Tr. by Eileen Chow
MCLC Resource Center Publication (2004)
Shanghai, 1934
Lianhua Film Studio
Director: Cai Chusheng
Script: Sun Shiyi
Actors: Ruan Lingyu, Zheng Junli, Yin Xu, Wang Naidong
Music: Nie Er
Main characters:
Wei Ming (played by Ruan Lingyu): music teacher at a girls school in Shanghai; she aspires to be a writer.
Dr. Wang: a Doctor of Philosophy just returned from the U.S. He is general secretary at United Bank and a trustee at Wei Ming’s school.
Mrs. Wang: wife of Dr. Wang, Zhang Xiuzhen, former classmate of Wei Ming at music school.
Yu Haichou: editor at the Shanghai Publishing Company and friend of Wei Ming.
Li Ah Ying: friend of Wei Ming who teaches music to factory workers
Aboard streetcar, Wei Ming (Ruan Lingyu)
Yu, Wei Ming, and Mrs Wang aboard the streetcar
Wei: Aren’t you Zhang Xiuzhen from the music department?
Wei: It’s only been a few years since we left school, but you’re so glamorous now I almost didn’t recognize you. You must be married—how should I call you?
Mrs. Wang: You can call me Mrs. Wang—or just by my old schoolname, up to you.
Yu boards the streetcar
Wei: This is my old classmate, Mrs. Wang.
Wei: This is Mr. Yu Haichou, an editor at Shanghai Publishing Company.
Yu: Where are you coming from?
Wei: I’m just coming back from the offices of City Paper—I bought some things with my paycheck. It’s Saturday—you must have time today to come over to my place for a chat?
Yu: I was in fact heading over to your place. I have good news for you.
Wei, Mrs. Wang, and Yu return to Wei Ming’s room.
Dr. Wang’s mansion
Phone Book closeup: “Ms. Wei Ming 3924.” Names of other women, including prostitutes, are visible. Wei Ming’s boarding house.
“Phone call for Ms. Wei!”
Dr. Wang (over the phone): It’s Saturday today—you must have some free time! I would like to ask you to dinner—you must say yes to my invitation.
Wei: I’m very sorry, but I’m busy. I won’t have time to accompany you.
Dr. Wang: No problem! I’ll come over later (hangs up).
Wei Ming’s room
Mrs. Wang: Wei! You’ve changed your name—I’ve just learned that you are a literary figure now!
Mrs. Wang: A few days ago, I read a story by “Wei Ming,” in the paper, and I had no idea it was you. It was excellent! I even pointed it out to my husband.
Mrs. Wang leaves. Wei and Yu are alone
Yu: The publishing company has agreed to publish your manuscript, but the publisher will only pay ten percent of the royalties. And he won’t even pay out until the book is published—what do you think?
Wei: Do what you think is best. If not for you, all my hard work would have gone unnoticed in the first place.
Yu: Can you believe this is because you never write out “Ms.” after your name. Let me tell you how the publisher decided to publish your book. Really makes one angry.
Flashback. Offices of Shanghai Publishing Company.
Yu: You’re sure we’re going to reject this? Have you read it?
Publisher: To begin with, the title is bad. Plus no one’s heard of this author. It definitely won’t sell.
Publisher holds up a photo of Wei Ming.
Publisher: Mr. Yu . . . Who is this? Your . . .
Yu: No, just a friend. The author of this novel.
Publisher adds “Ms.” to the title page of Wei Ming’s novel
Publisher: Why didn’t you say earlier that the author was a young lady who looked like this? . . . If we advertise this as a book by a woman author, it’ll stir up some publicity—I’m sure it’ll sell well!
Publisher picks up the book manuscript, The Tomb of Love, by Wei Ming—and adds “Ms” with his pen.
Publisher: Okay, now have her add a preface, and we’ll publish it right away!
End of flashback. Wei Ming’s room. Yu and Wei are together. Yu grabs Wei’s arm and looks at her watch. She looks at him expectantly. Yu discovers a toy on Wei’s desk.
The toy Wei bought for her daughter
Wei: I bought it for a little girl I love. You should like it, because this is a woman who never falls down.
Dr. Wang’s mansion.
Mrs. Wang: Going out again? While I was in Beiping, I heard talk that you were out of control back here in Shanghai!
Dr. Wang: You’ve really misunderstood me! I’m so busy every day, how would I have time to go play around?
Mrs. Wang: You’re busy during the day—you’re busy at night too? I don’t believe you! Always going out alone!
Dr. Wang: At night there are always those Chinese-style banquets—you know those old fashioned fellows, they never bring their wives. For the sake of business, I have to go socialize!
Dr. Wang and his wife fight over money
Mrs. Wang: I don’t care about your business! Tell me, have you ever given me real money to spend?! . . . You bought yourself a fancy new car, and cruise out every day. I’m only a rich man’s wife in name—but when I have to go anywhere, I have to take a public bus! How can I even have face!?
Dr. Wang: Okay—tomorrow’s Sunday, so I can’t get you any money. But the day after, I’ll get you 2000 dollars to buy a car—will that satisfy you?
Mrs. Wang: 2000 dollars! That’s only enough to buy a tinny old car. You might as well keep the money for yourself! You need more than 2000 in silver to buy a new one.
Dr. Wang holds up four fingers to indicate he is willing to give her 4000 dollars. She stops her crying and manages a smile.
Wei Ming’s place
Yu: It’s not that I don’t want to take you out, but we shouldn’t be engaged in such decadent enjoyments like dancing at a time like this.
Wei: I don’t understand you. Why are you always cold as a glacier.
Yu: Because one is always afraid to catch fire . . . passion sometimes results in self-immolation!
Wei Ming ponders the fragile life of being a woman
Wei Ming cries, and she looks at her pet birds. Before the mirror. Dr. Wang arrives at Wei Ming’s.
Dr. Wang: I guessed that you would be done with your business by this time—I’m glad I’m right. I hope you haven’t been waiting long? . . . A few days ago at your school trustees’ meeting, the principal reported that exams end next Monday, and school lets out. During the break, you should get some rest—and go out and have some fun.
Wei Ming and Dr. Wang leave her rooms together. In Dr. Wang’s sedan.
Dr. Wang: Let’s drive out to the Beachside International Dance Hall, shall we?
Dr. Wang stares down at Wei Ming’s long legs.
Dr. Wang: Excuse me, do you mind if I smoke?
Wei Ming’s recollections of her time in the school are projected on the car window.
Wei Ming’s thoughts are projected on the car window
Principal: This is Dr. Wang, a Doctor of Philosophy just returned from the U.S. He is general secretary at United Bank. He has agreed to join our school board as a trustee . . . This is our music teacher, Miss Wei Ming.
Dr. Wang: Enchanté! I am very interested in both questions of education and music. I hope that we will often have a chance to discuss them in the future.
Wei Ming’s boarding house. Li Ah Ying, Wei Ming’s neighbor, posts a self-improvement work schedule, with items like “Teach singing, writing, reading to factory girls.” She then holds up a music teaching score, upon which is written—“Huangpu River. Rewritten by Li Ahying”
(“Teach Singing from 7:30 to 9 Saturday”)
Score of Ah Ying’s song “Huangpu River”
Ah Ying teaches a class of working women
Li Ah Ying goes to the school where she teaches singing.
Cut to Dr. Wang and Wei Ming entering the Dance Hall. They drink champagne as the dance hall music plays in the background. Cover of music score is “Peach Blossom River” [a famous popular song by Li Jinhui]. Wei Ming and Dr. Wang dance to the song. Just as the singing begins, there is a cut to Li Ah Ying teaching a very different, more militant type of song. This song is juxtaposed, using a split screen, with images of imperialism in Shanghai.
As the night progresses, images of the decadent lifestyle in the dance hall are juxtaposed with images of the difficult lives of workers.
Wei Ming watches foreigners in the dance hall perform two dances. In one, a Spanish man whips a woman; in the other, a female prisoner with ball and chain collapses to the ground.
Upset by the dances, Wei Ming suddenly gets up and walks out.
Dr. Wang (on his knees): I love you so much! You are the most beautiful person in the world, I hope you can be my companion for life! If you would only promise to marry me…
Wei: I’ve heard too much of this sort of talk! Marriage! What can marriage give me? ‘Companion for life’! Might as well call it ‘Slave for Life.’
Dr. Wang: I believe in late marriage: that’s why I haven’t gotten married yet. Are you also committed to being single? Will you never get married?
On the way back to town. Dr. Wang’s car stops in front of a building, a sign on which reads: HOTEL. Wei Ming angrily refuses to enter the hotel and takes a rickshaw home.
In front of Wei Ming’s boarding house, Wei bumps into Li Ah Ying.
Li Ah Ying: I have a favor to ask you. Will you wait for me at home for a bit after lunch?
Wei Ming reads Letter: “Dear Younger Sister—I haven’t received a letter from you in a long time, thinking you must be busy. We are in dire financial straits now after the death of your brother-in-law, and life is very difficult. I am taking Little Hong and coming south to stay with you. We shall be ariving in the next day or so in Shanghai. We will talk in greater detail when we meet. Your recently widowed Older Sister.”
Aboard Train
Wei’s Sister: We’ll be in Shanghai this afternoon, you’ll meet your mother.
Hong: Auntie, I have a mommy too?
Sister: Little Fool! How could you not have a mother, or where would you have come from?
Sister shows Hong her mother’s wedding photo
Sister brings Hong to Shanghai on the train
Hong: But why haven’t you told me before, Auntie?. . . What does my mother look like? Auntie! Does she look like our neighbor Xiao Laizi’s mom?
Hong looks inside and outside the train as if to find an image that would fit her mother. Sister shows her a photo of Wei Ming with her husband on their wedding day.
Hong: Mother is beautiful! . . . Who is this person standing beside Mother?
Sister: It’s your father.
Flashback, Wei to her sister and brother-in-law falling in love, their premarital relationship exposed to her parents, their elopement, the birth of their childhood, and her husband’s abandoment. Finally, with her sister and brother-in-law, Wei says: “I’ll have to leave this poor child in your care; I have to go to Shanghai and find a way to make a living.”
Dr. Wang donates money to the principal as a bribe to get Wei fired
Hong: I don’t want this terrible father. I want my mother!
Dr. Wang’s mansion. Dr Wang reads a Letter: “Please come to our school on July 1st for a meeting about the school’s financial development.”
Principal’s Office
Donation form for women’s music college
Principal: But she is a very popular teacher here, it would be hard to . . .
Wei Ming’s boarding house
Wei’s neighbor, the Madam: The rice store came again for the bill, could you please pay for board.
Wei’s room. Both Yu and Li Ah Ying enter.
Ah Ying: I wrote a song called “New Woman.” I hope you can set it to music.
Ah Ying: Right now I’ve been taking the currently popular, but meaningless songs, and rewriting them to teach our workers; but this is not a permanent solution. We still need to write our own songs. I hope you will join me in this work!
Ah Ying: This is my revision of “Peach Blossom River” into “Huangpu River.”
Yu: I hope you associate more with people like Ah Ying.
Train Station. Wei greets her sister and Hong.
Wei Ming and daughter Hong meet after years of separation
Hong: Mommy! Auntie told me that Mommy used to cry too.
Wei Ming notices Hong’s cough and looks toward her sister.
Sister: She probably caught a cold on the road.
Wei Ming gives Hong the toy she had bought.
Sister: Do you live close to here?
Wei: Not too close. In any case, no one there knows I have a child, so I’m planning to find you another place to stay. Let’s first go to the hotel.
School Lobby
Business card closeup: Qi Weide, editor in chief of City Paper
Qi: Your writing is just like your person—elegant and wonderful! I hope you will write for us often. . . As for your payment, now that we know each other, I can raise your rates. . . I would also like to ask for a photo of you, to publish in the paper. A pretty woman novelist like you—I am sure it will arouse our readers’ passionate attention!
Wei: Unfortunately I don’t have one with me.
Qi: I’ll just come by your place and pick it up. Your address is . . .
Postman delivers a letter, which reads: “Ms. Wei Ming, Due to restructuring at the school, we are canceling your class and terminating your appointment. From the Principal”
Principal: Miss Wei! You have nothing to worry about! Maybe you’ll encounter an opportunity a hundred times better than teaching—in the future, the school will have to rely on your good will and support!. . . For the time being, please forgive me; everything will become clear very soon.
Wei Ming’s room.
Letter: “Rent for the piano is three months overdue. The instrument will be reclaimed if payment is not received in the next three days.”
Qi arrives to pick up a photo from Wei. She happily shows him some, from which he selects one.
Wei to Qi: I’ve just lost my job. If I can make money off my writing, then I’ll have to rely on that to make my living from now on.
Qi: Here’s 30 dollars—take it first, and we can deduct it from your manuscript fee.
As she composes a song on the piano, Qi approaches and tries to give her a kiss.
Qi tries to kiss Wei Ming
Wei (angrily): What do you take me for! Please show some self-respect!
Wei’s Boarding house
Landlady: Please pay these last two months’ rent as soon as possible! We really can’t afford to cover for you.
Madam: Someone like you—young and pretty, and moreover can sing and play music—would you ever have to worry about feeding yourself?
Pimp to prostitute: With money anyone can cop a feel; without money you get all uppity!
Wei’s piano is repossessed. Wei answers the phone in the hall of her boarding house. It’s her sister phoning to tell that Hong is sick. Wei goes to their hotel.
Wei (holding Hong in her arms): It’s not good that she’s been coughing for this long, let’s take her to the hospital.
Hospital
Wei: Doctor, she’s all right isn’t she?
Doctor: She’s already caught pneumonia, so it is quite serious . . . However, as long as we use the new antibiotic injections on her, she will be fine. She will be cured within two weeks. . . . Go over to the front desk to arrange for her hospital stay.
Hospital Clerk: Her hospital stay wll come to 37.50, and the medicine, ten dollars a day, injections, eight dollars a day. Please first pay for five days treatment which will be 127.50. Please pay first before you check in. . . .When she is well enough to check out, if you have overpaid, we will refund you.
Wei and Sister: Sir! Could we first pay a portion, and pay the rest later?
Clerk: Sorry, we really can’t make an exception; just check with any hospital in town, they’re all the same.
The gates of the “Charity” Hospital close on Wei Ming, her sister, and Hong
Hospital Front Gate; Name of hospital is “Charity Hospital”
Wei to Sister: First take her back to the hotel, I’ll think of something.
Publishing House
Yu: Emergency—why do you need so much? 120 dollars!
Wei: Don’t ask what it’s for, let’s go talk to the publisher.
Publisher: Your novel is truly excellent! We’re already rushing it to press, and it will be out in a few days.
Yu: Miss Wei wants to know if she can be paid 120 dollars in advance for emergency use.
Yu pleads on Wei Ming’s behalf to have her royalties paid early
Publisher: Well . . .the market is not in good shape now, and even here we still owe two months’ salary to our employees. However, since we are in the business of promoting culture, we hope that everyone will tighten their belts together, please understand . . . And we never pay out royalties until we actually make a profit on the book.
Yu: No personal problem can be this serious, why are you so anxious?
Sister and Hong’s hotel room. The hotel clerk enters.
Hotel Clerk: The bill for these three days—please pay.
Sister: Please tell the front desk to ask later.
Wei Ming’s room. Wei packs things and is on the verge of leaving her room when Dr. Wang enters.
Dr. Wang: Why are you packing up—are you going somewhere? I just heard today about your dismissal from the school.. . . I came here to offer my help; if you are determined to recover your teaching position, I’m sure that could be easily accomplished . . . But . . . someone like you, what a waste to be a schoolteacher! . . . I’m almost going mad with love for you! When I don’t see you, I can’t eat I can’t sleep, please just say yes!
Dr. Wang pulls a ring of his finger and hands it to Wei.
Wei: How much can I pawn for this diamond?
Dr. Wang: Pawn? How would I know? I just bought it for 3200 cash. . . . If you say yes, everything of mine will be yours.
Giant PAWN sign flashes before Wei’s eyes. Just as Dr. Wang is about to put the ring on her finger, a HOTEL sign flashes before her eyes.
Wei Ming: I will never get married, because I can’t be a slave for life. Not only am I in no mood for love—it would never be with someone like you!
Shot of Sister phoning again from the hotel.
Wei on phone: Fine! Just check out of the hotel. Pay the bill, and just move over here to my place.
Madam follows her into her room. Wei shows her a bundle of things she had planned to pawn.
Wei to Madam: Can you please tell me, how much would I get for these things?
Madam: The lot’s worth two or three hundred, but you would only be able to get twenty dollars if you pawned them. . . . You young women, it’s always easy to get money, don’t worry yourself sick!
Sister and Wei lay Hong out on the bed. Calendar closeup: “Wednesday, the 4th”
Wei feeds Hong medicine. Pawnshop receipts. Doctor takes Hong’s temperature.
Calendar: “Sunday, the 8th”
Dr. Wang crushes the petals of a flower beneath his feet.
He walks into a brothel: “Madame Xu’s”
Wei’s room.
Doctor: She’s in an extremely dangerous condition! If you don’t send her to a hospital, it won’t be easy to save her!
Doctor leaves.
Madam: Time to eat.
Madam’s room. Wei sits at the table with Madam and another girl. Wei sheds tears into her teacup. The pimp enters, looks at Wei, and then speaks secretly to Madam in the hallway.
Pimp to Madam: The customer tonight is a wealthy sort. Damn! And he’s picky! According to him, as long as he likes what he sees, a few hundred dollars would be nothing . . . The one in your room, looks like she’s almost desperate enough. So if you can persuade her, you’ll definitely make a lot more money than on your regular girl.
Madam engages in a long talk with Wei.
Wei: What! You want me to go sell myself! (Quick cut to Hong). Only slaves sell their bodies!
Madam: In this world for us women, if we want to make some money, how can we do it except walk down this path?
Quick cut to Hong.
Madam: I know you don’t want to do this, but your heart is soft, and can you watch your daughter die without helping her?
Wei: Okay. I’ll be a slave for one night!
Pimp gestures to Madam to make up Wei’s face.
Wei Ming and Sister comfort dying Hong
Wei (back in her room): Child . . .don’t cry . . . Mother will save you, tomorrow we’ll take you to the hospital.
Sister looks through the glass doors and Madam makes up Wei.
Madam: Miss, please don’t cry anymore and ruin your powder. Those paying customers don’t want to see you sad. You have to wear a smile on your face!
Wei tries to put on a smile. The pimp looks at her and imagines piles of money.
Newspaper headline: Shanghai City Paper—“MISS WEI MING CHINA’S NEW WOMAN NEW BOOK The Tomb of Love”
Brothel
Madame Xu: Let me introduce you to a high class friend. As long as you two get along, according to your looks, you’ll get at least a hundred out of him.
Wei sees that the customer is Dr. Wang.
Dr. Wang mocks Wei Ming now that she is prostituting herself
Dr. Wang: No need to wear any more masks! Let’s talk business! How much for a night? Tell me yourself! How about I give you 3200 cash, a deal?
Wei slaps Dr. Wang.
Wei: You beasts . . . planting all these traps for us women, so that we can’t help but sell ourselves to you! . . . You think that you can get away with this forever? Hmph! One day . . .
Wei flees the brothel, with the pimp in pursuit.
Dr. Wang’s house. Mrs. Wang’s finds the torn pieces of a photograph on the flow and puts them back together to discover the image of Wei.
The pimp tries to chase Wei into her boarding house, but she slams the door on his face. She collapse in the hall and is found by Ah Ying. Wei’s room.
Mrs. Wang knocks on the boarding house door. When Wei hears it, she grabs a knife and tries to stab herself. Ah Ying stops her. Outside the boarding house, Dr. Wang’s car drives up. Mrs Wang, seeing the car, hides around the corner, from where she sees her husband enter the boarding house.
Dr. Wang: Why are you so stubborn? Since you are a frequent visitor at Madame Xu’s, then why don’t we just talk frankly: am I not as good as your other customers? . . .
Ah Ying moves closer to Dr. Wang in a threatening manner.
Dr. Wang to Ah Ying: What kind of thing are you? Damn!
Ah Ying: I’m a human being! You’re the one who’s a thing!
Ah Ying grabs his cane and snaps it in two. Dr. Wang slaps her. Ah Ying knocks him down. Cut to Mrs. Wang knocking on the boarding house door. Dr. Wang and Ah Ying continue their fight, with Ah Ying getting the upper hand. Mrs. Wang enters when Madam opens the door. She sees her husband and scolds him.
Mrs. Wang: I took you to be my old school chum—turns out you’re shameless! Seducing my husband. You lowlife, and yet you pretend to be an upperclass woman, you really put all real upperclass women to shame! . . . .And you (looking at her husband), with all your status, bewitched by this vixen! You know that she dresses in these sleazy outfits and goes out to do God knows what with riffraff?
Mrs. Wang grabs her husband by the ear and leads him out of the room.
The Wangs’ mansion. Dr. Wang is reading a newspaper with the headline “Miss. Wei Ming, The Tomb of Love.”
Dr. Wang: Damn! What modern woman author!
Mrs. Wang, lying beside him on their bed, grabs the paper from him.
Mrs. Wang: Then, you swear you really don’t love her?
Dr. Wang: If you want to misunderstand me, go right ahead! Me! Love this sort of woman! What a joke! . . . This Qi Weide fellow [editor of the paper], is a famous lech, so any woman that he’s supporting you can be sure there’s something going on. So stop getting all jealous on me!
Nightclub.
Dr. Wang to Qi: Where did you meet Wei Ming? You really take her to be some modern woman author?
Qi: To tell you the truth—I had no intention of promoting her career. Furthermore, she’s completely unappreciative! . . . But the publishing house is making a big fuss over her, so her advertising department has told us we can’t criticize her—what can I do? Do you have some dirt on her?
Dr. Wang slanders Wei Ming to Qi
Cut to Dr. Wang’s imaginings of Wei’s “dirt”: prosituting herself.
Dr. Wang: If you publish this, you can’t mention my name!
Wei’s room. Yu enters bearing copies of Wei’s just published novel. He sees Wei and her sister sitting around Hong’s bed, and he understands Wei’s predicament.
Yu: Why didn’t you tell me the truth! I may be poor, but between me and my friends, it wouldn’t be impossible to come up with such a sum.
Lightning and thunder.
Sister: Let’s call the doctor and ask him to come again!
Closeup of bottle: “Sleeping Pills”
Wei: Child!—We—have—no hope! When you are gone, Mother will be following you soon.
Hong dies. Wei grabs the bottle of sleeping pills. Sister discovers that she has taken the sleeeping pills.
Sister: Little Sister! Xiao Hong has left us, that’s sad enough! How can you bear to leave us too?
Wei: Sister! I really can’t go on living . . . this society, which we have no power to change . . . As for your future, please talk to Ah Ying . . .
Qi on the street car editing a manuscript: “The Lowdown Secrets of A Modern Woman Author”
Qi takes notes while Wei Ming dies of an overdose
Qi arrives at Wei’s room, where a doctor is madly trying to save her. Qi takes notes on his journalist’s pad.
Doctor: Judging by the amount of pills she took and the time elapsed, she still has a chance; however, her heart is very weak right now, and she has also suffered a great emotional shock—I think you should rush her to the hospital!
As the doctor leaves, Yu arrives. He sees the dead Hong.
Sister to Yu: Sir! You seem to be a good friend of my sister’s. I’m really at my wit’s end. Could you please take her to the hospital.
Yu: Here is 50 dollars . . .there is a hospital right near her, next to the silk factory, I’ll have them send an ambulance.
On the street.
Ah Ying reads the news of Wei Ming’s suicide
“HOT OFF THE PRESSES, CITY PAPER!” “THREE COINS AND YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT WOMAN AUTHOR COMMITTING SUICIDE!”
Ah Ying, on the streets, reads about Wei Ming’s suicide attempt.
Hospital
Wei: Why in the world did you save me? Do you worry that I haven’t suffered enough? . . . Ah Ying, Please find my sister a job; I . . . won’t make it! Let me die!
Ah Ying: I know you are suffering tremendously, but no matter how painful everything is, suicide is for the weak! If you die, you will only leave those people something to mock you with—Do you think it’s worth it?
Wei: Who cares if it’s worth it . . . as long as I don’t have to see anything myself!
Ah Ying: Fine, then take a look at this with your own eyes.
NEWSPAPER HEADLINES: “Woman Author Commits Suicide!”; “Secret History Revealed! Former Prostitute, Child out of Wedlock”; “Women Will Always be the Weaker Sex”
Wei: I want revenge!
Yu: If you want revenge, then you must throw away your apathy towards life! Have you forgotten the spirit of the “Woman Who Can Not Topple Over”?
Yu: Life is about struggle. If you fall down, as long as you can stand up again, in the end you will be triumphant!
Ah Ying: He’s right! Wei Ming, if you die, then everything is over. Though an individualistic notion of vengeance is never good, yet to live—that is the basic requirement for accomplishing anything!
Wei: Yes—I plan to live! I want to throw away all my personal sorrows, and begin my new life—since I have already died once!
Wei to nurse: Please, when can I leave the hospital?
Nurse: The poison is almost out of her body, but the patient is too weak, and has always had a weak heart, so there might be some unexpected development in her condition. Why don’t you talk to her less.
Nightclub
Dr. Wang to manager: Sign her out for me!
People step on the discarded newspaper
Publisher regrets, with Wei’s death, a chance to make a bigger profit
Wei learns about the slander against her
Publisher: What a pity! What a pity: . . what a pity we didn’t have her write a few more novels!—I wonder if there are any posthumous works? We should find out. . . . Why don’t we plan a memorial for her! . . . .Not that we have any feelings of sorrow towards her, but, this could benefit us. Plus it would provide some more news material for you—
Hospital
Ah Ying leads factory workers in song
Wei: Please save me! . . . I want to live! I want to live!
On street, young factory girls led by Ah Ying sing “New Woman”
THE END