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armchairandroid · 4 years

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The Complete History of China (according to film) Part 2: “Sacrifice” and the Orphan of Zhao

Mission Statement

There are many films set in historical China and I am going to try to watch as many as I can, in chronological order, so that I can learn the complete history of China (at least, according to film).

Our Source

“Sacrifice” is a 2010 Chinese film by esteemed Chinese director Chen Kaige, inspired by a 13th-century play.

The story is one of family, revenge, and, yes, sacrifice. It revolves around an innocent man and a child whose lives are thrown into chaos by a power struggle beyond their control.

Setting

During the Spring and Autumn period (~7th-6th Century BC) in the State of Jin

The Story of the Zhao Clan

It is nearing the end of the 7th Century BC and the Zhao clan is the most powerful family in the state of Jin. Zhao Dun, head of the clan, serves as Grand Councillor to the Duke of Jin. His son is Zhao Shuo, the latest general in the Duke’s army. Zhao Shuo is also married to the Duke’s sister, Lady Zhuangji.

You know who isn’t happy about this? Tu’an Gu, who used to be the Duke’s favoured general. Now this new Zhao general is being given all of the important assignments, and he gets to marry the Duke’s sister! Old Tu’an Gu is getting left behind and forgotten. Worst of all, he isn’t getting any respect. For instance, the Duke, a childish prankster at heart, slings a rock at the Grand Councillor’s horse and makes it look like Tu’an Gu did it. Tu’an is forced to eat the rock as an apology. So, yeah, the Duke is a bit of a jerk.

Tu’an Gu, tired of the constant humiliation that his life has become, schemes to get rid of the Duke and the Zhao clan in one fell swoop. To accomplish his plan, he procures the services of the world’s smallest assassin. It’s a bug.

At a celebration of their recent victories, Zhao Dun presents the Duke with fine wine as a gift. As the Duke is taking a drink the bug is released. It stings the Duke on the back of the neck, killing him instantly. In the ensuing chaos, Tu’an Gu accuses Zhao Dun of poisoning the wine. Tu’an takes command and orders that the Zhao clan be wiped out. A battle begins in the palace, spilling out into the streets.

Meanwhile, Lady Zhuangji is about to give birth to Zhao Shuo’s son. She is completely unaware of what has occured. Her physician, Cheng Ying, happens to have a newborn son of his own. Cheng and his wife have yet to decide upon a name for their son. Zhuangji suggests ‘Bo.’

Outside, Zhao Dun is dead. Zhao Shuo is only mostly dead and just barely manages to crawl back to his home. He warns his wife of the soldiers who are going to be coming after them. With his dying breath, he tells her to run. Right on cue she goes into labour, on the floor, next to her dead husband. Cheng Ying delivers the child. He is a healthy baby boy.

By this time the Zhao home is surrounded by Tu’an’s soldiers. The child of Zhao Shuo is the one thing that can stand between Tu’an and the Jin throne. Tu’an doesn’t know if the child has been born yet, but if it has, he has no intention of letting it live. He sends one of his loyal soldiers, Han Jue, into the house to bring Zhuangji out.

Zhuangji places a pillow under her clothes to make it look as though she is still pregnant. Then, she kills herself. Her hope was that Tu’an’s men would think she died before giving birth, giving Cheng Ying time to sneak out of the house with the baby through the secret exit. Han Jue doesn’t fall for Zhunagji’s fake pregnancy, but he plays along so that he doesn’t have to kill the baby. By the time Tu’an makes his way in, Cheng is long gone. Tu’an gives Han a nasty scar across his face for letting the child escape.

Cheng Ying brings the baby back to his own home. Tu’an, knowing the baby is still somewhere in the city, sends his men to search all the homes for newborn babies.

***SPOILERS BELOW***

Plans are hatched, mistakes are made. There are mix-ups and unfortunate coincidences. The details are not important. What matters is that Tu’an ends up killing Cheng Ying’s newborn child by mistake, thinking it to be the Zhao child. Cheng’s wife attacks the guards in her grief and she, too, is killed. Cheng, having lost his own wife and child, chooses to raise the Zhao child as his own. The child is called Cheng Bo and is believed by all in the city to be Cheng Ying’s own flesh and blood. Tu’an becomes the ruler of Jin.

To show that there are no hard feelings between them, Cheng Ying allows Tu’uan to become the godfather of his ‘son,’ Bo. Wait, why would Ying want Bo to be the godson of Tu’an, of all people?

Well, it turns out that Ying didn’t adopt the Zhao child strictly out of the goodness of his heart. What he wants is revenge.

Han Jue, who has grown to be Ying’s friend and co-conspirator, wanted to just kill Tu’an. Ying, however, thinks that a simple death is too good for Tu’an. He wants Tu’an to experience heartache, just as Ying felt when his wife died. Only then does he want Tu’an to die. How does Ying hope to accomplish this? First, he will allow Tu’an to become Bo’s godfather. He will encourage them to spend time together and to grow close, until Tu’an starts to love Bo like a son. Tu’an will even teach Bo how to fight with a sword. Then, Ying will tell Bo the truth. How Bo’s true parents were killed because of Tu’an, and how Bo, too, would have been killed if it were not for the sacrifice of Ying’s own son. Finally, Tu’an will die at Bo’s hand.

Bo has a strange childhood. He has both a loving father and godfather, though he can tell that the two don’t get along. His father also grows to be very overprotective of him.

When Bo grows into a young man, Tu’an convinces him to join the army. Ying doesn’t approve, but Bo wants to go fight alongside his godfather. Finally, Ying tells Bo the truth about his past. Bo, however, doesn’t believe it. He thinks that his father made up the story to turn him against Tu’an.

Bo goes off to war. It looks like Cheng Ying’s plan has failed. Ying agrees to let Han kill their mutual enemy the old-fashioned way: with a poison arrow.

Meanwhile, Tu’an grows suspicious. He has noticed that Bo, in his armour, looks just like Zhao Shuo. During battle, Bo finds himself surrounded by enemy soldiers. Tu’an considers allowing Bo to die. Ultimately he can’t do it, and he rescues his godson. Bo, in turn, is given the chance to rescue his godfather’s life. When Tu’an is hit by Han’s arrow, Bo saves him using some of Ying’s medicine.

Once he recovers, Tu’an reveals his suspicions to Bo. He tells him that he may, in fact, be the Zhao orphan. Bo knows now that everything his father told him is true.

Tu’an summons Cheng Ying and Cheng Bo to come before him so that they can get everything out in the open. Tu’an owes Bo his life, and he has no intention of harming him or Cheng Ying. Instead, he will allow them to flee Jin. Bo, however, does the unexpected by raising his sword against his godfather, Tu’an. He has decided that he will avenge Ying’s son.

As Bo and Tu’an fight, Ying has second thoughts. After all this time vengeance may finally be his. Everything is going according to plan. Ying, however, finds that he is worried about Bo. He wants Bo to live more than he wants Tu’an to die. He comes between them, trying to stop the fight, only to get impaled by Tu’an’s sword. Tu’an, it seems, has decided that peace is no longer an option. Bo, in turn, stabs Tu’an through the heart. Tu’an dies quickly.

In his dying moments, Cheng Ying sees his revenge come to fruition. It finally happened, after he no longer needed it to, and it only cost him his life.

The film ends with Ying’s death. We don’t get to find out what happens to Bo. I would assume, with Han Jue still around to confirm his parentage, that Bo will reclaim his birthright as a member of the Zhao clan, and, possibly, as ruler of Jin.

Historical Significance

From this film we learn of the Zhao clan, an important family in Jin that seems like they may have wielded even more power than the childish Duke whom they served. We learn also of a general whose personal vendetta took down the Duke and wiped out most of the Zhao clan. Lastly, we learn of the Zhao orphan, raised in secret only to overthrow the general and take back his birthright as an adult.

This film is my first exposure to the “Spring and Autumn period in Chinese history. It seems like a fairly contentious time. Power struggles, political intrigue, assassination, and war seem commonplace. Not at all like the Shang Dynasty, which was said to be pretty peaceful until King Zhou mucked things up. Of course, I’m sure the peaceful times in history don’t tend to have movies made about them.

The Film

This is the first film I’ve seen from director Chen Kaige, who is clearly a great visual storyteller. Occasionally I found the film to be stylized to a fault. For instance, during the battle in the palace there were a couple of soldiers working for the Zhao who were given cool action moments, including a couple of slow motion shots. This made me assume that these characters were important, but then they died before even being given names. In instances like that, I would say that style gets in the way of narrative focus. The cool shots, which draw attention to themselves, should be used for the more important moments in the narrative. Overall, though, I found the movie to be very well made and it succeeded in getting me invested in the story.

Incidentally, the previous film I looked at was also centered around an elaborate revenge plot. Just how much of Chinese history is based on revenge? I guess I’ll find out.

#film #cinema #chinese film #chen kaige #history #spring and autumn period #history of china #according to film #sacrifice #the orphan of zhao

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armchairandroid · 4 years

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The Complete History of China (according to film) Part 1: “The Last Woman of Shang”

Mission Statement

There are many films set in historical China and I am going to try to watch as many as I can, in chronological order, so that I can learn the complete history of China (at least, according to film).

Our Source

“The Last Woman of Shang” (aka “Da Ji”) is a 1964 Hong Kong film.

It is a tale of tyranny, debauchery, weirdly casual cannibalism, and a young woman whose desire for revenge would bring a dynasty to its knees.

Setting

The end of the Shang Dynasty (11th Century BC)

The Fall of the Shang Dynasty

In the beginning, China was ruled by the cruel Xia Dynasty. Their tyranny came to an end when they were defeated by King Tang, founder of the Shang Dynasty. For 600 years the Shang Dynasty would rule China. It was a time of peace and prosperity. That is, until King Zhou took the throne.

King Zhou, history tells us, is terrible and ruined everything.

Our tale begins as King Zhou boasts of his victories. A bloodthirsty ruler, the king has waged a series of pointless wars just to prove his worth in battle. Worst of all, he funds these wars by heavily taxing his subjects. From the nobility he demands tributes in the form of treasure and women. That’s right: in addition to being a warmonger, he’s also a dirty creep. What a winning combination.

Who’s in charge of collecting the king’s tribute? That honour falls on Commissioner You Hun.

Another dirty creep, Sir You desires the heroine of our story, Su Tanji.

Tanji is falling in love with the charming and handsome Ji Fa, the son of Marquis Ji Chang, a Viscount from West Qi.

Tanji is the daughter of Marquis Su Hu, leader of the province of Ji Zhou.

Did you get all of that?

Anyway, the province of Ji Zhou has been having some problems with flooding. As such, they have been unable to pay tribute to the king. Sir You, angry at having been rejected by Tanji, tells King Zhou that the people of Ji Zhou aren’t paying tribute because they are planning rebellion. The King, furious, attacks Ji Zhou and kills Tanji’s father right in front of her.

As Tanji cradles her dying father in her arms, King Zhou looks upon her and decides that he needs her as his new concubine. Yikes.

On the trip back to the palace, Tanji, alone in her tent, contemplates suicide. She is stopped by Zhiyan, who I think is her servant (the translation I watched doesn’t make this clear). Zhiyan convinces her that it is better to go on living long enough to get revenge. After all, if she’s going to die either way then she might as well take her enemies down with her. This is good advice and I like Zhiyan.

Zhiyan explains that the Xia Dynasty was brought down by their king’s obsession with a woman (I wish I knew more about this, but nobody has made a movie about it). If one corrupt Dynasty could be brought down by a woman, she suggests, then why not another? Tanji agrees.

The next night, as Tanji sleeps, Zhiyan helps Sir You sneak into her tent. What is going on? Has Zhiyan betrayed her mistress? No, it is a clever trap!

Zhiyan has arranged for King Zhou to enter the tent just in time to catch Sir You as he attempts to assault Tanji. Angered, the King kills his commissioner on the spot.

With Sir You’s death, the first part of their revenge is complete.

Arriving at the palace, Tanji turns on the charm and gets to work impressing the king. It isn’t long before she becomes the king’s favoured consort. In fact, the king likes her so much that it makes the queen jealous.

The queen, Jiang, hires an assassin to kill Tanji. Fortunately, Zhiyan overhears this plot and warns the King. Once again King Zhou makes it to Tanji’s chambers just in time to rescue her. First he kills the assassin, and then he kills Queen Jiang herself!

The common people are made to believe that Queen Jiang died of suicide. In her place, Su Tanji is made the new queen.

King Zhou is completely enraptured by his new queen, catering to her every whim and desire. Tanji uses this to her fullest advantage and encourages all of the king’s worst impulses. She also demands from him many expensive gifts, such as ivory chopsticks. No matter how expensive her wish, the king cannot help but satisfy it. Soon she asks the impossible: a tower so tall that it reaches the stars. The king puts his slaves to work at once on this impossible task.

Fulfilling these demands throws the Kingdom into poverty. The taxes are so high that the common people cannot afford food and clothing. The king’s advisors protest. They believe that Queen Su has driven their king mad. The king, of course, ignores them.

Marquis Ji Chang, who you will remember as the father of the handsome and charming Ji Fa, declares that the Shang Dynasty is doomed. Fei Zhong, the new Commissioner, overhears this remark and informs the King. The Marquis is promptly thrown in prison.

Ji Fa (who you will remember as being handsome and charming) visits the prison and receives a grim request from his father: assassinate Queen Su.

Meanwhile, the king is acting as outrageously as ever. As his people starve, King Zhou throws a weird party where meat hangs from the trees and people swim in a pool of alcohol. At one point the king accidently throws a knife into the back of one of his guests and nobody really bats an eye. It’s just that kind of party.

Only one person dares voice any objection to this evening’s debauchery: Bigan, one of the king’s advisors and his uncle. Of course, no one interrupts a Zhou party, so the King orders Bigan to cut his own heart out in front of all the guests. His uncle finds this order disagreeable. Nevertheless, he complies.

Later, Fa arrives at the palace. Officially he is there to buy his father’s forgiveness with treasure. The King is suitably impressed and is ready to release Marquis Ji. Fa and Tanji pretend not to know each other, though they are both visibly uncomfortable. Sir Fei grows suspicious.

That night Fa confronts the queen in her chambers. He is confused and angry that the woman he loved is causing such pain and suffering throughout the kingdom. He raises his sword, ready to strike her down. Tanji offers no excuses and no protestations. She just kneels at his feet, ready to accept a death at his hands.

Alas, Fa cannot go through with it. He lowers his sword just as the King enters the room, escorted by the palace guard. The king is ready to kill Fa, but Tanji stops him. Back in character, Queen Su convinces the king that she would rather her attacker be locked away so that he might die a slow death. The king, proud of his sadistic little queen’s thinking, agrees. Fa is to be locked up in the same prison as his father, who will not be forgiven.

Ji Fa and his father are tortured in the dungeon by Fei Zhong. Sir Fei still suspects some prior relationship between Tanji and Fa and wants to know more. Fa, however, keeps quiet.

Though he has no proof, Sir Fei tells the King that Queen Su may have had an affair with Fa. King Zhou is angry that Fei would dare besmirch his queen and nearly kills his commissioner. Fei, however, convinces the king to test Tanji’s loyalty. And boy, this is one hell of a test.

You see, if Tanji truly hated Fa for attacking her, then she would have no issue eating Fa’s flesh. Therefore, Fei suggests that Fa’s flesh be cooked into a meal for the queen. If she eats it, then she is truly loyal to the king. If she refuses, then she must be in love with Fa. Why else would she refuse to eat him?

King Zhou finds this to be a fair test and agrees to it immediately.

Fortunately, the ever-reliable Zhiyan once again overhears everything. She tells Tanji what Sir Fei is planning and the ladies come up with a little plan of their own. Zhiyan will arrange a switch-a-roo in the dungeon.

All it takes is a little bribery and Zhiyan is able to help Ji Fa and Ji Chang escape from the prison. In their place, two random prisoners that nobody cares about are put in the cell. The executioners don’t notice the difference and these nobodies are the ones who end up cooked into a soup.

When Queen Su is put to the test, however, she still falters. Even though she knows it is not her lover cooked into it, she somehow cannot bring herself to eat the human soup. The king is suspicious, but Tanji comes up with a clever excuse: it would be a humiliation for the queen to eat a traitor’s meat. King Zhou agrees and once again he nearly kills Sir Fei.

Meanwhile, Ji Chang and his son assemble an army to overthrow the king. It is not difficult to find recruits, all things considered.

Ji’s army lays siege to the palace, which soon catches fire under a barrage of flaming arrows. When King Zhou learns that Ji Fa is leading the attack, he can hardly believe it. Shouldn’t that man be soup by now? He blames Sir Fei’s incompetence for allowing Fa to escape and cooking the wrong prisoner. It never occurs to him that his precious queen may have betrayed him.

The attack goes on. Zhiyan is killed by a stray arrow. Sir Fei is killed by Ji Fa himself.

As the palace burns down around them, King Zhou is oddly at peace. After all, he’s led a good life. He killed many people, had some crazy parties, and he even found the love of a beautiful young queen who is just as much a sadist as he is. He has lived a life with no regrets. Why not die now, in the company of his loving queen?

This is when Tanji pulls the rug out from under him. She reveals that it was she who released Ji Fa from prison, that she is the one responsible for this rebellion. Worst of all, she reveals that Ji Fa is the one who she has loved this whole time. The king’s ego is shattered and he loses his temper for the last time in his life.

Ji Fa enters the room just in time to witness King Zhou killing Tanji. Fa, in turn, kills King Zhou.

In death, Tanji’s vengeance is brought to completion. The king is dead, the palace has burned to the ground, and the 600-year rule of the Shang Dynasty has been brought to an end.

Historical Significance

From this film we learn how the Shang Dynasty ended.

We are taught that the sadistic King Zhou brought war and poverty to an otherwise peaceful era of Chinese history. We learn also that Tanji, the king’s concubine (and, eventually, queen), turned the people further against their king in order to avenge the death of her father at the king’s hand. This led to a violent revolution, led by the Ji clan of Qi, which burned down the palace and ended the Shang rule.

However accurate this film may be, there’s one thing I think we can take as a certainty: King Zhou is not a very fondly remembered ruler.

I think there are some advantages to learning history through film. A history book, of course, would give one a much more accurate idea of what actually happened. A film, however, shows us how people choose to remember what happened. I think this is particularly interesting in regards to how rulers are remembered. Whatever he was like in life, King Zhou is remembered now as a despicable tyrant who put his own hedonistic pleasure ahead of the prosperity of his people. That is his legacy.

About the Film

I started with “The Last Woman of Shang” because it was the earliest point in China’s history that I could find depicted in film. The film does not seem to be very well known, which is a pity as I found it to be a fairly interesting piece of work.

I was only able to find a copy of the film on ebay and the subtitles it included were of questionable quality.

One thing I appreciate about the film is that it includes a score by Akira Ifukube, who is most well known for composing the original Godzilla music. The music during the climax sounds like something straight out of Gojira (1954).

Speaking of the climax, that it something that I think the film nailed. The burning of the palace was a beautifully filmed sequence. The photography and the sense of urgency, combined with the Ifukube score, made it stand out as the only legitimately exciting part of the film.

Overall, this is a film that I would mainly recommend to people with a strong interest in sixties-era Hong Kong cinema. Fans of the Shaw Brothers studio should enjoy seeing what sort of films they made before the wuxia and kung-fu genres took over. Anyone else would probably find it a bit dull.

I would like to conclude this write-up by pointing out a very delightful scene transition. It occurs when the prisoners are being prepared for the queen’s meal. The executioner chops off the prisoner’s head, which is thrown into a vat of boiling water. We then fade from the prisoner’s head bobbing in the water to the bowl sitting in front of the queen.

This is one of the best uses of a film dissolve I’ve seen. Filmmakers, take note!

#film #cinema #china #hong kong cinema #hong kong film #shaw brothers #akira ifukube #history #shang dynasty #history of china #according to film #film dissolve #cannibalism #head soup

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