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Farewell My Concubine
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Leslie Cheung
Farewell My Concubine
Critical reception
Plot
Music and soundtrack
Historical background
Douzi, a boy endowed with feminine features, is abandoned by his prostitute mother to an all-boys Peking opera troupe
supervised by Master Guan. He befriends Shitou, a student of the troupe.A few years later, a teenage Douzi is trained to
play dan (female roles), while Shitou learns jing (painted face male roles). When practicing the play "Dreaming of the
World Outside the Nunnery", Douzi accidentally substitutes the line "I am by nature a girl, not a boy" with "I am by
nature a boy, not a girl," and is disciplined by the instructors. Douzi along with another student, Laizi, attempt to run
away, but Douzi decides to pursue acting seriously after witnessing an opera performance. Upon returning, they find the
whole troupe being punished for their desertion, and Douzi is beaten. As a result, Laizi hangs himself.
An agent who provides funding for opera plays comes to the troupe to seek potentials. When
Douzi repeats the same mistake in front of the agent, Shitou commands him to start over.
Douzi finally whispers, "I am by nature a girl, not a boy". He delivers the entire monologue
successfully, to the joy of the troupe, and secures the agent. The troupe is invited to perform
for eunuch Zhang. Shitou and Douzi are brought to Zhang's house where they find a finely
crafted sword, which Shitou promises to one day gift to Douzi, as the hero would do for his
concubine. Zhang asks to meet Douzi in his room and sexually assaults him. Douzi does not
mention this to anyone, but Shitou implicitly knows what happened. On their way home, Douzi
adopts an abandoned baby, who later comes under Master Guan's training.