A City of Sadness

A City of Sadness 1989

悲情城市 bēi qíng chéng shì

The story of a family embroiled in the "White Terror," the Kuomintang government's anti-communist political repression that was wrought on the Taiwanese people from 1947-1987.

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4.08 Intermediate Director Hou Hsiao-hsien 🍅 100%

Cast

Tony Leung Chiu-wai Tony Leung Chiu-wai Wen-Ching Hsin Shu-Fen Hsin Shu-Fen Wu Kuan Mei / Hinome Chan Chung-Yung Chan Chung-Yung Wen-Heung Jack Kao Jack Kao Wen Leung Tai Bo Tai Bo Ah Jia Li Tian-Lu Li Tian-Lu Ah Lu Grace Chen Grace Chen Meidai Wu Nien-jen Wu Nien-jen Mr. Wu Tsai Chen-nan Tsai Chen-nan Singer King Shih-chieh King Shih-chieh Mr. Huang

Vocabulary

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可怜 可憐 kě lián pitiful; pathetic; to have pity on HSK 5
骗 騙 piàn to cheat; to swindle; to deceive; to get on (a horse etc) by swinging one leg over HSK 5
厉害 厲害 lì hai (used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding; (of a person) stern; strict; harsh; shrewd; tough; (of an animal) fierce; (of a resemblance) striking; (of liquor or chili pepper) strong; (of bacteria) virulent HSK 5
聪明 聰明 cōng ming intelligent; clever; bright; smart; acute (of sight and hearing) HSK 5
吓 嚇 hè to scare; to intimidate; to threaten; (interjection showing disapproval) tut-tut; (interjection showing astonishment) HSK 5
戏 戲 xì trick; drama; play; show HSK 5
运 運 yùn to move; to transport; to use; to apply; fortune; luck; fate HSK 5
愿 願 yuàn to hope; to wish; to desire; hoped-for; ready; willing HSK 5
鬼 鬼 guǐ disembodied spirit; ghost; devil; (suffix) person with a certain vice or addiction etc; sly; crafty; resourceful (variant of 诡); one of the 28 constellations of ancient Chinese astronomy HSK 5
枪 槍 qiāng gun; firearm; rifle; spear; thing with shape or function similar to a gun; to substitute for another person in a test; to knock; classifier for rifle shots HSK 5
颗 顆 kē classifier for small spheres, pearls, corn grains, teeth, hearts, satellites etc HSK 5
一旦 一旦 yī dàn in case (sth happens); if; once (sth happens, then...); when; in a short time; in one day HSK 5
恢复 恢復 huī fù to reinstate; to resume; to restore; to recover; to regain; to rehabilitate HSK 5
尽管 儘管 jǐn guǎn despite; although; even though; in spite of; unhesitatingly; do not hesitate (to ask, complain etc); (go ahead and do it) without hesitating HSK 5
神 神 Shén God; abbr. for 舟 HSK 5
杀 殺 shā to kill; to murder; to attack; to weaken or reduce; to smart (dialect); (used after a verb) extremely HSK 5
其 其 qí his; her; its; their; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) HSK 5
搞 搞 gǎo to do; to make; to go in for; to set up; to get hold of; to take care of HSK 5
将 將 jiāng will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把) HSK 5
可 可 kě (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very HSK 5
来不及 來不及 lái bu jí there's not enough time (to do sth); it's too late (to do sth) Xiehouyu HSK 4
冷静 冷靜 lěng jìng calm; cool-headed; dispassionate; (of a place) deserted; quiet Xiehouyu HSK 4
聊天 聊天 liáo tiān to chat; to gossip Xiehouyu HSK 4
苦 苦 kǔ bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly Xiehouyu HSK 4
拜拜 拜拜 bái bái (loanword) bye-bye; also pr. [bai1 bai1] etc; (coll.) to part ways (with sb); (fig.) to have nothing further to do (with sb or sth) Colloquialism ∼HSK 4
老婆 老婆 lǎo pó (coll.) wife Colloquialism HSK 4
抱 抱 bào to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug; to embrace; to surround; to cherish; (coll.) (of clothes) to fit nicely Colloquialism HSK 4
金泉 金泉 Jīn quán Gimcheon (city in South Korea) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
南洋 南洋 Nán yáng Southeast Asia; South seas Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
国民政府 國民政府 Guó mín Zhèng fǔ Nationalist government (the government of the Republic of China 1925-1948) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
金瓜石 金瓜石 Jīn guā shí Jinguashi, town in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, noted for its historic gold and copper mines, used as a prisoner-of-war camp by the Japanese (1942-1945) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
唐山 唐山 Táng shān Tangshan, prefecture-level city in Hebei Province; China (a name for China used by some overseas Chinese) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
基隆 基隆 Jī lóng Chilung or Keelung, city and major port in north Taiwan Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
明治 明治 Míng zhì Meiji, Japanese era name, corresponding to the reign (1868-1912) of the Meiji emperor Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
惠安 惠安 Huì ān Hui'an, a county in Quanzhou City, Fujian Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
日本天皇 日本天皇 Rì běn tiān huáng Emperor of Japan Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
梁朝 梁朝 Liáng cháo Liang Dynasty (502-557) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
庙口 廟口 Miào kǒu Miaokou, market district in Keelung, Taiwan Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
吕宋岛 呂宋島 Lǚ sòng Dǎo Luzon Island, north Philippines Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
小川 小川 Xiǎo chuān Ogawa (Japanese surname) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
明治维新 明治維新 Míng zhì Wéi xīn Meiji Restoration (Japan, 1868) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
清朝 清朝 Qīng cháo Qing dynasty (1644-1911) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
温州 溫州 Wēn zhōu Wenzhou, prefecture-level city in Zhejiang Province Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
说文 說文 Shuō wén Shuowen Jiezi, the original Han dynasty Chinese character dictionary with 10,516 entries, authored by Xu Shen in 2nd century Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
贝多芬 貝多芬 Bèi duō fēn Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), German composer Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
庄子 莊子 Zhuāng zǐ Zhuangzi (369-286 BC), Daoist author Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
真如 真如 Zhēn rú Tathata Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
天命 天命 Tiān mìng Mandate of Heaven; destiny; fate; one's life span Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
平顺 平順 Píng shùn Pingshun, county in Shanxi Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
叩首 叩首 kòu shǒu to kowtow; also written ∼HSK 4