Farewell My Concubine

Farewell My Concubine is a 1993 Chinese film that is incredibly moving, tragic, and beautiful. The film is set in China from the 1920s to the Cultural Revolution. It follows the path of a young, effeminate young man named Douzi – who later takes the stage name: Cheng Dieyi. Douzi is sent to the Beijing (Peking) Opera House to train as a young boy. There he meets his protector and best friend, Shitou– who takes the stage name Duan Xiaolou. Eventually they become known as famous duet partners. Douzi falls in love with Shitou; sadly the love is not returned. To further complicate matters, Shitou enters into a relationship with a former prostitute played by the gorgeous Gong Li. I won’t spoil the ending, but it is filled with betrayal, lust, suicide, etc. All of these events are set during the context of the Japanese occupation of China, the rule of the KMT, and the eventual Communist Revolution. Seeing clips of the films would enable students to discuss historical events as they affected ordinary citizens. I would not show the entire film in class, but I would certainly show excerpts – especially the opera scenes. The Beijing Opera has a tradition dating back to the Qing Dynasty. Students could easily compare the males taking on female roles with Shakespearean theater. They could also compare Chinese opera with Western opera. I have shown clips of the Beijing opera to my classes, and they love the marital arts aspects. Students could also read the book by Lillian Lee and write a comparison of the film vs novel.