The Mirror and the Lichee 1967
新陈三五娘
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.
Vocabulary
Filter the words you want to study before watching.
| 似 似 | resemble (literary) | |
| 乌鸦 烏鴉 | crow; raven | |
| 陌路 陌路 | (literary) stranger | |
| 怨尤 怨尤 | resentment | |
| 未曾 未曾 | hasn't (or haven't); hasn't ever | |
| 鸾 鸞 | fabulous bird | |
| 俦 儔 | companion, mate, colleague | |
| 长兄 長兄 | eldest brother | |
| 舍 捨 | to give up; to abandon; to give alms | |
| 事不宜迟 事不宜遲 | the matter should not be delayed; there's no time to lose | |
| 措词 措詞 | wording; way of expressing something; turn of phrase; diction | |
| 君 君 | lord, sir | |
| 誓 誓 | swear, pledge; oath | |
| 宜 宜 | suitable | |
| 妇道人家 婦道人家 | woman (derog.) | |
| 老兄 老兄 | elder brother (often used self-referentially); (form of address between male friends) old chap; buddy | |
| 增光 增光 | to add luster; to add glory | |
| 烈女 烈女 | a woman who dies fighting for her honor or follows her husband in death | |
| 轿 轎 | sedan-chair, palanquin | |
| 人赃俱获 人贓俱獲 | (of a thief, smuggler etc) to be caught with stolen or illegal goods; to be caught red-handed | |
| 开锁 開鎖 | to unlock | |
| 镣 鐐 | fetters | |
| 速 速 | fast | |
| 媳 媳 | daughter-in-law | |
| 妾 妾 | concubine; I (humble, female) | |
| 遣 遣 | send, dispatch; send off, exile | |
| 荔 茘 | lichee | |
| 青云 青雲 | clear sky; fig. high official position; noble | |
| 异地 異地 | different place; abroad | |
| 贫 貧 | poor, impoverished, needy | |
| 馁 餒 | hungry, starving, famished | |
| 煨 煨 | to stew, simmer | |
| 簿 簿 | register, account book, notebook | |
| 虎口 虎口 | tiger's den; dangerous place; the web between the thumb and forefinger of a hand | |
| 鬼鬼祟祟 鬼鬼祟祟 | (idiom) sneaky; secretive; furtive | |
| 舖 舖 | store, shop | |
| 蓬 蓬 | type of raspberry; fairyland | |
| 僻 僻 | out-of-the-way, remote; unorthodox | |
| 悲 悲 | sorrow, grief; sorry, sad | |
| 车载 車載 | carried within a vehicle; onboard | |
| 盟 盟 | swear; oath, covenant, alliance | |
| 只见 只見 | to see (the same thing) over and over again; to see, to one's surprise, (sth happen suddenly) | |
| 不免 不免 | inevitably | |
| 一口气 一口氣 | one breath; in one breath; at a stretch | |
| 报答 報答 | to repay; to requite | |
| 赠 贈 | to give as a present; to repel; to bestow an honorary title after death (old) | |
| 一身 一身 | whole body; from head to toe; single person; a suit of clothes | |
| 不停 不停 | incessant | |
| 递 遞 | to hand over; to pass on; to deliver; (bound form) progressively; in the proper order | |
| 必需 必需 | to need; to require; essential; indispensable |