China is a land of rich culture and heritage, with a history spanning over 5,000 years. Its literature is a testament to the depth and complexity of its civilization, and its film industry has brought some of these literary works to life on the big screen. From epic tales of love and war to thought-provoking dramas, Chinese literary films are a treasure trove of cultural exploration. Here are the top 10 must-see Chinese literary films.

1、《霸王别姬》Farewell My Concubine

“Farewell My Concubine” is adapted from Li Bihua’s novel of the same name, directed by Chen Kaige, written by Li Bihua and Lu Wei; starring Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi. The film revolves around the joys and sorrows of two Peking opera actors for half a century, showing the thinking and understanding of traditional culture, human living conditions and human nature. The film broke the box office record for a mainland Chinese literary film in the United States. The film won the Palme d’Or, the highest award at the Cannes International Film Festival in France, the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the International Film Critics Federation Award and many other international awards. In 2005, “Farewell My Concubine” was selected by the American “Time” “The 100 Best Movies in World History”.

2、《活着》Lifetimes Living

“Lifetimes Living” is a feature film produced by Times International Co., Ltd. in 1994. The film is adapted from Yu Hua’s novel of the same name, directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Ge You and Gong Li. The film takes the Chinese Civil War and the political movements after the founding of New China as the background, and reflects the fate of a generation of Chinese people through the ups and downs of the hero Fugui’s life. In 1994, the film won the Jury Prize, Best Actor Award and other awards at the 47th Cannes International Film Festival.

3、《阳光灿烂的日子》In the Heat of the Sun

“In the Heat of the Sun” is Jiang Wen’s directorial debut, adapted from Wang Shuo’s novel “Ferocious Animals”. The main actors are Xia Yu, Tranquility, Tao Hong, Geng Le and so on. The background of the film is Beijing during the Cultural Revolution, a group of children living in hiding in the military compound, spending their youth among the dazzling sunshine and red flags everywhere. “Sunny Day” tells such a story: In Beijing in the early 1970s, the adults were busy “making revolution”, the school was closed, and a group of fifteen and sixteen-year-old boys in a certain army compound were addicted to fighting all day long. , causing trouble, Ma Xiaojun is one of them.

4、《苏州河》Suzhou River

“Suzhou River” is a romantic literary film filmed in 1998 and released in 2000. The director is Lou Ye, starring Zhou Xun and Jia Hongsheng. The film mainly tells the story of the love entanglement between Ma Da and the innocent girl Peony and the beauty and beauty performed by the mermaid who looks exactly like Peony. The film was released in Hong Kong, China on September 7, 2000. In the same year, it also won the Golden Tiger Award at the 29th Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Best Film Award at the 15th Paris International Film Festival, and was selected as one of the top ten films of the year by Time Magazine.

5、《红高粱》Red Sorghum

“Red Sorghum” is adapted from Mo Yan’s novel of the same name, directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Jiang Wen, Gong Li, Teng Rujun and others. The film is set in Gaomi, Shandong Province during the Anti-Japanese War. It tells the story of the hero and heroine who run a sorghum winery together after going through ups and downs. In 1988, the film won the Golden Bear Award at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Asian film to win this award.

6、《鬼子来了》Devils on the Doorstep

“Devils on the Doorstep” is a comedy war drama jointly produced by Huayi Film and Television Entertainment Co., Ltd. and China Film Co-production Company. The film is directed by Jiang Wen, starring Jiang Wen, Jiang Hongbo, Kagawa Teruyuki and others. The film tells the story of what happened in a remote village called Guajiatai near Shanhaiguan, Hebei during the Anti-Japanese War. One night, someone escorted two sacks containing prisoners into the home of villager Ma Dasan. One of them was a Japanese soldier and the other was an interpreter. It was originally promised to pick up the person in eight days, but there was no news after that. The story of a farmer in a village guarding and caring for Japanese prisoners was massacred by the Japanese army. The film was released in May 2000.

7、《大红灯笼高高挂》Raise the red lantern

The film is adapted from Su Tong’s novel “Wives and Concubines in Groups”. The film revolves around the topic of feudal ethics, and tells the story of several concubines of a wealthy family who were jealous and caused a series of tragedies during the Republic of China. On March 13, 1992, the film was released in North America, with a box office of 2.6 million US dollars, setting the highest box office record for a Chinese-language film in North America at that time. In 1991, the film won the Silver Lion Award at the 48th Venice International Film Festival. In 1992, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the second Chinese film nominated for this award after “Ju Dou”. Subsequently, it won the Italian Film David Award for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first Chinese film to win this award. In 1993, it won the British Academy Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

8、《小武》Pickpocket

“Pickpocket” is an independent feature film written and directed by Jia Zhangke, starring Wang Hongwei, Hao Hongjian, Zuo Wenlu, etc. It was released in Germany on February 18, 1998. The film tells the story of Liang Xiaowu who lives in a small county in the middle of the country. He found his former “comrade in arms” and now Xiaoyong, a famous entrepreneur and big taxpayer in the county. The two sat in the room for a long time, but felt that they had nothing to say. When Xiaoyong got married, Xiaowu gave him money according to his previous oath, but Xiaoyong thought the money was dirty and returned it. After being rejected by friends, Xiao Wu often went to sing and met the singer Hu Meimei. After losing friendship, love and affection one after another, he finally lost his freedom and became a prisoner.

9、《杀生》Design of Death

“Design of Death” is adapted from the novella “Children’s Play Killing” by Chen Tiejun. It is an absurd and suspenseful comedy directed by Guan Hu and co-starred by Huang Bo, Ren Dahua, Su Youpeng, Yu Nan and others. The plot of the film focuses on absurd suspense and black comedy elements. At the same time, the emotional line between Huang Bo and Yu Nan contains deep affection in the extreme madness. The film tells the story of how a group of people teamed up to kill a “non-rule” person. It reflects the collective psychology of various mobs and hidden human thoughts and complex faces of human nature, which is very intriguing. The film was released nationwide on April 28, 2012. Huang Bo won the Best Actor Award at the 20th Beijing College Student Film Festival and the Annual Actor Award at the 4th China Film Directors Association for this film.

10、《钢的琴》The Piano in a Factory

“The Piano in a Factory” is a comedy film directed by Zhang Meng and starring Wang Qianyuan and Qin Hailu. “The Piano of Steel” tells the story of a father who has worked hard for his daughter’s music dream, and finally built a piano for his daughter with steel with the help of friends around him. Through the humor and hardship of the little characters, it reveals a touching story With the help of family and friendship, the big brother of the rivers and lakes, the pork prince and a group of down-and-out brothers, they built a “steel” piano, and a group of men fought for their dignity. Love, friendship and passion, humor burn absurdly in Mission Impossible. The film was released on July 15, 2011.