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Guangxi Film Studios

Yellow Earth

Adapted from Ke Lan's essay, "Echo in the Deep Valley"

Screenplay by Zhang Ziliang

In 1937, the establishment of the United Front against Japanese aggression

forced Chiang Kai-shek to acknowledge

the status of the Communist Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Area.

Because of the persistence of the Nationalist local government in parts of central Shaanbei,

despite the cooperation between the Nationalists and the Communists,

feudalism was still deeply entrenched people suffered under heavy oppression.

Members of the literature and arts troupe of the Eighth Floute Army

formed teams and fanned out in different directions.

The hoped to find the origins of the Shaanbei folksong

In this ancient place,

the melodies of xintianyou drift the year round

Early spring, 1939

The life of a seasonal worker is hard and dreary

Yes, life is hard for seasonal workers!

Hired in the first month and then dismissed in the tenth

First sow the bran, then sow the grain, the bride descends from the flowered sedan.

The new couple will live all their lives together, passing each day in beauty and harmony

Kneel!

First kovvtow

Second kovvtow

Third kovvtow

Rise!

May your sons be successful, and become high officials of great reputation.

May your daughters be skilled, and board the sedan in theflower of her youth

May your sons be successful, and become high officials of great reputation.

Please, this way.

- Please come inside. - Thank you.

Hey, the food is here!

Here, here. Please sit.

Fellows, this is an honorable official from Yan'an in the south.

He has come to our small villageto visit our homes.

I'm Gu Qing. Call me Old Gu.

Please drink.

Please sit down.

I'm sorry to trouble you. Please, everyone sit.

Eat

Drink

They put down cash for twice-brewed wine,

and invited their kin and neighbors to dine.

The same wine, the same things to eat, the same friends, the same kind of treat!

lvory chopsticks are set out on the table,

Wine from a silver pot is poured with a golden ladle.

Colored platters are set out in fours to invite the guests to dine,

The bride 's attendants are served with big cups of wine

He sings really well!

True, but this fellow his family has been poor for generations.

He's over thirty, and still can't afford a wife.

All he can do is sing our local songs

The fish is here!

They're made of wood just to givethe idea of fish.

Honorable official

This is the bride.

Congratulations Congratulations.

This is the groom.

She is the daughter of Shuanniu.

Pay your respects.

This way, please

Paired off in twos, carp swim through the stream

Paired off in twos, goats skip through the hills

Paired off in twos, pigs share a trough

Fortune has smiled, and the new couple will be happy

The sixth month on the Yellow Fliver, the ice has not yet melted,

It's my father forcing me into marraige

0f the five grains, the pea is the roundest.

Among humans, the girl's life is the most pitiable.

Pity the poor girls, the poor girls.

In the sky above, pairs of pigeons fly together.

The one I long for most is my dear mother

Sister

Hanhan, it's so late for you to be going home.

My good brother, waiting for me.

Comrade Gu said that he wants to stay with a poor family,

So I have brought him hereto your home.

You two talk things over, I must be going.

I hope my staying here won't cause too much trouble

How old are you this year?

Born in the year of the dragon, I'm 47.

Little girl, what is your name?

Cuiqiao

And you? What's your name?

On this trip, a few of my comrades and I came here from the south.

We want to roam the hills and collect folksongs from Shaanbei.

The Eighth Route Army can pass on the ones that are easy to sing.

Uncle, can you sing?

What about you, little girl, can you sing?

They say there's a girl in one of the villages around here who sings very well.

Do you know her, Uncle?

This afternoon I saw a wedding over in the next village.

That bride was the ninth daughter of Shuanniu, from Mud River Gully...

Don't you think she's pretty young?

What? Young?

Her father often brings his animals past this cliff,

and he said she'll be fourteen soon. What do you mean young?

Uncle, in the south it couldn't be more different.

Don't they marry girls?

Yes, but we have to changethe form.

In the south the girls sing a new song

Sheep and goats always walk apart,

To the man of my choice, I'll give my heart.

- What does that mean? - They choose their own husband.

- No matchmaker? No betrothal gifts? - No, none of that.

So what's the use of that?

Those girls must not be worth a thing,

if they can just get up and go with some guy.

They aren't worthless,

but they're also not for sale.

Uncle, this society must be changed

The south has changed.

North China must change, too. All of China must change

In this village, we have our own rules. In other villages they havetheir own rules

Hey, girl! Why are you still working the bellows?

Don't you understand that firewood cost money?

- Uncle - Give the honorable official hot water

so he can wash his feet and go to bed.

How old are you?

Oh, let me do it.

My brother can't talk properly. He's a tiger and his name is Hanhan.

He herds sheep for people

Here you are.

My name is Gu Qing. You can call me Brother Gu.

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

You bring it from the river

- Is the river far? - No, only ten Ii.

Huh? The water's not hot

In the sky above, pairs of pigeons fly together.

The one I long for most is my dear mother

Melons on the hillside, gourds on the plain,

For not wanting to wed, l was beaten again.

Beaten again Lo!

In the embroidered purse is a round coin.

Suffering is eternal, sweetness fleeting.

The handsome rooster crows on the window sill.

But to whom can lspeak of my bitterness and hardships?

To whom can I speak? Oh, girl

Cuiqiao, was that you singing last night?

Who said so?

Come here and have a look at my sewing

That's pretty good!

You officials, grown men, can also sew?

It's nothing. In our army, women comrades can swing an axjust like men

And they can cross the river and head east to fight the Japanese devils.

They cut off their braid and crop their hair. They've got real spirit!

What's this?

Inthis poor area, no one knows how to write.

This bit was torn bythe north wind. I'm sticking it back.

Pretty, huh? When we put them up last year, they were much redder

If you all like lucky words, I can write a pair of matching couplets for you.

That's fine, but we don't have any red paper

Anyway, no one in my family can read.

If we don't know what you write, I'm afraid our door isn't worthy of the honor.

So men can sew

Hey! How the fuck can we sow!

How the fuck can we sow! Hey!

Spread the dung

It's too sallow

Uncle, you only havethe two kids Cuiqiao and Hanhan?

And an elder daughter, married off.

You arranged it?

Their mother passed long ago. I took care of it.

- Was she happy? - She was

How's that?

She could eat well at their place

Later, she wasn't happy.

- Why? - She had nothing to eat there

Was that the only reason? Maybe they had no feelings for each other.

I mean, the affection of man and wife

There's a saying here:

"Having friends depends on meat and wine, having a wife depends on rice and wheat."

Without food to eat, how can there be affection?

My daughter ran back home and said her husband beat her.

"A beaten wife kneaded dough ..."

Rich or poor, she wouldn't go back.

What happened then?

I told her, it is said:

"A man who gets a wife is happy, a woman who gets a husband is sad."

Poor folk have to keeptheir word, so stay with your man even if you have to beg for food.

Besides, poverty doesn't strike that deeply

you won't have spend your whole life hungry.

Who knows when someone like us might suddenly strike it rich?

Uncle why does your daughter have to have such a hard life?

It's fate

What about Cuiqiao?

Do you also plan on ...?

Uncle

What are you talking about?

The sky is always cloudy, but no rain falls.

I'm afraid it will be a drought, and the crops will fail.

The five grains are sprouting, may it soon rain

You youngsters don't understand. This bit of food shouldn't be wasted

This old yellow earth

It lets you tread upon it, and plough it up

Are willing to do it? You don't respect it

This millet was harvested two years ago.

Eat, eat.

Father, trythem on. See if theyfit

Compared to the ones your mother made not as good

Hey, Mr. Official

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

I'm collecting the folksongs of Shaanbei.

What folksongs? They'rejust bitter songs

Uncle, can you sing?

I'm not happy and not sad. What could I sing?

There are hundreds and thousands of Shaanbei folksongs

Tell me how can you know them all, and remember them?

When life becomes hard, you remember them.

Collecting our bitter songs, what's the use?

We collect the folksongs, and put new words to them.

We give them to our soldiers, boys and girls of Cuiqiao's age, to sing.

To let people know how our suffering people are living in fear,

how wives are being beaten,

and why workers and farmers are starting a revolution.

The Eighth Route Army hears these songs as they cross the Yellow River and march east,

and fight the enemy and struggle against the rich without fear.

Chairman Mao and Commander Zhu love listening to folksongs.

Chairman Mao doesn't just get us to sing.

He also gets us to read and write

All the girls in Yan'an carry a stone tablet for writing, drawing

Chairman Mao wants to get all the suffering people of China

to eat millet without husks or weeds

That blasted girl. Shejust leaves without a word!

Going barefoot's better than wearing shoes

You saythat girls in the south can read and write

Floating on the river are ducks, gliding along are geese,

The official doesn't know that I can sing

Poplars and willows, eighteen in a row,

I long to express what's in my heart, but opening my mouth is hard.

Opening my mouth is hard Oh, daughter

Hanhan, come on!

When the pomegranate flowered, the leaves started to grow,

My mother sold me off to him without letting me know.

Alll wanted was to marry an honest man, and I got a bedwetter.

You pee, and l pee, too! Dammit, let's pee together!

Aha, dammit! We pee together!

The next spring came and the flowers turned red,

and frogs started croaking under our bed!

Down to the east flows a river of pee! To the undersea Dragon King's palace!

When he hears the pee, Dragon King laughs. This bedwetter's in the same line as me!

Aha, this little bedwetter's in the same line as me!

Sing after me

With hammer, sickle, and scythe

With hammer, sickle, and scythe

We build a new wide road

With hammer, sickle, and scythe

- Right, that's it! - With hammer, sickle, and scythe

With hammer, sickle, and scythe,

We build a new wide road for workers and peasants!

The piebald rooster flies over the wall,

The Communist Party will save us all!

The piebald rooster flies over the wall,

The Communist Party will save us all!

Your future in-Iaws sent a message,

and sem over the wedding clothes.

They'll fetch you at the beginning of the fourth month.

Your mother can rest easy at last.

On this issue, I've beaten you before

Every girl must follow this road

Ithink that

Your fate will be better than your sister's.

Your husband-to-be is a good man,

even if he is a little older than you.

It's better that way.

He's honest and reliable

Anyway,

you were betrothed as a child.

Half the money went for your mother's funeral,

and halfwill make upthe amount for your brother to get a wife

Qiao!

- You're back? - I'm back.

- What's wrong? - Nothing

- I'm sewing. - Oh.

There's food in the pot. Eat some.

My brother's stupid, isn't he?

Not at all. Hanhan just doesn't like talking, but his mind is clear.

- Does your army have women soldiers? - Lots.

- You don't want people who can't sing? - Who said that?

- What about people who can sing? - There's a place for them, too.

Bythe main road going south, is it far to Yan'an?

About 500 Ii.

So far...

- Why do you ask? - No reason, just asking.

What are you doing in there? There's water ready, why don't you have a wash now?

No, I'll go down to the Yellow River tomorrow and have a proper wash.

Why go to the river? We have water here

I'm leaving tomorrow.

Where are you going?

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

No more collecting songs?

No more helping father plough?

No moreteaching my brother to sing?

Cuiqiao

I've put some money for my food these last few days on the kang.

If there's enough, go to the market for some cloth to make yourself a shirt.

I have one...

Eat eat

Uncle I've been a burden these days, thank you.

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

You are honest. But you won't come back You won't come back.

You didn't collect any of our bitter songs

When you get back, you'll lose your job.

I have gained experience here

When the first month comes, it is the first month.

Big bright eyes like two shining lights,

Curved eyebrows like a pair of arched bows.

What you think is heartache isn't really heartache

Widowed at fifteen, for the rest of her life

Three loud cries, everyone could hear,

Three low cries, then she jumped into a well

Hanhan, go back.

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

Take

me with you!

I packed my things,

Ididn't bring them I can go Iikethis.

Cuiqiao what has happened?

I can wash clothes, carry water, and cook meals

I'll even cut my hair short

What's wrong? Is it too hard?

Cuiqiao, we officials have to follow official rules

It would have to be approved by the leadership.

Can't the rule be changed?

We officials depend on rules for our cause.

After I return, I'll tell my leader,

there's a girl by the Yellow River called Cuiqiao that wants to join us.

Once he approves it

I'll definitely come back for you.

Can you come bythe fourth month?

Cuiqiao

I will definitely come back.

I believe you

Brother Gu!

Did my brother give you the millet cakes? Try them, see if they are any good.

Find company along the way, to keep from getting tired.

If you get thirsty, drink from a running river.

When it gets late, stay with some poor folk.

Take out your notebook, Brother Gu!

A piebald rooster stand in the courtyard,

The Communist Party sent us a man who's free.

Choosing one horse from many, they're not the same height,

Comparing you to other people, our comrade is the finest.

If I'm able to join the Eighth Route Army,

I'll throw away my red shoes and wear straw sandals instead.

Two ounces of cotton are spun into thread.

I'm afraid that from now on, I'll never see you again.

I'll never see you again

The wind has died down, yet willow fronds sway,

Every day and every night I dream of your return.

As soon as hear our comrade's return,

my eye's burn two holes in the window with anticipation.

A white lily sent across the river will not sink,

For the rest of my life, I will not forget you.

Onions cannot take root in dry stone,

When will we poor folk turn our fate around?

When can we turn our fate around?

The sun goes behind a cloud,

and my mouth can't speak my heart's sorrow.

Green grass and cow dung can 't put out a fire,

And singing folksongs can 't save me, poor Cuiqiao. Cuiqiao

Yan 'an

Send your sons to the army to fight Japan! Recruit the masses for the anti-Japanese war! Fight Japan! Liberate China!

Sister, are you going to look for Brother Gu?

No, not Brother Gu.

I'm crossing the river. East of the river is the Eighth Route Army.

I'm leaving.

Look after father, Hanhan He is getting old.

When you're hungry, cook something to eat.

Don't forget to add firewood.

When summer comes, wear the vest I made you.

It's under the kang mat.

When you decide to get married, choose your own wife

These things mother and father gave me return them to father.

Tell father, Cuiqiao has left.

It isn't anything to do with him

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

These buckets of water are for father.

When I come back

I'll look after him again.

Go now, father is waiting for the water.

Go back

Go back

Sister, you can't cross

Sister, the south road to Yan'an would be easier

Sister, wait for daybreak. Ask the ferryman to take you across

Hanhan, I'm suffering

I can't wait any longer

When Brother Gu comes back,

givethese to him.

I've seen it. You should keep it.

Sister, usethe oar!

Sister, be careful!

Tell Brother Gu Cuiqiao is going to become an official.

Hanhan, go home

With hammer, sickle, and scythe,

We build a new wide road for workers and peasants!

The piebald rooster flies over the wall,

The Communist Party will save

Sister!

Uncle?

Hanhan? Hanhan!

Cuiqiao?

My Lord Dragon King

The southern fields dried up and died

The northern fields are also dead

We beg you for rain

My Lord Dragon King...

Have you fetched rain from the sea yet?

No, not yet

Dragon King of the Sea, we beg you to send rain and save our people.

Dragon King of the Sea, we beg you to send rain and save our people.

Dragon King of the Sea, we beg you to send rain and save our people.

The piebald rooster flies over the wall,

The Communist Party will save us all!

The Youth Unit of the Guangxi Film Studio

Director: Chen Kaige Cinematographer: Zhang Wmou Art Director: He Oun

Music: Zhao Jiping Sound: Lin Lin Location Advisor: Zhong Ling

Assistant Director: Tan Wjian Screenplay editor: Wan Liu Film Editor: Pei Xiaonan

Lighting: Zhang Shubin Costumes: Tian Geng & Chen Bona

Make-up: He Hong Props: Zhang Jianyang & Jiao Zhigang

Production Manager: Xue Fei Sound Re-recording: Liu Ouanye Producer: Guo Keqi

Cast:

Cuiqiao: Xue Bai Gu Oing: Wang Xueqi Cuiqiao's father: Tan Tuo Hanhan: Liu Oiang

Conductor: Liu Dadong & Lu Rirong Singer: Feng Jianxue

Special thanks to: The Peasant Drum Ensemble of Anzhai County [English translation adapted from Bonnie S. McDougall]