To Come Home or Not

The title of the film Coming Home carries deep meaning. It not only refers to the homecoming of protagonist Lu Yanshi， but also that of director Zhang Yimou. The celebrated Chinese filmmaker， whose works have won many awards at international film festivals including Berlin， Cannes， and Venice， has talked about his latest film on many occasions. “With this movie， I have finally returned to my original creative mindset， focusing on shooting the film rather than thinking of other things.”

This film also represents returns to themes such as the “cultural revolution”（1966-1976）， human nature， and female worship. The film recounts a Chinese intellectual’s psychological trauma. Zhang’s storytelling method contrasts that of director Xie Jin， who produced influential works in 1980s that also depicted Chinese intellectuals’ psychological trauma during the“cultural revolution.” With representative works such as Legend of Tianyun Mountain and The Herdsman， late director Xie was the only Chinese filmmaker to join both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of America. Compared to Xie’s work， Zhang offers depoliticized narration. The same difference can also be found between Geling Yan， whose novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi was Zhang’s source material for Coming Home， and Zhang Xianliang， who penned the novel Body and Soul which became Xie’s The Herdsman. Geling Yan， a Chinese-American novelist， was born in Shanghai. One of the most influential Chinese writers in modern times， she provides unique perspectives into both Eastern and Western cultures. Zhang Xianliang， an internationally renowned contemporary Chinese writer， is most noted for his “scar”literature created after China’s reform and opening-up. The Criminal Lu Yanshi repeats the theme of many of Zhang Xianliang’s classical works such as Body and Soul， A Green Tree， and Half of Man is Woman， but with very different connotations and essences. What was changed， cut， and kept in the creative relationships between Zhang Yimou and Geling Yan， and Xie Jin and Zhang Xianliang？

Zhang Yimou vs. Xie Jin

The plot of Coming Home is tragic. Lu Yanshi， an exiled intellectual during the“cultural revolution，” returns home twice but is never welcomed or accepted.

Lu’s first return happens after he escapes from a prison farm， which he flees in hopes of reuniting with his wife， Feng Wanyu. However， his politicized daughter tips off authorities and he is caught. Years later， a “politically rehabilitated” Lu returns home， only to find that Feng has amnesia and cannot remember him. It is a typical story of intellectuals’ psychological trauma during a period of centralized politics.

In the film， Zhang Yimou returns to one of his greatest strengths： the “cultural revolution” theme. It is Zhang’s first lengthy portrayal of a Chinese intellectual. In his previous work， his protagonists were usually women oppressed by feudalism， rural women， and people stuck at the bot- tom of society. Actually， portraying intellectuals is the usual approach for “cultural revolution” themes. Intellectuals both tell the stories of that period as well as become characters in them. Thus， in a way， Zhang’s Coming Home carries on traditions of Xie’s scar and introspection films.

As for director Xie Jin， he is representative in terms of uncovering and selfexamining China’s formerly far-left political theory and practice in its wake in the 1980s. His films have developed a special narrative and emotional pattern， which conforms to Chinese spectators’ viewing habits and cultural psychology. His works reach deep into viewers’ hearts， and are healing to both ordinary people and intel-lectuals after the “cultural revolution.”

Zhang Yimou has returned to Xie’s pattern. Like many of Xie’s works in the 1980s， Coming Home denounces political persecution and praises love. However， compared to Xie’s pattern， Zhang fails to offer a more modern and timely incarnation.

Xie’s films also emphasize the damage politics have done to human nature， everyday life， and emotions. He defines people’s natural attributes as human nature. In Coming Home， Zhang employs almost the same technique. The damage politics have done to people includes long-term separation of husband and wife， and irreparably damaged everyday life even after political rehabilitation.

Along with the above-mentioned techniques， Xie also used politics to criticize politics. In his films， intellectuals， as protagonists， were identified as “rightists”because of what they said or their publiclydocumented theories. However， during years of “reeducation through labor，” they continued intellectual thinking. In Coming Home， although protagonist Lu is a great intellectual， he remains a de-politicized person. Zhang spares no efforts to showcase Lu’s persistence in love， but as an intellectual， Lu shows little connection to his era and other people.

Geling Yan vs. Zhang Xianliang

Contrasts between Xie Jin’s work and Zhang Yimou’s film actually should be attributed to the differences of the original novels. Zhang Yimou’s continuity and de-politicization of Xie Jin’s patterns were actually inspired by Geling Yan’s continuity and evolution from scar literature predecessors， especially Zhang Xianliang.

In the novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi， Geling Yan vividly describes the devastation of excessive labor and extreme hunger to people trapped in a cruel environment， which is very close to Zhang Xianliang’s depiction.

Zhang Xianliang also spares no efforts portraying women in his works. They are kind-hearted， full of warmth， but uneducated. They worship and remain devoted to the male intellectuals. Feng Wanyu and Lu Yanshi from the pen of Geling Yan are similar. Such female images are touching， but the gender construct – uneducated women saving oppressed male intellectuals– is antiquated.

While the depictions of women in both Geling Yan and Zhang Xianliang’s novels are quite similar， the male intellectuals are starkly different. In Zhang’s stories， during their “reeducation” life， intellectuals work in daytime， but still read and think at night. They think about China’s reality and future， reform and further development， as human nature is expressed via myriad methods in novels. However， the intellectuals’ positive political thinking in Zhang Xianliang’s novels disappears in Yan’s work. As for Lu Yanshi， his spiritual world is fragile， and his lifelong dream is only to pursue love and freedom for himself. Thus， Yan’s criticism of politics and exhibition of“scars” can only proceed through shallow levels， such as emotional trauma and physical suffering， and cannot delve deeper.

Furthermore， the plot of The Criminal Lu Yanshi depends on two crucial devices： aphasia and amnesia. After Lu is exiled for things he said， he starts pretending to stutter， and then even refuses to talk. And before Lu is finally set free and returns home， his wife is struck with amnesia and loses all her memory. In Zhang Xianliang’s novels， male intellectuals choose to record their scars and suffering with spoken and written words， whereas Yan chooses aphasia and amnesia to display “scars.” From another aspect， aphasia and amnesia could be considered modern Chinese intellectuals’ deliberate avoidance and silence about the “cultural revolution” and ultra-leftist politics.