All language subtitles for Huang.Tu.Di.1984.iNT.DVDRiP.XviD-WRD.a2nin3m_ALLZINE

YELLOW EARTH

Based on Ke Lan's
ECHO in the Deep Valley

Scenario by Zhang Ziliang

In September, 1937, the need for
unified resistance to the Japanese...

...by the Communists and
the Kuomintang...

...forced Chiang Kai-shek's
Kuomintang goverment...

...to recognize the communist
Shaanxi-Gansun-Ningxia border region

However, the people of Northern
Shaanxi Province...

...still suffered heavily because of
the Kuomintang local government

Artists of the Communist Eighth Route
Army came to collect folks songs

In this ancient place...

...the melody of Xintianyou hangs
in the air throughout the year.

Early spring. 1939

Life is hard for seasonal workers.

They're hired in January,
dismissed in October.

Scatter the grain. Scatter the bran.

The bride descends from
the sedan-chair.

The new couple will live in
harmony all their lives.

Kneel.

Kowtow three times.

May your son be a trader.
May your daughter be nimble-fingered.

Everyone, this soldier has come
from Yan'an to collect songs.

I'm Gu Qing. Call me Lao Gu.

Please sit down.

You must buy good liquor.

To treat both kith and kin.

Treat your friends fairly.

Eat with ivory chopsticks.

Use the silver flask and golden cups.

Four dishes grace the table.

Drink from big bowls
at the wedding.

He sings well.

Yes, but he's fated to be poor.

He's over thirty, still a bachelor.
He just sings bitter songs.

�The fish!

They're made of wood...
just to give the idea of fish.

This is the bride.

This is the groom.

She is the daughter of Shuanniu.

Pay your respects.

Pairs of carp swim in the stream.

Pairs of goats skip on the hill.

Pairs of pigs share the same trough.

The new couple will have a happy life.

The ice on the Yellow River
will not melt in June.

When I start to sing the truth,
my heart feels like bursting.

Of the fine grains, the pea
is the roundest.

Among human beings, a girl's life
is the most pitiable.

Pity the poor girls, the poor girls.

Pairs of pigeons fly in the sky.

I miss my mother.

Sister.

Hanhan, you're home so late.

My good brother, waiting for me.

Talk things over; I must be going.

I hope I won't cause you
too much trouble.

How old are you?

Born in the Year of the Dragon.
I'm 47

What is your name?

Cuiqiao

And your name?

I've come here from the south
to collect folk songs.

The Eighth Route Army will sing
these songs wherever it goes.

Can you sing, Uncle?

Can you sing, Cuiqiao?

They say a girl who lives here
sings very well.

Do you know her, Uncle?

I saw a wedding today at Lin Village.

The bride was the ninth daughter
of Shuanniu.

She's so young.

Not really; her father says
she'll de fourteen in June.

She's more than a child.

Uncle, it's different in the south.

Don't they marry?

Yes, but they sing a new song.

The sheep and goats walk separately.
If you want a partner, choose your own.

- What does that mean?
- They look for their own in-laws.

No matchmaker?
No betrothal gifts?

What does that add up to?

The girls must be worthless, if they
can just get up and go with a man.

They aren't worthless...

...but they're not for sale.

The world must change.
The south has changed.

North China must change, too.

We farmers have our own rules.

Why are you still working the bellows?
Firewood is valuable.

Heat water, so the officer can
wash his feet and go to bed.

How old are you?

I'll do it.

My brother Hanhan can't talk properly.
He looks after the sheep.

Please wash.

I'm Gu Qing. Call me Brother Gu.

- Do you get water from a well?
- No, from the river.

- Is that far away?
- Only three miles.

The water's not hot.

Pairs of pigeons fly high in the sky.

I miss my mother.

The gourds in the valley
and the melons on the hill.

I don't want to sing that I was beaten.

In the embroidered purse
is a round coin.

Suffering is for ever,
sweetness is short.

The handsome cockerel crows
on the window sill.

But to whom can I speak of
my bitterness and hardships?

You were singing last night,
weren't you?

Who said so?

How about this sewing?

That's pretty good.
Can men sew, too?

It's nothing. In our army, women work
in the fields and fight the Japanese.

They look smart with their short hair.

No one can read or write here. The wind
ripped the paper; I'm sticking it back.

I put them up last years,
they were redder then.

If you like good luck words,
I'll write a couplet for you.

Good, but I haven't any red paper.

Anyway, we can't read, and
our door frame isn't worth it.

So men can sew...

It's too swallow.

Have you only two children?

Tree; the oldest girl is married.

You arranged it?

Their mother died young;
I must care for them.

- Is she happy?
- She was at first.

Why?

She could eat enough at her in-laws.
She didn't like it later.

She had nothing to eat there.

Is that the only reason?
Maybe they didn't love each other.

"You have friends if you have meat and
wine. Married love depends on grain."

No grain, no love.

She came here and said
her husband had beaten her.

She said she wouldn't
go back, no matter what

What happened then?

I told her it's said:

"If a boy gets married, it's happiness.
If a girl gets married, it's sadness"

You can't go back on your word.

Even if you have to beg for food...

...you should still both grow
from the same root.

You won't always have an empty belly.
You may be rich one day. Who knows?

Uncle, can you tell me why
your daughter is suffering?

It's fate.

What about Cuiqiao?
What about her future?

What are you talking about?

It's cloudy, but it doesn't rain.

Maybe there will be a drought
and the harvest will fail.

The grain is sprouting, we need rain.

You youngsters don't know, but
the grain is never wasted.

You tread the yellow earth,
you plough.

You must respect it.

Millet harvested two years ago.
Please eat.

Father, try them on.

Your mother made better ones.

Last night, what was it you said
you were collecting?

Folk songs.

They're just bitter songs.

Uncle, do you sing?

I'm not happy and not sad.
Why should I sing now?

There are so many songs. How
can you remember them all?

When life becomes hard,
you remember.

Why do you collect bitter songs?

To put new words to them.

Soldiers of Cuiqiao's age will
sing them wherever they go.

People will know why
they are suffering...

...why women are beaten...

...and why workers and peasants
should rise up.

When our army hears them, they'll fight the
rich and the Japanese even more bravely.

Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief
Zhu like folk songs.

Chaiman Mao also asked us...

...to learn to read and write, boys
and girls in Yan'an all learn to write.

He wants the poor to be able
to eat properly.

She didn't even say goodbye to us.

Barefoot is best.

Is it true that girls in the south
learn to write?

The ducks are in the lake,
the geese are on the wild mountain.

The comrade living with us does not know
that I like to sing.

I'd like to say what is on my mind,
but I don't know how.

My mother wants to sell me off,
but she won't ask how I feel.

I want a good husband,
not a bed-wetter.

You wet the bed, and so do I.

So let's drench the bed.

Aha, let's drench the bed.

Next spring, the flowers will
blossom everywhere.

The frog underneath the bed
is croaking.

Let's flood the palace of the
Dragon King - the Water King.

He'll laugh in delight and say
we're of the same trade.

Aha, we're of the same trade.

Sing after me.

With sickle, hammer and pick.

We make the new road.

With sickle, hammer and pick,
we make the new road for the poor.

Our methods will achieve so much.
It's the communists who save people.

Your future in-laws came to fix things
and brought some new clothes.

They say the wedding will be in Abril.

Your mother can rest easy at last.

Once I beat you about this marriage.

All girls must be married.

I think your fate will be better
than your sister's.

Your husband-to-be is a good man,
only a little older.

But I think that's good.

He seems serious and honest.

Anyway, you've been betrothed
since you were a child.

Your dowry was used for your mother's
funeral and your brother's betrothal.

Qiao!

You're back?

- What's wrong?
- Nothing. I'm sewing.

There's food in the pot.
Have some.

My brother's stupid, isn't he?

No, he just doesn't like talking;
that keeps his head clear.

- Have you any women soldiers?
- Lots.

Even those who can't sing?
What about those who do sing?

We need them badly

Is Yan'an far away?

About 200 miles.

So far.

- Why do you ask?
- I just wondered.

We've got water, why
don't you wash now?

I'll wash in the Yellow River tomorrow.

Why? We've plenty of water.

I'm leaving tomorrow.

Where are you going?

I've been away for months,
I must get back.

No more collecting songs?

Or helping father plough?

Or teaching my brother to sing?

I put my expenses on the brick bed.

I hope it's enough to buy you some
cotton print to make a jacket.

I have one.

Please eat.

I've been a burden; thank you
for your kindness.

I'll come and see you when
I have time.

I believe you. Maybe you will
have time, maybe you won't.

You found no happy songs here: they
will dismiss you when you go back.

I've learned a lot.

It is the month of January

Your eyes are wide and clear.

Your eyebrows are like two crescent bows.

This news will make you sad.

Betrothed at thirteen.

Married at fourteen.

Widowed at fifteen.

She cried so loudly, all could hear.

She wept, then killed herself.

Hanhan, go back.

I won't leave. Let's go back.

Take me with you.

I packed my things, but i didn't bring
them; it'll be easier without them.

What has happened?

I can wash and cook. I don't care
if I must cut my hair.

What's wrong? Is it hard?

Our rule is that you must wait to be
approved if you want to be a soldier.

Can't the rule be changed?

We depend on rules for our cause.

I'll tell my leader...

...that a girl named Cuiqiao
wants to join us.

When he agrees. I'll come for you.

Can you come in April?

I promise.

I trust you.

Brother Gu, has my brother given you
the cakes? Taste them.

Find company on the way,
so you won't be lonely.

Drink from the river, stay
with the poor at night.

Take out your notebook, Brother Gu.

A handsome cockerel in the
middle of the courtyard.

The communists sent a man who was free.

When you choose a horse,
they're not always the same height.

The comrades are the best people.

If I can join the army.

I can make red shoes, so you don't
have to wear straw sandals.

I can make thread with
2 ounces of cotton.

I'm afraid I shall not see you again.

One person doesn't know
another's worries.

In the darkness of my days
I dream you will come back.

I hear the comrade's footsteps.

I try to look out of the window, but...

If you send a water-lily across
the river it will never sink.

All my life I will never forget you.

A tree can take root if
planted on a dry stone.

When will we poor people
be able to live a new live?

The sun goes behind a cloud.

My mouth cannot utter
what is in my heart.

The best compost cannot save
parched seedlings.

Nobody can save me, poor Cuiqiao.

YAN'AN

Send your sons to the army and
smash the Japanese aggressors!

Sister, aren't you going
to look for Brother Gu?

No, not Brother Gu.

I'm crossing the river to look for
the Eighth Route Army.

I'm leaving.

Look after father, he is getting old.

Cook for yourself. Remember
to fetch wood for the stove.

When summer comes, wear the vest I gave
you; it's under the mat on the brick bed.

Choose a wife for yourself.

Give the things father and mother
gave me back to father.

Tell him it's none of his
concern if I leave.

If he misses me, he should look at this
and then he'll be looking at Cuiqiao.

These buckets of water are for father.

When I come back...
I'll look after him.

Go now, father is waiting for the water.

Don't cross the river.

Why not walk to Yan'an?

Wait for the ferryman
to take you tomorrow.

Hanhan, I'm suffering,
I can't wait any longer.

When Brother Gu comes...

...give these to him.

I know, but keep it.

Use the oar. Be careful.

Tell Brother Gu that Cuiqiao
is going to be a soldier.

Hanhan, go home.

With sickle, hammer and pick.

We make the new road for the poor.

Our methods will achieve so much.

It's the communists who...

Sister!

Uncle...Hanhan...

Cuiqiao.

My Lord Dragon King...

...the grasslands to the south
are parched.

The grasslands to the north
are also parched.

Please give us a little rain.

My Lord Dragon King...

...have you fetched water from
the sea? No, not yet.

Dragon King of the Sea, please
send rain and save our people.

Dragon King of the Sea, please
send rain and save our people.

Brother Gu!

Save our people!

The cockerel has flown over the wall.
It's the communists who save people.

The Youth Unit of the
Guangxi Film Studio.

Directed by Chen Kaige. Photographed
by Zhang Yimou. Art director, He Qun.

Music by Zhao Jiping. Sound by Lin Lin.
Location adviser, Zhong Ling.

Assistant director Tan Yijian.
Editing by Wan Liu and Pei Xiaonan.

Lighting by Zhang Shubin. Costumes
by Tian Geng and Chen Bona.

Make-up by He Hong. Properties by
Zhang Jianyang and Jiao Zhigang.

Production manager, Xue Fei.
Sound re-recorded by Liu Quanye.

Leading players

Cuiqiao: Xue Bai, Gu Qing: Wang Xueqi,
Father: Tan Tuo, Hanhan: Liu Qiang

The Orchestra and Traditional Music
Ensemble of the Xi'an Academy of Music.

Conducted by Lui Dadong, Lu Rirong.
Soloist Feng Jianxue.

Special thanks to the Peasant
Drum Team of Anzhai County.