The Story of a Small Town

Peigang, his family's only son for three generations running, is to be executed on account of larceny, but not without the intervention of his grandmother.

Jointly and respectively directed by King Hu, Lee Hsing, and Pai Ching-Jui, three major Taiwan directors of the 1970s, this film consist of three shorts with the same cast of two actors and one actress, who through reincarnation meet in three different times.

Story from Qiong Yao's novella collection "Shui Ling"

A talented woman painter falls in love with a gallery owner, who is married. His son falls in love with her niece at first sight. The painter gets along well with the gallery owner's grown son and daughter. In order to keep their family united, his son and daughter ask her to withdraw from her love relationship, and she promises to do so to save the gallery owner's marriage.

A loose youth passes the time freely until he comes across a young, female broadcaster who works at a radio station.

Directed by some of most well known Chinese-language directors of the time, the portmanteau film Four Moods was an attempt to alleviate Li Han-hsiang’s financial troubles during the late 1960s. Arguably one of his best works, King Hu’s short Anger is an adaptation of the famous Peking opera San Cha Kou; set to opera instrumentation and stylishly shot, the film deftly captures the tense showdown between political schemers, avengers and vagabonds inside an inn. Li Han-hsiang’s Happiness, inspired by the Strange Tales of Liaozhai, tells a tale of reprieve for a kind-hearted ghost, while Pai Ching-Jui’s Joy and Lee Hsing’s Sadness both explore the fateful encounters between mortal men and ghostly women.

The story of the Opium War between China, in the waning days of the Qing Dynasty, and the British Empire, in the 1830s, and the subsequent takeover of Hong Kong by Britain; through the eyes of the key figures, fiercely nationalistic Lin Zexu, and opportunistic British naval diplomat Charles Elliot.

Overweight shoeshiner Brother Wang (Wang Ge) and skinny rickshaw driver Brother Liu (Liu Ge) are best friends and roommates. One day, they come across a fortune teller who offers a peculiar forecast: that Wang will become very wealthy in three days but that Liu will die in 44 days. When Wang strikes gold by winning the lottery, just as predicted, the celebratory mood is soon eclipsed by the reminder that Liu’s death also has been forecast. With his newfound wealth, Wang decides to reward his dying buddy with the trip of a lifetime. Carrying around a suitcase full of cash, the working-class twosome embark on a road trip around the beautiful island of Taiwan. Enjoying a lavish lifestyle as inexperienced big spenders, they find themselves in unexpected situations and amusing predicaments, one after another.

This film is based on a short story by Qiong Yao whose film adaptions took the world by storm in the 1960s. The time of the story sets in the 1920s, the first decade after the country was founded. This is a bitter love story among three brothers and their beautiful cousin. The film reveals the struggles of a woman facing modern liberation and stereotypes of traditional culture.

The film is based on the real story of Zheng Fengxi. The disabled author studied hard since childhood and finally he graduated from the college.

Hsiao-yueh and her widowed father receive a flock of genetically-improved ducks from the state agricultural council to participate in a breeding experiment.

Oyster-gatherer Ah-lan is in love with the often-absent fisherman Chin-shui, but a bout of premarital sex leaves her pregnant and vulnerable to malicious gossip.

A young boy witnesses his mother’s cheating ways and, after the death of his sick father, grows to despise her. When he’s adopted by another family, the road to reconciliation proves achingly difficult.