Farewell My Concubine

Reel Whirled Peas

The film Farewell My Concubine got me thinking about a theme that kept cropping up in Contemporary World and now in Reel World: How do people respond to sudden shifts in political power?

In Farewell My Concubine, the 50-odd years that the story spans covers 5 significant eras in Chinese history.

The story begins in the 1920s Warlord era, which came about following the end of the Qing Dynsaty and a short period of a republican government in 1916. Warlords had regional power bases, sometimes a village or two, or, in the case of the most powerful warlords, an area as large as 3 provinces. They ruled their regions with terror, and they became rich exacting taxes and protection money from their constituents. They provided their important soldiers with land in the province, and the opportunity to become rich themselves by controlling the commerce in an area. Rarely did the warlord have any political ideology, other than to become rich.

The Warlords fought with one another for regional control, in particular Peking, the capital, and the home of the Peking Opera. Peking was a strategic because from there the sitting Warlord could deal diplomatically with other nations. Because of its importance, there were battles constantly occurring and power in the government was constantly changing. Between 1916 and 1928, China had at least 7 heads of state and 25 cabinets. (http://www.thecorner.org/hist/china/warlords.htm#THE%20WARLORDS)

Into that milieu young Douzi is born, and subsequently enslaved by Master Guan in the training school for the Peking Opera. The Peking Opera was over 100 years old by that time, a venerable institution that may have been outside the reach of the extortionist warlords. There is an interesting scene early in the film where Master Guan and some of the boys appear to be performing in the street, when some of the boys run off and Master Guan is accosted by what looks to be a street thug. The situation is diffused as Shitou returns and breaks a brick with his head, to the amusement of the thug. The Master hurries the boys back to center. The crowded streets and the threat of violence depicts a sort of lawlessness. How does one establish allegiances in an environment like that?

Douzi and Shitou (later, as adults, Dieyi and Xiaolou) faced a number of political changes as their fame grew. The Nationalist-Communist Civil War saw the nationalists of Chang Kai-shek take power first. In the film, this was a great benefit to Dieyi and Xiaolou, and the Opera operated at its height under the nationalists. Then, the Japanese invaded China. In order to save the life of his friend Dieyi is forced to dance for Japanese Marshall Aoki, an expert and great fan of Peking Opera. That action, “conspiring with the enemy” resulted in charges of treason brought against Dieyi following the end of the Sino-Japanese War in 1945. His life was spared, and the charges essentially dropped, when a ranking member (Chang?) of the nationalists interceded so he could watch Dieyi perform. Then, the Civil War ended, and the communists were in control of Peking. The Opera, despite its bourgeois history and status, was allowed to continue operating, although the power structure surrounding the Opera company was decimated. Then, when the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, the Maoist zealots shut down the company and the persecuted the performers. The film ends with Dieyi and Xiaolou dancing once again in 1977, following the end of the Cultural Revolution and the reinstatement of the Peking Opera.

Throughout this 50 years Dieyi and Xiaolou, along with Xiaolou’s wife, Juxian, navigate these dramatic changes with little or no political sophistication. It is a scene played out in Russia, the Balkans, India, Nicaragua, Iran, Cambodia and dozens of other places around the world since 1945. Revolutionaries and Ideologues plan and execute strategies to seize power, often with brutal consequences for citizens with little understanding of the issues driving civil war. Most people simply want a government that works for them, whether that means providing them with sustenance and shelter or letting them perform operas. Dieyi and Xiaolou survived the tumultuous changes, sometimes at great cost to their friendship, integrity, and self-respect. Similar to the way many caught in the crossfire of revolution have survived.


Background Information

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War#Anti-Communist_campaigns_.281927.E2.80.931937.29

The Corner
http://www.thecorner.org/hist/china/warlords.htm#THE%20WARLORDS

Shanghai Star
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2001/0531/fo6-2.html

Chinaculture.org
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2001/0531/fo6-2.html