The Ditch

The Ditch 2011

夹边沟 jiā biān gōu

The film focuses on the suffering of Chinese who were imprisoned in a forced labor camp called Jiabiangou in the Gobi Desert in winter 1960 under Mao Zedong on the grounds that they were "rightist elements". The film tells of the harsh life of these men, who coped with physical exhaustion, extreme cold, starvation and death on a daily basis.

HSK 1
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3.84 Beginner Director Wang Bing IMDb 7.1

Cast

Cheng Zhengwu Niansong Jing Xiangnian Li Renjun Lian Ye Lu Xiao Li Yang Haoyu Yang Haoyu Lao Dong Jieleu Wan Li Daguang Li Daguang Wang Dayuan Liming Lei

Vocabulary

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之 之 zhī (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的); him; her; it HSK 7
伤天害理 傷天害理 shāng tiān hài lǐ to offend Heaven and reason (idiom); bloody atrocities that cry to heaven; outrageous acts Idiom ∼HSK 6
胡扯 胡扯 hú chě to chatter; nonsense; blather Xiehouyu ∼HSK 6
不成 不成 bù chéng won't do; unable to; (at the end of a rhetorical question) can that be? Xiehouyu HSK 6
有没有 有沒有 yǒu méi yǒu (before a noun) Do (you, they etc) have ...?; Is there a ...?; (before a verb) Did (you, they etc) (verb, infinitive)?; Have (you, they etc) (verb, past participle)? HSK 6
窝子 窩子 wō zi lair; den; stronghold ∼HSK 6
坟地 墳地 fén dì graveyard; cemetery ∼HSK 6
炒面 炒麵 chǎo miàn stir-fried noodles; "chow mein" ∼HSK 6
翻腾 翻騰 fān téng (of water, waves, emotions etc) to churn; to surge; to seethe; to somersault; to tumble; to flip; to rummage; to turn things over repeatedly ∼HSK 6
阔气 闊氣 kuò qi lavish; generous; bounteous; prodigal ∼HSK 6
野菜 野菜 yě cài wild herb; potherb ∼HSK 6
贤弟 賢弟 xián dì worthy younger brother ∼HSK 6
痢疾 痢疾 lì ji dysentery ∼HSK 6
浮肿 浮腫 fú zhǒng (nonspecialist term for) to suffer from edema; swollen; bloated; puffy ∼HSK 6
疾苦 疾苦 jí kǔ pain and difficulties; suffering (of the people) ∼HSK 6
解手 解手 jiě shǒu to relieve oneself (i.e. use the toilet); to solve ∼HSK 6
小便 小便 xiǎo biàn urine; to urinate; (euphemism) penis or vulva ∼HSK 6
大鸣大放 大鳴大放 dà míng - dà fàng (idiom) to freely air one's views; to be heard far and wide; to attract a lot of attention ∼HSK 6
心肝 心肝 xīn gān darling; (in negative sentences) heart; humanity ∼HSK 6
妆扮 妝扮 zhuāng bàn variant of ∼HSK 6
坟场 墳場 fén chǎng cemetery ∼HSK 6
附注 附註 fù zhù note; annotation ∼HSK 6
关禁闭 關禁閉 guān jìn bì to put in detention (a soldier, a pupil) ∼HSK 6
癔症 癔症 yì zhèng hysteria ∼HSK 6
眩晕 眩暈 xuàn yùn vertigo; dizziness; fainting; feeling of swaying, head spinning, lack of balance or floating (e.g. from a stroke); Taiwan pr. [xuan4 yun1] ∼HSK 6
清香 清香 qīng xiāng sweet scent; fragrant odor ∼HSK 6
炖肉 燉肉 dùn ròu to stew meat; stewed meat ∼HSK 6
右倾 右傾 yòu qīng right-wing; reactionary; conservative; (PRC) rightist deviation ∼HSK 6
搞混 搞混 gǎo hùn to confuse; to muddle; to mix up ∼HSK 6
闭上 閉上 bì shang to close; to shut up ∼HSK 6
惹事 惹事 rě shì to cause trouble ∼HSK 6
光溜 光溜 guāng liu smooth; slippery ∼HSK 6
屁股蛋 屁股蛋 pì gu dàn butt cheek; rump ∼HSK 6
划清 劃清 huà qīng to make a clear distinction; to differentiate clearly ∼HSK 6
大嫂 大嫂 dà sǎo older brother's wife; sister-in-law; elder sister (respectful appellation for an older married woman) ∼HSK 6
临死 臨死 lín sǐ facing death; at death's door ∼HSK 6
缉拿 緝拿 jī ná to arrest; to seize ∼HSK 6
逃犯 逃犯 táo fàn escaped criminal; fugitive from the law ∼HSK 6
批斗 批鬥 pī dòu to drag sb before a public meeting to denounce, humiliate and physically abuse them (esp. during the Cultural Revolution) ∼HSK 6
仅供 僅供 jǐn gōng only for ∼HSK 6
反动 反動 fǎn dòng reaction; reactionary HSK 6
客车 客車 kè chē coach; bus; passenger train HSK 6
老乡 老鄉 lǎo xiāng fellow townsman; fellow villager; sb from the same hometown HSK 6
要好 要好 yào hǎo to be on good terms; to be close friends; striving for self-improvement HSK 6
徒弟 徒弟 tú dì apprentice; disciple HSK 6
很难说 很難說 hěn nánshuō Hard to say HSK 6
马车 馬車 mǎ chē cart; chariot; carriage; buggy HSK 6
有事 有事 yǒu shì to be occupied with sth; to have sth on one's mind; there is something the matter HSK 6
过后 過後 guò hòu after the event HSK 6
拿走 拿走 ná zǒu to take away HSK 6