 While most of Zhang 's early films had been historical epics , Not One Less was one of the first to focus on contemporary China . The film 's main theme involves the difficulties faced in providing rural education in China . When Wei Minzhi arrives in Shuiquan village , the teacher Gao has not been paid in six months and the school building is in disrepair , and chalk is in such short supply that Gao gives Wei specific instructions limiting how large her written characters should be . Wei sleeps in the school building , sharing a bed with several female students . The version of the film released overseas ends with a series of title cards in English , the last of which reads , " Each year , poverty forces one million children in China to leave school . Through the help of donations , about 15 % of these children return to school . " 
