22nd October 2017
The film Farewell My Concubine by Cheng Kaige portrayed the life of two actors from their youth to the end of Chen Dieyi's career and life, during which China has transitioned from an emperor to a war zone with Japanese army, to republic of china and eventually taken over by the communist party to establish the People's Republic of China. The rapid change of cultural background in the spam of their life time pushed the main characters to react, love, hate, fight through many inner struggles.
Focus: destruction of intangible culture: Beijing drama (Jing Ju) in replacement of Communist New Drama. The fading passion for preserving the tradition in a transitional era. (Difference in attitude towards Beijing drama between Cheng Dieyi and Xiao Si). The little respect to literature, artefacts, invaluable objects during the revolution and cultural revolution.