The Story of Zhou Enlai
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''The Story of Zhou Enlai'' () is a 2013 Chinese
Historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
film written by Tian Yunzhang and Jiang Yue and directed by Chen Li. Based on the life of Premier
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
between May 3 and May 7, 1961, when he investigated extensively and scientifically the rural situation in Huaxi of
Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, ...
and the old revolutionary base Boyan Township of
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
, it stars Sun Weimin as Zhou Enlai and Hao Yan as Zhou's wife
Deng Yingchao Deng Yingchao (; 4 February 1904 – 11 July 1992) was the Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1983 to 1988, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and the wife of the first Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai. E ...
, with He Wei, Bai Qing, Chu Zhibo, and Niu Ben. The film premiered in China on 16 July 2013.


Plot

In the late 1950s and the early 1960s, the newly established
Communist State A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...
suffered a natural disaster for three years running. The mistake of
Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruc ...
and Soviets' pressing for the repayment presented severe difficulties for national economy. In 1961, under the leadership of
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
, all the Chinese leaders went to the forefront to do investigation. On May 3, 1961,
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
(Sun Weimin) comes to Boyan, an old revolutionary base in
north China North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north ...
's
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
province, to do investigation. On the way to Boyan Township, Zhou Enlai sees trees had been despoiled of their leaves. He feels puzzled. Guo Fenglin (He Wei), the director of Boyan People's Commune, sends people to shut the dissidents, and than takes some people to greet Zhou Enlai. As soon as Zhou Enlai meets Guo Fenglin, he asks where are the leaves, Guo Fenglin lies to Zhou Enlai. A passing little girl named Lian Di says the truth that the leaves were ate by local hungry people. Zhou Enlai is in a meeting all morning. Everyone is not telling the truth, they all praise the present policy. At noon, Guo Fenglin invites Zhou Enlai to dinner. When Zhou Enlai sees the braised pork and eggs on the table, he do not even enter the door. Soon afterwards, Zhou Enlai comes to the kitchen and ate a bowl of congee and half a substituted steamed corn bread (). In the afternoon after the meeting, Lian Di comes home with Zhou Enlai. Lian Di's grandma sang a laozi opera to Zhou Enlai and tells Zhou Enlai the truth situation. At night, Zhou Enlai comes to the classroom following the sound of reading, the children tells Zhou Enlai that they skipped classes because of hunger. On the second day, after inquiring about the situations of the field and the post office, Zhou Enlai comes to the ''Danganhus (go-it-aloner) home to ask for information. The 65-year-old bachelor tells Zhou Enlai that he is an individuallist and he is afraid that others will eat his ration. At night, a freak storm badly damages all the sweet potato vines which were just planted. All the villagers are carrying rain gears to the fields to deal with the flood. Zhou Enlai is very melancholy when he sees the villagers working in the torrential rain. Zhou Enlai comes to the kitchen to help cooking a pot of brown sugar water. On the third day, after the farewell party, Zhou Enlai holds a meeting. Zhang Erting, an honest farmer, tells to Zhou Enlai that he has a bone to pick with the public dining hall () and it should be adjustment and he is against the way of dining. He complains to Zhou Enlai that the people are hungry that's because some officials and cooks ate and took more than their share. Zhang Erting's opinion broke the silence, Zhou Enlai listens to them carefully and asks solicitously. In the small hours of the fourth day, Zhou Enlai has a long talk with Mao Zedong on the phone. On the morning, Zhou Enlai comes to Zhang Erting's home and says that he wants to adopt Zhang Erting's youngest son, but Zhang refuses because he promised to bring the children up no matter how difficult it is. Later, Zhou Enlai conveys Mao Zedong's instructions in the microphone that Mao agreed with Zhang Erting's opinion and close the dining hall right now. On the morning of the fifth day, the Boyan people all come to the road to send Zhou Enlai.


Cast

* Sun Weimin as
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
* Hao Yan as
Deng Yingchao Deng Yingchao (; 4 February 1904 – 11 July 1992) was the Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1983 to 1988, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and the wife of the first Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai. E ...
* He Wei as Guo Fenglin, the current Director of Boyan People's Commune. * Chu Zhibo as Zhang Erting * Niu Ben as Guo Baisui, Guo Fenlin's father, former branch secretary in Boyan Township. * Bai Qing as Lian Di's grandma. * Liu Peiqi * Chen Chuang as Sheng De * Wang Yichan as Sheng De's wife * Chu Xingyi as Lao Yan'er (Short-spoken) * Wang Jingsong as Teacher Wang * Xu Liang as Ma Lie * Geng Sheng as Hanzi * Zhang Bo as Branch Secretary Fang * Li Jun as Wang Chunhe * Hu Jiayi as Lian Di * Xu Jingyi as Xu Ming * Song Binghui as Guo Hu * Chi Ning as Lian Di's father * Hou Zan as Fang Tianjian


Production

The films was shot entirely on location in Boyan Town of
Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...
, a county-level city administered as part of
Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...
,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
, China.


Release

''The Story of Zhou Enlai'' was released on 16 July 2013, in China.


Reception

Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...
gave the film 6 out of 10. The audience criticized the film for covering up the historical truth and promoting individual worship.


Accolades


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Zhou Enlai 2013 films 2010s Mandarin-language films 2010s historical drama films Chinese historical drama films Cultural depictions of Zhou Enlai