To Live

To Live is a film, banned in China, that examines the ramifications of the transitions in Chinese policy throughout the periods between the Communist requisition of land and the Great Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong. It follows the story of the Xu family, the progeny of Fugui and Jiazhen, as they adapt to ongoing changes across the country, accounting policy-born tragedy at (nearly) every step of the way.
We first encounter the Xus at the peak of Fugui’s gambling problem, when he bets his property and everything he owns –– and loses –– to a man by the name of Long’er. The adjustment to peasant life does not come easy. Fugui joins a theater troupe and then enlists in the Chinese army. It is unclear whether he joins out of genuine loyalty or that idea that, to succeed, one must check the boxes of participation. As his troop is captured by the Communists, he changes sides and fights on behalf of the Communist for the final epoch of the war, a “decision” that will prove incredibly beneficial in eras to come. Things start to improve for Fugui: his wife and child come back to him when he is once again able to stand on his own two feet. Yet his family is in for another round of challenges at the turn of the Great Cultural Revolution.
First, adding to the irony of the story: Long’er is executed for being a land-owning anti-Communist, a fate that likely would have befallen Fugui had he been “luckier” in his wager. Luckily for his family, his participation in the Communist military gives the Xus a near blank-check in the unquestionability of their allegiance to the State. However, tragedy after tragedy befalls Fugui, his wife, and his children, evoking a sort of covert dissatisfaction that does not truly manifest until the very end of the film.
As To Live concludes, we meet a scene between Fugui (now a grandfather) and Mantou, the son of Fugui’s daughter who died in childbirth due to a Communist-enacted lack of trained medical personnel. Fugui tells a tale similar to the one he told his own son* at the beginning of the film, with a simple yet puissant twist. A tale of transformation that was once spun to corroborate the longevity of the Communist regime now insinuates a future in which China returns to capitalism.
*also now dead
To Live is not only heart-wrenching, but excellent in its ability to illustrate the connections between top-down policies and their ramifications in the lives of real people. It also shows how, in a society racked by a cult of personality that taboo-ified any deviation from complete piety to Mao Zedong, how failure after failure of the regime gave way to hidden, yet ever-present resistance, often in the smallest of ways. The historical context of the banning of the film only deepens the experience of its viewership and gets watchers thinking about the phenomenon of rampant censorship that continues in the region through modern-day.

I’m not accustomed to watching/reading much foreign material, but I’m beginning to think otherwise. I tend to refrain from indulging in anything I’m afraid I won’t understand or seems too unfamiliar. However, I often complain after reading a popular book or watching a hit movie that it was predictable and/or unimaginative. I’m frequently left feeling underwhelmed. I just don’t find the material very challenging. For me, “To Live” was not only genuinely interesting but also meaningful. I really enjoyed it.
“To Live” reminded me, and I’m not exactly sure why, of “Life Is Beautiful” (the 1997 Italian Film). Aside from them both being foreign films, the two movies really are not alike. The male figures, however, reminded me of two imperfect, desperate men who, despite themselves, the horror of their surroundings and seemingly inescapable troubles (gambling, revolution, Nazis, death) were fighters who loved and sacrificed for their families. The women in both movies were strong, determined and fierce defenders of their loved ones and of their simple, quiet lives. There were many differences, of course, but both movies left me with the same feelings. I wondered how incredibly difficult life must have been and how is it we take our freedoms so lightly? I also marveled at the human spirit and how amazingly strong, resilient and loving it is.
I found “To Live” to be relatively unpredictable and I thought it represented the time period and the struggles realistically. I am not at all savvy regarding Chinese history, but I learned a lot from this movie. I was really engaged in the culture (particularly the shadow puppets) and the relationships. Xu Fugui spoke my favorite line from the movie when he and his wife were frantically trying to determine their social class. They decided they were “ordinary townspeople” and then quickly agreed they were actually “poor ordinary townspeople.” At this point in the film Xu Fugui declared, “It’s good to be poor. Nothing like it.” I like this quote because it depicted the humility and desperation of this couple. I love this about the movie. The characters, as in “Life Is Beautiful,” are very real making their circumstances, although unfathomable, relatable.

Maura D'Alo
10th grade World Cultures
Mt. Lebanon
The film To Live has already been given a synopsis so I will jump straight to how I would use it in my classrroom. After having read the novel To Live and then watching the movie I think they compliment each other nicely. The novel has a much more detailed story line and is more in depth about the horrific effects of the cultural revolution, however the movie is able to do this nicely as well. There are several reasons why I would like to use this in my classroom:
- the film was produced, directed and acted by an all chinese cast. I feel that this is an authentic production that effectively showcases how Chinese feel about the cultural revolution.
- the film is entirely in Mandarin. This is great because the subtitles are easy and quick to read and it allows students to hear Mandarin in a setting that they are familiar with (through a movie).
- the film has multiple multidisciplinary activities that could by applied.
The following are examples of how I might use this film in my classroom:
- to teach the differing social structure of China throughout time. The span of Fengui's life showcases the many changes that happen over the course of his life. From the beginning where he is a rich land owner to his down fall as a beggar because of gambling. This section of the movie could be used to present information about the social stratification that China had and the reasons so many Chinese had to want to join the communist party. There is also the social aspect of familial values and the traditional roles of women. This all changes as the cultural revolution takes place.
-to teach the drastic effects of the cultural revolution. The most poignant scene that I would showcase to to enable discussion about the cultural revolution is the part of Fengui's daughter's birth of her son. In this section the filmmakers very dramatically portray the destruction of the 'olds' by not having any doctors around to help her give birth and she dies after delivery.
- to teach different themes of heroism, struggle, survival, and hope. In language arts class or writing for subject matter there are many themes that can be explored. How is that Fengui is able 'to live'? How would you react if you had to face all of the adversities? How would Fengui's course of life been different if he hadn't gambled away his family's fortune?
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie and think that it would be a great comparison piece with the novel. It has many useful applications for high school level students in literature, east Asian studies, world history and world cultures or human geography courses.

Movie Review: TO LIVE
Director: Zhang Yimou
1994
Adapted from the novel To Live, by Yu Hua
Length: 132 minutes
Language: Mandarin with subtitles in English
This is an excellent movie for introducing the highlights the history of mid-20th century China, as well as some of the cultural aspects of the period. Banned in mainland China, the film was seen as critical of the governmental policies of the 1948 Revolution, the Cultural Revolution, and the Great Leap Forward.
The film follows the life of a family that loses its social standing, wealth, and family mansion due to the compulsive gambling habit of a young man (Xu Fugui). The loss of the house kills the patriarch and his gambling causes his wife (Jiazhen) to leave with the children. He is forced to earn a living as an itinerant puppeteer and singer. Eventually he reunites with his wife, but is dragooned into both the Nationalist army and the Communist Army. Ultimately returning home, he watches the gambler who won his house get executed as a bourgeois. Deeply troubled and aware of how close he came to a similar fate, he begins to cherish his family. Later, the family suffers through the Cultural Revolution, but it is during the Great Leap Forward where their son is killed in a freak accident, due in part to exhaustion trying to fulfill quotas. The family survives, but is emotionally battered by both fate, government policy, and Fugui’s own character flaws.
Indeed, the theme of fate plays an enormous role in the movie. The family is continually stripped emotionally by events beyond their control. It is a hard movie to watch, but produces excellent discussion in the classroom. It is worthwhile to focus not merely on the role of Fugui, but on the powerful character of Jiazhen, who defines herself throughout the movie as an independent moral character.
During the course of the movie, we often had to stop the film in order to explain a historical event. Yet, we also discussed literary themes raised in the lives of the characters: the role of culture, fate, loss, and love.
I would give this movie three out of four stars, only because of the length of the film (just over two hours). Yet, if you can make the time in the classroom, it is an excellent film to show your students, or watch for personal edification.

Synopsis
Setting: spans 1940’s China to Cultural Revolution in the 1960’s
Plot: When Fengui uses his family’s home as payment for his gambling debt, it begins a series of dramatic changes he has to deal with throughout the course of his life: the sudden death of his father, the leaving of his pregnant wife and his young daughter (who return after the birth of their son), the death of his son, the death of his daughter, and the eventual death of his wife. All this happens as China goes though a dramatic changes as well.
After losing his family home and living in destitute, Fengui earns money by putting on puppet shows at the local gambling establishment. When the communists take him away to be a part of their military (without his wife’s knowing what has happened to him), Fengui, again finds a way to survive all the hardships of this kind of life (the bitter cold, lose of comrades). When he eventually returns home, he finds his daughter has lost her ability to speak due to an illness; hardships prevail with his wife and daughter trying to make ends meet by delivering water to other families. As the communists prevail, his son needs to be a “good communist” and help smelt iron. He dies in an accident when a car backs into a wall which falls on him. Fengui’s daughter, though an arranged marriage, dies shortly after childbirth (due to the lack of doctors in the a hospital…communists have arrested educated). Eventuall, Fengui’s wife dies.
How to use “to Live in the classroom
The movie, “To Live,” is appropriate for high school students. The subtitles are easy enough to read, with only a sentence or two displayed on the screen at a time. Students studying modern China will see first hand the emergence of communism in China, the changes, hardships, and ultimate acceptance by the citizens. It is recommended that if this era isn’t specifically studied, that the teacher provide background knowledge to make the content /scenes more understandable. It would also be a good movie to view with students needing work on their reading fluency skills as the subtitles are not overwhelming in their sentence structure and vocabulary.
The novel, To Live, is slightly different from the movie. Using the novel, as a companion piece, would be a good addition to the viewing of the movie. Comparing/contrasting the movie with the novel would be a skill to utilize with students.
Possible discussion topics for students
Although “To Live” has much of sadness, it also has many lessons to be learned and questions to discuss to help students critically evaluate the movie:
• Explain how Fengui changes thoughout the course of the movie
• With all the disappointments Fengui faces, how is he able to “to live?”
• From the gambling and excessive lifestyle Fengui has at the beginning of the film and how much he lost thought his poor decision making, what did Fengui ultimately gain?
• How is foreshadowing a component of this movie? Recall the characters of Long’er (who was the recipient of the Fengui family home) and Chungseng (one of the comrades with Fenqui when he was in the military). How does their reappearance in the film change of course of events? What is the significance? Is this also an example of irony?
• Why is this movie called “To Live?” Does Fengui have anything to live for? What keeps him going? How do you think you would be able to cope with all the tragedies Fengui does?

The Movie Review: To Live
Y. Ming Rui
Chinese teacher for 6-12th grades
Winchester Thurston School
Appropriate for grade levels: 6 and up
To Live (Chinese: 活着 huó zhe) is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, which was produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua (please see the book review). To Live was screened at the 1994 New York Film Festival before eventually receiving a limited release in the United States on November 18, 1994.
To Live is a film about the tumultuous time in China during 1940s transitioning from the Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek to the Communist Party going through different phases of movements led by Mao. Even though it is a fictional story instead of a historical one, the story does reflect the true reality of the times through two ordinary people’s life. As one of the Chinese who has lived through the later part of the period, it is a wonderful film that tells the story of Fugui and Jiazhen’s life in a slow and calm tone. Even though it may seem so unreal to the audience, it was a normal life for millions of the Chinese at that time with their own life variations.
Fugui was from one of the Chinese families who owned land. He devoted his earlier life to gambling and did not care for his wife, Jiazhen. Eventually, Fugui gambled all his family fortune to the owner of the gambling house, Long’er. Fugui ended up homeless. Jiazhen left Fugui with her first born daughter, Fengxia, after failed attempts to stop Fugui from gambling. She came back to him and finally started a family life, poor but endurable. Wanting to work and make a better life for them, Fugui went to Long’er to rent land; Instead, Fugui got his family shadow puppets from Long’er to make a living.
Fugui became very good at the shadow puppet show. Unfortunately, he was captured by the Nationalist army and sent to the war to fight against Japanese and the Communist Red army without being able to say goodbye or coming home for years. He finally was able to run away after a deadly battle and was sent home by the Red army. He couldn’t witness the execution of Long’er who took his family fortune. Long’er, a landlord, was in Fugui’s shoes when he was executed, if Fugui had not gambled his family fortune away. During the period, many landlords were executed or punished for the fact of owning land before their land was confiscated and distributed by the Communist party.
Fugui’s second child, Youqing, was struck by the car driven by Chunsheng. Fugui and Chunsheng met and became friends in the Nationalist army. After both of them ran away, Chunsheng became the rising star of the local authority of the Communist Party. Ironically, Chunsheng was demoted later on and committed suicide. It was a very unpredictable and normal phenomenon for many Chinese at that time; at one point that you were a darling of the communist party; at another time, you could be the enemy of the party.
The daughter Fengxia went deaf after a high fever as a child without proper and available medical care, married a local Red Guard leader, Erxi. She died of giving birth to her son due to hemorrhage. All the young Red Guard nurses armed with slogans of praising Mao did not know how to save her. At that time, most of the experienced doctors were punished for their expertise and knowledge. They were either sent to jail or countryside to get “reeducated” along with intellectuals of all fields and teachers of old and young. Many of them died during Mao’s era and their families fell apart with unbelievable suffering and humiliation. Even though Erxi smuggled out an experienced doctor from the local jail, the doctor was too weak to help. Fengxia died, leaving her husband and a newborn child, Mantou.
The film also showed one of the idiotic acts of the Communist Party such as collecting medals to produce cannons and guns to fight against “invaders”. These medals included pots and pans that they were the necessities of daily life. People had to use primitive method to produce iron medal, often with inflated numbers and quotas to meet unrealistic expectations and get recognition. Fugui’s shadow puppets did not have luck to survive the production of the medals. Fugui and Fengxia continued their struggle for life.
The film is a very good material for social studies, history and literature for middle school, high school and college students. It is especially a good summer reading material for those students who like to know more about China, its history and culture, and its people. For trying to understand the impact of the Culture revolution, students will learn more about how the Chinese people think and act today socially and politically.

The book Review: To Live
Y. Ming Rui
Chinese teacher for 6-12th grades
Winchester Thurston School
Appropriate for grade levels: 6 and up
To Live is a fiction novel by Yu Hua published in 1992 and then was adapted into a film by the same name in 1994 (please see the film review). The book started from a journalist who was visiting countryside to gather folk stories until he ran into the main character Fugui.
The novel is about the tumultuous time in China during 1940s transitioning from the Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek to the Communist Party going through different phases of movements led by Mao. Even though it is a fictional story instead of a historical one, the story does reflect the true reality of the times through two ordinary people’s lives. As one of the Chinese who has lived through later part of the time, it is a wonderful novel that tells the story of Fugui and Jiazhen’s life in a slow and calm tone. Even though it may seem so unreal to the readers, it was a normal life for millions of the Chinese at that time with their own life variations.
The story begins sometime in the 1940s. Fugui was from one of the Chinese families who owned land. He devoted his earlier life to gambling and did not care for his wife, Jiazhen. Eventually, Fugui gambled all his family fortune away to the owner of the gambling house. Fugui ended up homeless. Jiazhen left Fugui with her first born daughter, Fengxia, after failed attempts to stop Fugui from gambling. She came back to him and finally started a family life, poor but endurable. Wanting to work and make a better life for them, Fugui went to the owner of gambling house and rented land to farm.
Needing extra help, Fugui went to town one day to buy an ox to help with tilting his rented land. He bought an old ox to save it from being butchered. The story explained in detail about the relationship between Fugui and the old ox. Daughter Fengxia helped a lot with working on the land by Fugui’s side. Fugui’s family was heartbroken when Fengxia was forced to live with another family as a helper to save herself and family from starving to death. Eventually she ran away and came back to her own family.
Fengxia went deaf after a high fever as a child without proper and available medical care. Later on, she married a construction worker with a limp leg. Sadly, she died of giving birth to her son due to dystocia, leaving her loving husband and a newborn child. At that time, most of experienced doctors were punished for their expertise and knowledge. They were either sent to jail or countryside to get “reeducated” along with intellectuals and teachers. The medical care in hospitals at that time was backward and chaotic. Soon afterwards, Fengxia’s husband was killed in a construction accident, leaving his toddler son, Kugen, with Fugui and Jiazheng.
The story devoted a big section to Fugui’s second child, Youqing, and his sheep. He worked very hard and kept his promise to take care of his sheep. Youqing could not save his sheep from being slaughtered in the end. Youqing was chosen and sent to school by Fugui and Jia Zhen. It shows the old Chinese culture still up to present time favoring boys over girls. Youqing died of volunteering to donate blood to the wife of a local official. The doctors and nurses in the hospital over drew Youqing’s blood knowing that he could die, but it was more important for them to save the wife of local official than taking an ordinary child’s life. Ethics, professions and morals were on the trial daily during those tumultuous times.
Having gone through ups and downs with Fugui, Jia Zhen became very ill due to mal-nutrition. She was bed ridden after Fengxie got married. She relied on Fugui to bring back all of the information of his visits and had Fugui retold her all the details of his visits to Fengxia’s family. Jia Zhen eventually died of osteomalacia, leaving Fugui with Kugen and his old ox.
Kugen had been ill and Fugui finally managed to find some beans for him to eat as a treat. He left to work in the field and Kugen choked to death while eating the beans. Lonely Fugui ended up with the only family member, his old ox. Yet, he did not give up hope for a better life as the millions of Chinese who lived through that time.
The novel is a very good teaching material for literature, social studies, and history for middle school, high school, and college students. It is especially a good summer reading material for those students who like to know more about China, and its history, culture, and people. For understanding the impact of the Culture revolution, students will get to know more and have more understanding about how the Chinese people think and act today in the modern China. Reading the novel will be very beneficial to my middle and high school Chinese students by learning not only the Chinese language, but also the Chinese culture and history.

Christy Knable
Grade 6 World History
Sewickley Academy
Yu Hua’s To Live, is a literary invitation into the last seventy years of Chinese history. It reads like a Forrest Gump tale, as Fugui makes his ingenuous way through life in the midst of uncommon events. Travelling out of World War II and the Civil War in China, Yu Hua takes the reader into the daily lives of a Chinese family during the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the challenging times following these social changes. Fugui is born into a lavish life with the promise and comfort of inherited wealth. After gambling, drinking and womanizing away his fortune, he is faced with endless hardships and unforeseen survival.
As a middle school history teacher, the rough portrayal of Fugui’s crude early life would be inappropriate for the age and maturity of my students. There is some profane language and vulgarity. In a high school setting, with teacher guidance on some of the early pages, this text could be a powerful piece to help the students understand the challenges of political and social revolutions. I recommend this text for juniors and seniors in high school in a study of modern China or perhaps a government or economics class.
To Live, as a classroom text, would work well in a study of the communist movement in China. The historical vocabulary, realistic events, and economic philosophies are there in context creating a dynamic setting to discuss communist theory and practice. It also has several very thought provoking themes and undercurrents that could enrich a class inquiry into the human experience. Fugui states near the end of the text “It’s better to live an ordinary life. If you go on striving for this and that, you’ll end up paying with your life. Take me, for instance: the longer I’ve managed to squeeze by, the more useless I’ve become, but in the end I’ve lived a long time. One by one, everyone I knew died, but I’m still living” (Hua, pp. 231). Throughout much of historical study, powerful and memorable individuals are applauded or recognized. This text challenges this notion that the celebrity should be glorified. Is a common existence better that striving to achieve great deeds? I could see this notion becoming an interesting and reflective assignment with high school students as they embark onto life after high school.
Coupled with the text, the film, To Live, is a very moving piece. Based on Yu Hua’s novel and released in 1994, this film brings to life the hardships described in To Live. Running just over two hours in length, this film is well worth the time. Even with subtitles, the expressions and experiences of Fugui’s family in this film are something students can connect with in understanding the dynamics of a family unit. This film does not have the language and vulgarity of the book, so it could be used with 8th, 9th, and 10th graders as well.

Review by Tim Jekel
High School History
World History I & II, Western Civilization, AP US History, AP European History
West Shore Christian Academy
Few countries in the 20th century can match the convulsive suffering of the Chinese. Following the Japanese Invasion of the 1930’s to World War II , the Civil War, the ‘Great Leap Forward’, and the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese people have endured much.
Few films attempt to capture the breadth of history attempted by Zhang Yimou’s To Live. Zhang’s method of treating this series of hardships is to cast the events as the affect the life of one family. The family’s rise and fall depicts the fortunes of China in general. As the film opens, the central family of the film, the Xu family are wealthy and corrupt. Xu Fugui, the father of the family, wastes the family’s considerable inheritance drinking and gambling nights. This is not just the depiction of one corrupt individual, but justification for the revolutionary events that followed.
In Zhang’s telling, it is good fortune that Fugui squanders the family inheritance and home. While in the short run it leads to the death of his parents, in the long run it saves the next generation from the ravages of the revolutionary events to come. After losing his inheritance and home, Fugui loses [temporarily] his wife, and to cap it his father dies. Fugui tries to care for his mother by selling baubles in the city. He has hit bottom and lives like a beggar.
Fugui’s life turns for the better when he is given a set of theater puppets and he goes on the road with a troupe to make his fortune. While on the road, his troupe is captured by Guomindong [Chinese Nationalists] troops and forced to drag their artillery pieces. He is soon captured by the communists and not only drags their cannon, but entertains the troops with puppet shows. After he is released from service in the Red Army, he returns home to find that his mother has died and his daughter is deaf.
Once home again, Fugui helps with the family business, delivering hot water at dawn. The business is a difficult one as work begins long before dawn and this puts a strain on the children as well who must help. Their life is hard but stable when the Great Leap Forward strikes China. The family must adapt to the new situation. All available metal must be donated, family cooking is abandoned for communal canteens, and the community must learn to live with each other in new ways. The Government orders that all towns smelt iron for the good of the nation. The film only hints at the tragedy this policy is for China devastating the economy and the countryside in equal measure. Personal tragedy stands for national tragedy as Fugui’s young son dies in the frenetic attempt to produce their quota of steel.
Wounded but not broken, the Xu family carries on. The Cultural Revolution strikes and the Xu family is swept up once again on the wave of history. Their mute and deaf daughter Fengxia marries a crippled ironworker who nevertheless proves a worthy husband. Fate strikes another blow as Fengxia gives birth in the height of the Cultural Revolution. The hospital where she is admitted has arrested all of the experienced medical personnel and is being run by medical students. Unprepared for the complications of Fengxia’s delivery, the young students are unprepared and Fengxia dies in a bloody, jarring, and heart-wrenching scene. Indeed, I generally skip this scene even for high school students. The child survives, and with him, hope.
The final scene shows the Xu family about 6 years later. Fugui and his wife Jiazhen have soldiered on. Now childless, they are comforted by their grandson ‘Little Bun’ who represents hope for their future, and for China’s future. The crippled son-in-law proves his worth supporting the family and maintaining his optimism. The film ends with Fugui discussing China’s future with his young Grandson. As he recites a familiar poem about China’s bright future, the goal of communism has been replaced with the material riches of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms.
The film offers gentle criticism of the excesses of Mao’s China, but stops short of a frank evaluation of badly these reforms held China back. In some ways, like the film Forrest Gump for the United States, the film portrays the nostalgic highlights of a bygone era mixed with cameo hints at the dark underside of the same time period.
I think the film is very effective at drawing students into the emotional struggles of the Chinese people. I find it difficult for 9th grade students to grapple with the issues raised by the film even when I prepare them well with background information and viewing guides. I believe the film would be more effective for upper high school. I combine selections of the film with the reading of Red Scarf Girl and Son of the Revolution and these sources mesh well with this film.
I highly recommend the film but caution showing the birthing scene and recommend the film for upper high school rather than 9th or 10th grades.

Review by Mary Albers
To Live is the story of Fugui, his wife Jiazhen, and their family in China, spanning four decades and three generations. China's history is told through the family's eyes, and the viewer has an intimate view of the civil war, the "Great Leap Forward" campaign, and the Cultural Revolution. The characters are powerful testaments to the chaos of the times.
This movie was superb, truly one of the best I've seen. After learning about modern Chinese history in class, it was awesome to see the depictions onscreen--including the fighting of the Civil War, the matchmakers, the landlord persecutions, the Mao portrait art, the communal kitchens, the collection or iron, and the Red Guard. The movie is long (over two hours) and intense. The family suffers heart-wrenching tragedies and continually struggles to overcome adversities. The movie speaks of the unconditional love of a wife and mother and of a father who matures. The theme is of survival--to live. Viewers cannot help but be deeply touched, and the tears will flow.
Recommended ages--high school and adult.