A few months ago, Zhang Yimou read a publication called "Harvest" under the introduction of a friend, and then he felt that the writing was very good and very deep, and since then Zhang Yimou has had the idea of making this into a movie.

It tells the story of Song Lian, a female student who has "received education in the new era", voluntarily marries into the orderly feudal family Chen Mansion in the high wall and deep courtyard, and finally goes to the tragic fate of mental collapse in the open and secret struggle of "a group of wives and concubines".

The story is set in the early twenties of the twentieth century, when the country was still in turmoil, warlords were fighting, and it was a time when feudalism and modernism collided violently.

Su Tong depicts an extremely pathetic world of female existence with a calm and almost white stroke.

They are a group of humble and pitiful characters, their fate is like a candle in the wind, a ping in the water, and they are always in danger of being swallowed up and drowned.

The oppression of feudal etiquette and patriarchy is an extremely important and unshirkable factor that causes the tragic fate of women.

However, the problems of women themselves cannot be ignored either.

Sometimes, the harm to women is not only a social problem, a traditional problem, but a problem of people themselves, women themselves.

He grasped a very profound theme: the reality that women hurt each other after identifying with male culture, so the more tragic and sad the ending of women, the more strongly it hits the reader's heart.

These women, whether they are wives and concubines, prostitutes or mistresses, have a strong sense of personal attachment, and it is this "innate" sense of attachment that puts women in a situation where they have no choice.

And the subject of attachment - men's momentary likes and dislikes often make women face the crisis of losing their dependence.

And such a theme that directly hits human nature and explores human nature with a strong literary and artistic atmosphere is what the fifth-generation domestic directors represented by Zhang Yimou like to shoot the most.

This can be seen in every film they have shot since directing the barrel.

They are particularly sensitive to new ideas and new artistic techniques, trying to find new angles in each film.

The subjectivity, symbolism, and allegory in their films are very strong, and they have a strong desire to explore the history of national culture and the structure of national psychology through films.

Zhang Yimou saw from the film "A Group of Wives and Concubines" that he had been diligently pursuing to explore national culture and national psychology and human nature, so he quickly contacted the author Su Tong and bought the film copyright of "A Group of Wives and Concubines".

And Gong Li is undoubtedly the best and most suitable heroine of this story in Zhang Yimou's heart.

Because in Gong Li's body, there is the stubbornness and rebellious spirit of the heroine he wants.

It's just that Zhang Yimou never expected that after Gong Li listened to his brief introduction to the content and some of his ideas for the movie, the first thing that came to mind was that he was very familiar with the plot of lighting lanterns.

It seems that he heard it from Qiao Feng's mouth a few years ago.

Why is Zhang Yimou going to light lanterns in his movies now?

Is it plagiarism, plagiarism?

When Gong Li said that what Zhang Yimou told was very similar to the story of hanging lanterns that Qiao Feng once told in Qiao's courtyard, Qiao Feng almost slapped himself with a big mouth.

That's what happens when you talk nonsense.

Obviously, the setting of lighting the lantern was invented by Zhang Yimou himself, but now Gong Li is beginning to suspect that the original is plagiarism.

How do you say this?

The key to the ritual of hanging the lantern can even be said to be the core element of this story in this film.

The movie Zhang Yimou is going to make is definitely a big red lantern hanging high.

The importance of lighting lanterns to the movie can be seen from the name of the movie.

In Su Tong's book, the story takes place in the foggy Jiangnan, while in Zhang Yimou's movie, it is changed to the poignant and magnificent Xishan courtyard.

In order to conform to the visual presentation, Zhang Yimou created a series of rituals about the lamp in the film, such as lighting the lamp and sealing the lamp, which is not found in the film.

In the movie, the lantern is the central image.

On the wedding night, the lantern is lit, the lord is "lucky" to light the lantern, and the wife is happy to hang the lantern. Gray courtyard walls, big red lanterns, dim rooms, red light.

Master Chen in the film has never shown a straight face, and maybe the director didn't want to concretize him into a recognizable person.

He was a symbol of a class of people in a feudal family.

Similarly, in the specific environment of the Chen Mansion, the old man is supreme, he has an attitude of scrutiny towards everyone, in the "God's perspective", to others, it doesn't matter what he looks like, what matters is the position he is in.

In Qiao Feng's view, the lantern in the movie symbolizes the desire in the heart of the woman in the film.

Status, privileges, favors, and people's primitive desires.

The rules of the house, where the lord goes to spend the night, which house lights up, and the lights are turned off when the lord leaves.

The lantern is closely connected to the old man.

The four women in the courtyard of the mansion had to stand at the gate every day to "wait", and then the sturdy servant carried a large lantern to the wife who was "turned over", and then the housekeeper shouted at the gate of the mansion at a long time, "A certain courtyard lights up!"

Just like the concubines in the deep palace, the emperor's favor is the foundation of their stay, and the emperor's brand means that the emperor is gracious to whom, here, the lantern symbolizes the honor.

Honor means rights, "which house lights the lamp, which house orders food", which house master wants to "be lucky", then the wife of the house can enjoy the preferential treatment of "beating the feet", and the lantern symbolizes the right.

With honor, power, and naturally status.

If the courtyard is not lit for a few days in a row, the faces of the people under it are hung, and the lanterns symbolize status.

To put it bluntly, the lantern is the grace of the lord for the women in the deep house.

The girls lose their independence, their presence in the mansion is given by the lantern, and the value of their existence is determined by the master.

The lord likes you like to love like a treasure, and he doesn't like you to abandon like a shoe.

The beautiful illusion of the lanterns in the courtyard when the favor is full can't hide the essence behind it, and the woman is alienated.

What is alienation? It can be understood as marginalization and instrumentalization.

In the Chen family, women are not treated as human beings. The lord used the woman as a tool for venting and passing on the lineage, and the servants did not care about the quality of the wife herself, but paid attention to which house was lit tonight.

Because the meaning of the lantern being artificially attached makes the lantern connect with the value.

The servant's eyes follow the lantern, and the lord's preferences govern the direction of the lantern. They are the places where the lanterns stay, and they are the new pets of the old man. They are not valuable or worthy of being cherished in themselves, because they will be noticed because of the lord's preferences.

can only be in the phantom of the lantern, self-pity in the mirror.

It can be said that the existence of the lantern lighting ceremony is one of the most basic reasons why the red lantern is hung high in the sky, and this movie is so classic.

Such an important ceremony, obviously created by Zhang Yimou, but because he longed for the superficial symbol of lighting the lantern and flipping the brand, and then when he visited the Qiao family's compound, he casually said that it became his own original, and then the original became plagiarism.

Thinking about it, I panicked for Zhang Yimou.

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Thanks to the book friend Red Sword 100 coins reward.