Raise the Red Lantern - Definition and Overview

Raise the Red Lantern DVD

Raise the Red Lantern (大紅燈籠高高掛 literal meaning: "Raise the Big Red Lantern(s) High High Up") is a 1991 Chinese film, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It was adapted by Ni Zhen from the novel by Su Tong.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992.

Filming location: Pingyao, Shanxi Province.

In the film, nineteen-year-old Songlian (Gong Li) is to be the fourth wife of a wealthy businessman. The wives are in competition for the man's attention and its corresponding prestige; Songlian's independent mind clashes with the traditional ways of his family.

The red lanterns in the title refer to the lanterns hung outside the quarters of the wife with whom the master is sleeping that night.

See also

• Cinema of China