A Comparison of the Novel "Wives and Concubines" and the Movie "Big Red Lanterns

Su Tong's novel "Wives and Concubines" was a middle grade novel published in Harvest magazine around 1990, which caused a big stir when it was published. After Zhang Yimou read it, he adapted it into the famous movie "Big Red Lanterns Hanging High", which caused the situation of 10,000 people in the streets as soon as the movie was released. And this paper will compare the differences between the novel and the movie in terms of characters, imagery and main idea.

I. Comparison between the characters of the novel and the movie (take Songlian as an example)

1. Difference in appearance

In the novel Concubines, Songlian is a skinny schoolgirl with a "thin and slender figure, giving off a dull air like a papery person", with a round face, short hair, and a face with some powder. Her face is round, with short hair and no powder, so her face looks a bit pale. But the movie shows us Gong Li style Songlian is very different, the rosy, plump goose-egg face and the typical body of the northern Chinese women tall and strong, she seems to be competent and determined, chest two black and thick twisted braids with a strong rustic atmosphere, and the novel is not in line with the image of the decline of the Miss Noble, the image of the advanced schoolgirls.

In short, I think that director Zhang Yimou's changes in the character of Songlian are unsuccessful, and the audience not only did not enjoy the visual aesthetics, but also in the viewing of the movie will produce a sense of "jumping". However, Gong Li has the typical qualities of a dignified and elegant Chinese woman, and she has a calm and dignified look, which is conducive to the promotion of Chinese aesthetics and enhancement of competitiveness when the movie participates in the international awards competition.

2. Character Differences

Songlian was originally born into a wealthy family, and her father ran a factory that could afford to send her to college. When her stepmother asked her to choose between marrying a man and working as a laborer, she resolutely chose to marry a man; and when her stepmother asked her whether she wanted to marry an ordinary man as a wife or to be a concubine to a rich man, she also chose to be a concubine without hesitation.

Songlian does not have the sadness and despair that ordinary girls show when they face the death of their family, and she does not have the trick of a delicate young lady who cries and hangs herself when she faces her stepmother's difficulties. She shows a calmness and realism that is beyond her age, knowing that she has never suffered, and that she can't bear to suffer in her later life, and so she chooses a path of continued material prosperity.

But in the end, Songlian is ultimately a youthful girl who has just stepped out of college, and whose frankness and distinctive personality cannot be completely concealed. Unlike the other wives of the Chen family, she wipes her sweat with her sleeve instead of a handkerchief, which makes the servants of the Chen family think that Songlian is a poor relative of the Chen family, and this shows that even though she comes from a rich family, she has not yet learned the kind of pedantic and pretentious behavior of the rich people or the adults, and that she still has the characteristics of a child-like naivety and frankness.

In the face of Yan's disdain, she also gave a strong rebuttal, she did not think that she shoved the subordinate behavior is not decent will cause the crowd later dissatisfaction, she is just to play the fast and furious, can be seen in the she is a city of the girl. The next day, Yan'er became her personal maid, and while Yan'er was scared for having once rammed the Fourth Mistress, Songlian had forgotten all about it.

But the movie doesn't show any of this naivety in Songlian. In the novel, although Songlian realistically chooses to marry Chen Zuoqian, she still retains the characteristics of a traditional Chinese woman's pre-marriage reserve and conservatism, and enters the house in a sedan chair.

But in the movie, Songlian walks into Chen's mansion by herself, with unexpected determination and firmness, even so firm that people find it unbelievable and scary, she throws away all her pride and self-esteem, and walks into the "hell" with absolute materialism. When she felt the goose to their own attitude of contempt, immediately show their identity of the Fourth Mistress and condescendingly let the goose to help themselves to carry the box into the house, the next day when she learned that the goose is his own personal maid, the fear of lice as a reason to humiliate the goose, so that his own maid in a very embarrassing situation, the same also for the Songlian tragedy of the end of the paved the way.

From these small things, it can be seen that the movie portrayed Songlian lacks a sound personality, or rather, the movie did not fully show the multi-faceted nature of a character's personality, but focused on depicting the dark and negative side of her character.

Speaking of character differences, it is important to mention Songlian's emotional life. In the novel, Chen Zuoqian, who had three marriages, saw the warm and lovely college student Songlian in a "novel and cozy mood", which was unprecedented in his first three marriages, and smiled happily when he saw Songlian coming with an oil-paper umbrella. I think it is because of Songlian's beautiful and neat appearance and the new woman of the times, independent and confident performance that attracted Chen Zuoqian.

In the movie, because of the absence of Songlian's character, Chen Zuoqian's love for Songlian seems to be groundless, or in the movie, Chen Zuoqian does not have a little bit of sincerity to Songlian, he just upholds a kind of playful psychology, which makes Chen Zuoqian's image of the feudal patriarch deeper into the hearts of the people, but with the novel's plot less deviation. And Songlian in order to compete for Chen Zuoqian's love, by any means necessary, and even in order to gamble with Yan'er, came up with a fake pregnancy to compete for favor, and in the end to steal the chicken failed to etch the rice. What is the difference between such Songlian and those women in the deep mansion who live in dependence on men? She has completely fallen into the feudal family's sacrifice and funeral pyre, and is content with this degradation, which is not in line with the image of her as a schoolgirl who has received new ideas.

Another crucial character in the novel is the young master, Philips. Before the appearance of Philips, Songlian was always with a faint sadness, facing the wives of the fight, the subordinates worship high and low, Chen Zuoqian's absolute male chauvinism, although Songlian did not obviously show their own dissatisfaction and sadness, but often sat under the wisteria arbor, remembering the beautiful things of her student days. Until the appearance of Philips, Songlian's life has been re-lighted, Philips called her Songlian instead of the Fourth Mistress; Songlian saw the color in Philips' eyes when they enjoyed the chrysanthemums together; and then the two of them blew cock together, I think Songlian had a heart for Philips at that time, and I can't say that they are the same people in the same world, but the youthful vitality of Philips was just like that of the young people in the university, which is the kind of life that Songlian aspired to at that time!

So it's not so much that Sonnen was attracted to Philips, but rather that Sonnen had a desire for a free life and a hope for a better love. The appearance of Fei Pu in the movie did not produce any fluctuation in Song Lien's emotional life, but only acted as a trigger for the change in her relationship with Chen Zuoqian, and to be precise, it was not caused by the relationship between Song Lien and Fei Pu, but only because Chen Zuoqian burned Song Lien's cock. It is clear that this Songlian is indifferent, negative to the point that even the expectations and pursuit of life is no longer, just like the walking dead, living day by day, I think one day, she will live into the first wife's appearance, old as a hundred years old, in fact, people ah, the old is not the appearance, is the heart.

In summary, I think the novel of Songlian, she is realistic but she is also frank; she is unfortunate but she is also resistance; she is stuck in the quagmire but still yearning for sunshine; she bowed to the darkness but her personality is still independent. But in the movie Songlian, she fell into the abyss and step by step deeper and deeper, she does not have a new woman's independence and self-reliance, she only has a slavish face and charming bones, she and the compound of the women in the fight there is no difference.

II. Comparison of Imagery between the Novel and the Movie

In Concubines and Wives, Su Tong uses soothing strokes to recount the tragic fates of the five wives of Chen's family with very different personalities, and calmly depicts the ancient well in Chen's garden, which has swallowed up the lives of several generations of unchaste women, with its eerie, cold air. In the novel, the well is a highly symbolic carrier with the help of Su Tong. The water in the well is blue-black, with old leaves floating on it. When Songlian bends down to look into the well, she sees her face shimmering in the water, and even her gasps are amplified. The water of this well was not pure and sweet, and it was no longer the source of life for all things; even casting a stone would not cause moving ripples. This well, the symbol of the Chen family, kills life, destroys women's dignity, and is an accomplice to the polygamy system.

Nineteen-year-old Songlian, from the moment she stepped into the door of the Chen family to the final stimulation of madness, are closely linked to this ancient well. Songlian appeared at the well four times, four times with different reactions, and the terror deepened one by one, the source of these fears is not only this eerie old well, but also the Chen family's dreary mental torture. The well surrounds Songlian like a demon, foreshadowing her inescapable tragic end.

The well, as an image, not only symbolizes the content, but also promotes the structure, which connects some small things and makes the novel a complete whole. It has a good effect on the portrayal of Songlian's sentimental, delicate, sensitive and newly educated image with her own unique mind and soul. Through the presentation of the ancient well over and over again, Songlian's character and characterization are saturated a little bit and finally become a complete image. She is obsessed with finding out the secret of the dead man's well, which makes her the only lone duckling in the Chen family, she wants to get out of the family but eventually did not get out of it, she wants to integrate into the family but ultimately did not integrate, until her steadfast spirit of the world was pierced by the sharp edge of reality, and eventually completely collapsed.

And the imagery of the movie can be seen from the title, "Big Red Lanterns Hanging High". At the beginning of the movie, the Chen family compound is all red, and even the beds are hung with red lanterns. On their wedding night, the Third Mistress tricks Chen Zuoqian into leaving on the pretext that she is sick. The master just stepped out of the door and heard the butler drag his voice and shouted "the third courtyard lights the lanterns" This emotionless shout echoed in the Chen family's dead mansion, making people's hair stand up.

Early the next morning, Songlian went to see the wives, and again, Songlian saw to show the status of the red lantern. When Songlian arrives at the third courtyard, the lights are on because the master hasn't gotten up yet. The red lantern represents not only Chen Zuoqian as a person, but also the master's favor and honorable position in the compound, and only the wife who has lit the lantern at night can order food at the dinner table the next day. It is such a rule that the red lantern has become the pursuit of all women in the Chen family, even the maid Yan'er is no exception.

The new wife to the first nine days can not listen to the "hello", but to the tenth day every night before the master went to bed to stand in their own courtyard door to listen to the "hello", the red lanterns point in the doorway of which house which house will have the opportunity to serve. This is really more elegant than the emperor's green headboard. The only thing you can do is to go back with your head down.

The other side of the light is the sealing of the light. After Songlian's fake pregnancy, the room was lit with "long-lasting lamps", meaning "long life". When the lie was discovered, Chen Zuoqian issued an order to seal the lamp. So the subordinates from the old box out of the black lantern cover, embroidered with dragons but covered with a layer of thick gray, think it is a long time no one dares to challenge the authority of the master. Shanxi compound, a snow-covered, eerie black lantern cover looks particularly harsh, the entire four courtyard is shrouded in gloom. And acting underlings one by one expressionless, they have long been numb.

The most impressive thing about the whole movie is the sound of foot tapping after lighting the lamp. On the wedding night, Songlian was not used to the foot tapping, and then once she heard the foot tapping of other wives, her own feet were itchy, as if she was addicted, and she closed her eyes and enjoyed it as if she were smoking a big cigarette. The sound of foot tapping resounded throughout the Chen House, perhaps this hammer is not the feet of the wives, is their favor, is their life.

In the novel, there is only one sentence about the red lantern, but in the movie the lantern is evolved into a theme, a ritual that changes with the plot, or even a part that cannot be stripped away. I think this change is the most successful part of the movie. The colorful imagery of the red lantern is a symbol of flame, a kind of static bloodshed and violence, and also represents the suppressed passion of the women in the compound. And the big red color contrasts sharply with the dark and dreary tone of Chen's house, showing a highly ironic effect and echoing the tragedy of all the women in the compound. The well, as the main image of the movie, is not expressive enough and does not have a strong visual impact.

III. Comparison of the main idea of the novel and the movie

Regarding the main idea of "Concubines", I would like to talk about it in two groups. The first group is the first and second wives. The first and second wives have the same characteristic of old age, they have lost the capital to compete for favor with their beauty. So the First Mistress avoids disputes by eating fasting and reciting Buddha's name, she doesn't listen to what's going on outside the window, and when Songlian goes to pay her a visit, she only says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." And the second wife to take the means is a smile and curry favor, when Songlian to visit her, she is like entertaining her own sister in general affectionate and send her good satin clothes, but secretly instigated the wild goose to tie a small person to carry out the witchcraft curse Songlian.

But analyzing the situation of the two men, we can find that there is a deeper reason for the performance of these two men. Therefore, it is wise for the First Mistress, as the head of the family, to choose to keep her own counsel, as she is the beneficiary of the feudal patriarchal society.

The situation of the Second Mistress is different, she is a concubine and has no son to back her up, so she can only fight for her own position in the Chen family, so under her smiling face she hides a more vicious than anyone else's woe, under the oppression of the male power, she turns into a distorted image of the surface of the coyness and inner sinister and vicious caused by the split of her personality.

Although the two behave differently, their attitudes towards male power are absolute defense and obedience, and they are not the least bit aware of the root cause of their own destiny in this drama. They treat the same sex as themselves in the same position of oppression as their own enemies, and try to get liberated through the fight between women to establish their own unbreakable position. They only wag their tails at the patriarchal ideology, they can't imagine or even think about the equality of men and women. The two of them are completely unaware of the image of the defenders of the old ideas, the old culture.

The second group is the Third Mistress and Songlian. Unlike the First and Second Mistresses, they show an attitude of resistance. The awakening of their sense of equality gives them a sense of empathy. In a patriarchal society where polygamy is practiced, men are allowed to have three wives and four concubines, but women are only allowed to be married to one man, but the Third Mistress, Mei Shan, does not abide by this virtue of womanhood, and expresses her resistance to the patriarchal society and the patriarchal ideology by cheating on Dr. Gao with her, which is the worst betrayal of the patriarchy, and she is also treated very badly. Songlian, as a woman who has read books and has been influenced by new ideas, has an awakening of female consciousness. Can consciously think about the fate of women.

But under the oppression of the cruel reality, she again chose to please Chen Zuoqian, took the initiative to Chen Zuoqian as a concubine. In this way, she is unable to be a defender of the patriarchal ideology like the First and Second Mistresses on the one hand, and on the other hand, she is unable to stand up and bravely fight back like the Third Mistress, and so she goes crazy in the torment of this psychological contradiction.

The women of the Chen family compound made various efforts under the suppression of the patriarchal ideology, either yielding or resisting, but in the end, no one could please the tragic fate, and at the end of the novel, the Fifth Mistress came into the house, and the cruel fight was far from over. Therefore, in a patriarchal society, women can only be reduced to men's subordinates and commodities, and never have equal status. Although Meishan and Songlian fall victim to the struggle, their sacrifices are worth causing us to think. As long as women establish a sense of subjectivity and do not end the pursuit of the status of the subject, they will one day get rid of their tragic fate.

The movie "Big Red Lanterns Hanging Tall" is a movie that shows the tragic fate of women in a patriarchal society from the perspective of women and through the struggle between women. The whole movie revolves around the story of the big red lantern, creating a bleak atmosphere. The character of Yan'er is the representative of all the underlings, and even more so of the women at the bottom of the society. The maid's idea of being quite a madam ultimately buries her, and her jealousy and persecution of Songlian is a kind of morbid psychology formed by long-term suppression.

It can be seen that the persecution of women by patriarchal thinking is not only the story of the Chen family, but also a tragedy for the whole society. Compared to the novel, Songlian in the movie does not have any obvious sense of resistance, she is more like a woman who tends to succumb to the male power. After the madness, she is still immersed in the situation of lighting the red lanterns, the irony is self-evident, making the audience sigh. I think Songlian's final madness seems to be due to the inner conflict and struggle, but due to the guilt of accidentally telling the story of Maysan's cheating and the fear of witnessing the process of Maysan's death, which is also related to the film's over-expression of the red lanterns as an imagery and seldom touches on the "torture".

This is also related to the fact that the movie is overly obsessed with showing the imagery of the red lanterns and rarely touches on "torture", which makes it confusing for those who have not read the novel.

The so-called resistance of Mei Shan also stays at the level of cheating, she has no independent personality awakening, like in the long-term oppression to make the "jumping off the wall" reaction. I think Zhang Yimou wants to show that the system is simply the persecution of women, thus intensifying the tragic color of the film, so that the audience to produce **** sound and deep sense of immersion. However, this way of expression makes the movie too single-minded, and the educational and inspirational significance is not as good as that of the novel.

I think the novel and the movie have their own merits.