"BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS" ""We're the Red Guards of Chairman Mao" ""Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square" ""Our red flags are like a fiery sea" ""Our revolutionary songs echo up into the skies" ""Our Great Helmsman Chairman Mao" ""Leads us on" ""Chairman Mao, red sun of our hearts" ""The people of the steppes give you all their love" ""Lead us ever further onward"" "I first climbed these steps in 1971 with Luo." "We had never walked so far." "We walked from town to the Phoenix Mountains, for our re-education." "It took two days." "What's that?" "I've never seen it before." "Is that your suitcase?" "Yes, chief." "They say yourfather is a reactionary dentist." "Guilty of what?" "Treating an enemy of the people, the former local governor." "He fitted a tooth forthat scum Chiang Kai Chek, before 1949." "What's this?" "A cookbook." "You're holding it upside-down." "What's so funny, you idiots?" "Can any of you read?" "Anyone?" "Go on, read!" "Chief, you know I can't read." "Here, read it to us." ""Take one pound of chicken breast." ""Ten shelled walnuts." "An ounce of starch." ""Half a cup of yellow wine." ""Egg whites." "A pinch of salt." ""Wash the chicken." "Dice it up." ""Place it in a bowl..."" "If we don't have walnuts, can we use peanuts?" "Revolutionary peasants will never be corrupted by a filthy bourgeois chicken!" "You're all idiots!" "Chairman Mao sent you here to be re-educated, not to have reactionary banquets." "On our mountain, you'll work hard and you'll eat cabbage and corn!" "What's that?" "What do these drawings mean?" "I'm called Ma Jianling." "They stand for my name." "What's that, chief?" "Atoy." "Give me it." "That's a toy?" "It's silly." "What's it for?" "To amuse bourgeois kids." "Burn it!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "It's not a toy, chief." "It's a musical instrument." "It's called a violin." "It has a pretty sound." "Ma plays it very well." "He'll show you, if you like." "Go ahead." "I play badly." "I told you to play." "So play!" "Go on." "How about you play a Mozart sonata forthe chief?" "What's a sonata?" " It's..." " A mountain song." "What's its name?" "It's not really a song..." "I asked you for its name!" "It's Mozart." "Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao." "Mozart is always thinking of Chairman Mao!" "Right!" "Go on, play!" "Play!" "We're listening!" "When I think that we might be in this dump forthe rest of our lives, it makes me shiver." "The mountain people had always left for work at sunrise and returned at nightfall." "But our alarm clock quickly changed this custom." "Get to work!" "You're all loafers!" "Look at this liquid shit." "Yours at home is no better." " You're crazy." " It's poorfertilizer." "Come on, yourturn!" "The only Westerner to enterthis area was a French missionary, Father Michel, in 1940." "In his travel diary, he wrote:" ""Aftertwo months on the road, I reached the Tianquan district" ""in the eighth month of the Chinese calendar," ""home of the Phoenix Mountains, where copper is mined for coins." ""The Chinese Annals say:" "in 100 AD, during the Han dynasty," ""an emperor gave this mountain to his lover," ""a chief eunuch in the palace." ""It was the first official mention of homosexuality in China."" "What the hell's going on?" "You can't even push a basket!" "Know what you spilled?" "The hard work of revolutionary peasants!" "Pick it up!" "Hurry!" " Big brother?" " Yes?" "Can I ask you a question?" "I'm listening." "You know the hot springs at Three Scissors?" "Yes." "They say the local girls go to wash themselves there." "A real little paradise in our world!" "If you head westward, past the Quick Sand River, there's a small path between two cliffs..." "They're almost naked!" "They're so pretty!" "I can hardly see them." " What?" " I'll go to the other side." "Go get help instead of laughing!" "You asked for it!" "You're lucky we're nice girls." "We won't denounce you." "Or else you'd end up in the Security Office!" "They break the legs of voyeurs." "Well done, naughty boy!" "Get me out of here!" "Don't panic!" "I'm coming!" "Go that way." "You can get down over here." "It's the tailor and his granddaughter!" "We heard music, so we came to see." "You're so clean for a local girl." "Recognize her?" "She's so pretty!" "This area is famous for its beautiful girls." "Know what that is?" "It's called a violin." "I've already seen some, but never heard one." "And the song?" "Don't know it." "It's Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao." "I hearyourfather killed the worms in a big chief's teeth." "Killed what?" "The worms in his teeth." "Why are you laughing?" "We don't use fancy words here." "That's not it." "I think the expression's funny." "I live behind the Eye in the Sky, the hole in the mountain." "I'm the Little Seamstress." "What's your name?" "I'm Luo..." "Luo Min." "Is the Eye in the Sky farfrom here?" "About 3 miles." "Revolutionaries don't fear hardship, they don't fear death and they don't fear leeches." "It's the leeches who fearthe revolutionaries." "Is it yours?" "It's Luo's." "How does the rooster move inside?" "It's a real tiny rooster." "It sings every morning." "Ma!" "Come see." "Did you notice how white herteeth were?" "Whose?" "The Little Seamstress." "It's funny..." "I don't want to know her real name." ""Little Seamstress" really suits her." "But as soon as she speaks, you know she's a peasant!" "What time is it?" "Where's the alarm clock?" "We lost a piece." "It's underthe table." "What fell?" "Don't worry, I'll pay for it." "Leave it alone, Luo." "We'll fix it later." "It's nice to be from the city." "You know how to do lots of things." "Knowing how to sew is better." "Life here isn't much fun." "Often, when I go to cut wood," "I see airplanes passing above me, and I wonder what the world is like elsewhere." "I make them forfun when I have time." "You know how to read?" "No." "My mother was the only teacher on this mountain, but she died before she could teach me." "There's a piece missing." "Here." "I'll teach you if you want." "No." "I don't have time." "It's a nice offer." "Think it over before saying no." "We'll talk about it another day." "My grandfather will be back soon." "You better leave." "Let's go." "I like your little planes." "Will you give me one?" "Take whichever one you want." "Why ask me?" "Have whichever one you like." " They weren't angry?" " No." " Not at all?" " No." " Then let's go." " See you later." "REVOLUTIONARY COMMITTEE OF PHOENIX MOUNTAIN" "Hey!" "What's going on inside?" "Give him a big hand!" "Four-eyes has done well." "Everyone talks about him." "I thank the local leadership for letting me speak." "I'm from a family of reactionary intellectuals." "My father is a criticized writer, my mother is a poet." "In the six months I've been among you," "I've learnt to farm, to plant, to plow." "At first, the buffaloes scared me." "Now, with my whip, I make the most stubborn obey." "There you are!" "This is a fine example." "Look at him, everyone!" "He even wears sandals like revolutionary peasants, straw sandals!" "Let's congratulate him!" "All of you being re-educated should follow his example." "Let him inspire you!" "You hearthat?" "He's saying that for us." "I hate that guy." "We often say, out of 1,000 children from bad families, only three, just three, will be able to return to the city." "I have a relative who's a projectionist in town." "He often shows revolutionary films." "He's showing a Korean film soon, The Little Flower Seller." "Will you come and eat with us Sunday?" "No." "I have things to do." "You blushed." "Are you being introduced to a young man?" "Don't talk nonsense!" "What's the problem?" "Bring him along." "We'll eat together." "That's not it." "I go to the hot springs with my girlfriends on Sunday." "Our re-educated have progressed." "I'll give them a chance to prove it." "The day aftertomorrow, they're showing a film in town, a North Korean film." "They'll go see it, then tell it to us." "It's a political mission." "You're lucky!" "Look, the tailor!" "I didn't know tailors were treated so well around here." "When it rains, it's too slippery for an old man." "Grandfather, do us a favor." "In four days, we're narrating a film in our village." "Tell your granddaughterto come." "The violin!" "Long live the Party and Chairman Mao's triumphant thoughts!" "Raise the Red Flag!" "Look, peaches!" "Come see!" " How much are they?" " Very cheap." "Look!" "Five cents a pound!" "Quick!" "I'm starving!" "We've walked far." "The movie's about to start!" "We're going to miss it." "There we are." "Smells good!" " Go ahead!" " No, you start." " I'll start." " Me too." "It's hot!" "Delicious!" " This way." " Yeah, I'll follow you." "Overthere!" " Sit down!" " Move!" " Sit down!" " Come on." "Who wants flowers?" "Pretty flowers!" "Who wants flowers?" "Buy my flowers." "Korea is one of the world's coldest countries." "Despite the little flower seller's pleas, no one would enter the frozen lake to get the snails needed to heal her mother." "That day, a whirlwind of snow fell on Pyongyang." "The snow made by the boys is prettierthan real snow." "It's rice skins!" "They're making snow with rice skins." "The flower seller makes a hole in the ice and jumps into the water." "Imagine how cold it is!" "She dives once, twice, three times." "She spends the night in the icy water, until it stops snowing." "She found three snails." "She clutches them in her hand, full of happiness." "She runs home, opens the door..." " Continue!" " What are you waiting for?" " Go on!" " What's she waiting for?" "Excuse me." "It made me think of my mother." "Her mother lies in her bed." "A sunbeam illuminates herface, an emaciated face from years of misery." "It is tiny, like a child's face." "She has already left this world." "At that moment, we hear a voice saying:" ""The proverb says a sincere heart can make a stone blossom." ""And this young girl's heart was truly sincere."" "Tell me a story." "Aforeign film." "All right." "From which country?" "France?" "Spain?" "Canada?" "You know any?" "I'm joking." "I don't know stories from capitalist countries." "I only know socialist stories:" "from North Korea, the USSR, Albania..." "It was cool in the '60s." "There were lots of books." "But I was too young." "I didn't know how to read." "By the time I could read, the Revolution had arrived." "All the books were burned." "I know a re-educated boy who has forbidden books." "Who?" "Four-Eyes." "He told me himself." "He has a leather suitcase full of foreign books." "His father gave it to him." "Hey, Four-Eyes!" "You even show off on a Sunday!" "From back there, you look just like a revolutionary peasant." "What a change!" "You stupid buffalo!" "Wait!" "We'll find them!" "Idiot!" "Don't worry!" "They're not far." "Overthere." "You bastard!" "I'll kill you!" "Damn buffalo!" "I'll kill you!" "You bastard!" "I feel something." "We've got them!" "Hey!" "Come back!" "We've got them!" "Thanks." "Thanks, guys." "Without you," "I was lost." "I see nothing without my glasses." "I'm really blind." "You guys are nice." "I'm sure glad to see you." "We came to see you." "We want to borrow your books." "What books?" "Come on!" "Did you forget?" "The ones yourfather put in your leather suitcase." "That suitcase?" "I threw it away a long time ago." "Why'd you do that?" "You're lying!" "If you don't believe me, come search my home." "Postman!" "Any letters for me?" "Yes." "I have one from the capital of our province." " Watch." " Go on." "Not bad." "I'm getting good." "We're almost there." "Go on without me." "Graves aren't my thing." " Coward." " Let's go." "I'll make some sweet potatoes while I'm waiting." "You want to try a sweet potato?" "You sound like you come from the city." "I'm being re-educated." " Here?" " On Phoenix Mountain." "Really?" "My son is being re-educated too." "You must know him." "He wears glasses." "He's called Four-Eyes." "Soon he'll be leaving here." "Thank you." "A Chengdu literary magazine has agreed to hire him." "Smells good!" "Luo!" "Little Seamstress!" "Four-Eyes is returning to the city, so no foreign books!" "Are you joking?" "ljust met his mother." "She said a magazine hired him." "Damn!" "We're cursed!" " What should we do?" " We'll figure something out." " What?" " I don't know." "We could steal it." "What?" "I said we could steal it." "This is good meat!" "It'll sell for 5 yuans a pound in the market." "Four-Eyes drank buffalo blood!" "And you drank it warm?" "When you're in Chengdu, you'll be as brave as a red soldier." "Was the buffalo blood good?" "Yes." "I'll neverforget the buffalo blood." "Damn buffalo!" "I got even with that beast." "The price was a bit high, but I'll eat well." "Smells good!" " Is it almost ready?" " Yes!" " We'll eat well." " Yes!" "We're going to have a feast!" "Four-Eyes!" "Yes." "What are you up to?" "We came to dance foryou." "Really?" "You're putting on a show?" "The Commune lent us the costumes." "Let's sit down." " Come sit here." " We saved you a spot." "Thanks!" "Attention, everyone!" ""We're the Red Guards of Chairman Mao" ""Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square..."" "Our seamstress is keeping them busy." "Give me some light." "Quietly!" "Quick, inside!" "Wait!" "I'll close it." ""Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square"" "What's this dance?" "We're on horseback." "On horseback?" "I thought you were on roosters!" "Why disturb them?" "Do you want to try?" "They dance very well." "Let's give them a hand!" "Shine the light over here." "There's nothing." "Light up the bottom." "Nothing, either." "Careful!" ""We're the Red Guards of Chairman Mao" ""Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square" ""Our red flags are like a fiery sea" ""Our revolutionary songs echo up to..."" "Luo, over here!" "Here it is!" "We found it!" "And it's not locked!" "With all these books," "I swear I'll transform the Little Seamstress!" "She'll never be an ignorant mountain girl again!" "Go on, open it!" "I feel sick!" "What's wrong?" "I can't stand it." "You're leaving?" "Look!" "Only revolutionary books!" "Not a single forbidden novel!" "Look!" "There's even a book on Chinese medicine." "That bastard Four-Eyes!" "Too bad, let's take it!" "Wait!" "They're back!" " What do we do?" " Hide!" "My stomach!" " It's all the blood you drank." " You're right." "Sit down." "I'll get you a pill." "Sit down!" "Did you open the suitcase?" "No." "I didn't touch it." "That's strange." "The ropes are gone." "I was the one who tied it up." "I'm sure it was Luo and Ma." "They must have come to steal my books." "Are any missing?" "The foreign books are all there, under Lu Xun's." "That's a relief!" "Strange..." "Take this pill." "It's for diarrhea." " Try to vomit." " I can't." "You'll feel better." "I'll get some water." " Drink it all!" " I can't hold out." "Wait!" "Where are you going?" "Take some paper!" "Wait!" "Don't be ashamed in front of your mother!" "Wait!" "It's beautiful!" "Look at her dress." "I've never seen anything like it." "Let me see." "What's written there?" "Hold on." "I'll read it to you." ""To combine beauty and intelligence is so rare."" "Let me see the title." "Balzac's Cousin Bette." "I wish I could read." "I can only look at the drawings." "Listen to this sentence:" ""On this day," ""348 years, 6 months and 19 days ago" ""Parisians woke up to the sound" ""of all the bells ringing loudly."" "Look!" "This one must be good." "The Red and the Black." "I already love it, just forthe title." "Where is Paris?" "In a country called France." " Where is France?" " In Europe." "Listen to this title:" "Dead Souls by Gogol." "And this one, listen!" "Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky." "This one's by Kipling, an Englishman." "There's even a Chinese novel:" "The Dream of the Red Pavilion." "It's classical Chinese." "Too complex foryou." "It's here!" "This is good." "No one comes here." "A perfect place to hide the books." "Great." "It's good." "It seems safe." "We'll put them here." "Luo!" "It's better here." "You're right." "Let's put them there." "We'll baptize this place "The Book Cave"." "We'll take them out one by one." "That way if we get caught, we'll only lose one, and the rest are safe." "All right?" "All right!" "Nearly 5:00 a.m. Balzac is so gripping?" "I'm almost done." "Just 20 more pages." "Tell me when you're done." "The Little Seamstress wants me to read it to her." ""Ursule Mirouet..."" "Funny name..." "I'm done." "Yourturn." "How was it?" "I feel the world has changed." "The sky, the stars, the sounds, light, even the smell of pigs, nothing is the same anymore." "Ursule Mirouet!" "Luo!" "What's wrong?" "What's happened to you?" "A moment ago, I had a fever." "Now, I'm ice-cold and shivering all over." "It's nothing." "I'm thinking of my mother." "It's nothing serious." " Can you carry me?" " I can do it." "It must be malaria." "Stop it!" "Why would you have malaria?" "It's the best thing for malaria!" "If you want to live, you have to endure it." " Let go!" " Chief, help me!" "Let go of me!" "Go on!" "Once more." "Ice water's good foryou." "Does the cure work, at least?" "That depends." "Not always." "The best is a willow branch." "Think you're smart?" "Who told you that?" "The best is sophora." "Sagebrush is good too." "When Zhang's son had malaria, we whipped him with a branch of sagebrush." "I'm sure it healed him." "Hey, you guys!" "The meal's ready." "Come eat!" "You take over." "I'm tired." "Strike as hard as you can." "You're not a kid anymore." "If you want to cure yourfriend, don't hold back!" "It's the Little Seamstress." "What's wrong with him?" "My village wants to hearyou tell the film." "He has malaria." "He's in no shape to tell a film." "Give me that." "Should I?" "Give it to her." "Careful!" "You seem much better this morning." "My legs are weak, but I feel better since yesterday." "I'm doing it so you don't become Mr. Bei's slave." "Clench yourteeth." "Seeing it for real isn't as good as when you tell it." "If the chief finds out we saw the same Korean film, it's no more movies for us." "You must clench yourteeth to survive." "Tonight, we'll tell you an Albanian film." "Albania?" "Where's that?" "Don't you know Albania?" "A great friend of China's." "Is it a good film?" "The best I ever saw." "The most powerful moment is a hypnosis session." "It's wonderful." "Really wonderful..." " Go on!" "Begin!" " Tell us!" "Let's encourage him!" "The main character in this film is a woman called Ursule Mirouet." "A very exotic name." "Let's say it together." "The director is called Balzac!" "Damn!" "I didn't notice the time go by." "7:00 p.m.!" "Work's finished!" "Day's over!" "Time to pack up!" "I'm finished." "Want to try it on?" "Come and try it on." "You've started smoking?" "When did you get back?" "Did you eat?" "I'm not in the mood." "I was reading to the Little Seamstress." "Her grandfather came back." "When he saw the book, he yelled at me." "Worse, he burned Old Goriot." "The crazy old fool!" "You said it!" "I hate him!" "I never want to see him again." "Everybody to work!" "What are you doing?" "Do I have to kick your asses out of bed?" "In five minutes, I want everybody in Three Willows Field!" "Damn, I slipped." "How can you fall in a path so wide?" "What are you waiting for?" "Scrape that up!" "Afraid of getting dirty?" ""...the greatest mystery of human nature." ""Love, which is debauch of reason," ""the strong and austere joy..." ""of a lofty soul, and pleasure..."" ""The savage only has feelings." ""The civilized man has feelings and ideas."" "Good old Balzac is right!" "Let's see how he analyzes Cousin Bette." "He says:" ""The savage is at the mercy of his feelings." ""Only the civilized man can transform his feelings..."" "I was looking foryou." "We came to get a book, but Luo got reading and couldn't stop." "The women in our village bought cloth in town." "Your grandfather is coming to make them clothes next week." "Making clothes is just an excuse to get into our home." "Don't talk nonsense!" "You must rest." "Tomorrow will be a hard day." "Come stay at my house." "I'm heating the water foryourfoot bath." "He stayed with you last year." "Come stay with me." "It's my turn." "You're all very kind, but I've decided to stay with the two being re-educated." "It's not very comfortable." "The door doesn't close." "We have no toilet." "We have to do our business outside." "You won't like it." "You have a large house." "It makes more sense." "I'm going to rest now." "I'll see you tomorrow." "You and I already know each other." "We are not strangers." "So I will speak to you frankly." "I'm listening." "My granddaughter has changed recently." "How has she changed?" "Can you give me an example?" "The other day, when I came home..." " You know what this is?" " An undershirt." "No, that's not it." "Think about it." "What is it?" "A bathing top." " You like it?" " Yes!" " What is it?" " I'll tell you." "It's called a bra." "That's what they call it in books." "No one from Phoenix Mountain has ever seen one." "I'm the first to have one." "What's it for?" "To enhance your breasts." "What did you mean by "civilized people" before?" "It means that:" ""The savage only has feelings." ""The civilized man has feelings and ideas."" "I was so frightened for her that my hands shook." "Sometimes just one book can change your whole life." "Grandfather, is that what you came to tell me?" "Stop reading novels to her." "They don't tell the truth." "Teach her useful things." "Yourfamily has problems." "You should think about yourfuture." "Useful things?" "What am I learning in this dump?" "I'll teach you to sew." " To become a tailor?" " Yes." "To become a tailor." "I could teach you the trade, all I know." "Grandfather," "I'm too clumsy to be a good tailor." "Look who's back!" "That damn revolutionary dentist!" "That city hospital is only good fortorturing us poor peasants." "Look at this!" "It doesn't look rotten." "The idiot made a mistake!" "He pulled a good tooth." " Where's the rotten one?" " It's still there." "It's damn painful." "They say you know lots of stories." "Tell me one." "This one begins in Marseille." "It's the year 1815." "Where is Marseille?" "Very far away." "It's a French harbor." "Why go so far?" "Tell me something that's closer." "A Chinese story about ghosts or bandits." "I never get tired of those stories." "My story is set in Marseille." "If you don't like it, good night!" "Continue if you want, I'm going to sleep." "Good job!" "You baited him." "Now he's hooked." "What is your story about?" "It's the story of a French sailor," "Captain Edmond Dantes, later known as the Count of Monte Cristo." "Monte Cristo kept us awake nine nights in a row." "The endurance of the old tailor was amazing." "He listened to me every night, and then worked all day." "An air of fantasy began to appear in his clothes." "Thanks to Dumas, the girls' clothes were adorned with French details," "mostly marine symbols." "That year, a Mediterranean breeze blew on our mountain." "Dumas would be surprised to see peasants in shirts with marine collars and trousers flared like a sailor's." "But they didn't know he had also described more elegant clothes:" "bodices embroidered with fleur-de-lys..." "Mercedes' lacy dress..." "We closely guarded this secret for our Little Seamstress." "It's a good thing you came to help him." "Your grandfather has rings under his eyes." "You'll sleep at my place tonight." "There's no room foryou here." "All right." "Perfume, precious wood, beauty, palaces..." "Four words capture the magic of this enchanted place." "Champs Élysées." "What a wonderful name!" "It's the finest avenue in Paris, where Monte Cristo lives in an emperor's palace." "Get up!" "Come with me!" "You'll explain this at the Public Security Office." "Explain what?" "What did I do, chief?" "You know very well." "I heard everything." "You were telling reactionary stories about depraved nobles who live like emperors." "Chief, have a cigarette." "Calm down." "Ma was just telling a story." "Monte Cristo isn't Chinese." "He's a foreigner." "In fact, he was a poor sailor, which, according to Chairman Mao's Little Red Book, puts him in the most revolutionary category." "Stop your chatter!" "Don't take me for an idiot." "You bourgeois boys are nothing but liars!" "Come on, follow me!" "Chief," "I'm also guilty." "I shouldn't have listened to them." "I'm not such a bastard." "Perhaps we can make an arrangement." "I'll give you a chance to save your pal." "Whateveryou want." "My rotten tooth is driving me crazy." "You're the son of a dentist." "You should be able to fix it." "Here's some tin." "You find a way." "Fix a tooth with this?" " Is my granddaughter here?" " She's asleep." "What is it?" "She has to go and see the re-educated boys." "I'm too old for such things." "I told you not to move, chief!" "I won't move." "Go!" "You all right?" "Not too fast." "The tin hasn't melted." "Shit!" "Are you trying to kill me?" "It's not my fault, chief." "You won't sit still." "And the drill isn't fast enough." "At the hospital, my father has an electric one." "Just do it quickly!" "Ready?" "Ready." "Go!" "I said not too fast!" "I'm telling you, if you fail, I'll send Ma to Security!" "You keep moving." "And the cavity is in a tricky spot, nearthe gum." "Chief, we can tie you so you won't fall." "Tie me up?" "Absolutely not!" "I'm the chief, elected by the Commune Committee!" "Tie me up!" "What nonsense!" "You know, at this point, it's too late to be that way." "A rope!" "Quick!" "You all right?" "Here you go, chief." "This will make it less painful." " Get away!" " All right, I'm going!" "Stay calm." "It's a minor procedure." "Close your eyes, and concentrate on the bad tooth." "You won't feel a thing." "Ready?" "Yeah." "No problem." " It'll be fine, chief." " Hold on!" "Is he well tied?" "Yes, nice and tight!" "Go!" "Now keep still!" "Here we go!" "Almost done." "Faster!" "Slower." "Don't move!" " Don't move." " It's almost done." "Get the filling." "I mean the melted tin." " There we are!" " Here." "It'll be a bit hot." "Open wide." "Careful." "Keep your mouth open." "You see, it was nothing." "Doctor Luo!" "What are you doing here?" "I'm waiting forthe doctor." "What?" "Haven't you heard?" "You're famous!" "What do you mean?" "You have lots of patients waiting foryou." "They heard that you cured the chief of a great illness." "What?" "They're waiting, Doctor." "All those people?" "I'm out of here!" "Doctor Luo!" "It's a golden opportunity." "Look at them!" "They've brought eggs, chickens, ducks." "The poor ones even brought noodles." "Don't disappoint them." "Say, wasn't there a medical manual in Four-Eyes' suitcase?" "I think we'll need it." "My love for literature was so great that I copied excerpts of my favorite novels onto my vest." "I..." "Iove... you." "Once more." "You..." "No, the whole sentence." "I..." "Iove... you." "Again." "I..." "love you." "Say it without writing." " I love you." " Faster." " I love you." " Again." "I love you, I love you, I love you..." "Get out of the way!" "The chief risked his life to save Mao's portrait!" "He was almost killed!" "He must be all right!" "You hear?" "Answer me!" "You're not dead!" "Afterthe mine caved in, the chief spent more than a month in bed." "During this time, the village was disorganized, and we had a few weeks of freedom." "Forthe first time, I felt like composing." "I went into the mountains to visit an old miller, a connoisseur of bawdy songs." "Don't be so proper!" "You're among friends!" "The first glass, bottoms up!" "We mountain people also have our little pleasures." "So, want to hear a mountain song?" "Yes, I'd like..." "I'd like some traditional songs." "Romantic ones." "What's romantic?" "Something..." "that's about pretty things." "Like love, for instance." "I'll sing you something my family has sung for generations." "It's in the form of a riddle." "Wait." ""Which bird" ""rises up and up?" ""Which bird" ""is like two blades of a knife?" ""Which bird" ""dives into the pond of the sky?" ""Which bird" ""shakes the brown grass?" ""The falcon rises up and up" ""The swallow is like two blades of a knife" ""The crane dives" ""into the pond of the sky" ""The briar-cock" ""shakes the brown grass"" "I don't understood anything from your riddle." "Can you explain to me what it's about?" "Did you tell her you're leaving tomorrow?" "Not yet." "I have to talk to you." "What is it?" "I got a telegram." "What for?" "My parents sent it." "It's about my father." "He's very sick." "Are you going back?" "I spoke to the chief." "He agreed." "He gave me a two-month leave." "Two months?" "You'll be gone that long?" "Maybe less." "Where are you going?" "To catch a soft turtle to give yourfather strength." "I want you back as soon as possible." "Careful." "Do me a favor while I'm away." "Go see her every day." "Why?" "She's the prettiest one." "I don't want anyone to steal her, so you go and see her." "To spy on her?" "I didn't say that!" "She loves the novels." "You'll read them to her." "All right?" "A snake bit me!" "It bit my finger!" " It hurts." " Get out of there." "It really hurts." "Sit down." "I'll tighten it to stop the poison, so it won't circulate." "I'll suck it out." "Why are you shaking?" "It didn't bite you!" "Come on!" "Quickly!" "Shit!" "Quickly!" "Careful!" " Come back soon." " I know." "There's something you don't know." "What is it?" "Tell me." "Climb on!" "Come with me!" "I can't." "You'll find out when you get back." "I have a problem." "Ma, take care of her!" "I will." "Stop running!" "During Luo's absence," "I read to the Little Seamstress." "For a change from Balzac," "I read her Flaubert's Madame Bovary." ""Charles was surprised to see how white her nails were." ""They were brilliant and tapering," ""polished like bits of Dieppe ivory" ""and trimmed like almonds." ""Yet her hands were not beautiful," ""perhaps a shade too red and a little hard in the fingers." ""She was too tall," ""and herfigure lacked the soft, caressing outline." ""Her good point was her eyes." ""They were dark," ""but her long lashes made them seem black," ""and she looked at you frankly" ""with a sort of fearless candor."" "I'll be right back." "Keep reading." "I'm listening." ""Two places, gleaming with silver plate," ""had been laid on a small table," ""at the foot of a great four-poster" ""hung with chintz with pictures of Turks on it."" "Ma!" "Grandfather made it." "Forthree weeks, I read Madame Bovary to her." "While reading, I saw myself in the husband's role, then as Emma's lovers." "The Little Seamstress was my Bovary." "Tomorrow, I'll read you some Lu Xun." "Afterward, it'll seem as though everyone you know is right out of his books." "My favorite is Balzac." "Balzac was translated by a writer with an amazing style." "I don't care much about style." "I like Balzac." "That's all there is to it." "Hey, washerwoman!" "Where you headed?" "Why are you always around the girls?" "Answer him!" "Where you going?" "Leave our girls alone!" "Look at yourself!" "Dumb asshole!" "You bastard!" "See my underpants?" "Want to wash them?" "Stop!" "He's crazy!" "Help me!" " He's got a book!" " Let me go!" " What is it?" " Did you read this?" "Give me that!" "That's a foreigner." "It must be Marx." "No, Marx has a beard." "His portrait's in the Commune office." "Shit!" "Let me go!" "Give it to me!" " Maybe it's Stalin." " It's Lenin." "Look, he's a bit bald." " My book!" " He got away!" "Run, asshole!" "We'll get you!" "You don't shoot like that." "We'll get you, you bastard!" ""The inhabitants calmed down again." ""Despite the arrival of the revolutionary army," ""nothing really changed."" "I have a problem." "The village hooligans?" "It has nothing to do with them." "When I woke up this morning, I vomited several times." "Are you sick?" "Don't move." "I'll read some more." "I haven't had my period fortwo months." "If my grandfather finds out I'm pregnant, he'll kill Luo." "What are you going to do?" "The law forbids marriage before the age of 25." "We both just turned 18." "And abortion is illegal without a marriage certificate." "Any way you look at it, I'm sunk." "Don't say that." "I'll figure something out." "Gynecology, please." "It's urgent." "Consultations are over." "The duty doctor's up there." "He's a tall man." "Doctor, are you a gynecologist?" "Yes." "What do you want?" "Allow me to introduce myself:" "I'm the son of Dr. Ma Hongbao, of Chengdu Hospital." "My sister and I are being re-educated in the mountains." "She's pregnant." "You're lying." "Dr. Ma doesn't have a daughter." "Doctor, please help me." "I beg you." "I'll give you a French novel." "I'm not lying about the novel." "I copied a passage on my vest." ""My poor Christophe, you cannot know..." ""My poor Christophe, you cannot know" ""the delights of being free." ""No matter how we suffer, even if we pay with our lives," ""we must secure freedom." ""Knowing that you are surrounded by those whose minds are free," ""yes, even the simple-minded," ""is an indescribable pleasure," ""as if the soul were swimming in endless skies." ""For it could never live elsewhere."" "It's a translation by Fu Lei." "I recognize his style." "Now he's an enemy of the people, like yourfather." "Why are you crying?" "I'm sorry." "I know I shouldn't." "Is it what I said about yourfather?" "That he was an enemy of the people?" "That's not what I meant." "I don't know why I'm crying." "Is it because of Fu Lei?" "I knew it was him after a few sentences." "I didn't mean to criticize him." "He writes so well." "No, that's not it." "You're still young." "How old are you?" "20?" "25?" "19." "I'll see what I can do." "I can't do it at the hospital." "It's too risky." "If the directors found out, I would face grave consequences." "But I'll find a solution." "Go on." "All clear." "Something's wrong." "Listen!" "He changed the piece." "Is it Mozart is Thinking of Mao?" " No." " What is it?" "Swan Lake, written for Lenin." "Then I'll listen." "We have no choice." "Be brave." "Don't worry." "In five minutes, it'll be over." "Don't be afraid." "What was that?" "The highest note on my violin, forthe Black Swan's entrance." "Not bad, but I prefer Mozart is Thinking of Mao." "I feel like I'm someone else." "I'm no longer myself." "Where are you going?" "Are you crazy?" "You must take me home." "This is the way into town." "Don't worry!" "I had them tell your grandfather we were going to see a new film." "Can we rest?" "You feared he'd suspect something when he saw me?" "Not really." "ljust wanted to help you forget all this." "This is foryou." "Buy something you like in town, whateveryou want." "Where did it come from?" "Never mind." "Just take the money." "Trust me." "No, tell me." "I want to know." "I sold my violin to the doctor." "I wouldn't have, but he's a music lover." "You sold your violin for 20 yuans!" "Why'd you do that?" "I sold it for 25, not 20." "But I kept five of them to buy a harmonica." "A Hero harmonica made in Shanghai." "Preserves and liquor from my parents." "A small gift foryour birthday." " Thank you." " That's nice." "Let's wish good health to Grandfather." "How nice!" "And a long life!" "I'll play you a tune on the harmonica." "Wait!" "There's one more dish." "I'll be right back." "Go on, eat!" "Grandfather, can you help me?" "I'm coming." "Carry on!" "Do you remember, you swore you'd cure her of her ignorance." "You succeeded!" "You hear how she talks now." "All thanks to us." "All that reading amounted to something." "At the time, we had no idea what would happen to us." "I've been a violinist in France for 15 years." "I played in orchestras in Lyon and Toulouse, then my friends and I formed a quartet to play my favorite composers, Mozart and Beethoven." "News from China regarding the large hydraulic dam being built across China's great Yangtze River." "It will submerge an entire mountain region and transform it into a gigantic reservoir to provide electricity for 200 million people." "The 234 districts that make up this region will be wiped off the map in two separate floodings, to make way for a vast lake of over 600 square miles located 525 feet above sea-level." "It's a gigantic worksite..." "Yes, Mi Shen." "I'm watching a report on the area where I was re-educated." "No, thanks." "I spent part of my youth there." "Yes, I'll call you later." "...they are the first wave of refugees from the region." "In this breathtaking landscape, these age-old rock steps, linking the valley to the Phoenix Mountain villages, will soon be flooded by the Yangtze River." "Can I help you, sir?" "You'd like to buy someone perfume?" "For what kind of woman?" "A little Chinese seamstress." "That's fine." "Hello, ma'am." "From 1971 to 1974, during my re-education," "I lived in this house." "Over 20 years ago." "I've been here for 10 years." "Who is your husband?" "Zhao Libao." "The chief's son?" "Do you know him?" " Is he here?" " He went to buy firecrackers." "Have a seat." "No, thanks." "Stay and eat with us." "No, thank you." "Did you make those toys?" "No, tonight is the Feast of the Spirits." "We put paper boats in the water with candles inside to honorthe souls of our dead." "The people from behind the Eye in the Sky will join us." "Really?" "The person I'm looking for lives there." "Maybe she'll come." "They'll be moved in a month, just like us." "They're starting work on the dam." "It's the last time we'll send out boats for our dead." "Excuse me, are you from behind the Eye in the Sky?" "Yes, why?" "I'm looking for the little seamstress of your village." "This is our little seamstress." "I'm looking for someone else." "Thank you." "Perhaps I won't find hertoday." "You haven't found her?" "Not yet." "You should try to see the names written on the paper boats." "There are boats forthose who couldn't come." "Others write their names on boats and put them in the water." "Go and see." "Meet... my wife." "Nice to meet you." "Say hello." "He's your son?" "Hello." "Let's go." "Luo, you're a big shot now at the Institute of Dental Medicine?" "He's a professor with tenure and supervisor of theses." "He's a national authority." "I'm going to be a soccer player." " For what team?" " The Sichuan team, of course!" "Do you remember the re-educated boys who lived here?" "It was so long ago!" "I remember one of them was very handsome." "What was his name again?" "I think it was Ma." "Yes, that's right." "He drew a horse to write his name." " No, his name was..." " Luo." "Right!" "Luo!" "That's me!" "Weaklings, who weren't very brave." "But great storytellers!" "Luo was the good-looking one." "They told us films, and we cried like babies." "Look at this!" "It still works." "They made quality goods in those days." "It's 20 minutes late, chief." "Are you sure?" "Yes, chief." "I have a Swiss watch." "It's 3:20." "It's getting old, like me!" "Hold on!" "Look!" "That's the tooth we filled!" "He still has it." "Look!" "Ours was a premolar." "I'll continue." ""Which bird rises up and up?" ""Which bird" ""is like two blades of a knife?" ""Which bird" ""dives into the pond of the sky?" ""Which bird shakes the brown grass?"" "I rememberthe millertold you it was a riddle, but I neverfound the answer." "You want to know?" "I'll tell you." "Cheers." "You must recognize this place." "The old tailor died." "Our Book Cave!" "It sounds as if people are talking inside." "When I was filming," "I thought I heard voices." "It scared me." "It really did." "Whose voices?" "It was our voices." "Over 20 years ago." "Luo!" "Ma!" " What is it?" " She's gone!" "Gone where?" "She wanted to try her luck in a big city." "She said she wanted a new life." "She left, just like that!" "To look for a new life." " Didn't you try to stop her?" " Of course!" "I told herthat if she left," "I never wanted to see her again!" "But it was in vain." "She's very stubborn." "When did she leave?" "A little while ago." "Let's go!" "Luo, this way is longer." "No, it's a shortcut." "Come on!" "Wait for me!" "Why'd you do that?" "I felt like cutting them." "And the sneakers?" "They're from Ma." "I've decided." "I'm leaving." "What changed you?" "Balzac." "If you leave... all of Balzac's books..." "I won't be able to read them to you anymore." "Look at me." "Look at me!" "You've made up your mind?" "I love you so much, and you were leaving without a word." "Take care of my grandfather." "Say goodbye to Ma for me." "And take care of yourself." "I'll be fine in town." "Did she leave?" "Because of Balzac." "She says he taught her one thing:" "a woman's beauty is a priceless treasure." "In 1982," "I went looking for her." "I heard she was working in Shenzhen, so I went there." "She must have left for Hong Kong." "You were in love with hertoo." "You don't say anything, but I know." "You loved her." "Maybe I did." "I guess... we may have shown it in different ways, but we both loved her."