During the time of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, film director Zhang Yimou decided to pick up a novel called 13 Female Martyrs of Nanjing by Yan Geling. He was supposedly trying to find a distraction from the pressure he was facing during the rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Olympics, but he did quite the opposite. The novel is the story of the Nanjing Massacre, also known as “the Rape of Nanjing” told from the point of view of a 13-year-old girl. This horrible event, which took place in December of 1937, involved the raping and killing of over 200,000 people in Nanjing, China when it was occupied by Japanese troops. The 13-year-old point of view is what specifically caught the attention of Yimou. So many television programs and documentaries have attempted to re-create this occurrence in history, but only 13 Female Martyrs of Nanjing has done so in a light that inspired Yimou.
Now, three years later, Yimou’s film, titled The Flowers of War, had its premiere in China and in the United States. It is China’s official submission for the Academy Award for best foreign-language film (not to mention it stars Academy Award winner Christian Bale). Most importantly, though, are the unique troubles that it faced with government. Yimou stated that filming in China was almost a game in that an all-powerful Communist Party limited him. He explained that “all the locations are owned by the government,” and “you must go through censorship after the movie is made.” Especially because Yimou is well known, the spotlight was completely on him. The Communist Party has always tried to manage the image of the Rape of Nanjing in efforts to reflect the relations between China and Japan. So with all of this censorship, how accurate can a film about such a rough topic be? And what is art that must be changed by people other than its creator? Despite the challenges, Yimou makes it a point to say that he is truthful to history, though. And in the process he had the opportunity to bring out a lot of Chinese culture.
I am so excited to see your post about this film since it is from my culture and related to my favorite director Zhang Yimou. I am looking forward to see this film at the cinema here.
Yes, Zhang Yimou is well known in China. His many films have won international ward. The main female actress he choose always become the subject of the media spotlight; we called these ladies “Lady Mou”.
Yes, Nanjing Massacre is known and remembered by anyone in China. The crime committed by the Japanese military will never forgotten by Chinese people. It is hard to imagine their sin because it is too unhuman and brutal. They even held the killing people game, during which the military people compete for the amount of innocent people they kill. Also, they rape women and children. What’s worse, now, some Japanese official deny that this massacre has actually occurred. Their refusing to admit the sin and disrespect to the true history are intolerable.
Yes, the censorship of movie, TV show, and book is strict in China. The film about cultural evolution in China during 1970s, directed by Zhuangzhuang Tian, is denied by the official of government in Mainland China. The communist government makes effort to avoid any negative view or comment of itself, which is sad for the freedom of Chinese people.