The Mirror and the Lichee

The Mirror and the Lichee 1967

xīn chén sān niáng

Movie queen Ivy Ling Po is ideally cast as a male scholar in this historical Huangmei Opera romance. It’s a tragic love story between the scholar and a local beauty (played by Fang Ying). He polishes mirrors as a pretext to get closer to his love, who signals her approval by tossing him a bunch of lichees. From that point on the course of true love proves operatically rocky, complete with murder and suicide.

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5.07 Advanced

Vocabulary

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cāi to guess HSK 5
táo to escape; to run away; to flee HSK 5
piàn to cheat; to swindle; to deceive; to get on (a horse etc) by swinging one leg over HSK 5
zūn zhòng to esteem; to respect; to honor; to value; eminent; serious; proper HSK 5
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
cōng ming intelligent; clever; bright; smart; acute (of sight and hearing) HSK 5
tōu to steal; to pilfer; to snatch; thief; stealthily HSK 5
trick; drama; play; show HSK 5
hèn to hate; to regret HSK 5
yuàn to hope; to wish; to desire; hoped-for; ready; willing HSK 5
to dance; to wield; to brandish HSK 5
width; roll; classifier for textiles or pictures HSK 5
zhī zhōng inside; among; in the midst of (doing sth); during HSK 5
tǎo yàn to dislike; to loathe; disagreeable; troublesome; annoying HSK 5
dāi to stay HSK 5
shǎ foolish HSK 5
qiāng (literary) to knock against (esp. to knock one's head on the ground in grief or rage); opposite in direction; contrary HSK 5
rán unexpectedly; to one's surprise; go so far as to HSK 5
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
shēng sound; voice; tone; noise; reputation; classifier for sounds HSK 5
like this; so; such HSK 5
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
(prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very HSK 5
cái mào shuāng quán talented and good-looking (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 4
yán wéi dìng (idiom) it's a deal; that's settled then Idiom ∼HSK 4
tǐng shēn ér chū to step forward bravely Idiom ∼HSK 4
kǒu shì xīn fēi duplicity; hypocrisy (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 4
jiǔ náng fàn dài wine sack, food bag (idiom); useless person, only fit for guzzling and boozing Idiom ∼HSK 4
qióng suān (of a scholar) impoverished, shabby and pedantic; impoverished pedant Xiehouyu ∼HSK 4
nao bustling with noise and excitement; lively Xiehouyu HSK 4
lái bu there's not enough time (to do sth); it's too late (to do sth) Xiehouyu HSK 4
bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly Xiehouyu HSK 4
unable; incapable Xiehouyu HSK 4
cháo tide; damp; moist; humid; fashionable; trendy; (coll.) inferior; substandard Colloquialism HSK 4
shāo to burn; to cook; to stew; to bake; to roast; to heat; to boil (tea, water etc); fever; to run a temperature; (coll.) to let things go to one's head Colloquialism HSK 4
liǎ two (colloquial equivalent of 两个); both; some Colloquialism HSK 4
Li (surname) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
Quán zhōu Quanzhou, prefecture-level city in Fujian Province Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
Cháo zhōu Chaozhou, prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province; Chaozhou, township in Pingtung County, Taiwan; Chaozhou, variant of Minnan dialect spoken in east Guangdong Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
Tóng xīn Tongxin county in Wuzhong, Ningxia Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
tóng xiāng person from the same village, town, or province Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
xún inspector-general of province in Ming and Qing times Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
xiù cai a person who has passed the county level imperial exam (historical); scholar; skillful writer; fine talent Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
Cháo yáng Chaoyang District of Shantou City, Guangdong Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
xiàn lìng county magistrate (during Tang to Qing times) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
gōng son of an official; son of nobility; your son (honorific) ∼HSK 4
jìng mirror; lens; glass; glasses ∼HSK 4
Láng gentleman, young man; husband ∼HSK 4
shén me shì what matter ∼HSK 4
zhī know ∼HSK 4