Back to 1942 (2012) Movie Script
Greetings to our compatriots
in China and overseas.
Today
is the 31st New Year's Day
since the founding of the Republic of China,
and the 5th
New Year's Day
that we have been
at war
since our declaration of war
against Japan and the Axis powers.
On December 12th of last year,
our war of resistance entered a new phase,
and China's war with Japan
has become a World War.
The duty of China
is now greater
and the burden of our people and our army
We must renew and double our efforts.
On this 1st day of the new year,
I will discuss with the public
the past, present,
and future of this war.
Over the past six months,
particularly this last month,
our war of resistance has utterly changed.
Before, it was a solitary struggle
within our own country
against the Japanese invaders.
Today, we have joined Great Britain,
the United States,
the Soviet Union,
and other friendly nations
in fighting side by side
to rid the world of our enemies.
This burden
is the responsibility of the Republic of China
In order to maintain civilization
and morality in the world.
As long as Japanese invaders
and the Axis powers
remain on this earth,
as long as civilization and morality
remain under threat.
We will continue
to take on this heavy burden.
The outcome of this war
will determine not only
the survival of our nation,
but the future of all mankind.
Victory for China
will lay a strong foundation
for generations to come.
Defeat
will push our people past the point of no return.
My fellow countrymen...
From the winter of 1942,
to the spring of 1944,
a terrible drought
starved my home province
of Henan.
Meanwhile,
in other places, other things were happening:
The Battle of Stalingrad,
Gandhi went on hunger strike.
Soong May-ling visited the United States.
Winston Churchill got a cold.
Shuanzhu!
Yes, sir?
Did you feed the animals?
I was just about to.
When you're done with that,
go check the granary.
That's all the grain the village has left.
Master Fan...
there's someone in there now.
Who?
Huazhi.
Mister Fan... Sir...
Huazhi.
I'm just here to borrow some grain.
I'll give you some,
if I can borrow you for a little while.
Mister Fan...
Huazhi.
My wife's pregnant
and I haven't had a taste in months.
Mister Fan!
At a time when people are starving to death...
how could you?
So?
If it weren't for the famine,
you wouldn't be asking either.
Just one time
and I'll give you two pints of millet.
That's fair, isn't it?
What an animal!
I'll scream.
Don't! Don't!
Huazhi,
you can have this walnut too.
Your hair is losing its color.
Huazhi ...
The bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Is that Ciwei?
When you were a child,
your mother did our laundry for us.
One time you pitched a fit
and I took you to go see a doctor.
Did you forget?
Sir,
we don't want any trouble.
We're starving.
We just want some food.
Xialu,
I'll give each of you two pints of millet
to make them go away right now.
Sir,
we would if we could,
but we haven't eaten in days.
There's no fight in us.
Coward!
Shuanzhu.
What?
Get a horse and go to the county seat.
Alert the judge!
I don't think I can, sir.
Ask someone else.
Three silver coins!
I'm counting on you with my life!
Hurry!
Well...
alright!
Ciwei,
show a little respect.
I'll give you a bucket of millet.
But please leave and look for food elsewhere!
Sir,
we're already here,
so let's not waste time going back and forth.
Tonight, we will eat with you.
Whatever we eat,
We'll pay back after the drought.
Come, come.
Dig in, dig in!
We've waited long enough.
Xialu.
Young master.
Take this.
Tell the rest of the villagers
to eat too.
We can't let these bastards eat everything.
If they don't leave as soon as they're done,
then we'll have to teach them a lesson.
Yes, sir!
Hurry.
Quickly, quickly.
Faster!
Everyone!
Landlord Fan's son said
That we should all eat now.
And
if those bastards don't leave,
then be ready for a fight!
Eat up!
We moved all the valuables and the ledgers
to Mr. Ge's home in the west end of the village.
No, no.
We will cart it all into the city tomorrow.
Master!
Soldiers!
Master!
Soldiers!
From the county seat?
No! Japanese soldiers!
What?
The Japanese?
Calm down, calm down. Slowly now.
Well?
No!
There were Japanese troops in the mountains,
heading for Puyang.
I couldn't get through.
Shuanzhu, are you trying to get me killed?
What?
Sir!
We came here to ask for some food,
and you call in the troops?
Ciwei.
Sir,
how disgraceful are you?
It was a moment of weakness.
I'll make it up to you.
Eat up, my friends! Eat up!
Eat as much as you can!
Eat up?
Eat this!
Master Fan!
Heaven help us!
Oh my God!
Three pints of millet each! Fight!
Fight!
My donkey!
Try me!
Xialu!
Help me!
Mister Fan?
Xialu!
My heart...
You thought I didn't know
you were trying to screw my wife?
Xialu?
Where are you going?
It's complete chaos, boss.
Your son is dead!
My boy!
Landlord Fan
never had faith in the Lord.
He was warned, and yet he still refused.
And now, having lost the protection of the Lord,
he has received the justice he deserves.
Do you see?
What good did his wealth do for him?
His son is dead.
His home has burnt to the ground.
He has nowhere to turn to but the county seat.
This is what is meant by
"not shedding tears until one sees the coffin."
It must be a rude awakening.
Why do you all flee the famine?
You are all godless heathens!
All of you running blindly away
have no idea what lies ahead.
Who can you turn to out there?
Who?
Take refuge in the Lord!
Fried fish with dry noodles.
Yanjin-style.
In a year of terrible?
This is too much, my friend.
Governor Li,
there are 72 wealthy families in the county.
All of them have been robbed.
After they have robbed all the rich men,
they will turn to the county government offices.
I'm still new to this job.
I never would have imagined that a drought
could starve all of Henan!
The whole province is suffering
and the national grain stores
are completely empty.
Coming to Henan was like boarding a sinking ship.
Governor Li,
the whole province is suffering,
but you've also seen how bad it is in Yanjin.
When the time comes to distribute relief grain,
I hope you will treat Yanjin county favorably.
My friend... I'm not here
to distribute relief grain.
Then why are you here?
We're about to go to war.
I've come to collect grain for the army.
Daddy,
what does "flee" mean?
There's no food.
Do you want to starve?
No.
Then you have to go somewhere to look for food.
That's "fleeing."
Why are you wearing your wedding clothes?
Are you planning to run from the famine in that?
It's for good luck on the road!
Slut!
You think fleeing is a lucky thing?
Go change!
It looks like these old bones
won't be buried with my ancestors.
Your ancestors were all broke anyway.
You little bastard.
Liubao,
don't forget to bring the ancestral tablets.
Okay.
We're fleeing from a famine,
not going to watch a show.
Why are you taking that cat?
Dad, I don't want to go.
What?
I want to go back and find my friends.
Where are they now?
Some went to the front of the line
to fight the Japanese.
Going to the frontline means going to war.
Going to war means killing people.
A girl like you? Killing people?
Then I'll go back to school
and guard it with the others!
Shuanzhu! Stop!
Get back here!
Out of the way!
Why are you being so difficult now? Let's go.
Your brother had a bright idea too,
and it cost him his life!
Don't think about it.
My dowry from my parents
and all of my money was in that jewelry box!
Where did it go?
We're not like them.
They're running from the famine.
We are temporarily avoiding the crisis.
It will be a month at the most...
maybe just two weeks,
and then you can go back to school.
Shuanzhu, did you see my jewelry box?
How many times do I have to tell you?
What are you trying to say?
That I'm a thief?
Search me then! Search me!
Shuanzhu.
Don't take it the wrong way.
That's not what she meant.
Master Fan!
Don't upset yourself. It's not good for the baby.
I'm not leaving.
Find someone else to drive your cart!
What is it?
My parents fled
during the 1931 famine
and they ended up starving to death on the road.
We're dead either way.
Don't be stupid.
Look at all the grain we have with us.
Nobody's going to starve.
Go look.
It's going to be a rough journey,
and Xingxing is so young...
I would feel much better if you came along.
Here.
As long as I'm here,
no one will dare lay a hand on you.
Sorry to interrupt.
Mr. Minister,
allow me to introduce myself.
I am Theodore White, I report for Time magazine.
Mr. White
Yes, sir
You have become famous in Chungking.
Is that right?
Yes.
I have read your reports on the battles
in Changsha and the China-Burma highway.
I don't mean to be rude,
But I am going to head back to the US next month...
can you spare a moment?
Sure.
Thanks a lot.
There is a lot of talk in Chungking
about the severity of the drought
in Henan. And a...
I've heard that many people
are starving to death every day.
And there are many refugees fleeing to Shaanxi.
This is true.
But
starvation is primarily
a problem in the occupied areas.
The war has made this
natural disaster even worse.
A large battle is imminent.
If people are moving west,
it is also to avoid the war.
From the perspective of the Chinese people,
they can only have enough to eat
if the Japanese are wiped out.
Do you agree?
Shuanzhu!
Master Fan!
Xialu,
you're running too?
Is the entire village leaving?
Everyone.
Let's go together.
We'll look after each other.
Let's go.
We can take care of each other.
Let's go.
The drought can't be that bad
if it's making the Fan's poor too.
Poor, maybe.
But still richer than us!
As Commander Jiang prepares
to lead his forces to the front,
the 30 million people of Henan greet
your troops with food and drink.
We wish you
and your soldiers a swift, decisive victory.
Please!
There's no need for all this courtesy, Governor.
Let's get straight to the point.
What can I do for you?
Henan experienced a devastating drought this year.
We also had locusts.
The land is barren.
The corpses of those who have starved
to death are everywhere.
750,000 tons of grain...
...is more than the province can provide.
Please, General, cancel the request.
The people are suffering.
You are quite right, Governor.
I agree.
Thank you, Commander, for your kindness.
The children of Henan
will never forget your compassion.
But you need to do two things for me.
Only two? I'll do twenty.
First,
go to the Japanese
and talk them out of attacking Henan.
Second,
go to the Generalissimo
and get him to move
my troops back west to Shaanxi.
If you can do that,
we won't eat a single kernel of your grain.
Commander, it's not like that.
Famine changes everything.
There are millions of people starving to death.
Governor Li,
there are millions of men marching to the frontlines.
Who knows how many of them
will live to see another month.
If it's a matter of choosing who will starve...
...a dead refugee will not win the war for us.
A soldier starving to death
is a completely different matter.
Good day.
Commander!
That's not right!
That's all there is.
We'll starve if we keep going.
There are people going hungry
and you're feeding a cat?
I'm giving her my share.
I just won't eat later,
all right?
You're eating for two,
you can have more later.
Master Fan,
the donkey has the runs.
Should I feed it?
If we can get through this in a month,
then yes,
go ahead.
If it takes longer,
I'm afraid we'll be eating the donkey.
Xialu!
Who is it?
Wake up.
Brother Sim,
are you fleeing too?
God had Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Now God wants me to lead you out of Henan.
The war is about to start
and you're afraid of dying, aren't you?
I have a favor to ask you.
Liang, the rich landlord from Changyuan,
was running.
He just died of typhoid
but his eyes are still open.
Why do you think that is?
Why?
Because he didn't believe in God.
Now he's waiting for God.
I want to say a mass for him.
Can you play the fiddle?
I'm too weak. My ribs
are practically touching my backbone.
What?
Are you trying convert people
with the famine, Brother Sim?
After the famine is over,
you'll see how great God is.
It would be better if you played the fiddle.
People will feel the gravity of it.
Give me my fiddle.
Hungry little devil!
It's too late at night to be eating.
Go to sleep!
A long, hard month out on the road
Braving the illness, hunger, and cold
Landlord Liang had piles of gold
And a lonely death none could have predicted.
His horrid end and tragic fate
Resulted from his lack of faith.
Lay down your burden, the time has come
God is before you.
Lay down your burden, the time has come
God is before you.
Bury him.
This famine isn't all bad, right Mr. Ma?
If the government hadn't
set up a circuit court for the refugees,
Instead of a judge,
you would still be a cook at the Emperor's palace!
They couldn't find anyone else
to take the job, that's all.
Not enough people, and it's a shitty job anyway.
Who wants to deal with refugees?
There's no profit in it.
No one wants to do it.
Sir.
There's something I don't understand.
So...
if we're working with refugees,
how come we're the "War Area Circuit Court"
instead of the "Refugee Circuit Court?"
Don't be stupid.
"War Area" sounds like it's a big, proper court.
"Refugee Circuit Court" just sounds bad.
You see?
That's right.
Stick with me, boys,
and you'll be officials once the famine's over.
Yes sir! We'll be good!
Attention everyone!
The 9th Circuit Court of the 1st War Area
is now in session!
Kneel!
He was carrying a concealed gun
in violation of wartime regulations.
It's not mine!
My landlord bought it three years ago.
We're at war. Do you understand?
Mr. Ma,
do what you like,
but please don't take the gun.
We need it for protection on the road.
Protection?
I ...
From who?
Chinese people?
Why not use it on the Japanese, tough guy?
You want to carry a gun?
Fine.
Tie him to the cart and take him to the frontline.
Master Fan! Master Fan!
- Save me, Master Fan!
- Mr. Ma
Sir! Sir!
Mr. Ma
Three pints of flour for him and the gun. Deal?
We know each other.
You can either donate money,
or donate manpower.
Everyone has to do their part.
Thank you, sir.
Three pints of flour for him. We keep the gun.
Fine.
Release him.
Leave the gun.
Three pints of flour?
Bread for lunch, boys!
Dismissed!
Peiji.
Generalissimo. Peiji...
Governor Li.
As for Burma,
a telegram from Luo Zhuoying:
We suffered heavy
casualties west of Mandalay yesterday.
More than 800 men were killed
in a gas attack by the Japanese.
I told Luo
you'll be there today.
The Japanese led a stealth attack
on Yenangyaung last night.
More than 7,000 British troops
and trucks are trapped.
Field Marshal Montgomery sent a telegram
asking us to send troops
from Mandalay to rescue Yenangyaung.
President Roosevelt's private secretary
has arrived in Chungking.
He asked to see you,
but I told him you were going to Mandalay.
As for Nanking,
Zhou Fohai sent a secret envoy
that he is setting up
a covert radio station at his home
to evade Wang Jingwei.
Dai Li met with the secret envoy yesterday.
Please advise.
As for India,
Gandhi's hunger strike was successful.
Hindu and Muslim
leaders have agreed
to stop the bloody conflict
and are on a path of reconciliation.
How long was the hunger strike?
Seven days.
Hitler and Mussolini met yesterday.
They said that in three days
the German army will occupy Stalingrad.
Our embassy in the Soviet Union, however,
says the outcome of the
battle of Stalingrad is far from clear.
Please tell the British embassy
that when I visit India next month
I would like to meet Gandhi.
As for northern Henan,
General Jiang Dingwen sent a telegram yesterday.
Most of our troops have crossed
the Yellow River and are in position,
but the Japanese have not yet made a move.
Tell Jiang Dingwen
it's best to make the first move
and get the upper hand.
Generalissimo,
your flight to Mandalay is ready to depart.
Peiji,
did you have enough to eat?
I did. I did.
What brings you to Chungking?
Nothing special.
I heard there is a drought in Henan.
Is it severe?
The province...will overcome it.
We will overcome it.
Peiji,
Henan is in a difficult situation.
That's why I sent you there.
Tell Director Chen that
Governor Li is tired.
Please look after him for me.
Did you report the situation to the Generalissimo?
Everything they reported to him
was more important than what I had to say.
I didn't know what to say.
Looks like I came to Chungking for nothing.
Governor Li,
you missed your chance to tell him.
Now things will be more difficult.
Director Chen,
It's all here in these documents.
For the sake of the 30 million
starving people in Henan,
help me find a way
to ask the government for emergency relief.
When the Generalissimo returns from Burma,
I'll find a chance to give these to him.
Thank you.
Anyone here?
I want to speak to Father Megan
Last time I was in Chungking,
Father Coutie showed me
your articles in Time magazine.
Thank you for telling the story
of the Chinese people.
Father Coutie has been very helpful.
Very kind.
He told me you know Henan very well.
Well,
I've been in China for thirty years now.
For the first ten years,
I thought I knew this place,
But then I became more and more uncertain.
When I left Chungking,
I knew there was a famine.
But I ...
I had no idea
how severe it would be.
Every day people are dying.
The dead alone don't sadden me.
What saddens me is,
I have no idea what's happening.
The refugees trudge forward every day,
And I can't see
a government stepping in to assist them.
We both do not understand
what is happening with the Chinese refugees.
The government officials say
they can't help the refugees because of the war,
but they are not doing
so well in the battles either.
Thank you.
This,
before the famine,
farmers used this to feed their pigs.
Bon appetit!
I actually like yams.
Oh good
The donkey is the best I can do for you.
But I urge you to return to Chungking.
I'm glad to come to Henan.
There must be a reason behind what is happening.
I want to know the truth.
Henan now belongs to the Japanese.
If you continue into the disaster area,
there are two possible results:
One,
you win a Pulitzer Prize.
Two,
you get taken prisoner by the Japanese.
I will pray for your Pulitzer.
From your mouth to God's ears.
I will remember you, Father.
Mom?
How are you feeling?
Getting worse.
You're burning up.
It's not so bad. At least I'm warm.
That's bad luck.
Go, go.
Quick, take her while she's asleep.
She's so small. You said she was ten!
Let's talk over there.
She looks like she's three or four years old.
She's famished.
Lack of food has made her small.
Feed her something and she will grow.
If we buy her as a child bride,
we still need to feed her for a few years.
We've been on the road for a month.
Nobody in our family
has eaten anything in the last ten days
except dry wood and sticks.
My mother's sick
and I don't know how long she'll last.
Your wife?
I'll give you five pints of millet for her.
I can't sell her. She would sell me back!
The boy looks okay. Three pints of millet.
I need him to carry on the family name.
Two and a half pints of millet.
Take her.
Xialu!
Fuck your ancestors!
Are you trying to sell my daughter?
Give her back!
Give her to me!
You think I want to sell her?
My mom is dying, and we need medicine.
Take her.
Take her! I'm still in charge of this family!
I'll kill her myself...
No! Shuanzhu, stop her!
Before I let you take her away!
Give her to me.
Give me back my child.
Give her to me!
Go to sleep!
If this is all for my sake,
then I would rather hang myself this instant!
Hang yourself?
Where would you tie the rope?
Bastard!
They are just causing a scene
for all of us to see.
All of these poor people...
I can't save them all.
Don't stand around. Go to sleep.
Don't sell the girl.
Make your mother some porridge.
You can pay me back when this is over.
Why not make it 10 pints?
Then I won't have to keep begging.
I have a family too.
My son's wife is pregnant,
and there's still a long road ahead of us.
What's that?
It's the army. They're fighting the Japanese.
Fuck their war!
Don't they know we're starving here?
I hope we win.
If we win,
then we can go home.
9th Army Headquarters.
We might lose Changyuan.
There's been a lot of hand to hand battles.
800 casualties for the Japanese,
but more than 5,000 on our side.
Order the 15th Army and 28th Army
to surround Tangyin and Anyang
by tomorrow morning
and attack by noon.
Telegram from the Generalissimo, sir.
Leave the room.
What's wrong?
The Generalissimo sent a telegram
from the frontline in Burma
ordering us to retreat from Henan.
Are you sure?
Why singlehandedly give Henan to the Japanese?
Sir,
there are so many refugees in Henan.
If we retreat,
we'll be abandoning them to the Japanese.
Maybe that's exactly why
the Generalissimo made this decision.
Our country is poor.
The only way to survive
is to cast off our burdens.
Get away!
Back up!
Get away!
Why aren't we moving forward?
It's jammed.
Get away.
Sir!
Sir, did we win or lose?
We won, of course!
Then why are you retreating?
It's a retrograde maneuver!
Everyone back!
Sir! Sir!
You can't take our cart.
We've been risking our lives.
There are Japanese artillery shells
flying back and forth,
and you're upset about a cart?
Scram!
It's not just a cart, sir!
It's a national circuit court!
Then we're doing you a favor!
After we leave, the Japanese will come.
Are you going to take them to court?
This court is now an ambulance.
Scram!
There are more troops than civilians in the crowd.
If the troops are the majority, then bomb them.
Yes, sir!
Three! Two! One! Launch!
Get off!
Mom!
Xingxing, this way!
Daddy!
Where is everyone?
Xingxing?
Where are you?
Sir! Sir! My cart!
My money! Sir!
Sir, my food! For pity's sake!
Dad.
Sir.
Shuanzhu! Save me!
Let go of me!
Let go!
Xingxing!
Mom, are you all right?
Stay here!
Mommy!
Father Sim!
Mom!
Granny?
Mom.
Mother!
She's dead?
Are you happy now?
She's lucky.
We're better off dead.
I wish they would drop a bomb on me too!
I'll kill you, you stinking bitch!
This is no time to fight!
It's all gone.
I should have lent you some of that millet.
Hurry, now. Dig a hole for her.
Mom!
Help!
It's nothing.
Just a scratch.
I never knew you had it in you!
I dare them!
Where's your cat?
Kitty?
Kitty!
Don't worry. It's fine.
Master Fan?
Are you alright?
I'm not master of anything now.
It's all gone.
Call it fate.
We said this would just be temporary.
Now we're refugees, just like the rest of them.
No different from anyone else.
Xialu, Xialu.
Wait a moment.
Master Fan?
Can you do me a favor?
What?
You have a cart
and we don't... anymore.
My daughter-in-law is pregnant.
Can you let her ride on your cart?
If you let her ride,
we'll forget all about
the millet you borrowed.
How does that sound?
We're all neighbors here.
Get on.
Sure then.
Great.
It's a deal.
She can sit.
Shuanzhu, go pull the cart.
Master Fan begging us?
It feels pretty good!
Father Sim,
you did well.
You stayed with the refugees, and
Preaching, and doing the work of the Lord.
You will certainly make a difference.
Father,
I'm a deserter.
I came back here
on a truck with the defeated soldiers.
You need to rest.
You must not starve to death.
A dead priest cannot preach.
I want to ask you one question.
The Lord knows what's happening here?
Yes.
If he knows,
why doesn't he do anything?
Everything in this world
because of the Lord's wishes.
This is not
the wishes of the Lord.
This is caused by the Devil.
Why?
Why does the Devil always win?
If the Lord can't win,
why believe?
Father Sim,
you're tired.
You mustn't doubt the Lord.
Father,
I also feel the Devil has entered my body.
Jesus Christ.
Push harder.
Harder!
I can't, Mommy.
I have to pick it out every day.
I should just let you clog up.
No wonder she can't poop.
We've had nothing but tree bark to eat.
Makes my breath smell bitter.
My breath used to smell like dumplings.
Hello.
Stop following me.
I want to take a picture though.
Hold on.
Okay.
Give me one.
Stop following.
Hey, look.
A foreigner.
Give me one.
Come here.
Hungry?
Quiet!
Xialu,
you get his donkey.
Okay.
Shuanzhu,
you keep an eye on him.
Don't wake him up.
Shhhh!
Where should I take it?
Keep going.
Kill it. Cook it. Eat it.
Stop, stop!
Run!
Stop!
The crackers
and the donkey
are yours.
You can't eat the camera.
Give it to me.
OK
Shuanzhu, stop.
Give it to him.
Here.
Thank you.
Friends.
Brothers.
Sure, sure.
What are you waiting for?
Go find Xialu and the donkey.
Go on!
Xialu!
Shuanzhu!
Where's the donkey?
It ran off.
You moron!
You can't even handle a donkey!
I wanted it to run faster,
so I smacked its butt.
But it was startled.
Which way did it go?
It was too dark.
I couldn't see.
You go that way.
I'll go this way.
Okay?
Okay.
You killed my donkey?
Fuck off!
Your donkey?
You're just a refugee.
If you had a donkey,
your eyes wouldn't be caving in.
If you're going to keep it,
at least give me a piece of meat!
You couldn't push him somewhere else?
It's been three days.
We can't keep waiting.
If we don't leave,
we'll starve here.
Where would Xialu go?
We looked everywhere,
but there's no trace of him.
You were going to steal a donkey!
There's no donkey and now no Xialu.
You need to make things right.
People have been dying every day on this road.
What's so strange about that?
At least they leave bodies behind.
What about Xialu?
We haven't found a live body or a dead one!
You don't even care!
Xialu!
Where did you go?
We're all alone
and they're taking advantage of us!
Why don't you do anything?
Where are you?
Xialu!
They all lost their parents in the war.
It's a new group,
so they haven't rehearsed yet.
They're good.
Very good.
The girl holding the flag
is the daughter of General Sun Fangwu.
General Sun led Division 96.
He died in Burma last month.
Your father was a great soldier.
Come visit me
during Chinese New Year,
and I'll give you a nice present.
All right?
All your fathers
were great soldiers.
Why is everybody heading west?
Well, it's habit, I think.
People in Henan always go west
to Shaanxi when there is a disaster.
Just like people in Shandong go to the Northeast.
How can a drought produce such a disaster,
there are so many displaced people here.
Locusts.
It's mainly because of locusts.
Can't be fucking locusts.
Get down!
Stop it!
Fuck!
Now,
everyone watch for my hand signal!
Be careful
not to shout too early
or too late.
Wait until the foreigners
are 50 meters away.
Does everyone understand?
Understood!
Louder! Understand?
Understood!
Then let's give it a try and see
if all the factories,
schools,
work units,
and stores
are well-rehearsed!
Attention!
The cars are coming!
Now they are 50 meters away!
Shout!
Welcome!
Together now! Louder!
Welcome!
Together now!
No, this is not acceptable!
They are still not shouting in unison!
Is this what you call organization here in Chungking?
What if we didn't have them speak English?
How about saying Welcome in Chinese?
This isn't about what they shout.
This is a diplomatic issue!
Mr. Gaus, I need to talk to you.
I'm on a tight schedule.
It's urgent.
I have to go to the airport
to pick up the president's special envoy.
Five minutes.
Give me five minutes. Okay?
Please.
Fine. Five minutes.
Your story
sounds made up.
No one is going to believe you.
If I hadn't run into
several Chinese communications troops,
I'd have starved to death along
with the rest of those poor people.
If you report this in Time Magazine,
it will be explosive news.
I want to tell the Chinese government about
what is happening in Henan.
Please.
But this is China's war.
For God's sake.
It's out of my hands.
Troublemaker.
Before I went to Henan,
it was easy for me to meet
with government officials.
I don't know, now that I have returned,
it's like I have a contagious disease.
I can no longer meet with Minister Song Ziwen
I can not longer meet with Minister Zhang Daofan,
Admiral Gaus can't help either.
With the assistance of Xie Weisi
at the U.S. Embassy
I was able to see the Chairman
of Sichuan Province.
He told me he has no control over Henan.
He introduced me to Sun Ke,
president of the Court.
He told me that only General Chiang
can make any changes.
Lastly I met with Yu Youren.
He says I have to sit with you
and perhaps you can help me
meet with Generalissimo Chiang.
Well, I understand.
He is very busy.
But don't worry.
I will call him.
How long shall I wait?
Five days,
or ten days.
Or maybe you won't see him at all.
What?
Want some?
Give me a kiss.
After this is over.
I can't wait any longer!
It didn't work?
I'm telling you,
a girl gets a little education
and she thinks she's special.
I'll sleep with you for the crackers.
I don't have any crackers.
- Give them to me.
- I don't have any!
Give it to me!
You and Master Fan got Xialu killed.
You've need to make things right!
One life
is worth two crackers.
Good!
The baby's head!
Good!
Push.
I'm dying.
I don't have the strength.
Push.
Keep on pushing.
Here it comes!
Here, the scissors.
She did it.
It's a boy!
It's alive!
Hurry! Hurry! Faster!
Our ancestors have blessed us.
Ancestors, be praised.
Master Fan!
Come give the boy a name!
With a name, he'll have
a better chance of surviving.
Sure.
Call him Liucheng. It's a good and fortunate name.
Just kill him.
When we get back on the road,
I won't have any milk for him.
He won't make it.
Don't say that!
Kill a healthy baby like this one?
We can't kill him!
Look,
I'll sell my coat
and make a nice hot soup for you.
Sweetheart,
I'm sorry.
You brought that cat all this way
and today we had to
kill it.
Dad,
I want some soup too.
Lisheng,
you're in charge of the press, right?
Yes.
This is an editorial about the situation in Henan.
Read it.
Our readers would have seen yesterday's report
about the disaster in Henan.
Who could have imagined
30 million of our countrymen
were doomed to the hellish fate of starvation?
This is my fault.
I just got back from Guangxi yesterday.
This guy, Wang Yunsheng,
he's the editor of Ta Kung Pao?
Yes.
He's poisoning people's minds.
Shut his paper down!
But...
Wang Yunsheng
was invited by the U.S. Office
of Strategic Services.
He will leave for America in a few days.
At this...
He does not need to go.
More people
are talking about the war in Henan.
They say we are abandoning Henan,
and leaving the refugees to the Japanese.
It's an open secret.
When did we say we were giving up on Henan?
You need to set the record straight
with an editorial
in the Central Daily News.
Yes sir.
Right away.
The Generalissimo needs to see
Mr. Wilkie off at the airport.
You only have fifteen minutes.
You understand Chinese, right?
Yes.
Then I won't have to translate for you.
I'm going to have to speak English though.
Okay.
Generalissimo,
this is Mr. White.
Mr. White,
I've heard a lot about you.
Nice to see you.
Honorable Generalissimo,
it grieves me to report to you
that 30 million people in Henan
don't have enough food to eat.
Each day an increasing number of refugees
are starving to death.
He is reporting on the situation in Henan.
He says many people are starving.
It's been explained to me
by some of the officials that
it's because there is a war going on,
but I was there
and it appears as if the Japanese
haven't started an attack on Henan.
He says the government must not
know what's happening.
Officials say it's because of the war,
but the Japanese haven't started attacking Henan.
There is indeed a famine,
but it's not as severe as you say.
With all due respect, Generalissimo,
I've heard the people have now resorted
to eating each other.
He heard there's been cannibalism.
Impossible.
Something like that could never happen in China.
I've seen dogs eating people.
I've seen it.
I've seen it, sir.
He saw it himself.
I've seen it, sir.
Please.
I never imagined
things could be this bad.
If the famine is indeed as severe as you say,
then the government
will surely take action!
These self-satisfying Americans...
they're nothing but trouble!
If those pictures get published,
they'll call me the Generalissimo
who sat by while his people suffered.
A heartless dictator.
Farewell!
White's article about the Henan famine
has been published in Time Magazine.
Should I confiscate all the copies
of Time in China?
No.
Buy as many copies as you can.
Have the Foreign Ministry translate it
into Chinese,
then send a copy to every minister
and provincial governor.
Add Li Peiji's report at the end.
We need to send relief
as soon as the Japanese leave,
otherwise, what will the rest of the world think?
We would be as corrupt as they say we are.
Contact Yan Xishan.
Have them send supplies
to the disaster area immediately.
Then,
tell Zhang Lisheng
to mobilize all of China to raise relief
funds for the refugees.
There are times
when I miss the old Northern Expedition days.
All I had to do was give the order,
and my men would leap into action.
I had no burdens
keeping me from standing with the people.
How is she?
She lost a lot of blood, and with the cold
her pulse is very weak.
You've got to do something.
If you save her,
I'll give you two acres of land when this is over.
Master Fan,
the cure is very simple.
She just needs some food.
Just so you know,
my mother and my grandchildren
all died of hunger
these past two days on the road.
I'm so hungry I can't walk straight.
Master Fan!
Master Fan, hurry!
What is it?
She stopped breathing.
She was a good daughter-in-law.
I don't know what I'll tell her family,
letting her die like this.
What are you doing?
Giving the baby some milk
while her body is still warm.
My god!
What?
She hasn't eaten in five days!
She is as thin as a stick.
How can she have milk?
Gentlemen,
after urgent appeals
from the provincial government,
the central government has
started providing relief aid to Henan.
Starting this month,
the central government
will provide 80 million pounds of grain
from their military provisions.
Gentlemen,
Governor Li's deep concern for the public welfare
and fearless dedication have finally paid off.
He not only went to Chungking,
but he also submitted six reports.
Future generations of Henan people
will remember Governor Li's kindness.
Let's discuss the matter
of delivering the relief grain.
Yes, sir.
How can we have this meeting?
The heads of the grain
and account departments
are both absent.
That's not right.
Mr. Lu and Mr. Peng
have gone to Luoyang to inspect the disaster.
We can not delay relief efforts another minute.
After all of our begging,
they're only offering 80 million pounds?
When there was a famine in Hubei last year,
the government gave more than 200 million pounds.
Do we sell ourselves so cheaply in Henan?
Is 80 million pounds enough?
We have 30 million people there.
Each person would only get two and half pounds.
That's enough for three days!
What happens after that?
Mr. Fang,
getting 80 million pounds
is better than having to give 80 million pounds.
After we get this,
we can ask for more.
80 million is enough to help
in this emergency situation.
It may even save
a few hundred thousand people.
Am I right?
Today,
our main task
is to define the disaster areas.
Define the disaster areas?
The entire province is a disaster area.
Mr. Fang,
there is just not enough for the entire province.
We can not distribute the grain randomly,
therefore we need to focus on the worst areas.
I agree that we should concentrate
on specific areas,
but in the past
we've focused on rural areas
and neglected the cities.
It's the cities that we see the most problems.
I'm not saying this just because cities
are my jurisdiction,
but remember when the Yellow River flooded?
The provincial government was attacked.
When choosing who needs the most help,
we should consider certain professions.
I'm not saying this
because I'm in charge of education,
but education is our future.
The Generalissimo has always stated so.
We must not focus on the refugees
at the expense of other groups.
If our teachers and students starve to death,
we'll have no future to save.
As far as focus goes,
as captain of the police,
I need to speak on behalf of hundreds of
thousands of police who are frightened
because they're working in the disaster areas.
Wherever there's trouble,
they're there to follow orders.
I would venture to say that,
if it weren't for the thousands
of police braving hunger
and enforcing law and order,
we would have already had a revolution in Henan.
80 million pounds is just not enough!
The police are among the refugees.
Why are you arguing?
Before we received this aid,
you were constantly complaining about it.
Now that we have it,
you are tearing each other to pieces over it.
If I would have known this was going to happen,
I would never have asked for it.
It's still not too late to send the grain back!
Gentlemen,
each department is focused on its own problems.
You all have good reasons.
As for how we define who is a refugee
and who isn't,
we can discuss that later.
I must emphasize that
in distributing this relief grain,
we cannot be selfish.
We must act under the leadership
of the provincial government.
If that's how it is,
why bother having this meeting?
Can't the two of you just make
the decision yourselves?
Fang,
What are you trying to say?
Telegram, Mr. Governor.
What's going on today?
Governor,
now what?
Does the government want to take it back?
The government doesn't want it back.
We have been ambushed by Jiang Dingwen.
Remember the 30 million pounds of grain he wanted?
He's detained the head
of the grain department, Lao Lu,
and the head of the accounts department, Lao Peng.
They are both with Jiang.
He'll release them in exchange for the grain.
You all like arguing so much?
Why don't you go argue with Jiang Dingwen?
In a year of famine,
if I give Jiang Dingwen all that grain...
I'm no better than the rest of them.
Jiang Dingwen will take bribes.
A "gift" of 3 million pounds of grain
will not only get us our men back,
but it might even change his mind
about the 30 million pounds.
It would be in Henan's best interests, too.
Governor Li,
when I exchanged the gold bars,
I bought an extra 500,000 pounds of grain.
What?
Why didn't you tell me?
You were at the meeting.
No one will think you're right
if you allocate all of the grain as planned.
It'll only cause more problems.
Mr. Fang
is always making trouble during meetings.
I don't know what he wants.
He headed up the civil affairs department
for a long time.
Before you came,
he was the top choice for governor.
Then Generalissimo Chiang changed his mind.
I should contact Generalissimo Chiang
immediately and resign.
He can take over!
He can go speak to Jiang Dingwen!
500,000 pounds is not very much.
If you want the central government
to give you more,
don't you need to "pay visits" to others?
I can't stay on as an official.
I need to retire and go home.
Governor Li,
if you retire,
you will end up a refugee.
This is a broadcast from
the first military district's political department
and the Luoyang municipal government.
To support the war effort
and safeguard military supplies,
and to keep out traitors and maintain local order,
only residents of Luoyang
will be permitted into the city.
Those who willfully disobey will be prosecuted
under Section Nine, Article 3
of the Wartime City Management Regulations.
Go.
You want to die?
Sir?
Isn't the government providing relief aid?
Where can we get food?
The government has identified two disaster areas,
northern and southern Henan.
Now that you're in Luoyang,
you're no longer considered a refugee.
Then how can I become a refugee?
Turn around and walk a few hundred miles.
North or south, it doesn't matter.
Mom?
Mom!
Dad!
What?
What's wrong with Mom?
Mom?
Mom!
She's dead.
Mom!
Dead is good.
No more suffering.
She can move on to her next life.
In your next life,
make sure not to come back here.
Our commander is deeply concerned
about the people,
so he is allocating some military grain
to be sold to refugees at a low price
to help them with their difficulties.
I give this responsibility to you.
Whatever you do, proceed with caution.
The country's fate is in your hands...
You must not act selfishly.
You can trust me, sir.
I may be a businessman,
but I've got more heart than
those corrupted officials.
If I were you I would take your share
and use it to buy land.
You can get half an acre
for ten pints of millet these days.
You can sell it after the famine.
I'm not a businessman.
You take care of it.
Quiet!
Listen to the boss on the truck.
Everyone listen up!
I'm the manager of a bedding factory in Luoyang.
I'm looking for workers. Young ones. Girls.
If I pick you, I'll give you food and shelter,
and give your family five pints of millet.
Line up here if you're interested.
You will all get your turn.
As judge for the 1st War Area Circuit Court,
I never thought I'd be selling people.
Don't say that.
You're taking orders
from the government to save the refugees.
If we really want to help them,
we should pick as many as we can.
Give them a better life.
Dad?
What?
Sell me.
What are you talking about?
If we have to die, we'll die together.
Our family does not sell people.
We buy them.
Dad,
I can't take it anymore.
We don't even have any firewood to eat.
Let me live.
Liubao,
Let's go.
Don't push!
Come on.
Let's go back.
What are you doing?
Get away!
Don't let me see you again.
Go!
Mom.
What's this?
Buy a big one and you get two small ones.
It's a bargain, mister.
A bargain?
I'm buying one mouth to feed, not three.
You think I'm stupid?
Get out of my sight!
I went to school.
I can read.
She's the daughter of a landlord.
Good.
Go ahead.
What would my ancestors say?
Dad, it's New Year's Eve.
I never thought
I would be sell my daughter on New Year's Eve.
Dad,
forget about me.
Just pretend you strangled me to death
when I was born.
You said she would be with me.
Of course I wanted you two to be together,
but she would starve to death if she stayed.
I want to kill someone!
Shuanzhu,
I'll marry you.
So you can have a wife before you die.
We got a few new girls today.
I saved the best one
for you.
You think I don't know?
They're all refugees.
With the famine going on, how can we do this?
It's too much!
It's our way of helping the refugees
with some relief funds.
Right?
Of course.
I chose a student for you.
Let's go.
Did you wash yourself?
How old are you?
Seventeen.
That's a good age.
Put down the basin
and give me a massage.
My dad washes his feet before he goes to bed.
All right,
wash my feet first, then.
All right,
enough bowing.
Put down the basin.
What's wrong?
You don't want to serve me?
No,
mister,
I want to.
It's just that I ate too much
and I can't bend over.
It's good you two are together.
You can take care of each other.
Your parents are gone,
so we might as well celebrate
during the New Year's fireworks.
Bow before Heaven and Earth.
And then to each other.
Do you know why I married you?
Didn't Master Fan say why?
So we can take care of each other.
If you have a wife,
then tomorrow you can sell your wife.
I've only had a wife for one day.
I can't sell her.
Sell me.
You'll be able to get a few pints of grain.
I'll live,
and you will live, too.
Nobody would buy me with the kids.
Now they have a father,
I won't have to worry.
Mommy.
Mommy?
Three pints.
You must be joking.
Yesterday someone offered five and I didn't sell.
Who is she?
It's embarrassing,
but she's my daughter.
If your daughter was 16,
then I could give you five quarts.
Don't you see how old she is?
Never mind, then.
If you buy me,
where will you send me to?
It's not like that.
I don't sell people,
I sell cattle.
I'm just trying to help.
Well,
if I buy you, and
if you are nice to me.
I wouldn't sell you.
I would keep you as my wife.
How does that sound?
Four quarts
and I'll go with you!
Remember,
your hometown is Yanjin.
Don't cry.
Lingdang.
You see this?
This is to remember your daddy by.
Don't lose it.
Mommy, don't go.
Can you stop for a second?
I have something to say.
What?
Shuanzhu,
Come here.
After I'm gone,
Please don't sell the children, no matter what.
Okay?
My pants are less frayed.
Let's switch.
I'm honored that the Generalissimo has found time
to visit my humble abode
on his trip to Xi'an.
I didn't come here to see you.
I came to see your mother.
Please.
Madame,
last year when I saw you,
you were having your eyes treated.
Are they better?
My sight is blurry,
but I can still weave.
That's where I'm having problems now.
They don't even want to talk to me anymore.
When my mother was alive,
her eyesight wasn't so good either.
She would weave with her eyes closed.
How's your appetite?
I can eat two steamed buns each meal.
I'm not dying in the next few days.
They will still have to put up
with me for a while.
Generalissimo,
I'm an old woman.
There is something that I want to ask you.
I don't know if I should.
Please.
I'm from Henan.
I heard about the famine there.
A lot of people have died.
The government is sending aid.
Trains are transporting grain to the disaster area
and transporting refugees to Shaanxi.
God is good.
My people can be saved.
Old friend,
this time I've come, because I would like to
borrow something from you.
You are not here to take my head away, are you?
Here's the situation.
War is going to break out again in Henan.
Generalissimo Chiang would like
to borrow grain from you.
The battle in northern Henan
is very important.
The Americans, British, and Soviets
are meeting secretly
to discuss arrangements for after the war.
I understand.
At this key moment,
we need to show the world what we can do.
Since last week,
the Generalissimo has cut back on meals
in support of the war effort.
I may not agree with the Generalissimo's politics,
but at this time of national crisis,
I will donate half of my assets
to support the war in Henan.
Old friend,
you set a good example for industrialists
and business leaders.
This will make Lisheng's job easier too.
I'm just worried that whatever I give
will be stashed away by the corrupt officials.
You can trust us.
I have already ordered investigations
in the disaster areas.
This time,
I am going to imprison some
and execute the rest.
Dong Jiayao.
Male.
Forty years old.
Former colonel
of the 1st War Area's supply office.
During his term,
he neglected the war
and efforts to provide relief aid.
Through hoarding
and embezzlement,
he became a wealthy man.
As justice to the people,
he is sentenced to death,
effective immediately.
Director Lin,
should we begin?
The citizens have already seen them.
I would like the refugees to see them also.
The audience is too small.
The refugees are busy boarding the train.
It will be difficult to get them here.
One or two representatives should be enough.
It's not about the size of the audience,
it's about corruption being punished.
You don't think the public cares about that?
Yes, sir!
Execute!
Ready?
Fire.
It's okay.
Master Fan,
they're executing people.
Maybe we have been rescued
and we don't have to go to Shaanxi.
I don't believe anything they say.
There are soldiers on the road,
which means Henan is still at war.
Shuanzhu,
we had nothing but bad luck at every turn.
We must go to Shaanxi.
Let's go.
Once we get back on our feet in Shaanxi,
Things will get better.
Let's go.
I know
how to go from rags to riches
in less than ten years.
I'll be a landlord again.
Then we can come back
for Xingxing and Huazhi.
Master Fan,
I'll be happy to work for you again.
Fast-acting hunger relief pills.
Just one, and you won't be
hungry for an entire day.
These last longer.
Just one and you're not hungry for seven days.
Mr. Han spent a lot of time
researching these two pills to cure hunger.
We hope the government
will fund production and promotions.
These pills have the potential to save every one
dying in Henan.
What are these things made of?
It's a family secret.
They are made according to a secret family recipe.
If the family secret recipe worked,
then no Chinese person would have starved
in the past two thousand years.
The war is upon us.
Let's leave your hunger pills
for another day.
Governor Li,
the main reason I came today
was not to talk about the pills.
The troops have gathered in northern Henan.
Nine out of ten people are
on the verge of starvation.
I honestly can't go there in my position.
I was hoping
you might consider transferring me
to southern Henan.
My friend,
war is imminent.
The provincial government is about to relocate.
The only way the county
and provincial governments will survive
is if we are victorious in this war.
Gentlemen,
please.
This is a message from the Jiangsu-Gansu Railway.
In order to support the war effort,
safeguard railway administration,
and prevent treason and espionage,
all refugees must register at the train station.
You can only board the train for free
by showing your identification.
Violators who willfully disobey
this regulation and board the train
will be prosecuted under wartime
Regulation Five, Article Eight.
Listen up.
There's not very much room.
You are not allowed
to bring anything onto the train.
Nothing.
We sold our family for this food.
We can't just throw it away.
Then how will we get to Shaanxi?
Liubao, hang on to me.
We'll think of something.
Let's go.
Go back.
Why hasn't the train left yet?
Is the air raid alert still going?
Hurry. Hurry!
I need help here.
What's wrong?
I lost my pinwheel!
Shuanzhu!
Landlord!
Shuanzhu!
Go!
Hold on tight.
Give me the tablets!
Hold on tight, Lingdang!
Hold on tight.
Climb up.
Liubao?
Lingdang?
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Shuanzhu?
What's wrong?
Master Fan!
Did you see Liubao and Lingdang?
Aren't they with you?
Damn it!
They must have gone to sleep
and fallen off!
I have to go find them!
Don't jump, you'll get hurt!
Shuanzhu.
My millet.
My millet!
I sold my wife for that millet!
Train!
Fuck you!
Shaanxi at last,
even if it's just the two of us.
What's wrong?
Turn back.
Sir,
I have orders to take the refugees to Shaanxi.
I have orders too!
There are already millions
of refugees in Shaanxi.
If we let more in,
Shaanxi will be a disaster zone also.
Go back!
I can't.
If I go back, I'll be executed.
I'll kill you now if you don't!
Turn back!
Faster!
Fire!
Aim above the train!
The rails are blocked! Everyone get off! Run!
Liucheng?
After all we went through to get here
I never thought that
I would smother you to death.
There's nobody else left now.
God!
Why me?
Takahashi-san,
how many troops do you have?
Three divisions were joined by five more,
so I have about 60,000 men.
How many Chinese troops have assembled in Henan?
Jiang Dingwen has eight divisions.
400,000 men in all.
I'll raise new forces for you.
Grain.
Grain?
Henan is suffering from a drought.
People are dying every day.
The Chinese government is helpless.
Your men are advancing along the same path
as the Chinese who are fleeing the famine.
Give the famine victims grain.
How do you think that would make them feel?
Because of your assistance,
they will either help on the frontline
or help destroy the war supplies
of the Chinese army.
But they are Chinese.
No. More than anything, they're human.
In April that year,
the Japanese initiated the battle of Henan.
They encountered the stubborn resistance
of the Nationalist Army.
The Japanese army, with 60,000 soldiers,
consecutively captured twenty-eight cities,
including Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Luohe,
Zhumadian, Nanyang, Gongyi, and Luoyang
The Kuomintang forces
sustained 300,000 casualties.
Hurry. Hurry!
Faster!
Go!
Move!
Sir, reporting. We captured a Chinese soldier.
That isn't mine.
I found it.
What?
I picked it up on the road.
Not mine.
Shuanzhu?
Mr. Ma?
What are you doing here?
Staying alive.
Do you know each other?
Is he a soldier?
No, he's not a soldier.
He feeds livestock.
He's a good citizen!
He drives the cart.
Like this!
Cart.
Great.
He can stay and help with the horses.
He can stay
and help us with the horses.
You can stay.
We can stick together.
We are friends.
I have to find my kids.
You have to survive.
What a clever little thing.
Give it to him.
Not a chance.
What if I can't find the kids?
It's all I have to remember them by.
Here.
Give me the pinwheel.
Let's trade.
Trade.
No!
Give it back to me.
My pinwheel.
Eat it.
Eat it, Shuanzhu,
so you can live.
Eat it.
You burned my daughter's pinwheel?
Motherfucker!
Mr. Ma!
Come here.
Eat this.
Taste good?
Spicy.
Peiji,
I knew I could trust you.
That's why I sent you to Henan.
It seems now
that I wasn't doing you a favor.
I let you down, Generalissimo.
Those treacherous Japanese are
giving grain to starving people?
I never would have imagined it.
I've heard
some of the refugees went over
to the Japanese side
after eating their food.
Is that true?
It must be a rumor.
They're trying to incite a rebellion!
The majority of the people
support the government.
The ones causing problems
are from Wang Jingwei's group.
Peiji,
How many people have died in Henan?
Our figures say...
1,062.
And the real number?
About...
...3 million people.
Minister Soong wants to see you urgently.
It's about the summit with the other leaders.
Roosevelt, Churchill,
and Stalin planned to meet in Cairo
to discuss the situation after the war.
President Roosevelt just sent a telegram
stating Churchill
and Stalin do not want us to attend.
After all we sacrificed for this war.
Why can't we have a voice in
discussing post-war affairs?
But Minister Soong is still working on it.
What about the Japanese?
They are approaching the Henan-Shaanxi border.
Tell He Yingqin
he must hold the Tongguan pass.
If the Japanese take Shaanxi,
then I will not go to Cairo
even if they ask me to.
Mister!
Are you coming from Shaanxi?
Why are you walking back?
Is there no hope there either?
There's hope in Shaanxi,
but not for me.
You'll die if you try to go back.
I don't want to keep living.
I just want to die close to home.
Mommy!
Little girl,
she's already cold.
Don't cry, now.
Everyone in my family has died.
I don't have anyone anymore.
Little girl,
you can call me Grandpa.
And we'll have each other now.
Grandpa.
Granddaughter,
let's go.
Fifteen years later,
this little girl became my mother.
As long as I can remember,
she never shed a tear
or ate meat.
Seventy years later,
I interviewed her about the year 1942.
She stared at me blankly.
I left all that misery behind me long ago.
Why bring it up again?
Sixteen years later, Liubao
found Huazhi in Luoyang.
Lingdang's whereabouts are still unknown.
Twenty years later, someone saw Xingxing at Baoji.
She sent money home,
but had no wish to return home
or see anyone she used to know.
After returning to the United States,
Theodore White lost his job
in the Red Scare of Joseph McCarthy.
He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1964,
and died in New York in 1986.
In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek lost mainland China
and retreated to Taiwan.
More than ten million people fled Henan
in the famine of 1942.
Three million people starved to death.
in China and overseas.
Today
is the 31st New Year's Day
since the founding of the Republic of China,
and the 5th
New Year's Day
that we have been
at war
since our declaration of war
against Japan and the Axis powers.
On December 12th of last year,
our war of resistance entered a new phase,
and China's war with Japan
has become a World War.
The duty of China
is now greater
and the burden of our people and our army
We must renew and double our efforts.
On this 1st day of the new year,
I will discuss with the public
the past, present,
and future of this war.
Over the past six months,
particularly this last month,
our war of resistance has utterly changed.
Before, it was a solitary struggle
within our own country
against the Japanese invaders.
Today, we have joined Great Britain,
the United States,
the Soviet Union,
and other friendly nations
in fighting side by side
to rid the world of our enemies.
This burden
is the responsibility of the Republic of China
In order to maintain civilization
and morality in the world.
As long as Japanese invaders
and the Axis powers
remain on this earth,
as long as civilization and morality
remain under threat.
We will continue
to take on this heavy burden.
The outcome of this war
will determine not only
the survival of our nation,
but the future of all mankind.
Victory for China
will lay a strong foundation
for generations to come.
Defeat
will push our people past the point of no return.
My fellow countrymen...
From the winter of 1942,
to the spring of 1944,
a terrible drought
starved my home province
of Henan.
Meanwhile,
in other places, other things were happening:
The Battle of Stalingrad,
Gandhi went on hunger strike.
Soong May-ling visited the United States.
Winston Churchill got a cold.
Shuanzhu!
Yes, sir?
Did you feed the animals?
I was just about to.
When you're done with that,
go check the granary.
That's all the grain the village has left.
Master Fan...
there's someone in there now.
Who?
Huazhi.
Mister Fan... Sir...
Huazhi.
I'm just here to borrow some grain.
I'll give you some,
if I can borrow you for a little while.
Mister Fan...
Huazhi.
My wife's pregnant
and I haven't had a taste in months.
Mister Fan!
At a time when people are starving to death...
how could you?
So?
If it weren't for the famine,
you wouldn't be asking either.
Just one time
and I'll give you two pints of millet.
That's fair, isn't it?
What an animal!
I'll scream.
Don't! Don't!
Huazhi,
you can have this walnut too.
Your hair is losing its color.
Huazhi ...
The bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Bandits are coming!
Every man to the village walls!
Is that Ciwei?
When you were a child,
your mother did our laundry for us.
One time you pitched a fit
and I took you to go see a doctor.
Did you forget?
Sir,
we don't want any trouble.
We're starving.
We just want some food.
Xialu,
I'll give each of you two pints of millet
to make them go away right now.
Sir,
we would if we could,
but we haven't eaten in days.
There's no fight in us.
Coward!
Shuanzhu.
What?
Get a horse and go to the county seat.
Alert the judge!
I don't think I can, sir.
Ask someone else.
Three silver coins!
I'm counting on you with my life!
Hurry!
Well...
alright!
Ciwei,
show a little respect.
I'll give you a bucket of millet.
But please leave and look for food elsewhere!
Sir,
we're already here,
so let's not waste time going back and forth.
Tonight, we will eat with you.
Whatever we eat,
We'll pay back after the drought.
Come, come.
Dig in, dig in!
We've waited long enough.
Xialu.
Young master.
Take this.
Tell the rest of the villagers
to eat too.
We can't let these bastards eat everything.
If they don't leave as soon as they're done,
then we'll have to teach them a lesson.
Yes, sir!
Hurry.
Quickly, quickly.
Faster!
Everyone!
Landlord Fan's son said
That we should all eat now.
And
if those bastards don't leave,
then be ready for a fight!
Eat up!
We moved all the valuables and the ledgers
to Mr. Ge's home in the west end of the village.
No, no.
We will cart it all into the city tomorrow.
Master!
Soldiers!
Master!
Soldiers!
From the county seat?
No! Japanese soldiers!
What?
The Japanese?
Calm down, calm down. Slowly now.
Well?
No!
There were Japanese troops in the mountains,
heading for Puyang.
I couldn't get through.
Shuanzhu, are you trying to get me killed?
What?
Sir!
We came here to ask for some food,
and you call in the troops?
Ciwei.
Sir,
how disgraceful are you?
It was a moment of weakness.
I'll make it up to you.
Eat up, my friends! Eat up!
Eat as much as you can!
Eat up?
Eat this!
Master Fan!
Heaven help us!
Oh my God!
Three pints of millet each! Fight!
Fight!
My donkey!
Try me!
Xialu!
Help me!
Mister Fan?
Xialu!
My heart...
You thought I didn't know
you were trying to screw my wife?
Xialu?
Where are you going?
It's complete chaos, boss.
Your son is dead!
My boy!
Landlord Fan
never had faith in the Lord.
He was warned, and yet he still refused.
And now, having lost the protection of the Lord,
he has received the justice he deserves.
Do you see?
What good did his wealth do for him?
His son is dead.
His home has burnt to the ground.
He has nowhere to turn to but the county seat.
This is what is meant by
"not shedding tears until one sees the coffin."
It must be a rude awakening.
Why do you all flee the famine?
You are all godless heathens!
All of you running blindly away
have no idea what lies ahead.
Who can you turn to out there?
Who?
Take refuge in the Lord!
Fried fish with dry noodles.
Yanjin-style.
In a year of terrible?
This is too much, my friend.
Governor Li,
there are 72 wealthy families in the county.
All of them have been robbed.
After they have robbed all the rich men,
they will turn to the county government offices.
I'm still new to this job.
I never would have imagined that a drought
could starve all of Henan!
The whole province is suffering
and the national grain stores
are completely empty.
Coming to Henan was like boarding a sinking ship.
Governor Li,
the whole province is suffering,
but you've also seen how bad it is in Yanjin.
When the time comes to distribute relief grain,
I hope you will treat Yanjin county favorably.
My friend... I'm not here
to distribute relief grain.
Then why are you here?
We're about to go to war.
I've come to collect grain for the army.
Daddy,
what does "flee" mean?
There's no food.
Do you want to starve?
No.
Then you have to go somewhere to look for food.
That's "fleeing."
Why are you wearing your wedding clothes?
Are you planning to run from the famine in that?
It's for good luck on the road!
Slut!
You think fleeing is a lucky thing?
Go change!
It looks like these old bones
won't be buried with my ancestors.
Your ancestors were all broke anyway.
You little bastard.
Liubao,
don't forget to bring the ancestral tablets.
Okay.
We're fleeing from a famine,
not going to watch a show.
Why are you taking that cat?
Dad, I don't want to go.
What?
I want to go back and find my friends.
Where are they now?
Some went to the front of the line
to fight the Japanese.
Going to the frontline means going to war.
Going to war means killing people.
A girl like you? Killing people?
Then I'll go back to school
and guard it with the others!
Shuanzhu! Stop!
Get back here!
Out of the way!
Why are you being so difficult now? Let's go.
Your brother had a bright idea too,
and it cost him his life!
Don't think about it.
My dowry from my parents
and all of my money was in that jewelry box!
Where did it go?
We're not like them.
They're running from the famine.
We are temporarily avoiding the crisis.
It will be a month at the most...
maybe just two weeks,
and then you can go back to school.
Shuanzhu, did you see my jewelry box?
How many times do I have to tell you?
What are you trying to say?
That I'm a thief?
Search me then! Search me!
Shuanzhu.
Don't take it the wrong way.
That's not what she meant.
Master Fan!
Don't upset yourself. It's not good for the baby.
I'm not leaving.
Find someone else to drive your cart!
What is it?
My parents fled
during the 1931 famine
and they ended up starving to death on the road.
We're dead either way.
Don't be stupid.
Look at all the grain we have with us.
Nobody's going to starve.
Go look.
It's going to be a rough journey,
and Xingxing is so young...
I would feel much better if you came along.
Here.
As long as I'm here,
no one will dare lay a hand on you.
Sorry to interrupt.
Mr. Minister,
allow me to introduce myself.
I am Theodore White, I report for Time magazine.
Mr. White
Yes, sir
You have become famous in Chungking.
Is that right?
Yes.
I have read your reports on the battles
in Changsha and the China-Burma highway.
I don't mean to be rude,
But I am going to head back to the US next month...
can you spare a moment?
Sure.
Thanks a lot.
There is a lot of talk in Chungking
about the severity of the drought
in Henan. And a...
I've heard that many people
are starving to death every day.
And there are many refugees fleeing to Shaanxi.
This is true.
But
starvation is primarily
a problem in the occupied areas.
The war has made this
natural disaster even worse.
A large battle is imminent.
If people are moving west,
it is also to avoid the war.
From the perspective of the Chinese people,
they can only have enough to eat
if the Japanese are wiped out.
Do you agree?
Shuanzhu!
Master Fan!
Xialu,
you're running too?
Is the entire village leaving?
Everyone.
Let's go together.
We'll look after each other.
Let's go.
We can take care of each other.
Let's go.
The drought can't be that bad
if it's making the Fan's poor too.
Poor, maybe.
But still richer than us!
As Commander Jiang prepares
to lead his forces to the front,
the 30 million people of Henan greet
your troops with food and drink.
We wish you
and your soldiers a swift, decisive victory.
Please!
There's no need for all this courtesy, Governor.
Let's get straight to the point.
What can I do for you?
Henan experienced a devastating drought this year.
We also had locusts.
The land is barren.
The corpses of those who have starved
to death are everywhere.
750,000 tons of grain...
...is more than the province can provide.
Please, General, cancel the request.
The people are suffering.
You are quite right, Governor.
I agree.
Thank you, Commander, for your kindness.
The children of Henan
will never forget your compassion.
But you need to do two things for me.
Only two? I'll do twenty.
First,
go to the Japanese
and talk them out of attacking Henan.
Second,
go to the Generalissimo
and get him to move
my troops back west to Shaanxi.
If you can do that,
we won't eat a single kernel of your grain.
Commander, it's not like that.
Famine changes everything.
There are millions of people starving to death.
Governor Li,
there are millions of men marching to the frontlines.
Who knows how many of them
will live to see another month.
If it's a matter of choosing who will starve...
...a dead refugee will not win the war for us.
A soldier starving to death
is a completely different matter.
Good day.
Commander!
That's not right!
That's all there is.
We'll starve if we keep going.
There are people going hungry
and you're feeding a cat?
I'm giving her my share.
I just won't eat later,
all right?
You're eating for two,
you can have more later.
Master Fan,
the donkey has the runs.
Should I feed it?
If we can get through this in a month,
then yes,
go ahead.
If it takes longer,
I'm afraid we'll be eating the donkey.
Xialu!
Who is it?
Wake up.
Brother Sim,
are you fleeing too?
God had Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Now God wants me to lead you out of Henan.
The war is about to start
and you're afraid of dying, aren't you?
I have a favor to ask you.
Liang, the rich landlord from Changyuan,
was running.
He just died of typhoid
but his eyes are still open.
Why do you think that is?
Why?
Because he didn't believe in God.
Now he's waiting for God.
I want to say a mass for him.
Can you play the fiddle?
I'm too weak. My ribs
are practically touching my backbone.
What?
Are you trying convert people
with the famine, Brother Sim?
After the famine is over,
you'll see how great God is.
It would be better if you played the fiddle.
People will feel the gravity of it.
Give me my fiddle.
Hungry little devil!
It's too late at night to be eating.
Go to sleep!
A long, hard month out on the road
Braving the illness, hunger, and cold
Landlord Liang had piles of gold
And a lonely death none could have predicted.
His horrid end and tragic fate
Resulted from his lack of faith.
Lay down your burden, the time has come
God is before you.
Lay down your burden, the time has come
God is before you.
Bury him.
This famine isn't all bad, right Mr. Ma?
If the government hadn't
set up a circuit court for the refugees,
Instead of a judge,
you would still be a cook at the Emperor's palace!
They couldn't find anyone else
to take the job, that's all.
Not enough people, and it's a shitty job anyway.
Who wants to deal with refugees?
There's no profit in it.
No one wants to do it.
Sir.
There's something I don't understand.
So...
if we're working with refugees,
how come we're the "War Area Circuit Court"
instead of the "Refugee Circuit Court?"
Don't be stupid.
"War Area" sounds like it's a big, proper court.
"Refugee Circuit Court" just sounds bad.
You see?
That's right.
Stick with me, boys,
and you'll be officials once the famine's over.
Yes sir! We'll be good!
Attention everyone!
The 9th Circuit Court of the 1st War Area
is now in session!
Kneel!
He was carrying a concealed gun
in violation of wartime regulations.
It's not mine!
My landlord bought it three years ago.
We're at war. Do you understand?
Mr. Ma,
do what you like,
but please don't take the gun.
We need it for protection on the road.
Protection?
I ...
From who?
Chinese people?
Why not use it on the Japanese, tough guy?
You want to carry a gun?
Fine.
Tie him to the cart and take him to the frontline.
Master Fan! Master Fan!
- Save me, Master Fan!
- Mr. Ma
Sir! Sir!
Mr. Ma
Three pints of flour for him and the gun. Deal?
We know each other.
You can either donate money,
or donate manpower.
Everyone has to do their part.
Thank you, sir.
Three pints of flour for him. We keep the gun.
Fine.
Release him.
Leave the gun.
Three pints of flour?
Bread for lunch, boys!
Dismissed!
Peiji.
Generalissimo. Peiji...
Governor Li.
As for Burma,
a telegram from Luo Zhuoying:
We suffered heavy
casualties west of Mandalay yesterday.
More than 800 men were killed
in a gas attack by the Japanese.
I told Luo
you'll be there today.
The Japanese led a stealth attack
on Yenangyaung last night.
More than 7,000 British troops
and trucks are trapped.
Field Marshal Montgomery sent a telegram
asking us to send troops
from Mandalay to rescue Yenangyaung.
President Roosevelt's private secretary
has arrived in Chungking.
He asked to see you,
but I told him you were going to Mandalay.
As for Nanking,
Zhou Fohai sent a secret envoy
that he is setting up
a covert radio station at his home
to evade Wang Jingwei.
Dai Li met with the secret envoy yesterday.
Please advise.
As for India,
Gandhi's hunger strike was successful.
Hindu and Muslim
leaders have agreed
to stop the bloody conflict
and are on a path of reconciliation.
How long was the hunger strike?
Seven days.
Hitler and Mussolini met yesterday.
They said that in three days
the German army will occupy Stalingrad.
Our embassy in the Soviet Union, however,
says the outcome of the
battle of Stalingrad is far from clear.
Please tell the British embassy
that when I visit India next month
I would like to meet Gandhi.
As for northern Henan,
General Jiang Dingwen sent a telegram yesterday.
Most of our troops have crossed
the Yellow River and are in position,
but the Japanese have not yet made a move.
Tell Jiang Dingwen
it's best to make the first move
and get the upper hand.
Generalissimo,
your flight to Mandalay is ready to depart.
Peiji,
did you have enough to eat?
I did. I did.
What brings you to Chungking?
Nothing special.
I heard there is a drought in Henan.
Is it severe?
The province...will overcome it.
We will overcome it.
Peiji,
Henan is in a difficult situation.
That's why I sent you there.
Tell Director Chen that
Governor Li is tired.
Please look after him for me.
Did you report the situation to the Generalissimo?
Everything they reported to him
was more important than what I had to say.
I didn't know what to say.
Looks like I came to Chungking for nothing.
Governor Li,
you missed your chance to tell him.
Now things will be more difficult.
Director Chen,
It's all here in these documents.
For the sake of the 30 million
starving people in Henan,
help me find a way
to ask the government for emergency relief.
When the Generalissimo returns from Burma,
I'll find a chance to give these to him.
Thank you.
Anyone here?
I want to speak to Father Megan
Last time I was in Chungking,
Father Coutie showed me
your articles in Time magazine.
Thank you for telling the story
of the Chinese people.
Father Coutie has been very helpful.
Very kind.
He told me you know Henan very well.
Well,
I've been in China for thirty years now.
For the first ten years,
I thought I knew this place,
But then I became more and more uncertain.
When I left Chungking,
I knew there was a famine.
But I ...
I had no idea
how severe it would be.
Every day people are dying.
The dead alone don't sadden me.
What saddens me is,
I have no idea what's happening.
The refugees trudge forward every day,
And I can't see
a government stepping in to assist them.
We both do not understand
what is happening with the Chinese refugees.
The government officials say
they can't help the refugees because of the war,
but they are not doing
so well in the battles either.
Thank you.
This,
before the famine,
farmers used this to feed their pigs.
Bon appetit!
I actually like yams.
Oh good
The donkey is the best I can do for you.
But I urge you to return to Chungking.
I'm glad to come to Henan.
There must be a reason behind what is happening.
I want to know the truth.
Henan now belongs to the Japanese.
If you continue into the disaster area,
there are two possible results:
One,
you win a Pulitzer Prize.
Two,
you get taken prisoner by the Japanese.
I will pray for your Pulitzer.
From your mouth to God's ears.
I will remember you, Father.
Mom?
How are you feeling?
Getting worse.
You're burning up.
It's not so bad. At least I'm warm.
That's bad luck.
Go, go.
Quick, take her while she's asleep.
She's so small. You said she was ten!
Let's talk over there.
She looks like she's three or four years old.
She's famished.
Lack of food has made her small.
Feed her something and she will grow.
If we buy her as a child bride,
we still need to feed her for a few years.
We've been on the road for a month.
Nobody in our family
has eaten anything in the last ten days
except dry wood and sticks.
My mother's sick
and I don't know how long she'll last.
Your wife?
I'll give you five pints of millet for her.
I can't sell her. She would sell me back!
The boy looks okay. Three pints of millet.
I need him to carry on the family name.
Two and a half pints of millet.
Take her.
Xialu!
Fuck your ancestors!
Are you trying to sell my daughter?
Give her back!
Give her to me!
You think I want to sell her?
My mom is dying, and we need medicine.
Take her.
Take her! I'm still in charge of this family!
I'll kill her myself...
No! Shuanzhu, stop her!
Before I let you take her away!
Give her to me.
Give me back my child.
Give her to me!
Go to sleep!
If this is all for my sake,
then I would rather hang myself this instant!
Hang yourself?
Where would you tie the rope?
Bastard!
They are just causing a scene
for all of us to see.
All of these poor people...
I can't save them all.
Don't stand around. Go to sleep.
Don't sell the girl.
Make your mother some porridge.
You can pay me back when this is over.
Why not make it 10 pints?
Then I won't have to keep begging.
I have a family too.
My son's wife is pregnant,
and there's still a long road ahead of us.
What's that?
It's the army. They're fighting the Japanese.
Fuck their war!
Don't they know we're starving here?
I hope we win.
If we win,
then we can go home.
9th Army Headquarters.
We might lose Changyuan.
There's been a lot of hand to hand battles.
800 casualties for the Japanese,
but more than 5,000 on our side.
Order the 15th Army and 28th Army
to surround Tangyin and Anyang
by tomorrow morning
and attack by noon.
Telegram from the Generalissimo, sir.
Leave the room.
What's wrong?
The Generalissimo sent a telegram
from the frontline in Burma
ordering us to retreat from Henan.
Are you sure?
Why singlehandedly give Henan to the Japanese?
Sir,
there are so many refugees in Henan.
If we retreat,
we'll be abandoning them to the Japanese.
Maybe that's exactly why
the Generalissimo made this decision.
Our country is poor.
The only way to survive
is to cast off our burdens.
Get away!
Back up!
Get away!
Why aren't we moving forward?
It's jammed.
Get away.
Sir!
Sir, did we win or lose?
We won, of course!
Then why are you retreating?
It's a retrograde maneuver!
Everyone back!
Sir! Sir!
You can't take our cart.
We've been risking our lives.
There are Japanese artillery shells
flying back and forth,
and you're upset about a cart?
Scram!
It's not just a cart, sir!
It's a national circuit court!
Then we're doing you a favor!
After we leave, the Japanese will come.
Are you going to take them to court?
This court is now an ambulance.
Scram!
There are more troops than civilians in the crowd.
If the troops are the majority, then bomb them.
Yes, sir!
Three! Two! One! Launch!
Get off!
Mom!
Xingxing, this way!
Daddy!
Where is everyone?
Xingxing?
Where are you?
Sir! Sir! My cart!
My money! Sir!
Sir, my food! For pity's sake!
Dad.
Sir.
Shuanzhu! Save me!
Let go of me!
Let go!
Xingxing!
Mom, are you all right?
Stay here!
Mommy!
Father Sim!
Mom!
Granny?
Mom.
Mother!
She's dead?
Are you happy now?
She's lucky.
We're better off dead.
I wish they would drop a bomb on me too!
I'll kill you, you stinking bitch!
This is no time to fight!
It's all gone.
I should have lent you some of that millet.
Hurry, now. Dig a hole for her.
Mom!
Help!
It's nothing.
Just a scratch.
I never knew you had it in you!
I dare them!
Where's your cat?
Kitty?
Kitty!
Don't worry. It's fine.
Master Fan?
Are you alright?
I'm not master of anything now.
It's all gone.
Call it fate.
We said this would just be temporary.
Now we're refugees, just like the rest of them.
No different from anyone else.
Xialu, Xialu.
Wait a moment.
Master Fan?
Can you do me a favor?
What?
You have a cart
and we don't... anymore.
My daughter-in-law is pregnant.
Can you let her ride on your cart?
If you let her ride,
we'll forget all about
the millet you borrowed.
How does that sound?
We're all neighbors here.
Get on.
Sure then.
Great.
It's a deal.
She can sit.
Shuanzhu, go pull the cart.
Master Fan begging us?
It feels pretty good!
Father Sim,
you did well.
You stayed with the refugees, and
Preaching, and doing the work of the Lord.
You will certainly make a difference.
Father,
I'm a deserter.
I came back here
on a truck with the defeated soldiers.
You need to rest.
You must not starve to death.
A dead priest cannot preach.
I want to ask you one question.
The Lord knows what's happening here?
Yes.
If he knows,
why doesn't he do anything?
Everything in this world
because of the Lord's wishes.
This is not
the wishes of the Lord.
This is caused by the Devil.
Why?
Why does the Devil always win?
If the Lord can't win,
why believe?
Father Sim,
you're tired.
You mustn't doubt the Lord.
Father,
I also feel the Devil has entered my body.
Jesus Christ.
Push harder.
Harder!
I can't, Mommy.
I have to pick it out every day.
I should just let you clog up.
No wonder she can't poop.
We've had nothing but tree bark to eat.
Makes my breath smell bitter.
My breath used to smell like dumplings.
Hello.
Stop following me.
I want to take a picture though.
Hold on.
Okay.
Give me one.
Stop following.
Hey, look.
A foreigner.
Give me one.
Come here.
Hungry?
Quiet!
Xialu,
you get his donkey.
Okay.
Shuanzhu,
you keep an eye on him.
Don't wake him up.
Shhhh!
Where should I take it?
Keep going.
Kill it. Cook it. Eat it.
Stop, stop!
Run!
Stop!
The crackers
and the donkey
are yours.
You can't eat the camera.
Give it to me.
OK
Shuanzhu, stop.
Give it to him.
Here.
Thank you.
Friends.
Brothers.
Sure, sure.
What are you waiting for?
Go find Xialu and the donkey.
Go on!
Xialu!
Shuanzhu!
Where's the donkey?
It ran off.
You moron!
You can't even handle a donkey!
I wanted it to run faster,
so I smacked its butt.
But it was startled.
Which way did it go?
It was too dark.
I couldn't see.
You go that way.
I'll go this way.
Okay?
Okay.
You killed my donkey?
Fuck off!
Your donkey?
You're just a refugee.
If you had a donkey,
your eyes wouldn't be caving in.
If you're going to keep it,
at least give me a piece of meat!
You couldn't push him somewhere else?
It's been three days.
We can't keep waiting.
If we don't leave,
we'll starve here.
Where would Xialu go?
We looked everywhere,
but there's no trace of him.
You were going to steal a donkey!
There's no donkey and now no Xialu.
You need to make things right.
People have been dying every day on this road.
What's so strange about that?
At least they leave bodies behind.
What about Xialu?
We haven't found a live body or a dead one!
You don't even care!
Xialu!
Where did you go?
We're all alone
and they're taking advantage of us!
Why don't you do anything?
Where are you?
Xialu!
They all lost their parents in the war.
It's a new group,
so they haven't rehearsed yet.
They're good.
Very good.
The girl holding the flag
is the daughter of General Sun Fangwu.
General Sun led Division 96.
He died in Burma last month.
Your father was a great soldier.
Come visit me
during Chinese New Year,
and I'll give you a nice present.
All right?
All your fathers
were great soldiers.
Why is everybody heading west?
Well, it's habit, I think.
People in Henan always go west
to Shaanxi when there is a disaster.
Just like people in Shandong go to the Northeast.
How can a drought produce such a disaster,
there are so many displaced people here.
Locusts.
It's mainly because of locusts.
Can't be fucking locusts.
Get down!
Stop it!
Fuck!
Now,
everyone watch for my hand signal!
Be careful
not to shout too early
or too late.
Wait until the foreigners
are 50 meters away.
Does everyone understand?
Understood!
Louder! Understand?
Understood!
Then let's give it a try and see
if all the factories,
schools,
work units,
and stores
are well-rehearsed!
Attention!
The cars are coming!
Now they are 50 meters away!
Shout!
Welcome!
Together now! Louder!
Welcome!
Together now!
No, this is not acceptable!
They are still not shouting in unison!
Is this what you call organization here in Chungking?
What if we didn't have them speak English?
How about saying Welcome in Chinese?
This isn't about what they shout.
This is a diplomatic issue!
Mr. Gaus, I need to talk to you.
I'm on a tight schedule.
It's urgent.
I have to go to the airport
to pick up the president's special envoy.
Five minutes.
Give me five minutes. Okay?
Please.
Fine. Five minutes.
Your story
sounds made up.
No one is going to believe you.
If I hadn't run into
several Chinese communications troops,
I'd have starved to death along
with the rest of those poor people.
If you report this in Time Magazine,
it will be explosive news.
I want to tell the Chinese government about
what is happening in Henan.
Please.
But this is China's war.
For God's sake.
It's out of my hands.
Troublemaker.
Before I went to Henan,
it was easy for me to meet
with government officials.
I don't know, now that I have returned,
it's like I have a contagious disease.
I can no longer meet with Minister Song Ziwen
I can not longer meet with Minister Zhang Daofan,
Admiral Gaus can't help either.
With the assistance of Xie Weisi
at the U.S. Embassy
I was able to see the Chairman
of Sichuan Province.
He told me he has no control over Henan.
He introduced me to Sun Ke,
president of the Court.
He told me that only General Chiang
can make any changes.
Lastly I met with Yu Youren.
He says I have to sit with you
and perhaps you can help me
meet with Generalissimo Chiang.
Well, I understand.
He is very busy.
But don't worry.
I will call him.
How long shall I wait?
Five days,
or ten days.
Or maybe you won't see him at all.
What?
Want some?
Give me a kiss.
After this is over.
I can't wait any longer!
It didn't work?
I'm telling you,
a girl gets a little education
and she thinks she's special.
I'll sleep with you for the crackers.
I don't have any crackers.
- Give them to me.
- I don't have any!
Give it to me!
You and Master Fan got Xialu killed.
You've need to make things right!
One life
is worth two crackers.
Good!
The baby's head!
Good!
Push.
I'm dying.
I don't have the strength.
Push.
Keep on pushing.
Here it comes!
Here, the scissors.
She did it.
It's a boy!
It's alive!
Hurry! Hurry! Faster!
Our ancestors have blessed us.
Ancestors, be praised.
Master Fan!
Come give the boy a name!
With a name, he'll have
a better chance of surviving.
Sure.
Call him Liucheng. It's a good and fortunate name.
Just kill him.
When we get back on the road,
I won't have any milk for him.
He won't make it.
Don't say that!
Kill a healthy baby like this one?
We can't kill him!
Look,
I'll sell my coat
and make a nice hot soup for you.
Sweetheart,
I'm sorry.
You brought that cat all this way
and today we had to
kill it.
Dad,
I want some soup too.
Lisheng,
you're in charge of the press, right?
Yes.
This is an editorial about the situation in Henan.
Read it.
Our readers would have seen yesterday's report
about the disaster in Henan.
Who could have imagined
30 million of our countrymen
were doomed to the hellish fate of starvation?
This is my fault.
I just got back from Guangxi yesterday.
This guy, Wang Yunsheng,
he's the editor of Ta Kung Pao?
Yes.
He's poisoning people's minds.
Shut his paper down!
But...
Wang Yunsheng
was invited by the U.S. Office
of Strategic Services.
He will leave for America in a few days.
At this...
He does not need to go.
More people
are talking about the war in Henan.
They say we are abandoning Henan,
and leaving the refugees to the Japanese.
It's an open secret.
When did we say we were giving up on Henan?
You need to set the record straight
with an editorial
in the Central Daily News.
Yes sir.
Right away.
The Generalissimo needs to see
Mr. Wilkie off at the airport.
You only have fifteen minutes.
You understand Chinese, right?
Yes.
Then I won't have to translate for you.
I'm going to have to speak English though.
Okay.
Generalissimo,
this is Mr. White.
Mr. White,
I've heard a lot about you.
Nice to see you.
Honorable Generalissimo,
it grieves me to report to you
that 30 million people in Henan
don't have enough food to eat.
Each day an increasing number of refugees
are starving to death.
He is reporting on the situation in Henan.
He says many people are starving.
It's been explained to me
by some of the officials that
it's because there is a war going on,
but I was there
and it appears as if the Japanese
haven't started an attack on Henan.
He says the government must not
know what's happening.
Officials say it's because of the war,
but the Japanese haven't started attacking Henan.
There is indeed a famine,
but it's not as severe as you say.
With all due respect, Generalissimo,
I've heard the people have now resorted
to eating each other.
He heard there's been cannibalism.
Impossible.
Something like that could never happen in China.
I've seen dogs eating people.
I've seen it.
I've seen it, sir.
He saw it himself.
I've seen it, sir.
Please.
I never imagined
things could be this bad.
If the famine is indeed as severe as you say,
then the government
will surely take action!
These self-satisfying Americans...
they're nothing but trouble!
If those pictures get published,
they'll call me the Generalissimo
who sat by while his people suffered.
A heartless dictator.
Farewell!
White's article about the Henan famine
has been published in Time Magazine.
Should I confiscate all the copies
of Time in China?
No.
Buy as many copies as you can.
Have the Foreign Ministry translate it
into Chinese,
then send a copy to every minister
and provincial governor.
Add Li Peiji's report at the end.
We need to send relief
as soon as the Japanese leave,
otherwise, what will the rest of the world think?
We would be as corrupt as they say we are.
Contact Yan Xishan.
Have them send supplies
to the disaster area immediately.
Then,
tell Zhang Lisheng
to mobilize all of China to raise relief
funds for the refugees.
There are times
when I miss the old Northern Expedition days.
All I had to do was give the order,
and my men would leap into action.
I had no burdens
keeping me from standing with the people.
How is she?
She lost a lot of blood, and with the cold
her pulse is very weak.
You've got to do something.
If you save her,
I'll give you two acres of land when this is over.
Master Fan,
the cure is very simple.
She just needs some food.
Just so you know,
my mother and my grandchildren
all died of hunger
these past two days on the road.
I'm so hungry I can't walk straight.
Master Fan!
Master Fan, hurry!
What is it?
She stopped breathing.
She was a good daughter-in-law.
I don't know what I'll tell her family,
letting her die like this.
What are you doing?
Giving the baby some milk
while her body is still warm.
My god!
What?
She hasn't eaten in five days!
She is as thin as a stick.
How can she have milk?
Gentlemen,
after urgent appeals
from the provincial government,
the central government has
started providing relief aid to Henan.
Starting this month,
the central government
will provide 80 million pounds of grain
from their military provisions.
Gentlemen,
Governor Li's deep concern for the public welfare
and fearless dedication have finally paid off.
He not only went to Chungking,
but he also submitted six reports.
Future generations of Henan people
will remember Governor Li's kindness.
Let's discuss the matter
of delivering the relief grain.
Yes, sir.
How can we have this meeting?
The heads of the grain
and account departments
are both absent.
That's not right.
Mr. Lu and Mr. Peng
have gone to Luoyang to inspect the disaster.
We can not delay relief efforts another minute.
After all of our begging,
they're only offering 80 million pounds?
When there was a famine in Hubei last year,
the government gave more than 200 million pounds.
Do we sell ourselves so cheaply in Henan?
Is 80 million pounds enough?
We have 30 million people there.
Each person would only get two and half pounds.
That's enough for three days!
What happens after that?
Mr. Fang,
getting 80 million pounds
is better than having to give 80 million pounds.
After we get this,
we can ask for more.
80 million is enough to help
in this emergency situation.
It may even save
a few hundred thousand people.
Am I right?
Today,
our main task
is to define the disaster areas.
Define the disaster areas?
The entire province is a disaster area.
Mr. Fang,
there is just not enough for the entire province.
We can not distribute the grain randomly,
therefore we need to focus on the worst areas.
I agree that we should concentrate
on specific areas,
but in the past
we've focused on rural areas
and neglected the cities.
It's the cities that we see the most problems.
I'm not saying this just because cities
are my jurisdiction,
but remember when the Yellow River flooded?
The provincial government was attacked.
When choosing who needs the most help,
we should consider certain professions.
I'm not saying this
because I'm in charge of education,
but education is our future.
The Generalissimo has always stated so.
We must not focus on the refugees
at the expense of other groups.
If our teachers and students starve to death,
we'll have no future to save.
As far as focus goes,
as captain of the police,
I need to speak on behalf of hundreds of
thousands of police who are frightened
because they're working in the disaster areas.
Wherever there's trouble,
they're there to follow orders.
I would venture to say that,
if it weren't for the thousands
of police braving hunger
and enforcing law and order,
we would have already had a revolution in Henan.
80 million pounds is just not enough!
The police are among the refugees.
Why are you arguing?
Before we received this aid,
you were constantly complaining about it.
Now that we have it,
you are tearing each other to pieces over it.
If I would have known this was going to happen,
I would never have asked for it.
It's still not too late to send the grain back!
Gentlemen,
each department is focused on its own problems.
You all have good reasons.
As for how we define who is a refugee
and who isn't,
we can discuss that later.
I must emphasize that
in distributing this relief grain,
we cannot be selfish.
We must act under the leadership
of the provincial government.
If that's how it is,
why bother having this meeting?
Can't the two of you just make
the decision yourselves?
Fang,
What are you trying to say?
Telegram, Mr. Governor.
What's going on today?
Governor,
now what?
Does the government want to take it back?
The government doesn't want it back.
We have been ambushed by Jiang Dingwen.
Remember the 30 million pounds of grain he wanted?
He's detained the head
of the grain department, Lao Lu,
and the head of the accounts department, Lao Peng.
They are both with Jiang.
He'll release them in exchange for the grain.
You all like arguing so much?
Why don't you go argue with Jiang Dingwen?
In a year of famine,
if I give Jiang Dingwen all that grain...
I'm no better than the rest of them.
Jiang Dingwen will take bribes.
A "gift" of 3 million pounds of grain
will not only get us our men back,
but it might even change his mind
about the 30 million pounds.
It would be in Henan's best interests, too.
Governor Li,
when I exchanged the gold bars,
I bought an extra 500,000 pounds of grain.
What?
Why didn't you tell me?
You were at the meeting.
No one will think you're right
if you allocate all of the grain as planned.
It'll only cause more problems.
Mr. Fang
is always making trouble during meetings.
I don't know what he wants.
He headed up the civil affairs department
for a long time.
Before you came,
he was the top choice for governor.
Then Generalissimo Chiang changed his mind.
I should contact Generalissimo Chiang
immediately and resign.
He can take over!
He can go speak to Jiang Dingwen!
500,000 pounds is not very much.
If you want the central government
to give you more,
don't you need to "pay visits" to others?
I can't stay on as an official.
I need to retire and go home.
Governor Li,
if you retire,
you will end up a refugee.
This is a broadcast from
the first military district's political department
and the Luoyang municipal government.
To support the war effort
and safeguard military supplies,
and to keep out traitors and maintain local order,
only residents of Luoyang
will be permitted into the city.
Those who willfully disobey will be prosecuted
under Section Nine, Article 3
of the Wartime City Management Regulations.
Go.
You want to die?
Sir?
Isn't the government providing relief aid?
Where can we get food?
The government has identified two disaster areas,
northern and southern Henan.
Now that you're in Luoyang,
you're no longer considered a refugee.
Then how can I become a refugee?
Turn around and walk a few hundred miles.
North or south, it doesn't matter.
Mom?
Mom!
Dad!
What?
What's wrong with Mom?
Mom?
Mom!
She's dead.
Mom!
Dead is good.
No more suffering.
She can move on to her next life.
In your next life,
make sure not to come back here.
Our commander is deeply concerned
about the people,
so he is allocating some military grain
to be sold to refugees at a low price
to help them with their difficulties.
I give this responsibility to you.
Whatever you do, proceed with caution.
The country's fate is in your hands...
You must not act selfishly.
You can trust me, sir.
I may be a businessman,
but I've got more heart than
those corrupted officials.
If I were you I would take your share
and use it to buy land.
You can get half an acre
for ten pints of millet these days.
You can sell it after the famine.
I'm not a businessman.
You take care of it.
Quiet!
Listen to the boss on the truck.
Everyone listen up!
I'm the manager of a bedding factory in Luoyang.
I'm looking for workers. Young ones. Girls.
If I pick you, I'll give you food and shelter,
and give your family five pints of millet.
Line up here if you're interested.
You will all get your turn.
As judge for the 1st War Area Circuit Court,
I never thought I'd be selling people.
Don't say that.
You're taking orders
from the government to save the refugees.
If we really want to help them,
we should pick as many as we can.
Give them a better life.
Dad?
What?
Sell me.
What are you talking about?
If we have to die, we'll die together.
Our family does not sell people.
We buy them.
Dad,
I can't take it anymore.
We don't even have any firewood to eat.
Let me live.
Liubao,
Let's go.
Don't push!
Come on.
Let's go back.
What are you doing?
Get away!
Don't let me see you again.
Go!
Mom.
What's this?
Buy a big one and you get two small ones.
It's a bargain, mister.
A bargain?
I'm buying one mouth to feed, not three.
You think I'm stupid?
Get out of my sight!
I went to school.
I can read.
She's the daughter of a landlord.
Good.
Go ahead.
What would my ancestors say?
Dad, it's New Year's Eve.
I never thought
I would be sell my daughter on New Year's Eve.
Dad,
forget about me.
Just pretend you strangled me to death
when I was born.
You said she would be with me.
Of course I wanted you two to be together,
but she would starve to death if she stayed.
I want to kill someone!
Shuanzhu,
I'll marry you.
So you can have a wife before you die.
We got a few new girls today.
I saved the best one
for you.
You think I don't know?
They're all refugees.
With the famine going on, how can we do this?
It's too much!
It's our way of helping the refugees
with some relief funds.
Right?
Of course.
I chose a student for you.
Let's go.
Did you wash yourself?
How old are you?
Seventeen.
That's a good age.
Put down the basin
and give me a massage.
My dad washes his feet before he goes to bed.
All right,
wash my feet first, then.
All right,
enough bowing.
Put down the basin.
What's wrong?
You don't want to serve me?
No,
mister,
I want to.
It's just that I ate too much
and I can't bend over.
It's good you two are together.
You can take care of each other.
Your parents are gone,
so we might as well celebrate
during the New Year's fireworks.
Bow before Heaven and Earth.
And then to each other.
Do you know why I married you?
Didn't Master Fan say why?
So we can take care of each other.
If you have a wife,
then tomorrow you can sell your wife.
I've only had a wife for one day.
I can't sell her.
Sell me.
You'll be able to get a few pints of grain.
I'll live,
and you will live, too.
Nobody would buy me with the kids.
Now they have a father,
I won't have to worry.
Mommy.
Mommy?
Three pints.
You must be joking.
Yesterday someone offered five and I didn't sell.
Who is she?
It's embarrassing,
but she's my daughter.
If your daughter was 16,
then I could give you five quarts.
Don't you see how old she is?
Never mind, then.
If you buy me,
where will you send me to?
It's not like that.
I don't sell people,
I sell cattle.
I'm just trying to help.
Well,
if I buy you, and
if you are nice to me.
I wouldn't sell you.
I would keep you as my wife.
How does that sound?
Four quarts
and I'll go with you!
Remember,
your hometown is Yanjin.
Don't cry.
Lingdang.
You see this?
This is to remember your daddy by.
Don't lose it.
Mommy, don't go.
Can you stop for a second?
I have something to say.
What?
Shuanzhu,
Come here.
After I'm gone,
Please don't sell the children, no matter what.
Okay?
My pants are less frayed.
Let's switch.
I'm honored that the Generalissimo has found time
to visit my humble abode
on his trip to Xi'an.
I didn't come here to see you.
I came to see your mother.
Please.
Madame,
last year when I saw you,
you were having your eyes treated.
Are they better?
My sight is blurry,
but I can still weave.
That's where I'm having problems now.
They don't even want to talk to me anymore.
When my mother was alive,
her eyesight wasn't so good either.
She would weave with her eyes closed.
How's your appetite?
I can eat two steamed buns each meal.
I'm not dying in the next few days.
They will still have to put up
with me for a while.
Generalissimo,
I'm an old woman.
There is something that I want to ask you.
I don't know if I should.
Please.
I'm from Henan.
I heard about the famine there.
A lot of people have died.
The government is sending aid.
Trains are transporting grain to the disaster area
and transporting refugees to Shaanxi.
God is good.
My people can be saved.
Old friend,
this time I've come, because I would like to
borrow something from you.
You are not here to take my head away, are you?
Here's the situation.
War is going to break out again in Henan.
Generalissimo Chiang would like
to borrow grain from you.
The battle in northern Henan
is very important.
The Americans, British, and Soviets
are meeting secretly
to discuss arrangements for after the war.
I understand.
At this key moment,
we need to show the world what we can do.
Since last week,
the Generalissimo has cut back on meals
in support of the war effort.
I may not agree with the Generalissimo's politics,
but at this time of national crisis,
I will donate half of my assets
to support the war in Henan.
Old friend,
you set a good example for industrialists
and business leaders.
This will make Lisheng's job easier too.
I'm just worried that whatever I give
will be stashed away by the corrupt officials.
You can trust us.
I have already ordered investigations
in the disaster areas.
This time,
I am going to imprison some
and execute the rest.
Dong Jiayao.
Male.
Forty years old.
Former colonel
of the 1st War Area's supply office.
During his term,
he neglected the war
and efforts to provide relief aid.
Through hoarding
and embezzlement,
he became a wealthy man.
As justice to the people,
he is sentenced to death,
effective immediately.
Director Lin,
should we begin?
The citizens have already seen them.
I would like the refugees to see them also.
The audience is too small.
The refugees are busy boarding the train.
It will be difficult to get them here.
One or two representatives should be enough.
It's not about the size of the audience,
it's about corruption being punished.
You don't think the public cares about that?
Yes, sir!
Execute!
Ready?
Fire.
It's okay.
Master Fan,
they're executing people.
Maybe we have been rescued
and we don't have to go to Shaanxi.
I don't believe anything they say.
There are soldiers on the road,
which means Henan is still at war.
Shuanzhu,
we had nothing but bad luck at every turn.
We must go to Shaanxi.
Let's go.
Once we get back on our feet in Shaanxi,
Things will get better.
Let's go.
I know
how to go from rags to riches
in less than ten years.
I'll be a landlord again.
Then we can come back
for Xingxing and Huazhi.
Master Fan,
I'll be happy to work for you again.
Fast-acting hunger relief pills.
Just one, and you won't be
hungry for an entire day.
These last longer.
Just one and you're not hungry for seven days.
Mr. Han spent a lot of time
researching these two pills to cure hunger.
We hope the government
will fund production and promotions.
These pills have the potential to save every one
dying in Henan.
What are these things made of?
It's a family secret.
They are made according to a secret family recipe.
If the family secret recipe worked,
then no Chinese person would have starved
in the past two thousand years.
The war is upon us.
Let's leave your hunger pills
for another day.
Governor Li,
the main reason I came today
was not to talk about the pills.
The troops have gathered in northern Henan.
Nine out of ten people are
on the verge of starvation.
I honestly can't go there in my position.
I was hoping
you might consider transferring me
to southern Henan.
My friend,
war is imminent.
The provincial government is about to relocate.
The only way the county
and provincial governments will survive
is if we are victorious in this war.
Gentlemen,
please.
This is a message from the Jiangsu-Gansu Railway.
In order to support the war effort,
safeguard railway administration,
and prevent treason and espionage,
all refugees must register at the train station.
You can only board the train for free
by showing your identification.
Violators who willfully disobey
this regulation and board the train
will be prosecuted under wartime
Regulation Five, Article Eight.
Listen up.
There's not very much room.
You are not allowed
to bring anything onto the train.
Nothing.
We sold our family for this food.
We can't just throw it away.
Then how will we get to Shaanxi?
Liubao, hang on to me.
We'll think of something.
Let's go.
Go back.
Why hasn't the train left yet?
Is the air raid alert still going?
Hurry. Hurry!
I need help here.
What's wrong?
I lost my pinwheel!
Shuanzhu!
Landlord!
Shuanzhu!
Go!
Hold on tight.
Give me the tablets!
Hold on tight, Lingdang!
Hold on tight.
Climb up.
Liubao?
Lingdang?
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Lingdang!
Liubao!
Shuanzhu?
What's wrong?
Master Fan!
Did you see Liubao and Lingdang?
Aren't they with you?
Damn it!
They must have gone to sleep
and fallen off!
I have to go find them!
Don't jump, you'll get hurt!
Shuanzhu.
My millet.
My millet!
I sold my wife for that millet!
Train!
Fuck you!
Shaanxi at last,
even if it's just the two of us.
What's wrong?
Turn back.
Sir,
I have orders to take the refugees to Shaanxi.
I have orders too!
There are already millions
of refugees in Shaanxi.
If we let more in,
Shaanxi will be a disaster zone also.
Go back!
I can't.
If I go back, I'll be executed.
I'll kill you now if you don't!
Turn back!
Faster!
Fire!
Aim above the train!
The rails are blocked! Everyone get off! Run!
Liucheng?
After all we went through to get here
I never thought that
I would smother you to death.
There's nobody else left now.
God!
Why me?
Takahashi-san,
how many troops do you have?
Three divisions were joined by five more,
so I have about 60,000 men.
How many Chinese troops have assembled in Henan?
Jiang Dingwen has eight divisions.
400,000 men in all.
I'll raise new forces for you.
Grain.
Grain?
Henan is suffering from a drought.
People are dying every day.
The Chinese government is helpless.
Your men are advancing along the same path
as the Chinese who are fleeing the famine.
Give the famine victims grain.
How do you think that would make them feel?
Because of your assistance,
they will either help on the frontline
or help destroy the war supplies
of the Chinese army.
But they are Chinese.
No. More than anything, they're human.
In April that year,
the Japanese initiated the battle of Henan.
They encountered the stubborn resistance
of the Nationalist Army.
The Japanese army, with 60,000 soldiers,
consecutively captured twenty-eight cities,
including Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Luohe,
Zhumadian, Nanyang, Gongyi, and Luoyang
The Kuomintang forces
sustained 300,000 casualties.
Hurry. Hurry!
Faster!
Go!
Move!
Sir, reporting. We captured a Chinese soldier.
That isn't mine.
I found it.
What?
I picked it up on the road.
Not mine.
Shuanzhu?
Mr. Ma?
What are you doing here?
Staying alive.
Do you know each other?
Is he a soldier?
No, he's not a soldier.
He feeds livestock.
He's a good citizen!
He drives the cart.
Like this!
Cart.
Great.
He can stay and help with the horses.
He can stay
and help us with the horses.
You can stay.
We can stick together.
We are friends.
I have to find my kids.
You have to survive.
What a clever little thing.
Give it to him.
Not a chance.
What if I can't find the kids?
It's all I have to remember them by.
Here.
Give me the pinwheel.
Let's trade.
Trade.
No!
Give it back to me.
My pinwheel.
Eat it.
Eat it, Shuanzhu,
so you can live.
Eat it.
You burned my daughter's pinwheel?
Motherfucker!
Mr. Ma!
Come here.
Eat this.
Taste good?
Spicy.
Peiji,
I knew I could trust you.
That's why I sent you to Henan.
It seems now
that I wasn't doing you a favor.
I let you down, Generalissimo.
Those treacherous Japanese are
giving grain to starving people?
I never would have imagined it.
I've heard
some of the refugees went over
to the Japanese side
after eating their food.
Is that true?
It must be a rumor.
They're trying to incite a rebellion!
The majority of the people
support the government.
The ones causing problems
are from Wang Jingwei's group.
Peiji,
How many people have died in Henan?
Our figures say...
1,062.
And the real number?
About...
...3 million people.
Minister Soong wants to see you urgently.
It's about the summit with the other leaders.
Roosevelt, Churchill,
and Stalin planned to meet in Cairo
to discuss the situation after the war.
President Roosevelt just sent a telegram
stating Churchill
and Stalin do not want us to attend.
After all we sacrificed for this war.
Why can't we have a voice in
discussing post-war affairs?
But Minister Soong is still working on it.
What about the Japanese?
They are approaching the Henan-Shaanxi border.
Tell He Yingqin
he must hold the Tongguan pass.
If the Japanese take Shaanxi,
then I will not go to Cairo
even if they ask me to.
Mister!
Are you coming from Shaanxi?
Why are you walking back?
Is there no hope there either?
There's hope in Shaanxi,
but not for me.
You'll die if you try to go back.
I don't want to keep living.
I just want to die close to home.
Mommy!
Little girl,
she's already cold.
Don't cry, now.
Everyone in my family has died.
I don't have anyone anymore.
Little girl,
you can call me Grandpa.
And we'll have each other now.
Grandpa.
Granddaughter,
let's go.
Fifteen years later,
this little girl became my mother.
As long as I can remember,
she never shed a tear
or ate meat.
Seventy years later,
I interviewed her about the year 1942.
She stared at me blankly.
I left all that misery behind me long ago.
Why bring it up again?
Sixteen years later, Liubao
found Huazhi in Luoyang.
Lingdang's whereabouts are still unknown.
Twenty years later, someone saw Xingxing at Baoji.
She sent money home,
but had no wish to return home
or see anyone she used to know.
After returning to the United States,
Theodore White lost his job
in the Red Scare of Joseph McCarthy.
He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1964,
and died in New York in 1986.
In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek lost mainland China
and retreated to Taiwan.
More than ten million people fled Henan
in the famine of 1942.
Three million people starved to death.