English name：Ashima
Broadcast time：January 1, 1979
Starring：杨丽坤、包斯尔
director：刘琼
Introduction
Today let’s take a brief introduction of a famous Chinese movie named “Ashima”.Ashima is the first color musical film with wide screen revue and stereo in China, produced by Shanghai Film Studio, directed by famous director Liu Qiong, starred by Yang Likun and other people. This film won the Best Dance Film Award of Sandander the 3rd International Music and Dance Festival in 1982 and Wenhua Award (issued by Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China) in 1994. It was appraised as a classic of the 20th century.
Plot
This film was adapted from Ashima, a famous long poem of Sani people of the Yi nationality. Its plot goes like this: a beautiful girl of the Yi Nationality named Ahima lived in Azhuodi of Yunnan province. Ashima and Ahei, a brave and ingenuous youth loved each other. On the traditional festival of Sani people, Ahei defeat the rich boy Azhi both in shooting and wrestling. He got the ribbon and engaged to Ashima. However, Azhi also took a fancy at Ashima. He rob Ashima when Ahei was not at home. Finally Ahei took Ashima back from Azhi by winning him in singing and shooting. On their happy way back home, Azhi let the floods immerse Ashima and Ahei. When Ahei struggled to stand again, he found that Ashima had become a beautiful stone figure, standing in the stone forest forever.
There are plenty of dancing performances of the Yi nationality in this film, which is full of minority style. It comparatively gets out of the traditional mode of “story-telling”, by focusing on revealing different characteristics and the love contrary among the three youths. This is realized through different plate dancing and magnificent folk dancing.
There was an Yi girl named Ashima in Azhedi, Yunnan. She was smart and beautiful, and fell in love with a brave and honest young man named Ahei.
Ahzhi, the son of the headman Rebubala, coveted Ashima’s beauty and had evil intentions. In the wrestling arena during the traditional festival gathering, Ahzhi was arrogant. He just knocked down a young man and wanted to pull off the winning colored silk. Just as he was untying the rope, Ahei shot an arrow from a distance and nailed the rope on the flagpole. Ahzhi was frightened and shrank back. Then, Ahei and Ahzhi started a fierce contest and finally knocked Ahzhi down. Ahei won the applause of the whole audience, and Ashima also ran over to congratulate him affectionately. Ahzhi was very angry when he saw this. One day, Ahzhi imitated Ahei and played the flute near Ashima’s house. Ashima heard the flute and mistakenly thought it was Ahei, so she ran out following the flute sound. When Ashima saw Ahzhi in the bamboo grove, she turned around and left angrily. Ahzhi hurried to pull her, but Ashima shook Ahzhi off with all her strength.
Azhi was still determined to steal. He went to Ashima’s home with a generous gift and asked Ashima’s mother to marry her daughter to him. Ashima’s mother refused the marriage. Seeing that his smile was not enough, Haire threatened Ashima’s mother viciously. At this time, Ashima rushed in, knocked Haire’s wine glass to the ground, and kicked him out. So, Ahzhi took the opportunity when Ahhei went to herd sheep far away and sent someone to kidnap Ashima. Ashima took the opportunity to throw the camellia that Ahhei had pledged her love to into the stream, and the stream immediately flowed backwards. Ahhei got the news and rushed back to rescue. On the way, he was blocked by a mountain, but he shot through the mountain with a magic arrow, opened a passage, and galloped on horseback.
In Rebubala’s house, Ahzhi used all kinds of threats and inducements, but could not make Ashima surrender. Just when he was about to whip Ashima in anger, Ahei arrived in time. Ahzhi proposed to compete with Ahei in singing to decide the winner. Ahei and Ahzhi competed for three days. Ahei sang more and more energetically, while Ahzhi sang less and less. Ahzhi lost the competition, but still unwilling to accept it, he tried to kill Ahei with a hidden arrow. Ahei angrily shot through the gate and the pillars of the hall with his magic arrow, and the arrow hit the tablet of the ancestral tablet. Ahzhi ordered the servants to pull out the arrow with force, but the arrow did not move at all. Ahzhi’s family was frightened and had to release Ashima.
Ashima and Ahei rode home happily together. They came to the stream and dismounted to take a rest. Ahzhi led people to steal Ahei’s magic arrow and released a flood to submerge Ashima. After the flood, Ahei called her name in grief and despair, but Ashima had turned into a beautiful stone statue, forever staying in the stone forest, for thousands of years, and forever in the world.
Key words
上海电影制片厂 Shànghǎi diànyǐng zhìpiānchǎng：the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs.
文化部 wénhuà bù：a ministry which is responsible for culture policy and activities in the country, including managing national museums and monuments.
云南 Yúnnán: a province of the People’s Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers (152,000 sq mi) and with a population of 45.7 million (2009). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.
