Yunong Li

About the struggle of the Chinese railway workers in 1922 to create a united trade union.

After the major campaigns, the Liberation War’s focus shifted to the northwest. Hu Zongnan retreated south, and Fang Zhiqiao led his remnants to Mount Hua, known for its rugged terrain. Fang deployed forces at key passes, but a military intelligence officer, with herbalist Chang Shenglin’s help, cut off enemy communication by reaching the North Peak. A political offensive led to the surrender of the enemy at Qianshi Zhuang, controlling all passages between the North and West Peaks. Trapped, Fang Zhiqiao’s troops, with shattered morale, launched a futile counterattack, leading to his despairing lament.

Adapted from a novel of the same title, this film depicts a young woman’s transformation from housewife to loyal Communist. This process is presented as “natural” – possessed of inherent logic rather than merely “incidental”. Hence, the film is really about Communist revolution that won over the hearts and minds of Chinese youth.

In a mountain hamlet in eastern China, a poor woman faces trial after trial. Sold into marriage as a child, she is left a young widow and enslaved by her mother-in-law, who sells her to a poor peasant. Her second marriage turns out to be happy until fate takes away her husband and son. Now seen as a bearer of bad luck, she becomes a social outcast.