Yimou Zhang\'s 1991 Film Raise the Red

Yimou Zhang's 1991 film Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gua) offers a stunning peek at a unique segment of Chinese culture. Set in 1920s Northern China, Raise the Red Lantern is based on the novel Wives and Concubines by SU Tong. The story focuses on nineteen-year-old Songlian (played by Li Gong), who is cajoled into marrying a wealthy householder to become his fourth wife. Songlian is educated, but she dropped out of college following her father's death. Afterwards, her life becomes wrought with restrictions and sadness. Thus one of the primary themes of Raise the Red Lantern is the role of women in turn of the century Chinese culture. Although the status of women in China differed greatly from their role in contemporary America, it must be noted that American women did not get the vote until 1920. The film is laced with dialogue that reveals ingrained misogyny within Chinese culture; the concubines unquestioningly accept their roles. However, until several decades ago, American women were also more inclined to do the same. In fact, a focus on 1920s American home life would reveal a similar subordination of women, who were not encouraged to work or go to college except to find a husband. Raise the Red Lantern also reveals the emphasis on ritual and custom in Chinese culture, at least within the depicted household. American society, both in the 1920s and today, is far more secular than the world portrayed in the movie. Raise the Red Lantern offers the viewer insight into some aspects of Chinese culture, which many Westerners will find shocking. However, there are surprising similarities between Chinese and American ideologies.

Visually and emotionally captivating, Raise the Red Lantern lends insight specifically into the lives of wealthy Chinese concubines, and focuses especially on the role of women in Chinese culture. Because Americans do not practice either polygamy or arranged marriage, the concept of a Master and his four wives seems like slavery to an American viewer. Upon closer examination it is easier to remove such judgments. Marriage in American society, especially in the 1920s, is much less a matter of pure choice than it seems. Although parents do not force their children to marry people sight unseen, quite often children are pressured or at least in encouraged to marry within a certain socio-economic strata or a specific family. This is especially prevalent among the upper classes in American society. Parents want their kids to manifest the American Dream, and therefore hope that their children -- especially their daughters -- will marry rich.