are not sure about the rest

Here you are...

Small change for the tram

Give me the manuscript

Haiying!

Xiao Hong! Xiao Hong!

Madam Xu!

It's terribly cold today

It's all right

Lu Xun is waiting for you

Welcome, please come in

Let me introduce you

You can talk freely in front of these people

This gentleman is our "boss"

Good to meet you

Mr Nie...

His wife Miss Zhou...

And this couple are Mr Xiao Jun
and Miss Xiao Hong

They've recently arrived from Manchuria

We're supposed to be celebrating
the birth of Mr Hu's son,

but he's absent. Maybe the invitation
didn't reach them

Shanghai has its deficiencies

Move round a little

Make yourselves comfortable

"HU FENG literary critic"

Mr Lu Xun's invitation was delivered

the day after the party

"MEI ZHI writer"

That's...

...why we weren't there

I'm sorry they waited

Lu Xun later gave me Xiao Jun's address,

and asked me to contact them directly

After that dinner,

Lu Xun wrote to the Xiaos, saying...

"The enemy is nothing"

”Much more terrible are the pests
in our own camp”

"They're the ones who cause disasters"

"Sometimes I feel lonely, even distraught"

"Still, I just do what I can"

"Even if I'm on the verge of despair"

Coming!

Please come in

Madam Xu...

"The first time we visited Lu Xun's home"

"was in winter, towards dusk"

”It was a little dark
in the downstairs room"

"Mr Lu Xun had two kinds of cigarettes,"

"one expensive and one cheap"

"The cheap ones came in a green canister,"

"and Lu Xun smoked those himself"

"The others were in a white canister,”

"served to guests"

Help yourself!

I have enough

You drink

Enough for me

Help yourself

Enough

Both of us raise a glass
to you on our first visit

Thank you

Thanks for your dinner

He's very happy that you came

- You drink for me
- I'll drink for him

You're always welcome

Bottoms up

"In Mr Lu Xun's parlor, there's a pot-plant"

"When I first saw it, I asked..."

What is this?

It's an evergreen

An evergreen?

Yes

It will always look like that

"That evening,
we chatted from 9pm to 10pm..."

"...and then until 11pm"

"We wanted to go,
so that Mr Lu Xun could rest"

"We could see that he was not
in the best of health"

"Madam Xu fold us he'd had a cold
for more than a month"

"He'd only just got over it"

"But Mr Lu Xun didn't seem tired"

"After 11 o'clock, it began to rain"

"The rain pattered on the windowpanes"

"It was late, it was raining..."

"We felt uneasy
and kept getting up to leave”

"But Mr Lu Xun and Madam Xu insisted
that We stay longer"

"The trams run until midnight"

"And so it was nearly 12"

"before we went outside"

Mr Xiao Jun...

Sir

Next time you come...remember this plate

My house is on the lane with this plate

No. 9

Remember it

I will

Goodbye

Go back indoors!

Goodbye

- See you again!
- Take care on the road!

”Mr Lu Xun insisted on seeing us off
on the alley"

"I was thinking..."

"Why did he insist on

seeing off his two young guests?"

"The rain would wet his hair"

"He could catch a chill and be ill again"

Xiao Hong is a better writer than you are

Xiao Hong's characters

are so real...

intensely alive

We can feel their joys and sorrows

It's as if we're living their lives

And you...

You're richer in insight

But we can see...

Thank you...I can't drink much

That's enough

But we can see...

You're so painstaking

- in achieving what you do
- Absolutely

Whereas Xiao Hong's genius is

that she relies more on her feelings

It's really something precious

Precious

I've always thought highly of her talents

But she still needs my help

Xiao Hong is there alone

I told Haiying to play with her

Go and keep her company

Haiying...

Go fetch your toy bricks

Then you can play with me
and Auntie Xiao Hong, all right?

Can I finish this first?

I have to fix my car

Xiao Hong is in the front room again

She spends half the day just sitting there

I don't have time to keep her company

She's suffering, lonely...

She has nowhere else to go

So how can I turn her away?

Miss Xiao Hong was a powerful writer

But in dealing with her problems,
she was far too emotional...

...as women always are

I'll eat out

During her lifetime,
Xiao Hong never mentioned...

...her break-up with Xiao Jun

So we'll never know exactly how it happened

We are both prone to sickness

It pains me...

It seems I have spent my whole life...

...being ill and scolding others

I lost all my teeth before the age of 30

So I have a mouthful of false teeth

I gave up drinking...

Took cod liver oil...

...to prolong my life

Not only for my loved ones...

...but also for my enemies

I know...

I'm not a magnanimous man

For me, to speak of happiness...

...means either looking back
to the old days...

...or looking forward

to my final resting place

All warriors are like this

We live in such a place...

We live at such a time...

Mr Lu Xun hosted a farewell dinner
for Xiao Hong in his home

Madam Xu prepared the food herself

Xiao Hong left for Japan

Lu Xun must have known about the crisis

between Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun

But he never said anything

Maybe he felt he shouldn't interfere

Lu Xun introduced his friend Huang Yuan

He advised Xiao Hong
to spend some time in Japan...

...to write and to rest

Huang's wife Yuehua was studying in Japan...

...so she could take care of Xiao Hong

Xiao Jun was moving to Qingdao

"Jun..."

"Today I went out for the first time"

"I went into Jinbocho"

"It's a district full of bookshops"

"But I didn't much enjoy it,
since I was alone"

"I walked back the same way"

"Everything was fresh to me"

"The streets and sights are quite different"

"But there's a black river..."

"...just like the one in Shanghai"

"Sorry-looking boats bobbed on it"

"There were women with their children..."

"...in ragged clothes"

"And the dark water smelt just the same"

Most of these letters were sent

by Xiao Hong in 1936 and 1937

While she was in Tokyo

I've been roaming around
for more than forty years...

So the fact that these letters
have survived...

...and can be published today...

...is little short of miraculous

If you get lost, ask a passer-by

Travel safely, Yuehua!

"Jun, Yuehua is taking me to a doctor
for a check-up"

"Very cheap, only two dollars!"

"Without her help,"

"I wouldn't have been able to go"

"You probably haven't heard..."

"Her father-in-law is ill,
and they have no money"

"So Yuehua has to go back"

"Once she's gone, damn it,

I'll have no friend here"

"Jun, "

"I've had a fever for some days"

"My lips are chapped"

"Of course, everyone has to die"

"But knowing the fact is one thing..."

"Accepting it emotionally is another"

"Now he's been gone for five days"

"Where is he sleeping now?"

"Mr. Lu Xun's tomb"

"Jun, when moonlight whitens the window..."

like to turn off the light
and sit in silence"

"Then suddenly the sound
of a bell in my heart"

"breaks the silence"

"Isn't this my golden era? Right now?"

"I touch the tablecloth,
I turn around, I touch the chair...”

"I raise my hands in front of me"

"It's rather vague..."

"But I'm sure these are my hands"

"Yes..."

"I'm in Japan...

free and comfortable"

"Calm and carefree"

"No money worries"

"It really is my golden era"

"And I'm spending it in a cage"

”As for love,

I was once unfaithful to her"

"During our time together,"

"she was faithful to me"

"It's a fact, I admit it”

"But while she was in Japan..."

had an affair with Yuehua"

"It didn't last long"

"Yuehua and I both knew
that we couldn't stay together”

"So, to end our fruitless affair,"

"we agreed..."

"...to urge Xiao Hong to return from Japan"

"So that's what we did,
however much it pained us"

I tried to lose myself in writing

To forget my misery

But it was too much to bear

When I couldn't stand it any more...

...I crept outside to walk in the streets

The desolate streets...

I wandered about...

...like a ghost

He ended his affair with Yuehua

for moral reasons...

But he'd got her pregnant

She had an abortion

I didn't hate her

I didn't let it end our friendship

I still respected her

I was grateful she'd taken care of me in Japan

Soseki's novels

took issue with the Meiji period's view
of the world...

Let me introduce you

This is the Japanese writer, Mr Uchida

And his translator

You must know Jin Yi already

Xiao Jun

- Xiao Hong
- Nice to meet you

Sit here, Xiao Jun

What happened to your eye?

What happened?

You're lucky the eye itself wasn't hurt

Does it hurt?

Be more careful!

It's nothing

I bumped into something

in the dark

It's all right

What would you like?

Anything

I go this way

Be careful!

Ok, no problem

What are you hiding?

I hit her

Don't listen to him

It wasn't deliberate

He was drunk, I tried to stop him drinking

He pushed me aside, and I hit something

Don't defend me!

Leave me alone!

The "July 7th Incident"
in 1937 launched the war with Japan

Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun came to Wuhan

"JIANG XIJIN poet, writer"

I first met them one morning

Back then,

we were working for the magazine The Fight

I lived across the river,

and the ferry stopped running at midnight

I never finished work until late,

so I couldn't get home

I had no money for a hotel,

so I had to sleep in the quarantine boat

The guy in charge, Yu Fei, was my friend

That morning I went on board to do my job

Sit down, everyone!

When you've been checked, you can go!

Xiao Jun!

Yu Fei

It's you!

She's seasick...

Xi Jin! Over here!

Help them into our boat

Thank you

"ZHANG MEILIN Writer"

When I saw Xiao Hong again in Wuhan...

...I felt she'd changed,

but I couldn't work out how

Lots of people visited their place,

mostly writers and artists

One day a pale-faced man turned up

He was slightly hunched over
and wore smart clothes

Xiao Jun!

Look who's here!

- I can manage
- Who is it?

Xiao Jun!

Hey! Duanmu!

- You got my letter?
- Of course!

If I hadn't, I would be here!

Sit down

Have some tea

I didn't think the letter
would reach you so quickly

I have to look up a friend
to find me a place to live

Why bother?

You can stay here

Right? It'll be no trouble

Hu Feng and Nie come by every day

Xi Jin has a room to himself,

let's ask him

Don't bother Xi Jin

You can sleep in our room

It's a big bed

I'll sleep in the middle,
Xiao Hong on the inside, you on the outside

You won't fall off, I promise!

You haven't had a cigarette all day

Don't you want one?

Actually, I don't smoke

But when I read your novel...

...I had a cigarette

We hadn't met back then

Thank you

Xiao Jun says your writing lacks power

But I think The Field of Life and Death
is bold and forceful

It's better than his Village in August

You get closer to the essence of literature

You're the more talented

They always said my novels were no good

That was because I didn't write
the way they expected

I don't believe in rules

There should be as many types of novel

as there are writers

I agree

You like my gloves?

You have such small hands! Fits me perfectly!

You really are so bourgeois

Let's go

Nie! Duanmu!

Xi Jin!

- Good of you to come!
- We are here to say good bye

In January 1938,

Li Gongpu, founder of
the People's Revolutionary University...

...arrived in Wuhan from Shanxi

He came to enlist
intellectuals to teach at Linfen

Six of us writing for our magazine July
agreed to go

Everyone except Hu Feng

The other six,

Xiao Hong, Xiao Jun, Duanmu, Nie,

Ai Qing and Tian Jian...

...all volunteered to go to Linfen

The University also recruited students
from Wuhan

The north is a sad country...

Zhang Mutao, Trotskyite and spy
for the Japanese...

...after the Xi'an Incident...

...stirred up militants
in the Communist armies of the north

He took advantage of their wish
to rescue Zhang Xueliang

And incited them
to attack the Kuomintang army...

...to overthrow Chiang Kaishek

When the anti-Japanese war began,

Zhang Mutao returned to Taiyuan...

...and agitated against

unified resistance to the Japanese

He denounced the United Front of Communists
and Nationalists...

...as "class capitulationism"!

Down with Zhang Mutao!

Ding Ling!

- Xiao Jun!
- It is you

- I hardly recognized you!
- Long time no see!

Xiao Hong!

Ding Ling is here!

- Take a rest,
- Wait a moment

everyone, and wait for orders!

Dismiss!

Thank you

You must be Xiao Hong!

Hello

Ding Ling

Hello

Let's go inside, come on

Don't say that, don't say that...

I'll stop here!

Don't say that, don't say that...

Are you hungry

"It was early spring when I met Xiao Hong"

"It was still cold in Shanxi at the time"

"I'd been in the army for a long time..."

"...so I was used to hardship"

”When I saw her pale face... ”

"Her determined lips..."

"Her agile manner, her nervous laughter..."

felt she was special"

I thought back to my own youth

"But her talk was natural and direct"

"I felt it strange that she,
as a writer..."

"...seemed so naive"

"Maybe women are unashamed
to appear ingenuous”

"And that's why

she seemed so naive and vulnerable"

"But we got along very well"

"She was forthright"

"We sang together heartily..."

"...and talked into the night"

When I was in Yan'an...

...I helped collect material about
the Red Army

Now I'm editing

a history of the Long March

Based on accounts by the soldiers themselves

It's called Our Story

Every day I go through testimonies...

...written on all kinds of paper,
in all colors

They describe heart-warming actions,
fired by a great spirit

It's deeply moving

I conclude that writing skills alone...

...aren't enough to achieve great work

While I was writing my first novel...

...I felt two opposing forces at war inside me

My blood was telling me I was a writer

But my soul was filled
with the passion of a warrior

When I reached the Red Army base in Yan'an...

...I decided to give up writing

I think my great work will be

my actual life and my fighting!

So the old Ding Ling died...

...and a new Ding Ling was born

Is that it?

I've written in my diary that...

...when a great mission confronts you...

...you must forget your own insignificance

We stayed in the Revolutionary University
for only 20 days

The Japanese Army started shelling Linfen

The university decided the writers
should be evacuated

Those willing to stay

would retreat with the university staff

The others

would leave for Xi'an

Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun disagreed

about which group to follow

I've thought it through...

I'm going to stay and form a guerrilla unit

What about me?

You know that

all I want is a peaceful situation to write in

You know that this is
what I've always longed for

Even back in Harbin,
I wanted to join a guerrilla war

I'm not content to just be a writer

It's not my goal in life!

San Lang

I know I won't live long

I don't want to go on suffering

all these hardships

San Lang!

Many of those who die in battle have talents!

We're all fighting for liberation

Why should some preserve their talent

while others die?

Each contributes what he is best able to

You're forgetting your duty as a writer!

You're being willfully blind!

I haven't forgotten anything!

Let's go our separate ways

If I die...

I don't think I'll die,

Some day we'll see each other again

And can be together

But if we don't

we can make it a permanent break

All right

You aren't sleeping?

Soon

Aren't you asleep yet?

Haven't you two finished?

I'm really tired of your arguments

It's nothing to joke about

These arguments make us so unhappy

It's better that we go our separate ways

Never mind

I'll sleep outside

You two make up

- We're moving out tomorrow!
- Ding Ling!

Don't come out

We're all men out here!

What does it matter!

Don't go out

I won't go to Xi'an

I'd rather stay with you

We can live or die together!

Or you could come with us

I won't rest easy if you stay here alone

I know your temper

Don't be silly

You all leave first

If nothing changes here, you can come back

It'll be the same as before

Xiao Jun...

Don't make Xiao Hong so anxious

He's stronger than us

He fights well

He runs fast

He should stay

You're not weak yourself!

Why don't you stay?

How can we compare with Xiao Jun?

It's his chance to serve the country

What about you? Duanmu,

why don't you stay too?

Stay here and work with me

Then I won't be lonely

There are many students here to teach

No, I'd better go to Xi'an

I'd rather not die in battle

Don't worry

I've survived a lot already

But that was then!

Things are different now!

You've never listened to me!

Let him go

He's a capable man

He can look after himself

You just love him too much

You'll just make the man you love feel bad

I've had enough!

The wind and the dust!

My nose and ears always filthy!

You can always shut yourself away
indoors to write...

Are you serious?

What exactly are you trying to tell me?

Nothing

It's still about Xiao Hong

I know

Take care of Xiao Hong!

You've said it a hundred times

Yes...

Her health is fragile

And she can't cope

When you reach Xi'an, if she want

try to send her to Yan'an

Otherwise, keep her in your troupe

Just don't leave her alone

Anyway, she and I will meet again

Right!

So why were you so callous yesterday?

Now you're all care and concern!

Comrades,

let's sing a song for Xiao Jun!

Good!

Have you eaten?

Not yet, I was about to

And you?

I've eaten

But I'll treat you

No need for that

I must treat you tonight

I insist

Can you do me a favor?

What?

Look...

You like this?

I've kept it for a couple of years

Today, Duanmu asked me to give it to him

I told him to wait

I'm going to hide it...

...and tell him I gave it to you

If he asks,

will you tell him you have it?

What does the stick symbolize?

What are you thinking?

I've told you I find Duanmu tiresome

He's soft, cowardly...

You've also said that you have a spirit
of self-sacrifice

That's only where Xiao Jun is concerned!

Xiao Jun says you're easily fooled

Not when it really matters

Xiao Hong, let's go to Yan'an together

I don't think so

Why not?

I might meet Xiao Jun there

I doubt it

His temperament won't take him there

He must have joined the guerrillas by now

I love Xiao Jun

Even now

He's an excellent writer

We've battled many hardships together

But...

To be his wife would be to suffer too much

Xiao Hong...

You've written The Field of Life and Death
and Market Street

You have to consider
your position in literature

You must fly high...

The higher, the better...

The Tang Dynasty...Preface...

This is the
Preface to the Three Sacred Doctrines

As written by the Buddhist monk Huairen

He used characters copied

from Wang Xizhi's writings

It contains

a preface to Xuanzang's translations
of Buddhist sutras

Also an essay by Prince Li

and Xuanzang's note of gratitude

The entire collection is known as the Preface
to the Three Sacred Doctrines

You've stored up a lot of learning

I never knew that about you

I used to study history

It's nothing special

It's a real shame
that I know so little about history

To show my appreciation...

...I'll treat you to cold noodles tonight

Since you're so modest, I should treat you

Look!

The light from the torch...
Isn't it like a jellyfish?

Yes

Ding Ling and I went to Yan'an for ten days

We brought someone back with us

We're there!

We're back!

Commander Ding is back!

Hello, everyone!

How's everything? All right?

If anything happens,

please help!

Dust yourself down first!

Then me second!

Understand?

Yes

Sure?

Then go!

Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun broke up

What exactly happened remains unknown
to outsiders

The three parties involved...

...give conflicting accounts

In old age, Xiao Jun's version
was like this...

San Lang...

Let's separate for good

All right

And in old age, Duanmu's version was...

Xiao Hong...

I'll marry Ding Ling
You can marry Duanmu

What are you talking about?

I don't care who you marry

My marriage is none of your business!

You're too arrogant!
What do you take us for?

I'm trying to do you a favor

Xiao Jun, don't insult us!

Is Xiao Hong an object without feelings?

Look at yourself!

Get out!

Xiao Jun,

let's talk outside

Given what had happened...

...I had to make known

my relationship with Xiao Hong

I've broken up with Xiao Jun

I've returned all his letters

I asked for mine back...

...but he refused

He's stronger than me, so I didn't manage...

...to get them back

So now you're free

I have something to tell you

I'm pregnant with Xiao Jun's child

Child?

Four months

Does he know?

Of course he does

And he asked you to marry me?

That's the kind of man he is

How could you live with a man like that?

He thinks I wouldn't dare marry you

because of the child?

Come in

Sit

I want you to have this

It's a trophy...

...captured from the Japanese

I have nothing to give you

The best gift is knowing you

Take care!

"We spent the whole spring in Xi'an"

"We drank our fill..."

"...and spent evenings
in the wind and rain"

"And yet, now that I think back..."

"...we didn't talk that much"

"There are few people"

"you can talk with freely"

"Since we said our goodbyes..."

"...I've never had a letter from Xiao Hong"

"Duanmu has sent several"

"The last one arrived
before Hong Kong fell to the Japanese"

I hear Xiao Hong's ashes
are buried in Repulse Bay

Do you remember?

You once told me...

...that Xiao Hong would die young

Now your premonition has come true

This is my essay...

Remembering Xiao Hong

After Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun broke up...

...they never saw each other again

That same year, in April 1938...

...Xiao Hong and Duanmu went back to Wuhan

Xiao Jun went to Yan'an...

...and then to Xinjiang,

to fight the Japanese

As he passed through Lanzhou...

...he met Wang Defen

He married her that year

And they lived together ever after

They had eight children in all

I parted from Xiao Jun

And he went to fight as a guerrilla

Now I live with him...

As a woman...

...you suffered humiliations

You have the right to do what you want

It shows how strong you are

As your friends...

...we're happy to see you
leave your sufferings behind

But why be in such a hurry?

Why not calm down a little?

Did you see Ding Ling in the north-west?

How is she?

We are very different people

Why didn't you go to Yan'an?

All I want is to write in peace

I don't want to be a Party member

I know nothing about politics,

nothing at all

Please be seated

Thank you for coming to our wedding

We prepared it in such a rush

Please excuse us for the shortcomings

Duanmu...

These four red beans symbolize mutual longing

They were given to me by Mr Lu Xun

Today, I give them to you...

...as a token of faith

I heard there weren't many guests
at the wedding

Most of them were Duanmu's relatives

Duanmu and I...

...had no great romance

It was not until I'd separated from Xiao Jun...

...that I found Duanmu

I do not expect too much from him

All I want is...

...to live as an ordinary husband and wife

No quarrels, no fights...

No betrayals, no mockery...

Only mutual understanding

Only care and kindness between us

I feel deeply that a woman in my situation...

...is no position to expect to marry

But Duanmu made a sacrifice

And that satisfies me

I'm deeply grateful

In June and July of 1938,
the Japanese Army prepared its assault

The government announced a campaign
to 'Protect Great Wuhan'...

But people began to abandon the city

They fled to Chungking

One rainy day in July...

...I was crossing the river from Wuchang

Xiao Hong!

I didn't expect you to greet me!

I was just thinking...

I have no friends of my own

They're all Xiao Jun's friends

You all belong to him

Do you have any plans?

The situation is getting critical

Many friends are planning to leave

Are you going?

I have tickets to Chungking

I'm going with Luo Feng

Let's go together! Shall we?

Help me get two tickets

At that time, it wasn't easy to get tickets

I found one for Xiao Hong

But on the day...

...it wasn't Xiao Hong who turned up

I have tickets!

Where's Xiao Hong?

She's not coming

She'll take a later steamer

I'm going first to look for a house

Let's go

Xi Jin!

What are you doing here?

I've come to stay here

And Duanmu?

He's gone to Chungking

Why didn't he take you?

I didn't need taking

Sit down

You can't stay here

Listen...I'll explain

The two upstairs rooms are for

Zhao Ximeng

and his family

There are two rooms down here

Three people are in one of them...

...all crammed into one bed

The other is this office

It's crowded and noisy here
You can't stay here

And in your condition...

I insist

Look...

I can sleep here

- No, you can't!
- I can spread some matting here

- You can't live here!
- Xi Jin!

No, you can't live here!

People come and go

Apart from anything else...

...you'd be in their way

Xi Jin!

Thank you!

That's how...

...Xiao Hong

came to live in our office

A pregnant woman stretched out on our floor

As to why Duanmu went first
and left her behind...

...she didn't say, and I didn't ask

Xi Jin!

There's a new café!

Treat us to iced drinks!

It's really hot today

I'm broke!

If anyone treats, I'll go!

I have money!

I have money!

My treat!

My treat

Great!

You're so late

Who's treating?

Xiao Hong...

Order anything!

- Miss!
- Here!

What would you like?

Whatever you want

A glass of beer

All right

I'll have a beer too

Shaved ice for me, please

Help yourself

your change, $2.7

Never mind, keep it

Thank you

Cheers

Are you that rich?

Throwing money around like that!

Why are you laughing?

It's all I have, anyway...
it wouldn't help much

Better spend it generously

Nonsense!

Generosity! It made no sense!

The nation's in crisis

There's chaos everywhere

We don't know when Wuhan will fall

The Japanese Army

is biding its time

What will we do if they launch an attack?

Think about it! What will you do?

Keeping the change
would have made no difference!

All right
You have your way, and I have mine

When crisis hits, I might be across the river

Unable to help you!

If that happens, don't worry

Small change wouldn't help anyway

Stop blaming me

You go back first

There's something I must do

Don't ask for the money back!

Get up, get up!

You finally come back

Where did you go?

I borrowed $150 for you

Listen carefully...

This is not a gift, it's a loan

I borrowed $100 from the Life Bookshop

And another $50 from the Reading Press

I told them I was borrowing it for you

And promised you would pay it back

If you don't, then I will

What now?

Keep it

You'll need it

No more treating

I was still worried

So I asked my colleague Naichao for advice

I told him

we couldn't leave Xiao Hong alone in Wuhan

We had to get her away

Naichao had an answer

He said his wife was leaving for Chungking

She could take Xiao Hong
I said ok

Not long after,

I was sent to Canton to start a journal

I had to leave

At noon that day,
Xiao Hong and other friends...

...threw a farewell lunch for me

And then they saw me off at the pier

After that, I never saw her again

Thank you!

I fell and I couldn't get up

I'm pregnant

I've been waiting and waiting

You're very kind

Thank you!

Why are you running
around when you're pregnant?

Going to Chungking

Are you all right?

I'm all right

Thank you...

I don't know how to thank you...

I have money...

Xiao Hong came to see me when
she reached Chungking

Back then we lived near the city, in Jiangjin

She wanted to have the child in Jiangjin

Duanmu wasn't with her

For the month she stayed with us...

...she looked pale

Sickly...

Her spirits were low

The landlady has made chicken soup

Have some!

Not now...

I'm not hungry

Look at him,

tiny nose, tiny lips...

He looks just like Xiao Jun!

Cute little hand

What's wrong with you?

Where have you been?

Where's the baby?

Where is he?

Dead

What?

He was fine yesterday, how can he be dead?

I'll get the doctor

Don't go

Please don't

There's no point

He died of convulsions last night

Bai Lang...

I want to be discharged

Right now. I'm so scared

There was only one doctor on duty last night

I'm the only patient left in here

Take me away

Bai Lang...I hope you'll always be happy

You too!

Me?

Can I be happy?

I know my own future

I'll be lonely all my life

"Mr Lu Xun was recovering"

"He sat, smoking, in his reclining chair"

"That day..."

was wearing a garish red blouse"

"Mr Lu Xun said..."

"The heat is oppressive today"

"They call this the 'plum rain season'..."

"He was putting a cigarette"

"in his cigarette-holder..."

Mr Lu Xun...

What do you think of my outfit today?

Am I pretty

Not so pretty

Why not?

You're wearing the wrong skirt

There is nothing wrong with a red blouse

Any color can look good...

But a red blouse needs a red skirt

Or a black one

Miss Xiao!

Mr Duanmu!

Miss Xiao!

Mr Duanmu!

Mr Jin!

I've brought them rice

What should I do?

They don't live here any more

Keep the rice for yourself

How come?

They've moved to Hong Kong

Come in

- Xiao Hong...
- Xiao Hong!

What a surprise!

Xiao Gu...

Look who's here!

Say "Auntie"

- He's grown
- Yes

Thinner,

Taller too

Come here...Look at our baby girl

She put me through it!

Just as well we didn't abort her in Wuhan

Or you wouldn't be here now!

What happened to her forehead?

It was a rat

It must have been hungry

It nibbled her

It's all right

She looks so delicate...

...and pretty, just like you

Like me?

Not like her dad!

Xiao Hong...

I have something to do, I must go out

Of course

I'll take the boy. You go on

Son, take it with you

Give it to me

Bye

Do sit down

Such a mess!

What about your baby?

It must be big by now

It died

Three days after it was born

How did it die?

Was it a boy or a girl?

A boy

He died of convulsions

I fell down on the pier in Yichang

I found myself thinking...

Child...

If you want to drop...

Drop out of my body

I can't hold on to you

But he survived that fine

You've fleshed out a bit

You look good!

Really!

You look beautiful in that dress

I was stunned when you came in wearing it

I made it myself

I bought the cloth, the thread

and the buttons at the market

Look

The result isn't too bad, is it?

It's elegant, it suits you

I always said

you have really good taste

You can turn any piece of cheap fabric...

...into the most beautiful dress!

If you like, I'll make one for you

I don't have the energy these days

Hey, I must show you something!

This came from Xiao Jun, his wedding photo

I'm going

Give my best to Hu when he gets back

Xiao Hong...

ZHOU JINGWEN magazine publisher

A year after...

...they arrived in Hong Kong...

...Xiao Hong was...

...diagnosed with tuberculosis

While she was in the hospital...

...Duanmu took a call from a stranger

A man named Luo Binji

He claimed to be a friend
of Xiao Hong's brother

He was stuck in a hotel

Looking for work

Duanmu turned to me

You've been home for a few days...

You should go back to hospital

This isn't a good environment for you

Don't be too willful

I'd rather die than go back

I was bored stiff there

They wouldn't even let me write

It's a matter of priorities

Mr Zhou...

I'm not sure I can finish my novel
Ma Bole...

Can you announce that I'm ill in the magazine?

As excuse

A famous woman writer...

...confined to a shabby, old bed

The whole scene...

...made me feel really sad

Soon after that, without warning...

...the Pacific War began on December 7th

By Luo Binji's own account...

...he was with Xiao Hong in her final days

Five years later...

...he was the first
to write a biography of her

The Japanese began shelling
Hong Kong on December 8th, 1941

That day I went to say goodbye

before returning to the mainland

You're intent on leaving?

I'll be back soon

I came to say goodbye

I'm going back to China

I have to go...

to discuss if we should leave too

Please stay here a while

I'll be back soon

I'm so tired...

Hold my hand

I want to take a nap

I feel much better...

Apparently, just before I arrived...

...Duanmu and Xiao Hong

had been having a bitter row

Wake up!

Mr Yu Yifu had arranged a boat...

...to get us to Hong Kong island,
not yet occupied by the Japanese

Sea traffic

is now officially blocked

Has our retreat been worked out?

My colleague Liao

has divided all the cultural people into groups

He's explained our plans

And has specified who will lead each group

You and Xiao Hong are in my group

...so I'm afraid you have no choice
but to stay

Luo Binji...

Before you met me...

...did you think that

I was a writer with loose morals?

I think everyone has heard a little about...

...your troubles with Xiao Jun

So, before you met me...

...you sided with Xiao Jun?

I know very well...

...that leaving Xiao Jun...

...solved one problem

And that Duanmu was the start
of another problem

Probably, everybody wears disguises

Nobody ever shows their true face

I've been thinking...

I can't tell if anyone will read my stuff later

But I'm quite sure...

...that the gossip about me will go on and on

As we chatted that morning,
I asked Xiao Hong...

How could you live with Duanmu
for three or four years?

Xiao Hong replied...

If the pain is in the marrow...

...you don't worry about the flesh wounds

He cannot endure the hardships with me

When I was in Sichuan...

...I found myself thinking of Xiao Jun

If I'd sent him a telegram...

...asking him to come...

...he would have been there for me

Amid the sound of artillery shells...

...we talked about literature...

About Lu Xun...

About living through such hard times

We hadn't seen Duanmu for three or four days

You're back!

You haven't left?

Sorry...Thank you

Sorry...Thank you, thank you

Good bye

On Christmas Day of 1941,

Hong Kong fell to the Japanese

After hiding for some days in a storeroom...

...Xiao Hong's condition worsened

Duanmu and I sent her to a hospital

Considering what's going on around us...

I told Duanmu

...I'll be frank

You're both famous artists

You have open minds

You have a tumor in your throat

We need to operate

I won't agree to an operation

A tuberculosis patient won't recover from it

My brother had spinal tuberculosis...

And he didn't recover from an operation

Who do you believe? Me? Or him?

Don't pussyfoot around

It's not the end of the world

Sign the consent

I won't

If you won't, I will

What did she say?

There was no tumor

Don't cry

I don't want...

...to leave you either

Come with me...

I'll contact Queen Mary Hospital

At noon on January 18th, 1942...

...Xiao Hong was moved
to Queen Mary Hospital

I feel quite all right

I've eaten a lot

Luo Binji...

Have a cigarette

Have one

I won't

It's all right

I don't want one

No light?

I'll call for one

All right, all right

Call the nurse

Don't exert yourself

It's done

Wait, the nurse will come

There's nobody in the whole hospital

I'll go and buy matches

I intended to buy matches from a street-stall

But as I wandered downtown, it struck me...

...that I hadn't been back to Kowloon
since the city was occupied

Duanmu was with Xiao Hong

And she seemed better that day

So I went home to pick up my manuscripts

I went back to Queen Mary Hospital
next morning...

...to find that the Japanese
had taken it over

So I rushed back to the storeroom...

...and there found
a note Duanmu had left for me

Duanmu had taken Xiao Hong
to the French Hospital...

The Japanese have taken the French Hospital too

Where's Xiao Hong?

They've set up a clinic
at St Stephen's Girls College

"My grandfather lived in the little town
on the Hulan River”

"Grandfather was over sixty when I was born"

"He was nearly seventy by the time
I was four or five"

"Our house had a big garden"

"The garden was bright
with all the reds and greens"

"Flowers bloomed as if they were waking up"

"Birds flew as if they were going up
to heaven"

”When insects buzzed,
it was as if they were chatting"

Everything was alive

"There was no limit to what they could do"

"They had complete freedom"

"to do what they liked"

"If a plant wanted
to bear a fruit, it did so”

"If it didn't,"

"then not one fruit, not even a blossom"

"And no-one could object"

"But this back garden
was sealed off once each year”

”After the autumnal rains,
it would languish"

”The flowers would yellow and fall, ”

"then wither and die"

"Almost as if someone was crushing them"

"Spring, summer, autumn, winter..."

"The seasonal cycle goes on

"just as it has since the beginning of time"

"Wind, frost, rain, snow..."

"Those who can bear up manage to survive"

”Those who cannot must take
the natural way out"

"That natural way out is not so very good"

"For such people are quietly..."

"Wordlessly. . . "

"...removed from this life and this world"

Xiao Hong wrote Tales of Hulan River
in 1941...

...at a time when most Chinese writers...

...were producing writings contributing

to the anti-Japanese war effort

Tales of Hulan River didn't meet
the needs of the time

All these decades later,

now that we're far from China in wartime...

...people have discovered that
Tales of Hulan River...

...is like an undying flower
which had been buried by history

This choice that she made for herself...

...had made her name immortal

"These tales I've written
are not all beautiful”

"But these memories fill me"

"I cannot forget them"

"They stay with me"

"And so I have recorded them here"

Hey, feller, the candies are two cents,
not one!