In the past, China society was a society of etiquette and law. Etiquette equals law, which is different from the present society. This is what Wong Kar-wai wants to show. "So Gong Er led the singling out, but said in Sanma courtyard:" I respect you as a brother, you can't enter your door. Ma San also replied, "the things in the palace are very expensive, so you must take them from the people in the palace." You are married, and you are not qualified. "It was because of these ceremonies that Gong Er, determined to take revenge, decided to cut off his hair and serve him.
"To be a Taoist in a temple is to be a solitary monk. Unlike becoming a monk, you will be lonely all your life. You can't get married or teach your skills. This is a special oath of Wulin people, leaving no property, no stunts and no children. It's not just who can be enlightened, it must be someone with certain status and achievements. Gong Er is the father of the palace and the head of northern martial arts. He can be a Taoist. " Xu Haofeng said that Gong Er didn't let her suffer to avenge her father. "This was the life choice of many martial arts people at that time.
In Xu Haofeng's view, Wushu should set an example. When the master dies, boxing is often gone. Death is the fate of China Wushu. In the film, Gong Er's devotion to Taoism caused the Gong family to lose 64 hands, which made Gong's life's hard work go up in smoke. "I choose to live in my time." Gong Er's lines can be said to be an interpretation of her tragic life. If she can follow her father's wishes, she will be another great master in Wulin. Gong Er originally had a monologue, which was later deleted-"I have no chance of winning because of me, and I will only lose because of me. Because I destroyed all the skills my father taught me overnight, I defeated Ma San. Seemingly avenged, but also ruined his father's life.
I feel that Gong Ruomei, the second daughter in the palace played by Zhang Ziyi in the movie, gave up her hair in order to avenge her father and never got married and had children. Her prototype is a strange girl in the Republic of China, and Shi Jianqiao is one of them. Her father, Shi Congbin, commander of the Second Army, was captured by Sun, a northern warlord, and later killed by Sun. He was hanged for three days. Shi Jianqiao was 20 years old and vowed to take revenge. First, I hope my cousin fails. Then, someone offered to get married in exchange for revenge. She is really married, and her husband has been promoted all the way, but he always shirks "immature opportunities." Shi Jianqiao left without saying goodbye and went to find the whereabouts of Sun himself. When Sun went to worship Buddha's Forest in Tianjin, he killed him three times in a row with a Browning pistol. This became a great event in the Republic of China. It has been ten years since her father was killed. Wong Kar-wai thinks that Gong Er represents "the acme that the people of the Republic of China have reached". She is the epitome of tragedy.
Gong Er is very talented, but he was born in the wrong era. There is a scene that is not in the movie. It was Gong Er who said, "There is no chance to win in this palace because of me, but only because of me. Because I destroyed the unique skills that my father taught me overnight, I defeated Ma San. It seems to be revenge, but it also ruined the sweat of my father's life. " So the last thing her father said to her was: don't beg for mercy. Old people can see through it. Above all, he must know that his daughter will come out. He doesn't expect his daughter to take risks; Another consideration is that if so, there will be nothing in the palace.
Summarizing personal face, even the temporary honor or disgrace of the family, is as light as a feather compared with the inheritance in the long river of history. This is also the reason why Gong Lao gave IP Man a personal reputation and 64 honors before he died. Gong Er devoted himself to the cause of enlightenment, which can't be called failure, but his greatest success was to bear the burden of humiliation and inherit 64 hands with difficulty, which Gong Lao wanted all his life. Judge a person's structure/mind not by whether he can die proudly for honor, but by whether he can live humbly for ideals. Think of a woman who is alive and well, has served in the army, is unmarried, has no children or daughters, and has no fixed partner when she is old. When martial arts don't spread diseases, no one drinks tea. It's refreshing to think about it. A moment of joy and hostility takes a lifetime to repay. Why? Why bother?
The strange girl in the upstairs reply has been boasting with emotion after reading it, and he still remembers revenge after marriage. He didn't say that revenge was wrong, but the idea of revenge ruined a woman's life. Think about how a woman with a child after revenge should live in that war-torn era, and even her children may be affected by life. His father certainly hopes that his children can live a safe life and that his grandson can grow up healthily so that his blood can be passed on.