Shichang Da

Based on the true story of a Chinese painter, Pan Yuliang (Gong Li), whose work was celebrated in Paris yet rejected at home. At fifteen years old, she was sold into prostitution. Her life changes when she marries a high official. Through her husband, she finds expression in western painting, and furthers her studies in Paris. Although highly respected in Paris, it wasn't until after her death that she received the acceptance at home she so desperately sought.

During the Cultural Revolution, the director of a farm collective studies medicine on her own in order to provide a more effective alternative to the collective's "capitalist" health care clinic, then investigates and exposes a sinister plot by the clinic's staff. (imdb)

The story is based on the popular novel developed from folk legend. It goes that the Manchurian emperor Qianlong of China (circa 18th Century) was actually the son of a Han Chinese, the subject ethnicity. His brother of blood, Chen Jialuo just happened to be the chief of the Red Flower Society, an anti-Manchu secret society. Chen, a learned scholar, thought he could get his brother turn his back on the Manchu and restore the Han Chinese reign.

Based on the highly popular novel of Louis Cha (Jin Yong), the two-part feature totally three hours of fascinating entertainment is set in the middle of 18th century China during the reign of the 5th Qing Emperor, Qian Long. Romance tells the legend of Chen Jialo, an ethnic Han leader of the clandestine Red Flower Society who vows to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty. (KG)