霸王别姬 Farewell My Concubine Bard High School Early College Prof. Ling-Ling Shih

学习目标 Learning Objectives Learn about the social and political upheavals in Modern China through the film. Have a good understanding of the film by analyzing its plot, themes, characterization, symbolism, metaphors, etc.

Director: CHEN Kaige 陈凯歌 Screenwriter: LI Bihua 李碧华 Starring: ZHANG Guorong 张国荣, ZHANG Fengyi 张丰毅, GONG Li 巩俐, GE You 葛优 Type: Drama 剧情 It is a film adapted from LI Bihua’s novel also named Ba Wang Bi Ji”. (LI Bi hua李碧华） Award: 46th Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award in 1993 第四十六届戛纳 电影节棕榈奖 It is one of the central works of the fifth generation film directors.

Main Characters in the film主要演员 程蝶衣 京剧演员 Beijing Opera Actor Leslie Cheung 张国荣 段小楼 Dieyi’s senior fellow 蝶衣戏班里的师兄 ZHANG Fengyi 张丰毅 菊仙 a prostitute, later Xiaolou’s wife 妓女， 小楼的太太 GONG Li 巩俐

Living through the political and social upheavals 政治社会巨变下的生活

Social and political background of the movie The time covered is 1924 through 1977. The setting is Beijing; it spans 53 years, presenting two main characters’ lives against the historical backdrop of China in upheaval. 霸王别姬的时间跨度为五十三年，呈现两个主要人物如何在中国巨变的历史背景下生活。 "Farewell My Concubine" interweaves the story of Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou with The rule of the Beiyang Government北洋政府 ruled by the nationalists (beginning in 1924) The Japanese invasion of China & the surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II (1937-1945) the continual ruling of the Nationalist Government (1945-1949) the victory of the Communists in 1949, the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and the aftermath (1978).

1. During the Beiyang Government Period Xiaodouzi 小豆子：cut off one finger by his mother, so he could be accepted into the Beijing Opera troupe as an apprentice. Xiaodouzi 小豆子& Shitou 石头：describe how they had become very close and how Xiao Douzi became attached to Shi Tou. It also shows how Xiao Douzi gradually took on his ”female” identity and developed special love and affection for his senior fellow（师兄）. They became popular Beijing opera actors, taking on new names 段小楼和程蝶衣. Their performance of “Farewell My Concubine” was widely praised in the capital. It also shows how these two characters were separated from each other due to the appearance of Juxian 菊仙，whom Xiao Lou 小楼 fell in love and eventually married.

2. During the Japanese Invasion Xiaolou was arrested by the Japanese because of his refusal to perform the opera. Dieyi saved Xiaolou by performing for the Japanese. because of this performance, Cheng got into trouble later with the nationalist government and the communist government.

3. After the surrender of the Japanese Cheng was tried for treason because of his performance for the Japanese. Ju Xian, Xiaolou, and Yuan Si Ye 袁四爷 tried to save him, but he refused to tell lies. His performance got him into trouble, but it is also his performance that rescues him out of trouble.

4. After liberation The Beijing Opera was no longer valued and his ties with Xiaolou was completely damaged. Cheng took drug for escapism to deal with mental agony, disillusion and despair he is suffering as a result.

5. During the Cultural Revolution: The climax of movie is reached during this period where the characters were turning against each other due to the destructive impact of the cultural revolution.  Characters are forced to denounce one another. Xiaolou even denounces Dieyi as a homosexual, and Dieyi counterattacks by denouncing his friend‘s wife as a prostitute. －－ This part reveals the ugliness of the Cultural Revolution and its destruction of human nature。 Xiaosi 小四is another character in the film. He is an abandoned baby and Dieyi takes him under his protection and guidance as his protege. Having been radicalized by the revolutionary ideology during the Cultural Revolution, Xiaosi, however, betrays and vilifies his master.

The cultural revolution period in Chen Kaige’s film The movie's director, Chen Kaige, knows about the Cultural Revolution first hand. Born in 1952, he was sent in 1969 to a rural area to do manual labor; the scenes involving the Peking Opera's youth training programs may owe something to this experience. Chen Kaige was the son of a filmmaker. He was a Red Guard and a soldier before enrolling in film school, and at one point actually denounced his own father, an act for which he still feels great shame. (The father, sentenced to hard labor for several years, worked with his son as artistic director of this film.) He also witnessed how his own mother was brutalized by the Red Guards and how the cultural revolution destroyed not only people labeled as “anti-revolutionaries, intellectuals, capitalist roaders,” but also literature, arts culture, and tradition.

Compare and contrast... We have seen quite a few movies that dealt with the impact of the cultural revolution on individuals and society. Compare and contrast “Farewell My Concubine” with the following movies: “To Live” “The Blue Kite” “Balzac and the Little Seamtress” “In the Heat of the Sun” How did this movie help you understand the impact of the cultural revolution? What have you learned about different social and political upheavals from 1924 to 1978? What did the film add to your historical understandings that may not be gained through mere readings of a history book?

7.The last scene—in 1978 Cheng and Duan met after 11 years (after the end of cultural revolution). The sang “farewell My concubine” again, but Cheng committed suicide. Why?

the themes of the film

The theme of Obsession 痴迷 Two Main Themes 两大主题 The theme of betrayal 背叛betrayal vs. 忠实loyalty “从一而终” The theme of Obsession 痴迷 Contrast two types of living: (活在梦想中） vs. 活在现实中 (Idealism 理想主义vs. Realism 现实主义)

Characterization

Cheng Dieyi and Lu Xiaolou 段小楼深知戏非人生，程蝶衣则是人戏不分。 说好是一辈子就是一辈子，差一年一个月一天一个时辰都不行。——程蝶衣 “ I am talking about a lifetime. One year one month one day even one second’s less makes it less than a life time. 你可真是不疯魔不成活呀！戏得疯魔不假，可要是活着也疯魔，在这人世上，在这凡人堆里，咱们可怎么活哟？——段小楼 You are really obssessed. Your obsession with the stage carries over into your everyday life. But how are we going to get through the days and make it in the real world among ordinary people? 人，得自个儿成全自个儿。Everyone should try to reach his full potential to the best of his ability. 一个人有一个人的命。 Everyone has his/her own destiny. 我是假霸王，你是真虞姬！——段小楼 “I am a fake king, and you are a real “Yu Ji”.” 无疑程蝶衣是影片的第一主角。陈凯歌说：“这个人物形象告诉我们什么叫迷恋。”Undoubtedly, Cheng Dieyi is the protagonist in this movie. Chen Kaige indicates that Cheng Dieyi shows us what it is like to be obssessed.

Ju Xian and Cheng Dieyi—Two “Yu Ji” 虞姬in the film? Compare and contrast these two characters. In what way they are like the character “Yu Ji” in the opera “Farewell my concubine”?

Yuan Si Ye 袁四爷 Describe what Yuan Siye represents in the movie. Why was singled out and persecuted during the cultural revolution?

Symbolism  the director included numerous symbolic scenes and images on purpose in order to explain the queer relationship between Dieyi and Xiaolou.  Punishment by jamming brass tabacco pipe in mouth. Prostitute mother Cutting off the superfluous finger. Operatic performance of “Dreaming of the world outside the nunnery” (思凡） Sexual assault by Eunuch Ni (Ni Gonggong 倪公公). What are some of the themes the director and screenwriter intend to express through these scenes?

Symbolism the gold fish aquarium The symbol of shoes

The Gold Fish Symbol: The Shoe Symbol: Like a gold fish, his life is on stage for others to enjoy and watch. Like a gold fish, he is trapped in his own world. Like a gold fish in a glass fish aquarium, its world can be shattered easily like the aquarium made of glass. The Shoe Symbol: Shoe ”鞋” （xie2) is pronounced the same as the word “邪” (xie2), which means “evil.” Juxian is willing to give up everything including her shoes for Xiaolou, implying she is giving her past dishonorable life as a prostitute and starts her new life with Xiaolou. The shoes reappeared right after the scene of Juxian’s suicide as a final indictment against the destructive consequences of the cultural revolution—how it had stripped people of their basic decency and humanity. Being blinded by extreme political ideology, one can be driven against one’s own brother, parents, spouse, friends, and neighbors.

霸王别姬－－片名 Farewell My Concubine The tale out of an ancient past. It‘s about a concubine who’s so loyal and true that rather than abandon her king as he faces military defeat, she chooses to dance for him one last time and then end her own life with his sword. The film's title is taken from this well-known work in Chinese opera repertory, a tragic legendary tale.

What is the significance of the opera in the story? It is the work that makes stars of the two actors who are its principal characters, Dieyi and Xiaolou. It comes to dominate the professional lives of both men. It also reflects the emotional and sexual development of Dieyi towards Xiaolou The opera is also a reminder that in life, as in the story of the concubine and the king, each of us must take responsibility for his own fate.

Scar Literature 伤痕文学 also known as literature of the wounded, is a Chinese literature genre that emerged shortly after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Works belonging to this genre often center themselves on the sufferings and trauma inflicted upon the cadres and intellectuals during the revolution. LI Bihua’s “Ba Wang Bie Ji” serves a good example of the Scar Literature.

Questions for Discussion What is the theme of Farewell My Concubine? What is the setting in Farewell My Concubine? Who is the protagonist in Farewell My Concubine? What are the motifs in Farewell My Concubine? What metaphors are used in Farewell My Concubine? How does the director use imagery in the film? How does the director/screenwriter use the foreshadowing in the film? What is the main conflicts in the film?

“I was generally familiar with the important moments in modern Chinese history, but this film helped me to feel and imagine what it was like to live in the country during those times. ” -- Roger Ebert --Does this movie also help you imagine what it was like to live in the country during those times? Illustrate with examples from the movie.

Awards for the film a number of awards from prestigious institutions such as: the Golden Palm awards in the Cannes Film Festival in France (1993) the Golden Globes the Los Angeles Film Critics Association the New York Film Critics Circle

年份 颁发机构 荣誉 结果 1993年 第46届法国戛纳国际电影节 金棕榈奖 获奖 波兰国际电影节 金蛙奖 提名 第46届戛纳国际电影节国际影评人协会奖 费比西奖 第38届亚太影展 最佳导演（陈凯歌） 最佳剪辑 第59届纽约影评人协会奖 最佳外语片 最佳女配角（巩俐） 第19届洛杉矶影评人协会奖 第27届美国国家影评人协会奖 1994年 第51届美国金球奖 第66届美国奥斯卡金像奖 最佳摄影奖（顾长卫） 第47届英国电影学院奖 第04届日本影评人协会大奖 最佳外语片男主角（张国荣） 第04届上海影评人协会 十佳影片 第19届法国凯撒电影奖 第04届中国电影表演艺术学会 特别贡献奖（张国荣） 美国政论电影学会奖 1995年 伦敦影评人协会 第08届东京国际电影节 东京电影评论家大奖最佳影片 东京电影评论家大奖最佳导演（陈凯歌） 东京电影评论家大奖最佳男主角（张国荣） 日本Mainichi电影大赛 日本新闻界电影评奖 最佳影片