stomach” or “to live,” similarly, “to live” does not depend solely on foods. Shadow puppetry The usage of shadow puppetry, which carries a historical and cultural heritage, throughout the movie acts as a parallel to what characters experience in the events that they have to live through. Recurring lines In two places of the film, there is a similar line. The version that appears earlier in the film is: “The little chickens will grow to be ducks, the ducks will become geese, and the geese will become oxen, and tomorrow will be better because of communism.” The version that appears later in the film is: “The little chickens will grow to be ducks, the ducks will become geese, and the geese will become oxen, and tomorrow will be better.” This line acts as a picture of the Chinese people’s perseverance in the face of historical hardships, giving the feeling of hope for the audience. Other facts Referential meaning of the film: The scene in which the father publicly punishes the son in To Live can be read as a miniaturized re-rendering of the dramatic punishing scene watched by the entire world in June 1989, the Tiananmen Massacre. There is a scene that the local town chief calls on everyone to donate the iron products of the family to make steel. This implies the historical time jumps to the Great Leap Forward. At that period of time, the Communist Party tried to copy the huge success of the industrial revolution in Britain. However, the method is wrong and wasn't helpful. It shows that when the flood of time come upon a single family, they have no choice but to be carried forward. In the film To Live, during its second half, another tragedy occurred to Fugui's family - Fengxia died of childbirth. None of the nurses knew how to treat postpartum hemorrhage. It's worth noting that the nurses are saying: "We don't know how to deal with this! We are just students!"As the most qualified doctor is almost beaten to death. This section of the film suggests the suffering that the Cultural Revolution brought to people. Most doctors were replaced by Red Guards and were accused as reactionaries. As the sign on the doctor's body shows, he was in many struggle sessions with the Red Guard. See also Banned films in China Censorship in the People's Republic of China List of