Course:ASIA355/2024/Power of Ambiguity: Philosophical Considerations and Generational Tension in Life on a String
Power of Ambiguity: Philosophical Considerations and Generational Tension in Life on a String
Group Members' Contributions
| Introduction | DT |
| Stories behind the film production | JT |
| Histories of reception | SG |
| Scholarly literature review | SG |
| Comparative analysis | JT |
| An alternative interpretation | DT |
| Conclusion | DT |
Introduction
Life on a String (Chinese: 边走边唱) is a film directed by Fifth-Generation filmmaker Chen Kaige, based on the novel of the same English title (Chinese: 命若琴弦) by She Tiesheng. It received its premiere in July 1991, as well as its Canadian and American premieres in September 1991, at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival respectively. Casting of the film features Liu Zhongyuan in the role of Shenshen, Huang Lei in the role of Shitou, and Xu Qing in the role of Lanxiu.
The story follows the mentor-protégé relationship between Shenshen, a blind travelling sanxian player, along with his protégé Shitou, who is also blind. As a child, Shenshen was promised by his master that upon the thousandth string of his sanxian instrument being broken from wear of being played, he would be able to use the prescription located at the back of his instrument to cure his blindness. Through the course of the film, Shenshen and Shitou’s values, hopes, and outlook on life begin to differ, especially after Shitou meets Lanxiu, a local village girl whom Shitou develops a budding romance with.
In many Chinese films, familial and familial-like relationships act as a microcosm or allegory of greater societal dynamics between groups. Our group’s discussion focus is aimed at an exploration of the dynamics between characters within the film, the identification of instances where tradition is challenged, and the possible greater societal commentary that can be derived from these aspects. In addition, our discussion will highlight one of the main themes of the film, of finding value and meaning in life, and learning from lived experiences and epiphanies.
Stories Behind the Film
Original story
"Life on a String" is a short story written by the writer Shi Tiesheng 史铁生. Shi Tiesheng, a famous disabled writer, began to create "educated youth literature" 知青文学and "scar literature" 伤痕文学 in 1978, with the image of "disability" appearing. As he grew older and suffered from illness, he questioned his fate, yearned for love, thought about life, human existence and paid attention to the spirit.[1] The short story was first published in the second issue of "Modern Man" 现代人报in 1985. "Life on a String" tells the story of two blind men, one old and one young, who make a living by singing and dancing. They hope that "when they break a thousand strings of the lute", they will get the prescription and see the light. When a thousand strings of the lute are broken, the old blind man only gets a blank piece of paper, but he chooses to tell the young blind man at the end of the novel that he will "break 1,200 strings of the lute". The characters in the novel are always suffering, but the psychological hints they give themselves are a touch of color in the gray life. The old blind man and the young blind man in the novel have suffered many negative things: physical defects, hardships in life, misunderstandings from people around them, and loneliness in their hearts. But they have been working hard to live, keeping the hope in their hearts, filtering out too much ugliness in reality, and examining the rare beauty around them.[2]
Stories of the Cast
At that time, Chen Kaige had just returned from the Cannes Film Festival. Countless actors were eager to join his new film, but Chen Kaige chose Huang Lei, a high school graduate with no acting experience, to play the lead in "Life on a String." The reason was simple: Huang Lei's looks. In an era dominated by thick eyebrows and big eyes, literary youths with long hair like Huang Lei were rare. When Chen Kaige found Huang Lei's ID photo among a pile of student files, he was ecstatic, unaware that it was actually Huang Lei's worst photo.[3]
In his search for the perfect actor, Chen Kaige went through the Film Academy, examining countless students. Still unsatisfied, he turned to the candidates' photos from that year. He was struck by a 2-inch black-and-white photo of Huang Lei. An interesting story accompanied this photo: The school had required everyone to prepare an ID photo, on the day it was taken, Huang Lei, dressed up by his sister, stood in front of the camera with a slicked-back hairstyle. Huang Lei had quarreled with his father and was in a foul mood. His father insisted he smile for the camera, but Huang Lei, stubbornly defiant, glared instead, resulting in an angry expression that he considered his "black history." Ironically, this very photo captivated Chen Kaige. This rebellious look convinced Chen Kaige that Huang Lei was perfect for the role.[4]
At that time, Huang Lei was focused on his studies and initially rejected the offer. It took Chen Kaige three visits and the influence of the Beijing Film Academy to finally persuade Huang Lei to accept the role.
Huang Lei later revealed why Chen Kaige chose him as the lead. When Chen Kaige saw the unfocused look in Huang Lei's file photo, he thought it suited the character of a blind man. He summoned Huang Lei to the Beijing Film Studio, and after taking a photo, decided on him as the lead.[5]
Histories of the Film’s Reception
Chinese Reception:
While Chen Kaige intended for "Life on a String" to address "the present state of spiritual void among the Chinese," who have grown disillusioned by reality and have "failed to find a source of rejuvenation for their culture and civilization,"[6] the film did not resonate with audiences as anticipated. Released in early 1992, "Life on a String" strived to reflect the existential and cultural dilemmas faced by Chinese society. However, despite these lofty ambitions, the film was met with a mediocre response and considered a box office failure, largely due to its experimental and avant-garde artistic choices.
The ambiguous setting of the film, devoid of any clear political or industrial markers, further complicates its reception and interpretation. By not anchoring the narrative in a specific time period, Kaige created a film that transcends temporal confines, making it challenging for viewers to discern the precise nature of its critique. This lack of temporal context renders the film open to various interpretations but also contributes to its perceived obscurity and lack of focus.
At the time of its release, critics and audiences dismissed the film as "nothing special." In comparison to other films of the early 1990s, Life on a String failed to leave a lasting impression and was deemed forgettable. Despite being crafted by one of the most prominent directors of the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, the film did not achieve the same acclaim or cultural impact as some of Kaige's other works. This perception of the film as a "farewell work" for the Fifth Generation underscores its role as a turning point, marking a departure from the bold, innovative storytelling that initially defined this cinematic era[7].
Western Reception:
Overseas, Chen Kaige's Life on a String was met with more open-minded reception, prompting both supportive and critical discussion about his creative choices. The film earned Kaige his second nomination at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991, competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or, awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film. Although Life on a String did not win the award, Kaige's following film, Farewell My Concubine, won just two years later.
More recently, the film has a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.9 stars on IMDb. These ratings seem justified by the various reviews. Typical comments range from praising the beautiful imagery to critiquing the run time and pacing. One review stands out, praising the magnitude of the subjective meaning in the film that most viewers missed, “[the film] could've used 10 minutes shaved off here and there. But it was a remarkable, gripping watch despite being as slow as expected. There's powerful enough stuff going on. Moving stuff even. If you're willing to think deeply about what you're being shown and why... You can either handle this meditative arthouse style or you can't. Most people can't. That doesn't mean this isn't a great piece of work that took meticulous effort”[8]. In an era where viewers attention span has shortened with the likes of short video streaming platforms such as Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram Reels, and Youtube Shorts, audiences have been losing interest in slow moving films.
I suspect the film was received better abroad because global audiences approached it with different expectations. Global audiences are not as intimately familiar with the social and political context of China during that period, and likely did not feel the same sense of disappointment that Chinese audiences felt.
Scholarly Literature Review
Dialogue of Power & Knowledge in Life on a String:
In their dissertation, Heying Lu connects Shenshen and Shitou’s experiences with blindness as a polyphony, a simultaneous combination of two or more tones or melodic lines, of power and knowledge[9]. Lu claims that through the displays of the characters’ differing priorities and interests, Chen Kaige promotes a discourse that Shenshen holds the transcendental power of knowledge, and Shitou the liberal power of intuition; the two engaging in a dialogue of power positions[9].
Shenshen blindly devotes 60 years of his life to the pursuit of the cure for blindness concealed in his sanxian, a three-stringed banjo. In other words, the will his master left for him and goals of sight become his life’s purpose, with the promise holding power over Shenshen’s mindset. Shitou’s lifestyle conflicts with his masters, as he is critical of his master's priorities and questions their endless goose chase for sight. The apprentice is more interested in the pursuit of love’s power. His ability to recognize Langxiu, through other senses like touch and sound, is a display of his “sixth sense” or power to love.
Lu also analyses the significant changes made to the story of the film from the original work. They argue Kaige, through his creative liberties such as to kill off Langxiu rather than have her marry, pushes the narrative that love is subjugated and fragile[9], which mirrors Shenshen’s original disapproval of their relationship. For Shenshen, love is a distraction, and easily lost. Upon his return at the end of the film, he finds his former love married, and Shitou’s lover dead.
Finally Lou describes Shenshen’s metaphysical sight through storytelling. Shenshen completes his life’s mission only to discover his master’s promise is false. He becomes distraught and cynical about his life, feeling he wasted his life chasing an unobtainable goal. He finally finds solace in singing, and during his final performance he realizes the power of his storytelling. Throughout his experiences traveling, he's transmitted and received from many different contexts, developing a unique view of the world. This, Lu argues, is how Shenshen transcends vision, via the power of his knowledge[9]. In his final performance, he tells about how singing transcends difference and brings happiness. He dies immediately after, signifying he finally fulfilled his goal of sight/vision and knowledge[9].
Fifth Generation Triangular Relationships:
Dr. Shiyu Louisa Wei, a scholar and filmmaker, describes the many aspects of Fifth Generation Chinese cinema. Throughout her book, she identifies major aspects of this generation such as the common trope of a father-son/mentor-mentee relationship who’s tension is brought about by the love of a rebellious young woman. These tropes are portrayed through the use of avant-garde visuals, a hallmark of the generation.
Wei identifies the common use of triangular relationships in films like Life on a String as a means to critique the “great tradition” in China at the time. She associates the parent-child relationship exhibited by Shenshen and Shitou with ideological differences between youth and older folks following the rapid changes in China’s culture and industry. This generational difference is what Wei calls China’s “great tradition”[10].
The final part of the triangular relationship is the addition of a female love interest in search of liberation from patriarchal expectations[10]. Her purpose is to act as a taste of modernization, or the apple for Eve, for the young boy who has yet to be enlightened by love. The young man is thus forced to choose between obeying his father figure or follow his individual desires with the woman, which becomes the characters defining conflict.
In her analysis of the visual style of Fifth generation filmmakers, Wei concentrates on the significance of landscape and color as a means to translate underlying and unspoken words[10]. This form of dialogue creates a sense of ambiguity to the story, which has been both praised and critiqued. She acknowledges that filmmakers “unfaithfulness” to their original texts is part of why the films were received poorly. However their deliberate use of color and landscapes is often praised for its beauty and surrealism[10].
Acoustics and Gender:
In her article “Gendered Spirituality and Acoustic Imagination”, Dr. Hui Faye Xiao assigns the role of the blind storyteller in the film as a bridge between historians and seers, shown by mythical narratives and imagery[7]. The grown master performs mystical feats through his music, such as preventing a war, causing the villagers to deify him and deeply listen to his stories.
Xiao describes the significance of sound, in the absence of sight in Life on a String as an acoustic imagination of the tension between generations[7]. Qu Xiaosong, the film’s composer, incorporates the Taoist concept of da yin xi sheng 大音希声, meaning “great music has the faintest notes,” into the score. He minimizes the use of special effects in sound usage to create a mythical acoustic atmosphere that complements the film’s simple plot and captures the feeling of silent but unstoppable movement of time[7]. This suddenly changes at the climax of the film, when Shenshen sings his final song. Qu debuts a new approach in this scene, including scrambled sounds in the background. These features amplify the feeling of anguish Shenshen experiences with the realization he will never magically obtain vision[7].
Xiao asserts Kaige’s decision to divert from the original material and make significant plot changes in his film shifts the political stance of the story. Originally, the two masters depart together in the finale, whereas in the film, only Shitou survives and refuses to be idolized the way his master was. For Xiao, this ending protests against patrilineal continuity that feeds into gendered societal roles [7]. For Shitou’s mentor and lover to pass away leaves him to create a hybrid identity for himself encompassing aspects of both ideologies.
Comparative Analysis
"Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-duk. The film is set in a remote floating monastery and follows the life of a Buddhist monk through five stages, symbolized by the seasons.[11]
Starting from the season Spring, a young boy monk lives with an old monk. He learns lessons about life, nature, and karma. The nest season is Summer, the boy, now a teenager, experiences the turmoil of first love when a young woman comes to the monastery for healing. In the Fall, the teenager monk is now a young adult, he leaves the monastery to pursue his passions but returns later, broken and seeking redemption from the old monk. Later in the season Winter, the monk returns as an older man from jail, he takes on the role of the old monk, living in the mastery and reflecting on his past. The last season is Spring, where the cycle begins anew as he takes in a new young boy monk that were left here by a women.
Similarities: Mentor-Apprentice Relationships, Eternal Return, Romantic Relationships
The relationship between the blind musician and his apprentice is central to the film comparison. The older blind musician Shenshen passes on his wisdom and teachings to the young boy Shitou, guiding him not only in music but in understanding the deeper meanings of life. This dynamic reflects a traditional mentor-apprentice relationship, where knowledge and skills are imparted through close, personal interaction, often involving moral and philosophical teachings. Examples can be presented from part where Shenshen found out about Shitou’s romantic relationship and were having negative attitude towards eachother on this situation. Shenshen wanted to teach Shitou to just focus solely on playing music and not to let the colorful world dazzles the eyes(花花世界迷了眼睛).
Similarly, this film portrays the relationship between an old monk(No name given) and his young apprentice(No name given). The mentor imparts Buddhist teachings and life lessons through various stages of the boy’s life, for example, in the beginning at the young monk’s kid stage (spring) the young monk were playing by the water, grabbed the fish, frog, and the snake tied each of them up with a piece of rock for fun. The old monk saw it and decide to teach the young monk a lesson by tie up a big rock on the young monk’s back to teach him empathy towards lives. Both examples present what different mentor-apprentice relationship in common, to guide their successors away from “wrong path”.
In Life on a String the concept of eternal return is tied to the cyclical nature of hope, despair, and enlightenment. The blind musician journey is not just a physical quest but also a spiritual one. Since Shenshen’s mentor were asking Shenshen to break 1000 strings, and Shenshen himself ask Shitou to break string with all his might, each generation were asked to achieve the goal of cure the blindness by the last generation. After Shenshen died, Shitou were asked to be the next “Shenshen” in the village.
In Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring the film begins with one old monk and one young monk, the young monk were naughty since he was playing animals, as the time pass by the young monk grew into a teenager, then young adult the period where the old monk died, then middle-aged men than decide to follow the old monk’s path in the monastery with a young boy left by a women that the middle-aged monk decide to raise him as a monk. The new young monk were doing the same thing the middle-aged monk were in his childhood times, which is playing animals. The cycle continues as the middle-aged monk take on the responsibility the old monk did, and caring for the new young-monk as the old monk did to him.
In both films, romantic relationships act as a catalyst for the characters' personal development. In "Life on a String," Shitou’s romantic involvement influences his journey and understanding of himself and compare with Shenshen knowing that having loved one with him seems to be more important than music. They spend nights together secretly, knowing that it’s not a good thing to be presented abroad, until Shenshen found out and led to an argument towards Shitou, also the villagers found out and wanted to end the couple’s romance which indirectly caused Lanxiu’s death.
Similarly, in "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring," the protagonist young monk’s romantic entanglements significantly impact his spiritual journey and personal evolution. As the female character came in contacted with the young monk, they soon fall in love and discovered by the old monk which also led to negative impact since the young monk can not concentrate on Buddhist teaching anymore and choose to go after the girl. When he choose to come back to the monastery years later, he had already committed crime that led to the female character’s death. In both films, romance is not merely a subplot but a crucial element that enriches the narrative and deepens the exploration of the characters' spiritual and philosophical journeys.
Differences: Character Development, Storytelling Structure
The focus is on Shenshen’s personal journey and the relationships that forms along the way. The interactions with other characters, including his mentor and romantic interests, are instrumental in highlighting his inner struggles and aspirations. For Shenshen, his development seems to focus on the music from the moment his mentor pass down the prescription to him, Shenshen stayed holy as the villagers were praising him for the music, until he passed the prescription to the pharmacy the moment he knew that it’s all false hope, which his world shattered and went to the restaurant lady for consolation this is Shenshen’s second development. The third development on Shenshen were the part he talked to Shitou about the prescription, he calmed down understood the reason behind the hope the mentor gives, just as what he hope to pass down to Shitou. The film primarily concentrates on individual character development in small amount of time.
In the movie Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring. Each season symbolize different life stage which usually would have approximately 10 years or more span. Showing the whole life story of the young monk, more character development were presented in comparison to Shenshen. From spring, the young monk does not know much about the world and continues the study in different perspective and field. In the summer, when he became a teenager that falls in love with the girl that made him develop his rebellious trait that led to his runaway from the monastery. The third season fall, the young monk became a criminal that wish to find inner peace made him return to the monastery that he once left. The young monk came back from jail after he found his inner peace many years later in one winter, he took on the role of the old monk another development as he became a monk again, practiced hard, tidied up the temple, and lived a life of leisure. And the last season happened again in the spring, as another young monk growing up he stayed in his place stabilized. The character development evolve over the course of their lives, with their actions and decisions mirroring the changing seasons. The final Relationships are portrayed in a way that underscores the transient nature of life and the continuous process of learning and growing.
The narrative of Shenshen’s journey unfolds in a linear fashion, though it incorporates flashbacks to provide depth to the characters' backstories and motivations. This structure allows for a focused exploration of individual character development within a short time frame. The film follows Shenshen and his mentor's prescription, tracing his rise in the villagers' eyes in the beginning of the film as Shenshen and Shitou walks on the dessert, his disillusionment towards a cure for blind, and eventual understanding and acceptance. This straightforward approach on storytelling structure were easy to follow and connect with the characters.
In contrast, the film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is divided into five distinct segments, each representing a different season in the life of a Buddhist monk and his young apprentice. The narrative is cyclical, reflecting the passage of time and the cyclical nature of life and spiritual growth. Each season symbolizes different life stages, usually spanning approximately ten years or more, showing the whole life story of the young monk. This structure allows for a comprehensive portrayal of character development, from the young monk's innocence to his eventual role as the old monk. The cyclical narrative highlights the continuous process of learning, growing, and the evolving nature of relationships, each stage would have different actors to perpetuate young monk mirroring the seasons' changing yet recurring nature.
Alternative Interpretation
As per earlier in the literature review, Life on a String has many instances of a challenging of the status quo or prior generation, as allegorized through the father/mentor figure Shenshen and his relationship with Shitou.
Through the theatrical and artistic traditions of past Chinese Imperial periods present in the inherent inspiration of the visual presentation of Chen Kaige’s film, along with character development moments within the film that precipitate from their reflections on past events and actions, there is a case to be made about a messaging in the film of deriving an evolution of identity from the tribute or harkening back to the past.
SCENE 1 (1:28:20):
Having broke the thousandth string and upon realization that his promised prescription to cure his blindness was only a blank sheet of paper, Shenshen is utterly lost and in need of soul-searching, after spending his whole life in dedication to this promise.
At the scene in the eatery adjacent the waterfall, Shenshen desperately asks the lady running the business of questions reflecting on his past, in his search for some semblance of a meaning to his life. The medium-long, two-shot composition highlights the tender, comforting actions of the lady who runs the business as she embraces Shenshen to console him, as it shows the entire body and demeanours of each character. In the backdrop, the picturesque scene of the terraced waterfall harkens back to the ancient tradition and importance of landscape paintings in ancient China[12]. In addition, the scene features a natural lighting, once again displaying the ancient Chinese cultural appreciation towards nature. The lady then sings a folk-like song, accompanied by the ambient, natural diegetic sounds of the waterfall in the background, that is seemingly about reaching out to a greater community rather than staying in one place: “The frog can jump into the pond to look for its own kind; No one wishes to stay home, to stay home and watch the house”.
Later on the scene, there are medium close-up shots that drive audience attention to the emotional expression of Shenshen, in his lost state. There is a shallow focus on Shenshen so that we see his expression. In the plane in front of him is a cauldron of fire, that may represent the loss or burning away of his ideals, holding on to the promise of a cure for his blindness given to him at the beginning of the film. Shenshen solemnly states that, “I am not a saint, I am only a blind man” to the husband of the lady running the eatery.
In a shift in perspective, the husband, in response, notes to Shenshen that “Whoever you are, life is just a game; Some play it well, some don’t, [you] can’t tell until the very end”. Though the English subtitles convey the overarching theme that Shenshen is ultimately in control of his own destiny, rather than beholden solely to the promise given to him as a child, the original Chinese language that is spoken provide an additional layer of meaning during this scene, likening life to a theatrical play. This may be interpreted as a call back to the beginnings of Chinese history of cinema, as connections between traditional Chinese theatre and Western-introduced film were made by early adopters of the new technology[10]. Likewise, Shenshen, who has been struggling with his identity post-revelation of the false promise, is able to find meaning through reflecting back on his past, and all of the community connections he has made through his music-making. This is later evidenced by his final song, where it can be viewed with the lens that Shenshen is singing this to himself as a reflection of his growth and realization: “You are not blind. You are not deaf. You are still young… You can talk. You can sing… One day, all of us will sing”.
SCENE 2 (1:10:55):
Initially opposed to Shitou’s budding romance with Lanxiu, Shenshen comes around about the idea towards the end of the film, after his thousandth string breaks.
The scene, set inside a temple, features many Buddhist statues, along with other religious/cultural vessels, once again attempts to situate audiences by harkening back to aesthetics of a bygone era of Chinese history. The natural lighting, like the first scene mentioned, once again adds to the cultural aesthetic traditions that have been prominent in Chinese art since ancient times. Interestingly, the angle of the shot is at a high angle, as if we are looking down at Shenshen from the point of view of the Buddhist statues, possibly suggesting Shenshen’s humility and deference in realizing the importance of Lanxiu to Shitou’s life and development, and trying to make amends for his earlier actions of hitting Shitou in response to his confronting Shenshen about his newfound love.
Conclusion
Life on a String received divergent receptions when comparing between Chinese-audiences and Western-audiences. The film resonated more strongly with Western critics and audiences, whom viewed Chen’s more avant-garde work as a moving and gripping experience, despite its slow tempo. Conversely, Chinese audiences tended to view the film less positively, attributing to its experimental style and the lack of anchored focus as a result.
As a group, we found enjoyment and recommend Life on a String for viewers looking for a more abstract film experience, filled with philosophical suggestions on perspectives on life, and from a sociopolitical lens, offering allusions to intergenerational tensions within Chinese society at the time alongside shifting views on traditional thoughts and tropes commonplace in historical Chinese society. The implicit messaging of the film, alongside Chen Kaige’s characteristic vivid and colourful landscapes, long takes of grand environments, folk-like song and sweeping and majestic atmospheric music, combine to create a compelling backdrop for the themes of the film to touch audiences, despite its slow and maundering pace. The use of personal, familial-like relationships to represent greater societal attitudes and shifts at the time of the film’s production, like in many other Chinese films, is an effective method of relating the sociopolitical topics of the time to the individual. Despite these strengths, Life on a String is at times quite vague and lacking focus in what it wants to say, owing to both the quietness and lack of dialogue of the film, and vague storyline.
References
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- ↑ 金, 鑫; 许, 小周 (2009-Apr-14). "论电影《边走边唱》与小说《命若琴弦》的结合". 过期杂志阅读平台. Retrieved 2024-Jul-27. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help) - ↑ "命若琴弦". Baidu百科. 2024-Jul-27. Retrieved 2024-Jul-27. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help) - ↑ 奇观视觉 (2023-Feb-28). "黄磊用一张丑照把陈凯歌征服，还视他为引路人，对陈飞宇亲自迎接". Sohu.com. Retrieved 2024-Jul-27. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help) - ↑ Tan, zhang; booka (2022-Aug-06). ""黄磊，能不能别演戏了！"". m.thepaper.cn. Retrieved 2024-Jul-27. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help) - ↑ 娱论电影 (2019-Jun-02). "黄磊说陈凯歌是其恩师，同拍过导演作品的张柏芝不想多谈有两原因". Sohu.com. Retrieved 2024-Jul-27. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help) - ↑ Shannon, Jeff (Dec 4, 1992). "Plucking Meaning From It All -- `Life On A String' Draws Truth From Simplicity". Seattle Times. Retrieved Aug 3, 2024.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Xiao, Hui Faye (October 2017). "Gendered Spirituality and Acoustic Imagination "Life on a String" from Fiction to Screen". Chinese Literature Today. 6: 56–67 – via Taylor and Francis.
- ↑ "Life on a String - Movie Reviews l Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Jun 24, 2012. Retrieved Aug 3, 2024.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Lu, Heying (1996). Cross-Cultural Analysis Using Power Relation, Difference, and Icons: A Study of Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou's Films of the Early 1990s. Brigham Young University. pp. 86–90.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Wei, Shiyu Louisa (2002). The Fifth Generation and Beyond: Reflections on Contemporary Chinese Film Culture. University of Alberta. pp. 20–50.
- ↑ "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring Original title: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom". IMDB. 2024-Aug-03. line feed character in
|title=at position 43 (help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ Rist, Peter (2016). "Renewal of Song Dynasty Landscape Painting Aesthetics Combined with a Contemplative Modernism in the Early Work of Chen Kaige". The Poetics of Chinese Cinema. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 51–79. ISBN 978-1-137-56608-9.