Raise the Red Lantern (simplified Chinese: 大红灯笼高高挂; traditional Chinese: 大紅燈籠高高掛; pinyin: Dà Hóng Dēnglong Gāogāo Guà) is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaption by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into an acclaimed ballet of the same title by the National Ballet of China, also directed by Zhang.
Set in the 1920s, the film tells the story of a young woman who becomes one of the concubines of a wealthy man during the Warlord Era. It is noted for its opulent visuals and sumptuous use of colours. The film was shot in the Qiao Family Compound near the ancient city of Pingyao, in Shanxi Province. Although the screenplay was approved by Chinese censors, the final version of the film was banned in China for a period.
The film is set in 1920s China during the Warlord Era, years before the Chinese Civil War. Nineteen-year-old Songlian (Sònglián, played by Gong Li), whose father has recently died and left the family bankrupt, marries into the wealthy Chen family, becoming the fourth wife or rather the third concubine or, as she is referred to, the Fourth Mistress (Sì Tàitai) of the household. Arriving at the palatial abode, she is at first treated like royalty, receiving sensuous foot massages and brightly lit red lanterns, as well as a visit from her husband, Master Chen (Ma Jingwu), the master of the house, whose face is never clearly shown.
(Jagger/Richards)
We, on our present life,
Knew that the stars were right.
That if you are the first to go,
You'll leave a sign to let me know,
Tell me so.
Please, carry the Lantern lights.
You crossed the sea of night,
Free from the spell of fright
Your cloak it is a spirit shroud.
You'll wake me in my sleeping hours,
Like a cloud.
So, please, carry the Lantern high.
Me, in my sorry plight,
You waiting ev'ry night.
My face it turns a deathly pale,
You're talking to me, through your veil,
I hear you wail.
So, please carry the Lantern light.
The servants sleep,
The door's are barred.
You hear the stopping of my heart-we never part.
So, please carry the Lantern high.