Wang Jin

In 1949, a small Chinese fishing village populated almost entirely by women awaits the establishment of a government by the newly victorious communist regime. In addition to other worries, the villagers wonder how the government will react to their traditional customs, which decree that wives may only see their husbands three times a year, and the circumstances under which they are permitted to become pregant are very limited. In addition, those who are caught violating these rules are drowned. The almost exclusively female population of the village is explained by the fact that most of the male population died during an ocean storm. Winner of the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Film in 1989

Five young girls in a remote mountain village each find themselves forced into unhappy marriages. Together, they find solace in an old legend, that a girl may hang herself before marriage and retain her purity, her soul turning into a white bird and soaring to the heavenly garden, where there is only beauty and peace.

A 20-year old young man who has been brought up by a foster mother in the countryside has fallen in love with another foster child in the same "family" and the two have decided to get married. Just after this decision, the young man's real mother contacts him and asks him to come and stay with her and his father (she is a high-ranking Party official). She is against his marriage but her husband is not. In the end, the young man decides to marry at the home of his real parents, and when his foster mother shows up, his real mother treats her like dirt - it turns out that the foster mother was a concubine for awhile. Before things deteriorate any further, the husband has some news for his wife that helps her to see the foster mother in a different light.

Police attempt to stop Nationalist agents from destroying public buildings in Ruancheng after the Red Army occupies the city.

The Rough Countryside Wind

To fight against the Hong Kong triads and their drugs, police officers are investigating a women drug rehabilitation center.

In the early 20th century Pearl River Delta, “self-combed women” like Shang Meiju, who vowed never to marry, adopted and raised girls to sell as concubines. Ah Di, a self-combed woman, was forced into marriage by her fiancé, Tan Afu, but Shang Meiju intervened, leading to a “fake marriage” agreement. Shang Meiju’s adopted daughter, Yan Zhi, was offered for 20,000 silver dollars but deterred suitors with her beauty. Ah Di developed feelings for Ah Fu, and their secret meeting was discovered. Shang Meiju’s lover returned as a buyer for Yan Zhi, who, feeling like a commodity, committed suicide. Overwhelmed, Shang Meiju went mad, witnessing her sister’s wedding procession fade away.