Original subtitles

My name is Gladys Aylward. I wrote to the head of the Missionary Society.

His reply stated that he would see me if I ever came to London. If he's busy I can wait.

Just one moment, please.

Sit down, won't you?

Doctor Robinson will see you now, Miss Aylward.

How nice of you to drop in so soon.

I decided to come after I had received your letter. I couldn't wait any longer.

You've severed your connections in Liverpool?

There wasn't much to sever. I brought everything I own with me.

I see. Well, sit down, please.

You are going to use me, aren't you?

You are going to send me to China?

It's quite impossible.

Why?

Look, I'm terribly sorry. I blame myself for not having been clear in my letter, but...

But why can't you use me?

To be a missionary in China today is very difficult. I'm not speaking from hearsay.

I spend three years there for every year I spend here at home.

You don't know what you'd be facing.

The filth, the squalor, the hardships in the remote areas.

That doesn't frighten me. I'm strong. I'm used to hard work.

My dear girl, don't you understand?

You're just not qualified.

We send to China only those people who have a very special education and experience.

I know. I've had a very ordinary schooling,

and since then I've been a servant.

But I've read. I've studied by myself. I worked at the Liverpool mission.

I understood that from your letters.

And I do understand the strong call you feel for China, but...

But it isn't enough?

Thank you anyway.

- Have you any plans? - No.

Well, forgive me, but are you all right for money?

- I'll get a job. - That may be difficult.

There's so much unemployment now.

I'll manage.

No, wait, please. I may be able to help you.

You see, people sometimes contact us when they have positions.

Old China hands, clergymen, and so on.

I suppose they feel confidence in anyone we recommend.

Here's one. Sir Francis Jamison, the explorer... and a good friend to China missions.

Now, I'd be very happy to approach him for you.

That is, if you've had experience as a second maid.

Yes. Yes, I have.

For that I'm qualified.

- Morning. - Morning.

What is the fare to China, please?

China? Where in China, Miss?

Where? Wherever I can get to the quickest.

- Exactly $90 by boat. - Is that the cheapest way?

Oh, no. The cheapest way is overland on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

That is only $41.

- It's a lot, but it's better. - Unfortunately, it's quite impossible.

Look, er... Will you come over here?

I'll explain. Look, this is the route.

You go from England to Holland, across Germany, Poland, Russia, Siberia, China.

At best, it's a very long, dangerous and difficult trip.

But over and above that, at the moment there is a situation on the Russian-Chinese border

to which both parties have sent troops... there's already been disturbance.

- Oh, that doesn't matter. - But there's been shooting.

- This may turn into a war. - But why would anyone bother me?

Miss, Milfields undertakes to deliver its clients to their destinations,

usually in good health, but always alive.

We cannot guarantee your deliverance to China alive, not by the overland route.

I'm on my way to Chelsea, a mile away. Who can guarantee I'll get there alive?

Will you book me a passage, please?

Very well, then. For what date?

Oh, I don't know yet. I haven't got $41.

I'll pay something on account, and come back every week and add to it. I'm very reliable.

I don't doubt it, but we don't sell tickets that way.

Look, er, couldn't you save it up and then bring it in?

I might get discouraged.

If I know I own a small part of the ticket, it'll be easier. There.

I'll take the pennies, and leave you the rest. There.

There is one pound and five shillings.

- Is that all you have? - Isn't it enough for the first payment?

You can't leave yourself with just four pennies to your name.

It's all right. I'm on my way to a new job.

Supposing you don't like the new job? Or it just doesn't work?

I'll make it work.

Will you spell your name for me, please? Last name first.

Well, the Mission don't send flighty ones, and that's a blessin'. Come in.

Gladys Aylward? I'm Miss Thompson, the housekeeper. I expected you an hour ago.

- I... - No excuses, please.

- Are you an experienced second maid? - Yes. I've worked for...

We'll soon see. The wages are 19 shillings a week.

Thursday and second Sundays off, from ten till ten.

- That'll be fine. - I should think so.

Remember, there are 50 girls for every job in London. I'll take you to your room.

(sighs)

- Short of breath, are you? - Oh, it's just the suitcase.

- The room's small, but it's clean. - Oh, it's fine. Thank you.

Good.

Now, Gladys, stop it. Why do you want to make work for yourself on your day off?

It was streaked. And with people coming in for tea, you'd have bitten my head off.

Good morning, Sir Francis.

- Good morning, Sir Francis. - Morning. (coughs gruffly)

- Was he annoyed at your being there? - No. He said what he always says:

"Good morning." (imitates cough)

I dare say you want your money. And I dare say it'll be spent by tonight.

Every penny. Every single penny.

With that,

I make the grand total $249s. Why, that's more than half your ticket.

Oh, then at this moment I'm entering the western end of Siberia.

- Tomorrow, perhaps. - Tomorrow I'll be halfway.

I'm cleaning a lazy woman's kitchen this afternoon, bless her,

and serving at a birthday party this evening. That's at least another 10s.

And too much work. You haven't had a holiday for months.

- I don't need one. - You'll be exhausted before you get there.

No, I won't.

I'll have lots of energy left. Lots left to use. Goodbye.

Birthday cake, with half a yellow rose.

Oh, Glad, whatever have you done?

- What is it? - Gladys!

Take off your coat and put on your apron. Sir Francis is waiting.

Those gentlemen came to tea.

There was an argument about a book... Walled Cities of China, it was.

Sir Francis went to the shelf. It was gone. He rang for me.

"Has it been borrowed?" I said. "I didn't lend it!" he shouted. "Search the house."

And there it was, under your pillow,

a book worth $50.

I'm afraid this is the end, Gladys.

Come in.

Since you were recommended by the Missionary Society,

I assume you know the difference between right and wrong.

What have you to say for yourself?

I'm sorry that you were worried.

But I didn't damage the book. I've been very careful with all of them.

All of them? You've done this before?

Yes, sir.

I have read a whole shelf on China, and I'm in the middle of another.

Did it ever occur to you that you might ask if you could borrow the books?

I was afraid you'd say no. And I had to read them.

I'm going to China. I have to learn all I can about it.

Only half of my ticket is paid for, and if I can keep this job just a little longer...

Stop fussing, girl. Sit down.

Now, what's all this about your going to China? Is the Mission sending you?

No. They don't think I'd be any good. I'm going on my own.

But you can't just wander into China without a job, a destination, money.

Oh, I'm planning to have at least $5 over and above my fare.

- $5?! - Mm-hm.

But, my dear girl, why? Why must it be China?

You feel where you belong, as if you were told.

- For me, it's China. - Give up this ridiculous adolescent idea!

But I can help out there.

Help? How can you help? You're not a trained nurse. You're not even a good...

- I want to be a missionary. - A missionary? You?

Take my advice. Stay here, my girl, and go on polishing the furniture.

- You'll do far more good. - No, I won't.

It doesn't matter why I feel that God wants me to go to China.

The important thing is that I feel it. And because I do, I'll go,

no matter what you or anyone else can say.

If I can't stay here and earn the money that I need, then I'll go somewhere else.

I see. You may keep your job.

Thank you.

You're a foolish, stubborn girl, unquestionably heading for trouble.

However, I shall worry less if some of the idiocy is removed from your plans.

I've outlived all my missionary friends in China except one, Jeannie Lawson.

Worth any ten women I've ever known.

Mind you, I don't promise anything, but I'll drop her a line when I have a moment.

She must be getting on. It's possible she could do with a strong young helper.

Ah, yes. Here it is, her last address.

Hm?

Did you pin your passport into your underthings the way I told you?

If anyone wants to see it, they must just wait. After all, you're a British subject.

Why, there's Mr. Murfin. How kind of you to come.

Well, I'm interested, naturally. Some shortbread. Mrs. Murfin made it.

- Is this the Aylward expedition? - Sir Francis!

I forgot to give you this. It's been with me on quite a few treks.

- You'll find it useful on cold nights. - Thank you.

Miss Thompson gave me a camera, and Mr. Murfin shortbread.

Oh, Sir Francis. Mr. Murfin, from the travel agency.

(whistle)

I'd better be putting your luggage in, Gladys. It's getting time.

What are you planning to do? Trade with the natives?

I thought I would make my own tea and save some money.

"Boil everything", I told her, foreigners being what they are.

Very English. Now, remember,

the mission at Tientsin will get you in touch with Mrs. Lawson at Wangcheng.

At least you have a destination, that's something.

It's more than enough. I might not be leaving today if it was not for you.

That is a thought that gives me no peace of mind.

- Well, off you go. - Are you afraid, Gladys?

My dear, it's not too late to back out. I would, honestly.

Goodbye. Goodbye, dear friends.

(whistle)

(conductor) Yurga! Yurga!

(speaks Russian) Yurga!

(speaks Russian)

Yurga!

Conductor?

Could you tell me what is happening? "Yurga". What is "Yurga"?

Ah, Angliyskiy!

(baby cries)

Spasibo.

- Angliyskiy. - English spoken.

Oh, good. Can you tell me what is happening?

We arrive to the village Yurga. You must disbark.

- No. I have a ticket to Harbin. - Nyet Harbin. Yurga.

Harbin across border of China. There is argument.

Well, I go as far as I can. Thank you, just the same.

Heh, Angliyskiy!

English spoken with excellence, yes?

Yes, very.

(train whistle)

Anglichanka.

(speaks Russian)

Stop shouting at me! I can't understand a word you're saying.

Didn't you hear the conductor say that I'm English? Angliyinski... ska...

(speak in Russian)

You cannot stay here. You woman alone. Soldier, men. Not moral.

- Your passport, please. - Passport!

- Passport. - Passport!

(speaks in Russian)

I am on my way to China, but I was supposed to...

Nyet, nyet, nyet. Next station, you go out.

You are by profession machinery?

China, no machinery. Why go there?

Here in USSR, machinery good.

Tractors, combine, conveyors.

You stay here. Machinery, China, pooh!

I'm not that kind of machinery. I'm a missionary.

I'm going to China as a missionary. With a Bible.

Onward Christian soldiers

Marching as to war

Yes. Yes, that's it. That's it. Yes.

(speaks Chinese)

Goodbye.

Oh! Wait a minute!

Come on.

Wangcheng!

(shouts in Chinese)

(man) This place, Mrs. Lawson. Very nice.

Are you Mrs. Lawson?

Yes.

You're Gladys Aylward.

Good for you. I didn't think you'd make it.

Get down, girl. You're home.

Come in and see our grubby palace. Oh, don't get too discouraged. We'll fix it up.

- Isn't it very big? - That's why I bought it. It's an old inn.

We're going to reopen it. You and I, and Yang, my cook.

That gave you a jolt, didn't it? You didn't come out here to be an innkeeper.

You came out to be a missionary and teach the Word.

Well, didn't you?

You know, Gladys, I've never been this far north in China before.

Very few missionaries have. Oh, there are a few in Tsechow, Tientsin, the big cities,

but there's never been one in Wangcheng before.

Nor any white person, chances are.

- Thank you. - Goodbye.

Goodbye. Goodbye, and thank you.

Now, people here call men in the next village foreigners, and suspect them,

- so why should they listen to us? - But then how do you hope to reach them?

We are after something bigger.

The mule trains pass through here.

They stay the night at the inns, and then go on their way.

These muleteers are the newspapers of North China.

If we can make one of them listen to us and believe,

we reach more people than there are in Wangcheng.

Come on in. It's even worse inside.

Why would they stay at our inn?

Because we'll charge what the others do for food and lodging,

and offer something the others don't.

First, no bugs.

Second, stories, which the Chinese love, free with their dinner.

I've got a good one for them to listen to and repeat.

Once upon a time, in a little town called Bethlehem, a baby was born.

It's a wonderful idea.

The Mission Centre at Shengcheng put up the money,

but they weren't that enthusiastic.

Come along in here.

Now, there's Yang, my cook.

Yang, this is Miss Gladys, who's going to be our new helper.

Yang's been with me 20 years. And in case you should think our work's easy,

he still isn't a Christian. Bah!

He stays with me because he thinks foreigners are funny.

Now come and see the rest.

Er, why is it built this way?

It's a kang. It's heated from underneath, like an oven.

A kang? What is a kang for?

A community bed. You'll find them in every inn in North China.

We've got lots of rooms, but when winter comes, this is the bed everybody'll be in.

- You mean together? - 30, 40, 50 at a time.

All fully clothed and ignoring each other.

It gets cold here. You'll find out.

Miss Lawson, I go shop now.

Why not go with him? Might as well see what you've let yourself in for.

- She go like that? - I'll get her some proper things.

I wait for you outside, courtyard.

The merchants'll start raising their prices if they see you in those clothes.

- They'll take you for a rich foreigner. - Rich?!

- In these? - For people as poor as they are, yes.

My dear girl, you're in China now.

Yes. Yes, I know.

Oh, my! You look like a Chinese woman.

We go now.

Miss Jeannie like you. You stay when she die?

Oh, Yang!

She's very old, cannot live long.

It isn't nice talking about people dying.

You funny, just like her.

Good. You stay in China, I stay with you.

- Yang, I tried to learn Chinese from a book... - Book don't know. I teach.

We point things, then I tell you. Oh!

Hsien Chang.

Foreigner call him "mandarin". He like judge, very important.

He say die, you die.

This is house where he lives. Chinese call "Hsien-Cheng-Fu".

Hsien-Cheng-Fu. Hsien-Cheng-Fu. Are those girls his daughters?

Not exactly daughters, more like wives.

But not exactly wives.

- I go shop here. - Are you going to stay long?

Oh, yes. Plenty. First, gossip.

Then he tell me how much what I want cost. I say no. I go.

He call me back. More argue. Plenty long time.

- I'll walk around a little. I'll find the way back. - Yes. But don't forget, you foreign devil here.

(woman shouts in Chinese)

But I'm sorry. I didn't mean any harm.

(shouts in Chinese)

(men shouting)

(old woman talks in Chinese)

(firecrackers)

The man was a murderer. He was tried before the mandarin, proved guilty and executed.

That's their law.

- But to chop off his head! - I don't suppose hanging's a pretty sight,

but that's what we do in England. That's our law.

But it is different. This is so horrible, so bloodthirsty.

And the way people act. Those women were frightened,

but what about the men in that dragon place, yelling at me for no reason at all?

They had a reason. That "dragon place", as you call it, was for men only.

Ah, there's much that is horrible in China, as in any country.

Babies left to die in ditches. The poor preying on the poor.

Many things. But they'll change.

One thing at a time, with the help of the Lord.

And that's what we're here for, in this dirty room... to try to help.

It's a hard life for a young woman.

But it won't seem hard, I promise you, when you're my age and look back.

It'll only seem beautiful.

"The Inn of the Sixth Happiness."

Ah. It sounds quite Oriental, doesn't it?

Yes. Yes.

But Yang says that everybody in China wishes you the five happinesses.

Wealth, longevity, good health, virtue and...

- And a peaceful death in old age. - Yes. But he didn't mention any more.

- What is the sixth happiness? - That you must find out for yourself.

Each person decides in his own heart what the sixth happiness is.

Come on.

Oh, so much still to be done. The windows, the balcony, the roof.

Do you think we should have waited longer to open?

Can't afford to.

I used up all the year's allowance from the Centre doing what fixing we have.

Can't do any more until we've made some money. But don't worry, we will.

Mule trains are passing through every day.

- I only hope some of them will stop here. - Well, that's your job.

You've got to stand outside like a Chinese innkeeper and shout to them to come in.

- With my 20 words of Chinese? - Go and ask Yang what to shout.

All right.

Oh, Mrs. Lawson! What are you doing?

Dividing it up so the mules won't fall over each other...

- These bales are heavy. Let me do it. - Oh, don't bury me before I'm ready.

I have to holler to the mule drivers. What shall I say to them?

I tell you.

(shouts in Chinese)

We have no bugs. We have no fleas.

We do have stories. Good. Come.

Now, start. (speaks Chinese)

(imitates Yang's Chinese)

(speaks Chinese learned from Yang)

That's the second one that passed by. What should I do now?

Well, get the lead mule in, the rest'll follow.

Once they start on the fodder, nothing'll get them out.

I can't drag them in, can I?

(speaks Chinese)

Whoa.

I got mules! Plenty of mules.

But no men.

Yang?

Yang, what does "yong gwee tzu" mean?

(man) "Yang kuei tzu." That means "foreign devil".

(speaks Chinese)

- I am delighted that you have no fleas. - You speak English. Wonderful.

Wonderful?

To an Englishman, perhaps. Where is the Hsien-Cheng-Fu, please?

It's down the road. But could you tell me, why did the men run away?

They've never seen a white person, especially one capturing their mules.

- Say there's nothing to be afraid of. - Only if it's true.

Of course it is. Mrs. Lawson, who owns the inn, is a missionary.

The most frightening kind of foreign devil.

(speaks Chinese)

I welcome you to Wangcheng, Captain Lin Nan.

As a government representative, you honour us with a visit.

In the future, you will be honoured by other representatives, Hsien Chang.

China is going to be one country,

not a group of weak provinces left to their own devices.

You're an intelligence officer, according to your credentials.

May one ask, have you come to impart intelligence, or to obtain it?

Both. Primarily, I'm here to observe.

The government wishes to know more about this region... terrain, population, problems.

The terrain is mountainous, the population is peasant,

and the problem, as always, is to stay alive.

Continue.

I'm instructed to tell you that in some remote areas of China,

the laws concerning taxes, the registration of birth and death,

and the prohibition against the foot-binding of women are not enforced.

Foot-binding is a very old custom. Some of the people will never obey this law.

You must appoint a foot inspector, who will see that they do.

This is part of a programme aimed at the equality of women.

The equality of women?

That is amusing.

The government is interested in the opinion of local officials, their functions, efficiency.

How they run their prisons, their modes of execution, and their corruption.

Oh, or lack of corruption.

Their elimination of concubines, the management of government funds,

even their manner of dress.

Now, shall I make a formal protest about the foot-binding law in your name?

I think not, Captain. It is better to bend with the wind when it blows.

We will have tea.

- Mine will not be a long visit. - However long, it will be too short.

I fear you will find us very backward.

As you said, our district is isolated from this world.

Not so isolated that the missionaries haven't found you.

My mule train was waylaid at an inn they seem to run.

So you don't object to foreigners in your city?

What is a foreigner, Captain? How would you describe yourself?

My heart and my mind are Chinese, only my blood is mixed.

If I have offended a guest in my house, I shall not forgive myself.

It's my own mixed blood which offends me, as I believe China should be for the Chinese.

I cannot speak for all China, just for this one district.

Poor and weak as it is, I am confident it can survive many things.

New laws, no concubines.

Even two eccentric English women.

Oh, Mrs. Lawson!

- All right, I lifted a pot. - And a bale of hay this afternoon.

Yes. And tomorrow I may move all the furniture or start on the balconies.

And you're my helper, not my nurse.

But I can't help with the real work, not yet.

I can't go in there and tell stories in Chinese.

But I can free you for that. And if you won't let me, I don't know why I'm here.

You're here because I need you.

And I'm a dreadful old woman. And it isn't every day of the week I'd admit it.

They eat like starved. Must like food.

Now all they've got to do is to like the stories.

Pray! That's an order.

Zai Bethlehem Jesus tu tseta.

(tells story in Chinese)

Are they listening? I can't tell.

Mandarin servant from Hsien-Cheng-Fu.

- What do you think he wants? - Maybe he make us close down.

Maybe this is last supper, like Bible say.

...Herod, King.

Not to worry. He want chief mule driver get baggage for important person,

guest at Hsien-Cheng-Fu.

(speaks Chinese)

He say, very important person wait. He want to hear end of story.

He does. So then they all have been listening.

Sh!

(crash)

(woman screams)

Oh, Mrs. Lawson!

Mrs. Lawson!

Mrs. Lawson!

Get a doctor, quickly.

They will stone anyone who goes into the mountain villages

and orders the women's feet unbound.

No one wants the position of foot inspector. I have approached every likely candidate.

It is my impression that in other matters, you command rather than approach.

- In your own interest, I would like you to... - (Yang chattering)

- Hsien Chang, are you well? - Yes, I am well. Who are you?

I am the servant of the foreign women. The old one has fallen from a great height.

Please, your doctor.

My doctor?!

Would you like me to go with him because of the language problem?

Ah! Perhaps it would be better.

Two women in a strange land.

Get the doctor.

(Gladys) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me...

(speaks Chinese)

...Bethlehem...

Good. In one week you learn much.

It's not enough. It'll be ages before I can really tell the Bible stories.

Not to worry. Until you can, I tell.

Yang, you don't believe them.

Don't have to. Good stories anyway.

You want to worry, worry about food. Two days more, no more.

(knocking)

- I knew you wanted it the moment it came. - Thank you. Please, don't go.

They don't believe in the inn.

They only agreed to it...

"reluctantly, out of respect for Mrs. Lawson's vast experience in China."

"Without her or a person equally quali...

qualified, the project is hopeless."

"Our advice is to abandon it and come to Shencheng."

"In gratitude for helping our colleague, we will arrange your fare to England."

But with that money I could open the inn. Why don't they give it to me?

They gave their reasons.

Yes.

One reason, always the same one: I'm not qualified.

I was a servant in England, that's what they mean.

But I came here when they said I couldn't, and I'll stay here though they say I can't.

I'm going back to Shencheng in the morning. I'll be glad to see that you get there safely.

I'm not going to leave.

You are angry and disappointed, that's understandable. But you must be realistic.

- You cannot stay. - I'll go to the food merchants. I'll beg...

They will not give you credit. You will not be able to open the inn.

You have no friends. You have no money.

You don't know the language.

We're in the most isolated part of a country

entering a period of violent conflicts from within and without.

It isn't your country. It isn't your problem.

You're white, you shouldn't be in China at all.

How can you say that, when you're part white?

I'm half white.

In your world I can only be a second-class citizen.

I chose China because here I am allowed to be of value.

That's why I came here, to be of value.

How? By trying to make people believe what you believe?

By saving souls who don't want to be saved, who will agree to anything for more rice,

and laugh at you once it is eaten? To argue about such things is to argue about shadows.

The dangers that confront you, those are real.

Leave now, while you still can. Go back to England where you belong.

If I feel that God wants me in China, then this is where I belong.

In that case, I'll leave you in his hands.

Obviously, you don't need my help.

Oh, Captain Lin, I...

I know you think I'm stubborn, but I'm not ungrateful.

For you to be concerned, to bother, it is very kind.

If I were really kind, I'd have you ordered out of Wangcheng.

But since I'm not obsessed with saving souls or lives...

I wish you well.

- A pleasant journey, a swift return. - You honour me, Hsien Chang.

I am told that you were not able to persuade the foreign woman to leave.

She is a very foolish young woman.

Clearly, if she closed her ears to your advice.

When she goes, it would be an act of charity to help her, Hsien Chang.

If that is your wish. It seems possible, however, that she will not go.

She'll go. They all go, the outsiders, the do-gooders, in time.

How I envy the young men of China.

How I regret I was born too soon to be so sure of everything.

And how I regret

I cannot report to my superiors

that the law against foot-binding is being enforced in the district of Wangcheng.

- It is being enforced. - In the city itself, perhaps.

But not in the outlying villages, Hsien Chang.

Nor can it be.

That is my first foot inspector.

Numbers two and three are not yet able to leave their beds.

My superiors will probably understand your difficulties,

but since they will certainly reduce your income till their orders are obeyed,

I would appoint number four, if I were you... and, if necessary, five and six, and so on.

Whom shall I appoint? Those men who are not frightened of the job are disgusted by it.

They say it is not men's work to inspect the feet of women.

Then appoint a woman. It's an interesting problem.

I shall be happy to hear you have solved it.

Then be happy, Captain. I've just solved it.

I'm delighted.

How kind of you to rejoice for me.

(speaking in Chinese)

(giggling)

Mandarin say, Captain Lin ask him to help you.

So he offer you job on his staff: foot inspector.

- Foot inspector?! - (giggling)

Foot inspector will tour district,

see people no more bind feet of female children to make small.

If female under 30, unbind.

Well, I certainly approve of that.

I suppose you can go with me until I can speak more Chinese.

- But will the people listen to us? - He send soldiers. Make listen.

Ask him how much I'd get for it.

(speaks in Chinese)

What did he say?

Well, he said maybe you worth something, maybe not.

When you come back from first village and report, mandarin tell you.

- (speaks in Chinese) - Decide fast, he said. He does not need you.

- He make this offer to be kind. - It is kind of him. And the captain.

Yes, it is, Yang. And it might pay enough to start the inn. I have to take it.

Tell him yes, and thank him.

(speaks in Chinese)

(angry shouting)

(angry shouting)

Tell them it is not a bad law, it is a good law. Tell the women I am speaking to them.

This law is for them and their children. It's wrong for them to hobble on crippled feet.

(Yang speaks Chinese)

If the mandarin knew the people felt this way about the law, why didn't he warn me?

He need foot inspector. If anything happens to you, what does he lose?

Is there not one mother... is there not one mother in Peh-Chu

that loves her little girl enough to let me unbind her feet?

(Yang speaks in Chinese)

Old person say, unbind her feet.

No, no. The pain would kill her. She couldn't walk, her feet have been bound too long.

Tell her the law is for the children and young women. No.

She says, unbind her feet.

Let the young women see that she cares more for their children than they do.

Do it, or she will do it herself.

No, I can't. I can't.

She say, unbind her child's feet.

There. That is good.

Don't be frightened. It won't take long.

If God wanted girls to have stubby, horrid feet, he would have made them that way.

What use? The father will order them bound again.

Look at her feet. Look at them! Take these.

If you want her feet bound again, you bind them.

You listen to her scream, not a woman. You.

(speaks in Chinese)

- Oh, Yang, what is happening? What is it? - Maybe the women have their feet unbound.

Mandarin is pleased with his new servant. She has done well.

As reward, he make you official foot inspector.

You will also carry messages for him to the far villages,

and stop foot-binding everywhere.

Besides all this honour,

he give you a horse for your journeys and one yuan a month pay.

I'm not staying in Wangcheng to be his foot inspector, but to run the inn.

I want credit arranged with the food merchants.

And I want it understood that when I take his messages to the people,

I am also going to tell them of my own beliefs.

It's only with honesty that I can take this job,

though it was not with honesty or kindness that he offered it to me.

Mandarin agree to what you ask,

and forgive you for the way you speak to him, this time.

In a world full of frightened people, he likes courage wherever he find it,

even in a rude and angry woman.

I am the mandarin's servant.

(Gladys) These were the years of endless work and contentment.

Soon, every muleteer who travelled the old trade routes

knew of the Inn of the Sixth Happiness.

But my happinesses were too many to count.

The happiness of being one of them, of being called by my new name,

Jen-Ai, the One Who Loves People.

(speaks Chinese syllables)

Of learning to speak their language.

Of being able to talk to the people in the marketplace, to my neighbours in the fields...

and my friends in every village in the mountains.

The happiness of watching the seasons turn...

and change, from autumn to winter...

from winter to spring.

The happiness of beginning new things

that every year brought a harvest of inner happiness.

From teaching the children God had let me borrow.

Now...

Now we learn a song that I knew when I was little girl. It goes like this:

This old man, he played one

(all) This old man, he played one

(Gladys) He played knick knack on my drum

(man) Good morning, Jen-Ai.

- Good morning, Jen-Ai. - Are you well, Hsien Chang?

I am well enough, Jen-Ai.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

(speaks in Chinese)

How beautifully you paint, Hsien Chang.

It requires patience, a virtue of which I have great need.

Have the emissaries from the government annoyed you?

Government emissaries I am used to these days.

They even want me to wear some kind of uniform.

But no, Jen-Ai, the source of my annoyance is closer to home.

It is you.

You have attained importance throughout the district, and with good reason.

Your name is as well known as my own.

You are loved by the people even more than I am.

And with that I am content.

A Hsien Chang should be feared and obeyed, not loved.

- But you are all these things. - Do not compliment me.

Do not "manage" me. Do not be so...

so Chinese, Jen-Ai.

I'm sorry. But I meant it.

You are loved by the people, I said. But my officials, they do not love you.

Every day there is another complaint about you. The official in charge of road building

complains that you urge his coolies to demand more money.

The prison warden complains that you badger him with questions

about the welfare of the convicts.

In short, they tell me that you are an interfering woman.

I probably am, Hsien Chang,

but you have to interfere with what is wrong to make it right.

But that is what I tell them. Of what are you guilty, I ask,

that you object to her interfering?

- Then you don't object? - Certainly not.

Bother the officials all you wish. Embarrass them.

Ask them questions, badger them,

but leave the women of my household alone.

- Oh. - Exactly.

Did you not tell them that no human being should be subject to the will of another?

And did you not tell them that to obey any man unquestioningly was old-fashioned?

And have you not been teaching them to read?

Where will it end? With your converting them?

With hymns being sung in my Hsien-Cheng-Fu?

I have not tried to convert them.

Why not? Why stop at that? I'm surprised that you've never attempted to convert me!

I may be an interfering woman, Hsien Chang, but I am not a completely foolish one.

I know when I have met my master.

Hsien Chang!

Hsien Chang, the chief guard of the prison has just arrived. There is trouble.

Chief Guard, where is the prison warden?

- He is nowhere to be found in Wangcheng. - What's the trouble?

The convicts are rioting. Do I have your approval to shoot them from the walls?

Perhaps it would be better just to leave them there.

They will hunger in time, and listen to reason. Of course, they may wreck the prison.

Before the prison warden left, he gave orders to shoot them.

But the convicts are in his charge to be cared for, not to be murdered.

Can't this man go in and talk to them, reason with them? Or is he afraid?

It is unfair to goad him into danger.

I would not order him in there to die, Jen-Ai.

In this mood, the convicts would kill anyone who tried to reason with them.

But it is his duty to restore order, not to slaughter people.

Let others go in. I will not.

This riot is not of my making. I'm not responsible.

You're responsible for order in the prison.

I have heard that you say everywhere you have a God who protects you from harm.

Even in prison we have heard it. Well, I have no such God.

You go in. Surely you cannot be killed.

Well...

It is the safety of the soul that my faith promises, not of the body.

With your permission, Hsien Chang, I'll go to the prison. I'll try.

I have many convicts, but only one foot inspector.

Shall I lose your services so that you may save the face of your religion?

If my religion loses face, how will my service be of value?

(riotous shouting)

Do not go in, Jen-Ai. Admit you are afraid.

Yes, I am afraid. Open the gate.

(riotous shouting)

My name is Jen-Ai. I want to speak to you.

It is Jen-Ai, the one who tries to help the people!

Jen-Ai.

Give me that axe.

Go and sit against the wall, and rest.

You are tired.

Bring the wounded... bring the wounded into the shade.

Choose the man to speak for you.

- Li. - Li.

Form into a line, right there.

- They have chosen me. - Who are you?

My name is Li.

I have been inside these walls for eight years now.

- And before that? - I was a teacher.

- How did the riot start? - Because of hunger.

- Aren't you fed enough? - Not ever enough.

The warden steals our ration and sells it.

- What do you do here all day? - We sit.

Or we pace. Or we fight.

Men should have work, but to the warden, we are no longer men.

Tell the men it will change.

I will speak to the Hsien Chang. I promise you it will change.

It has been a long time since we have tasted tea together in my humble abode.

- You honour me, Hsien Chang. - Hsien Chang?

- We were not to be disturbed. - I told Jen-Ai you were not to be...

Jen-Ai has returned? Unharmed?

Yes, Hsien Chang. But angry, very angry.

My foot inspector. You will forgive an interruption?

Send Jen-Ai in.

An exceptional name, Jen-Ai. "The One Who Loves People."

In Wangcheng, even the foot inspector is exceptional.

Hsien Chang, what I found in that prison is a disgrace to...

Yes, she is still here.

And if I am, it's thanks to you.

Don't you remember? When you left, you asked the Hsien Chang to help me.

- To help her leave, wasn't it? - To help me leave?

Ah, perhaps I misunderstood.

Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought you said there were no foreigners in Wangcheng.

- Nor are there. - I'm a Chinese citizen.

- You gave up British citizenship? - I once told you that I belonged here.

The government must agree or they wouldn't have accepted me.

So you see, Captain, you were wrong.

Our friend is a colonel now... though equally wrong, of course.

- May I speak about the prison now? - Sit down, Jen-Ai.

I regret to say there's been a riot.

The riot is over, but not the misery that caused it.

First, the convicts have been starved. The warden was stealing their food.

He will be found and severely punished. A new warden will be appointed at once.

Perhaps, as the government representative, you would prefer to rule on this case.

There's no need. You are doing as the government would wish.

Hsien...

Hsien Chang, just as important as the men's need for food is their need for work.

When I left the prison I went to a farmer nearby.

If the convicts are allowed to work in his fields, he'll pay them with food.

This would keep them active, and add to their food allotment.

Permission is given.

One more thing. During the riot, the prison was damaged. It should be repaired.

The year's funds for prison repairs has been used. Can more be obtained?

Not at this time. Our money must go to more important things.

- What could be more important? - A war.

We're expecting a Japanese attack.

A war?

If this should happen, why should they attack this region? We're so poor, so isolated.

An innkeeper, foot inspector, prison reformer. And now a military expert.

Careful, Colonel. No one is more trusted by the mountain people than Jen-Ai.

You may need her to send orders to them. There are new taxes, new quotas for the army.

Yes. And there's a message to them.

When the invaders come, they are not to be met peacefully as in the past.

They are to be fought. Each man must fight. Each man must kill.

I cannot take that message. To me, killing is a mortal sin.

You are a citizen of China. You will obey its laws.

When the laws of China conflict with the laws of my faith,

I know which one to obey.

Now, on the night the baby Lord Jesus was born

in that stable in Bethlehem,

several came to bow down to him

and his mother, the Lady Mary.

They were three powerful warlords,

known as the Magi, who brought many fine gifts.

And still another, a wonderful man,

a sea captain named Noah, came to visit Jesus.

His ship was called Noah's Ark.

The Lord Jesus liked this Noah, for he was a wise man.

(clears throat)

Especially in the ways of animals,

whom he often took sailing in his ark.

- (clears throat) - This man, Noah...

Yang?

This man Noah was born long before the Lord Jesus,

but men in those days lived to be very old.

So no one can be sure... no one at all...

that Noah did not visit Jesus in that stable in Bethlehem.

May I speak with you a moment?

Since you won't take the new orders around the district, I must.

Do you object to my travelling with you on your next tour?

- No. - And to introduce me to the village elders?

I'm leaving tomorrow morning, as soon as it's light.

But I have to stop at the prison first, if that is convenient.

- Perfectly. I'll meet you here. - I remembered you as a friend.

I know we think differently about things, but I can't understand why you were so hostile

at the Hsien-Cheng-Fu.

I'm not hostile to you personally. I have few personal feelings.

With the Hsien Chang's approval, your new prison warden

gives you leave to plant the little field outside the wall for your own use.

It isn't much, but it is a beginning.

We thank you, Jen-Ai. We are grateful.

Surely this was a great opportunity for making converts.

- Aren't you neglecting missionary work? - You think it's that?

Collecting converts the way a child collects pretty stones?

Is it anything else?

To me, it's making each man know that he counts,

whether he believes in Christ or Buddha, or nothing, like you.

I believe in China as it can be.

- I love China the way it is. - Filthy, ignorant, backward?

No, but if your house is dirty, you can clean it.

One can make improvements, even in small corners like this prison.

If enemies plan to burn your house, is it time to clean, or to fight?

The village elder tells me that except for those citizens under five years old,

you all know every word in the first reader, so here's the second one.

And it's much harder.

And I'll tell the Hsien Chang that in Peh-Chu, all the toes can wiggle...

and everyone can read.

And that finishes my business.

Colonel Lin, an officer in our army, will now talk to you.

I bring bad news, and orders that mean hardship.

The government believes that our country will soon be attacked by the Japanese.

Because this may well start here in the north, this concerns you.

They will not bother us. This is a small, poor village.

This is a small, poor finger.

It must do its part if I am attacked, or it will become a small, dead finger.

A large army is being trained to defend you.

To maintain it, you must give half your grain and livestock.

(angry shouting)

All men must register for the army.

Many will be taken, but those at home must fight, too.

They will kill the enemy if they can,

burn the crops that might feed him, and plant again when he has gone.

Read the orders.

Jen-Ai, must we obey this man?

It is not for me to tell you what you should obey or not obey, but you must listen.

The colonel speaks for the government.

You mustn't mind. They are just terribly suspicious of foreigners.

At the four villages we visited, has anyone listened to me?

They have listened. They'll fight.

People are always ready to fight.

I appreciate your not trying to influence them differently.

My conscience is my own affair,

and theirs is theirs, and yours is yours.

Hoka! Hoka!

- Three days we wait for you, Jen-Ai. - A fine greeting!

And now look what you bring. Let him go.

Why not the police, huh? Come on.

Those bandits are your friends. Are there more of them?

Only about 20. It's a small band. They are poor, ignorant men who need help.

One of them has been hurt. I want to see what I can do.

Hoka says that you can wait here without harm, if you'll forget you ever saw them.

All right, I promise. On one condition: that I can go with you and talk to them.

20 bandits used to these mountains? They'll make excellent scouts for us.

- You never miss an opportunity, do you? - You do your work, I do mine.

- Jen-Ai! - I'll speak to him.

Hoka!

Hoka, he promises, but only if he can come up and talk to you.

All right!

It's all right, Colonel.

(Lin Nan) The government believes that our country will be attacked by the Japanese.

When it comes,

you can perform an important service by scouting the enemy.

If you will help,

you will be pardoned for all your crimes,

and become honoured citizens again.

You will not have to hide in the mountains like thieves.

Think about it. You can be of valuable help in the north, if it starts here.

That's all I have to say.

Your friend makes a fine speech. He says we're all going to be heroes.

If the Japanese come, we all be honoured dead, I think, thieves and citizens alike.

- Is he going to be all right? - I don't know enough to be sure.

- But at least I got the wound clean. - Well, use your medicine to make him well.

- He's a good man. - He's a bad man, Hoka, just like you.

But I will use the medicine, if your men don't rob or kill for eight weeks.

Four weeks.

- I can kill you and take the medicine. - Go ahead.

No killing or robbery for eight weeks, or I let this man rot.

All right.

But you can be very hard, Jen-Ai, like a man.

If Dr Robinson could see me now,

with my convicts, my bandits, and you.

I wonder if in England you wouldn't have had a more normal life...

marriage, children, and all that.

For some people that never happens, no matter where they are.

I have always felt that I was one of those.

Maybe Hoka is right, I am like a man.

It's a warm night. Why don't you come for a swim with me?

Hoka was wrong, Jen-Ai. You're not like a man at all.

(splash)

This village we are coming to will be our last visit.

We head back for Wangcheng in the morning.

(baby crying)

The baby should be covered. Do you want it to die that you treat it so?

If it dies I'll get another. It is easy to get babies. Ask your man.

Be quiet. Did you steal this child?

No, no. It's a girl child, worthless. A beggar gave it to me.

I hope to find a good woman with a heart full of pity who would take it.

I'll take it from you. I'll adopt it.

- But I need money. - How much?

- Jen-Ai! - Ten yuan.

- Jen-Ai, you can't be serious. - All I have is this lucky piece from England.

- Could you lend me some money? - Not for this idiocy, no.

Sixpence, English money. Take it. If you don't, she'll die and you'll have nothing.

Don't you see how stupid and pointless this is?

You can't adopt every abandoned baby in China.

- No, just the ones I am offered. - What will you do with her?

- Call her Sixpence, I think. Do you like it? - I said, what will you do with her?

- What do you know about babies? - What is there to know?

When they are dirty, wash them. When they are hungry, feed them. We'll do both.

I will feed the baby, Jen-Ai. I spoke to my husband about it.

Why don't you let us keep her? We have no girls.

- No. - Aren't you being a little selfish?

- It is more right for her to be with them. - I like her. I don't want to give her up.

Where will you eat, Jen-Ai? You and your friend?

Jen-Ai and her friend will eat outside,

so that they may quarrel in peace like true friends.

Why do you think it's more right for Sixpence to stay with them?

Because she'll mind, one day, having a white mother?

Because you may mind, one day, having a Chinese child.

- How can you say that? - Because I know.

My mother was Chinese, my father Dutch.

He took us to his country after China made him rich.

It was a great novelty, having a beautiful Chinese wife.

Till the embarrassments started coming, and the insults.

Then he divorced her and sent her back.

She was a gentle little woman.

She never recovered from it.

He kept me with him. Empty man needs sons.

And I didn't look very Chinese as a child.

But then the day came I wasn't a child any more.

And I don't want Sixpence ever to tell you what I told him the day I left him.

But you were hurt, Lin Nan.

Do you think I would ever hurt a child?

No.

You wouldn't.

- But what if you marry? - Oh, that won't happen.

You said it before. How can you be so sure?

- You've never met anyone you loved? - Nor anyone who loved me.

Oh, I'm not attractive in that way.

But... don't you know you're beautiful?

Once in her life every woman should have that said to her.

I thank you for being the one who said it to me.

Oh, it's late. I'd better go in.

May I have the baby?

Yang! Yang, she's coming! She's coming!

I can't wait to see the Hsien Chang's face

when he hears his foot inspector has a baby now.

He'll take it calmly.

(firecrackers)

They always light firecrackers when I come home.

Hello, children.

- (Yang) No scolding. They were good. - We were wonderful.

- The noise scared her. - Aahh!

These are my children.

This is my big daughter, Sui-Lan. And my little girl, Mai-da.

And my big son.

And my little son, Bao Bao. Children, this is Colonel Lin.

Mother, you forgot to say my name.

It's the same as yours: Lin.

Lin?

Yes. Yes, we call him Lin.

Children, this little baby is your new sister.

Her name is Sixpence. Yang, we can handle one more, can't we?

Can five be more trouble than four?

I found Lin soon after you left,

and I felt you were my first friend in China.

So naturally, I named him after you.

I hope you don't mind.

No, I don't mind.

And so you lectured her on the difficulties of raising children.

Hah. She thrives on difficulties.

She's a very forceful woman.

Yes. Yes, she is.

But she's also gentle and trusting.

She walks through a world full of evil and sees only children.

Not complicated or cruel, just untidy ones,

needing to be washed and fed and loved.

I see this trip has been eventful for you. And for Jen-Ai?

I don't know. In any case, I shall be leaving soon.

And returning.

No.

Are you troubled, Colonel?

- Confused. - A sign of growth.

When first we met, you were not capable of confusion.

You were sure of everything.

That's the way I must be, Hsien Chang. My life is planned.

A life that is planned is a closed life, my friend.

It can be endured, perhaps.

It cannot be lived.

Excuse me, Hsien Chang.

Write a letter to Jen-Ai.

Write and tell her

the colonel sings the praises of my foot inspector, which honours me.

And ask her to dine with us this evening.

Also tell her

I am sending her

something which was intended as a gift for her name day.

I think this is a more appropriate occasion.

The Honourable Tax Collector.

- Hsien Chang, are you well? - I am well. This is our guest, Colonel Lin.

Our city is honoured, Colonel.

(announcer) The Honourable Foot Inspector.

I thought it would give you pleasure if she joined us. Look at the elders.

They're stunned. They've never dined here with a lone woman before.

Officially, that is.

- Are you well, Hsien Chang? - I am well, Jen-Ai. And well-pleased.

My foot inspector is beautiful.

So you see, Jen-Ai, more than one man has told you that.

- It's the Hsien Chang's gift that is beautiful. - It is that, too.

I am also well-pleased with my own judgement.

No disrespect to the Hsien Chang's gift,

it is his foot inspector who is beautiful.

You're confusing me.

Many people are confused these days.

Let us have dinner and wine and music, and discuss it further.

We will dine.

When you left me at the inn, I thought you were angry.

But you were wrong, Jen-Ai.

Colonel.

Jen-Ai.

Colonel, I'm afraid it is the old China which impresses Jen-Ai.

No. I like all of it.

I know there are beautiful things in other places, but I couldn't see until I came here.

Sometimes, I think my life really started in China.

(Chinese music)

- (soldier) Colonel Lin? - Yes.

I'll be just a few minutes.

Well, it seems to be starting.

Enemy troops are massing at several points of our borders.

Is my city in danger?

Not yet, certainly. Though you never know where they'll strike, or when or if.

Hsien Chang, I must go now.

- May I ask a favour? - Yes.

A moment alone with Jen-Ai.

Go into the garden.

I told you once that I have few personal feelings.

You were trying to be unkind.

Perhaps I am being even more unkind now.

I have many personal feelings.

For you, all of them.

What I wanted to say to you I tried not to say.

I was afraid to say.

But I cannot leave with the words unsaid.

There is nothing you can't say to me.

Would it offend you to be loved by a man of another race?

It would honour me.

That makes me very happy.

So let's leave it this way, Jen-Ai,

till I come back.

Look, Mother!

Children, come down from there.

(man screams)

Oh, children. Here. Wait here until I get back for you.

There is food in the basket. Sui-Lan, watch out for them. Be brave.

(screaming)

Jen-Ai! Jen-Ai, what is to become of us? Tell me what to do.

Take the children's parents and take them to my inn.

(woman) Jen-Ai?

Are you hurt?

Yang! Yang!

Yang?

Yang!

(man) To the square, everybody. Everybody go to the square.

To the square, everybody.

- Have you seen Yang? - Perhaps.

Go to the square. The Hsien Chang wants everyone.

Citizens of Wangcheng,

Japanese soldiers are close to us,

less than a day's march away.

We will take refuge in the mountains,

on the farms, in the small villages.

The officials and I will stay close to Wangcheng,

to keep watch and to send word to you

when it is safe to return.

Go now, and work for your city and your brothers.

(man) Go to the west gate. It is time now.

Go to the west gate. It is time now.

Go to the west gate. It is time now.

To the west gate! It is time!

To the west gate, everyone.

To the west gate, everyone! To the west gate!

Jen-Ai!

- Li! What are you doing here? - The prison was destroyed. Many were killed.

The few who survived have been set free.

I have come to help, to be of service.

Jen-Ai, we found Yang.

- Where is he? Where is he? - He's behind the marketplace.

- Is he hurt? - Badly.

I'll come. Li, you go on with the children.

Follow the Hsien Chang. I'll see you in Peh-Chu.

- You're staying here alone? - I must say goodbye to an old friend.

Very tired.

I die soon.

Not so bad to die.

Not good, but not so bad.

Not to worry, Miss Gladys.

Not to worry.

(Japanese soldiers shout)

(gunfire)

(soldiers shout)

No sign of the enemy, sir. The others are searching, but the city seems abandoned.

Possibly a week.

All right, we go in. Groups of six, five minutes apart. Tell the men.

- Lieutenant Wan. - Yes, sir?

You come with me.

(Wan) Sergeant Wu. Sergeant Cheng. Sergeant Fung.

Lin Nan!

- Oh! - You're alive.

You are alive.

So many things to tell and so many things to ask.

All I can think of is, can Sixpence walk now?

Yes. Yes.

She said her first word last week.

- What was it? - She said "no".

(firecrackers)

- What is it? - It's the elders celebrating their return.

We were close by in the hills with the Hsien Chang and we saw you ride in.

Jen-Ai, is the Hsien Chang in the Hsien-Cheng-Fu?

Yes.

I have to talk to him.

And to you.

Hsien Chang?

You have found each other!

This is a happy night, for many reasons.

They will be glad to see the last of us at Peh-Chu, thanks to this young woman.

You should see the orphans she has collected there.

Ten, fifteen, I've lost count.

Captain, start on with the men. I'll follow.

I'm sorry. I thought there would be a little time.

Soon there will be all the time in the world.

Our troops are advancing. The enemy has been pushed back.

No, Hsien Chang.

They've been withdrawn to join a powerful army which has just crossed our border.

We'll bring up everything we have to meet it.

The war is just beginning.

They will have to put up with us a little longer at Peh-Chu.

No, Hsien Chang.

You must leave tonight with the elders for the town of Lao.

- But Lao is in another province. - Exactly.

If you were captured here, the enemy could use you as a puppet governor,

issue orders which the people will obey.

You speak as if we were defeated!

The battle has not yet been fought!

We will be defeated. We'll hold them up there at the border for as long as we can.

But they'll push us back, mile by mile,

till they suddenly burst through and pour across the north like a river.

I must tell the elders.

They are at the temple, offering thanks for their homecoming.

But we will sit down together, one last time.

You could go with him, but Changchang is better.

It's army headquarters. I'll be sure of finding you there.

You'll find me right here or in the hills nearby, where I belong.

All missionaries and foreigners are being ordered out of this area.

If it is true, that doesn't apply to me.

I am not an accredited missionary and I'm a Chinese citizen, not a foreigner.

But it isn't true, is it? You don't lie very well.

I want you to promise me you will go.

I want you out of it.

Don't wish me out of this, or in any way seek to get me out.

For I will not be cut out. These are my people, and I will live and die with them.

I want you to be safe.

I'm afraid for you.

Oh, I'm afraid for you, too.

So many men will die.

But I don't love you any less for leaving.

Do you think I love you less for staying?

Jen-Ai, life was good to bring us together,

two people who thought they had to live without love.

And tonight, again, when everything seemed against it,

we found each other.

But isn't it asking too much, even of God... if there is a God...

to hope that we will meet again if you stay here?

Whatever you decide, let Hoka know. I'll get in touch with him.

Whatever you decide, I'll love you.

As long as I'm alive, I will love you.

These robes, in farewell to the past,

mine and China's.

In a little while we must leave our city, perhaps for years, perhaps for ever.

For those of us who are old,

certainly for ever.

Elders of Wangcheng, I thank you for your help in this time of trouble.

But we were born to our trouble.

There is one who has taken it upon herself,

not from necessity,

but from love.

Jen-Ai,

we thank you for those who are not here.

For the dead whose children you have taken as your own.

For the poor and the sick and the afflicted.

For all the people of Wangcheng.

For the past and for the future.

I honour you

for your strength.

I wish to share with you

the faith from which it comes.

City Recorder,

close the books of Wangcheng with this entry:

"As a sign of respect for the honoured foot inspector of this city,

the Hsien Chang of Wangcheng has become a Christian."

I thank you for this... for this great gift.

I can't... I can't...

Jen-Ai, accept my gift.

It is offered with love.

It is time to go, old friends.

Stay here in the Hsien-Cheng-Fu, for a little.

It will comfort me, as I leave, to know it.

We... shall not see each other again, I think.

Farewell, Jen-Ai.

How many more can we lose?

When the Japanese have gone, if any of our men are still alive, help them.

(children chattering and singing)

This is all the food I can spare. I wish I could keep you here longer but it isn't safe.

- So be careful, and good luck. - (soldiers) Thank you.

If you had gone, you wouldn't have so many children.

Hoka, have you any news of Colonel Lin?

No. Many Chinese soldiers are trapped at Tsechow. He might be there, I don't know.

- (girl) She's hit me. - (Hoka) I want to speak to you.

Go. Go and play.

There the Japanese are. Here we are, with only Tsechow in between.

There's only one thing for you to do, that's get out while you can.

That's what I'd planned, if they came that close. But that was before I had 50 children.

There is no place for them. There is no room in Peh-Chu.

I thought of the mountain caves, but it's getting too cold. We have to stay here.

That's foolishness. Get out while you have the chance.

I would if I knew where I could get food for the children, schooling, the things they need.

At least the inn is on neutral ground, it's owned by the Mission.

- I don't think anyone would hurt them. - You think the Japanese will feed them?

They are human beings. They might.

Oh, I don't know!

You've been awake all night.

I don't know what to do.

I've thought. I've prayed. I...

It's no use, I can't find an answer.

I've started the stove. I'll bring you some good hot tea.

- (clinking) - And then...

Wait! Wait!

Your friend went after the men who brought us. They were afraid.

- All the way from Tsechow they were afraid. - Tsechow? I thought it was taken.

It was. But our missionary got us out. We're from the mission orphanage.

I see.

Where were the men supposed to take you?

It's to you. If your name is Jen-Ai.

Oh, I've a letter for you from our missionary.

My name is Timothy.

I couldn't catch the men.

There must be 50 of them.

Oh, Li, the answer came. It's from the missionary in Tsechow.

He wouldn't leave his hospital, but there is a home set up for the children in the interior.

And they'll take ours. We have to get them to the mission at Sian by November 12.

"The army trucks will take them..." No.

"The army trucks which will take them must leave on that date."

But that is three weeks away, and it will only take one week on the Honan road. Oh!

"These children will... these children will be met in Sian,

and taken the rest of the way by the head of the Mission Centre, Dr Robinson."

Dr Robinson!

Oh, children!

(Lin Nan) Hurry up, men. Get out of your uniforms, quickly.

He's coming, Colonel!

She wasn't there. There's no one in Wangcheng but a few old people.

Where did she go?

Sian, with the children and Li, by way of the Honan road.

Honan road?

The Japanese have a roadblock on the Honan road, 30 miles south of Wangcheng.

- When did she leave? - Yesterday afternoon. On foot.

On foot, with 20 children to slow her down.

With 100 children to slow her down.

100 children!

Jen-Ai! Jen-Ai!

Jen-Ai!

Lin Nan!

I didn't think I'd reach you in time. Jen-Ai, you're walking into an enemy roadblock.

Oh. Oh, I have to get these children to Sian.

- I can't go back, not with the winter. - But the roadblock...

I can cross the mountains. It's long, that's the trouble.

It is twice as long, terribly dangerous,

and impossible for you alone, on foot with 100 children. And I can't go with you.

My orders are to start the resistance here with the people who are left.

But even if you could go with me, you'd only put us in danger. You or any soldier.

This way, we have nothing to hide. I can explain who we are.

If you are given a chance to explain. If the journey doesn't kill you.

No.

No, I think this journey was meant for me.

Lin Nan, I think this is why God wanted me to come to China...

to get these children out.

Remember to avoid the travelled roads, and look for the hidden ones.

I've marked the distance you should cover each day to reach Sian in time.

When you get there, go to army headquarters.

They will try to get a message through to me in the mountains.

Then you're not going to ask me to stay in Sian,

or to go to safety in the interior with the children?

I know you too well for that now, and I love you too much.

I know you'll come back if you can.

I'll give it to our oldest son one day.

You must go while there is still light.

A safe journey, a happy return.

Timothy, take Sixpence awhile.

I thought the big boys were carrying the pot.

They are playing. It is good they are in high spirits.

I'd like to keep them that way as long as we can.

Three more days, and our food is gone.

But here is a village, and I know the people will help us.

We shall be there in about... about two days.

Should we stop and let them rest?

Let us go on a little longer while it is light.

Up.

Come on, children.

Come on, children.

Some rice.

There. Now, you two share that bowl. Now, give me that.

You two share it.

There. Now you share it with her.

You go over there.

There's so little food in this soup.

Ah, it's hot. It'll fill their stomachs until they fall asleep.

And when they wake?

- I could have ten more bowls full. - Big talk, big stomach.

(explosion)

Children!

Come along, children!

Hurry up.

We'll try and find a crossing upstream.

Children, come down here. Be very careful.

Children, come down this way. Careful.

It's too deep! It's over my head. Too dangerous!

- And cold, very cold. - But we can't stop now!

If we had a rope, we could tie one end to a tree and get across with the other end.

And then we could make a big fire.

Jen-Ai, we have some rope and blankets.

Oh, children, do you know what the coldest sound in the world is?

Well, it's teeth chattering. And that is all I can hear.

Do you know what we are going to do? Come over here.

Come on. We are going to sing a song and drown it out.

Take your jacket off. We are going to sing...

Do you know this one? Hold it up. There. We are going to sing, you know...

This old man, he played one

He played knick knack on my drum

Knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

Come on. Come on.

This old man, he played one

He played knick knack on my drum

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played two

He played knick knack on my shoe

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played three

He played knick knack on my knee

It's quiet. Too quiet.

So are the children.

(approaching aircraft)

Children, run! Come on!

Under the trees! Come on!

(baby cries)

Get up.

Come. Children, get up.

Get up, children.

Come on, children. Come.

Oh, they are ours. They are Chinese!

(children cheer)

- Where are you taking those children? - I'm trying to get to Sian.

We've been walking for days, and the children are starving.

Men, feed the children.

- Thank you. Will that aeroplane come back? - I don't know. They were reconnaissance.

We had to hide, too. Yesterday we saw some Japanese in a forest you're coming to.

- It's very dangerous. There may be more. - But we have no other way to go.

I wish we could help you, but our orders take us north.

- North? Anywhere near Wangcheng? - I don't know.

If you should get near Wangcheng,

and if you run into a man called Lin, Colonel Lin, would you give him a message from me?

Tell him that you met a woman with 100 children only six days from the Yellow River.

And tell him to stay alive, just to stay alive.

- How good it was to see them eat. - It would be good to see you eat.

Drink this. One of the soldiers gave me a pinch of tea.

This forest, this is where we're going to lose time.

No path. The children running off.

- I got this chalk from a soldier. - What do you want that for?

Jen-Ai, I want to leave ahead of you in the morning and scout.

- But if there is danger ahead... - I could mark the trees with chalk as a guide,

and the children could make a game of looking for them. It would hurry them.

Li, we'd better stay together. I don't want you to go alone.

Alone or together, we'll meet what we are meant to, danger or safety.

I will wait for you at the end of the forest.

Mother... you are worried, aren't you?

I'm just tired.

We must all sleep.

Mother,

do you think we'll be in time for the trucks on the 12th?

Of course, Sui-Lan, we'll be in time.

We must be in time.

Mother,

when you take us to Sian,

you're going back, aren't you?

To Wangcheng.

Oh, Mother! Will I ever see you again?

- Oh, Sui-Lan! - Oh, Mother!

Sui-Lan, sh.

You and Lin and the three little ones, you are mine. You are my family.

We'll keep together, I promise you. I'll just be gone for a little while.

And you'll go to school, and I'll be so proud of you.

And then when the war is over, we'll all go home.

We'll all go home.

Yes.

- I'll look after the little ones. - Yes.

Until you come back to us.

Oh, my mother, you come back to us.

- You come back for us. - Sh.

- You come back for us. - Sh.

- I found one. - I found another one.

I found one.

I see another.

(shouts in Japanese)

(soldier shouts)

- Hey! - (soldier shouts)

Sit down, children! Wherever you are, sit down!

Don't move until I get back. Be very quiet. Sui-Lan, stay here and watch them.

- Timothy... - (gunshot)

Timothy, come with me.

(gunshot)

(soldier speaks Japanese)

(gunshots)

"If you keep my commandments,

you shall abide in my love;

even as I have kept my Father's commandments,

and abide in his love."

"These things I have spoken unto you,

that my joy might remain in you,

and that your joy might be full."

"This is my command,

that you love one another, as I have loved you."

"Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life for his friends."

- How far have we got to go? - I'm hungry.

- I'm tired. - (children complain)

Children...

Children, no, we can't stay here. We can't stay here.

I know you're tired, and hungry...

but this is the last mountain we are going to cross.

And then... then we'll see the Yellow River,

and ride across to Sian.

Now, you must think how happy

our good friend Li, who is in heaven,

would be for us.

There. Now, try to be brave just a little longer.

Now, come on, children.

Come on.

(all) Look! The river!

Oh, children, the river!

Oh, Sixpence. Look!

Look, the river.

Go. Let's go.

Dr Robinson?

- Have you any news? - No.

But today is November 12, and the trucks are at the depot. I'm sorry, you will have to leave.

Not without those children from Tsechow.

That message you had, and Colonel Lin Nan, said they were only six days away.

That was nearly two weeks ago.

The mountains are controlled by the enemy and almost impassable.

- I know, but... - There's practically no chance to get through.

I know that. The whole city knows that.

That's why we've been praying night and day for those children.

Why we'll continue to pray, and to wait.

- I'm sorry, Doctor, but... - (children singing in the distance)

He played knick knack on my drum

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played one

He played knick knack on my thumb

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

The children! The children, they are here!

The children from Tsechow.

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played three

He played knick knack on my knee

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played four

He played knick knack on my door

With a knick knack...

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played five

He played knick knack on my hive

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played six

He played knick knack on my sticks

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played seven

He played knick knack on my pen

With a knick knack, paddy whack, give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home

This old man, he played eight...

Quiet! Quiet! Quiet!

These are the children from the north.

We've been waiting for you.

It was a long journey. I'm sorry we are late.

Late?! Oh!

Doctor Robinson, do you remember me? My name used to be Gladys Aylward.

Yes. I remember you.

Gladys Aylward,

who wasn't qualified to come to China.

Will you come with us to our children's village? I can think of no one more valuable.

Thank you, but I'm going back to Wangcheng.

I'm going home.

Visiontext Subtitles: Adrian Isaac

ENGLISH SDH