y and music. It also establishes Zhang Yimou as a visual sensualist. In a deserted setting comprising mainly sand and stone, a strain of wedding music grows progressively louder. A traditional red sedan chair carried by a group of shirtless men, followed closely by a retinue of trumpeters and drummers, enliven the harsh landscape. Inside the covered sedan chair, the pretty face of a young bride is cast in crimson shadow. The twenty-two year-old Gong Li projects a charismatic blend of sensuality and rebellion in her acting debut as Nine (Jiu), qualities that will characterize her imminent roles in Zhang's next two films. Gong Li, who has since become China's most well-known female star, confesses that she can easily identify with the headstrong Nine: "Jiu dares to act and take responsibility for her actions; she dares to love and hate. She is fearless. I think our temperaments are similar. I was interested in the role and was confident I could play it well."(1) In this scene, Nine's impassive features reveal a hint of defiance and a touch of boredom as she sits in brooding silence. Parting the red curtain before her ever so slightly, she seems to be mesmerised by the sight of the bare, muscular back belonging to one of the sedan carriers whom we later know as Yu, the narrator's grandfather (played with finesse by Jiang Wen). The seemingly innocuous image of sexual curiosity provides the first suggestion of Nine's eroticism. The sedan chair carriers, all earthy and muscular peasants, tease Nine about her impending fate as the wife of Big Head Li, their leprous boss. Nine, too proud to reply to their jibing, obstinately remains silent. Wishing to break down her reserve and at the same time acting in accordance with the local custom, the men jolt the wedding sedan chair and make fun of the bride in a raucous song. As they sing and dance in synchronized steps with clouds of sand and dust flying around them, the revellers create a mythical im...
