Farewell My Concubine

film by Chen [1993]

Also known as: “Bawang bieji”

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July 16, 2026

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Farewell My Concubine is a 1993 film directed by Chen Kaige, a prominent figure of China's "fifth generation" of filmmakers. The movie chronicles the lives of two Peking opera actors, Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou, from their rigorous training in the 1920s through the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. It also features Gong Li as Juxian, a woman who becomes involved with the two actors.

The film is noted for its honest portrayal of homosexual love and societal pressures. It shared the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes film festival with The Piano, making it the first Chinese film to win this prestigious award. Despite international acclaim, the film faced censorship and a temporary ban in China due to its depiction of homosexual conduct.1

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Chen Kaige
Farewell My Concubine follows the lives of two Peking opera actors, Cheng Dieyi (played by Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Fengyi Zhang), from their youth and rigorous training in the 1920s to the years after the traumatic Cultural Revolution. Starring the much-loved actress Gong Li…
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Farewell My Concubine follows the lives of two Peking opera actors, Cheng Dieyi (played by Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Fengyi Zhang), from their youth and rigorous training in the 1920s to the years after the traumatic Cultural Revolution. Starring the much-loved actress Gong Li…
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jingxi
…acclaimed film Bawang bieji (1993; Farewell My Concubine) features two main characters who are jingxi actors. (See also Chinese music: Further development of opera: Jingxi.)
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…acclaimed film Bawang bieji (1993; Farewell My Concubine) features two main characters who are jingxi actors. (See also Chinese music: Further development of opera: Jingxi.)
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Gong Li
…Kaige’s Bawang bie ji (1993; Farewell, My Concubine), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1993, she was cast as a shrewd, single-minded yet sensitive prostitute who gets her man and forces him out of an ambiguous relationship with a fellow male opera singer but is betrayed by him…
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…Kaige’s Bawang bie ji (1993; Farewell, My Concubine), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1993, she was cast as a shrewd, single-minded yet sensitive prostitute who gets her man and forces him out of an ambiguous relationship with a fellow male opera singer but is betrayed by him…
Read More