Cultural Lessons

Last night I watched a Chinese movie called Red Sorghum. This movie, directed by Zhang Yimou (the guy who directed the Olympic Opening and closing ceremonies), is very famous in China. It came out in the late 1980's and was one of the first Chinese internationally critically acclaimed films. But to me, and I would guess the vast majority of western audiences, it just did not make sense. I will give a brief synopsis.

SPOILER ALERT: The movie is set in the countryside in China during the 1930's. It opens with a young poor beatiful girl (the famous Gong Li) being carried in a sedan chair by some hired men to meet her new husband. She has just been sold to an old, rich leper who owns a wine plantation (every little girls dream, right?). Her father is very pleased because her marriage price was a large mule (what father would not be pleased?). On the way to meet her new leper husband, the entourage is attacked by a bandit who attempts to rob them and take Gong Li. But one of the hired workers attacks the bandit and takes back their stuff as well as Gong Li. As she gets back into her sedan chair, some romatic looks are exchanged between her and this hired worker. She arrives at the winery and this worker disappears, but he reappears later when she is coming back to the winery from her parents house. This hired worker decides to dress up as the previous bandit and kidnap Gong Li. After a brief chase he is successful and then reveals his indentity in the Sorghum field. Then he clears a spot in the field and they do the dirty. Later, the leper husband has been found to be mysteriously murdered (presumably by the hired worker) and Gong Li takes over the winery. The hired worker comes back, drunk as a skunk, and tells everyone very boisterously how he slept with Gong Li in the field and how she likes him so much. She is not very happy with this and the winery workers throw him out.

As the winery is finishing its first batch of wine of the season, the hired worker comes back again. He again appears drunk and it front of everyone begins urinating in all the brand new wine jugs. But no one does anything. Then he stands in front of Gong Li, staring at her for a long time, then without a word, picks her up over his shoulder and carries her out like a piece property. Gong Li does not say a word. The movie then fast forwards nine years where it is revealed that these liasions have produced a son.

The movie then shifts to the Japanese occupation in WWII. The Japanese force all the Chinese to do hard manual labor. The Japanese are very cruel and even force a skilled Chinese butcher to skin another Chinese person alive! The people then decide to rise up against the Japanese and join the Communist underground resistance. The hired worker, Gong Li and the rest of the people plan an ambush of Japanese troops with improvised liquer bombs. When it is carried out, it has marginal success but most of the Chinese die, including Gong Li. It ends with the hired worker and the son looking over the aftermath of the ambush in the Sorghum field.

After I finished I told my roommate that I really did not understand this movie. I hated the hired worker and did not understand why Gong Li liked him. He was constantly drunk, rude and treated Gong Li like he owned her. He told me that this was a Chinese traditional culture movie, so it is hard for a foreigner to understand. He told me he liked the hired worker, he was very "masculine", could protect Gong Li, and this is what traditional Chinese women wanted in their man. He said that things have definitely changed since this time but this "masculine" quality of Chinese men is still very important.

So I found this to be a very interesting lesson in traditional Chinese culture. I've found that Chinese movies are a good way to learn about China and its history. I will watch a movie and then ask some Chinese people about. They are usually excited that I have watched their films and I have found it to be a good learning experience.