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This was an adaptation of short fiction Chi Xin Jing (The Well of
Infatuation) by Xu Xu.
Once upon a time there was a tale about the well in the courtyard of an impoverished clan of Yu in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang: |
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Decades ago a daughter of the Yu clan drowned herself in the well after a
heart-breaking love affair. She was said to be wandering around the courtyard
in full moon's nights, holding a bleeding heart in her hands and would ask
anyone she met, "Have you seen this before? Do you have this?" Since then
all daughters from the Yu clan seemed to have been cursed for love.
One day the young and beautiful Yu Yinni returned to the ancestral home in Hangzhou with her parents. When she was helping her father in the storage she found a copy of Dream of the Red Chamber in an old wooden box. Worried that his daughter might follow the tragic example, he sent her away and locked the book up. At night Yu met an old lady near the well, murmuring, "Have you seen this before? Do you have this?" Yu was so scared that she ran away to the other end of the courtyard, where she met a young painter Xu Liang, who was living in a small house at the other part of the courtyard. Xu invited Yu into his house and pacified her. Gradually they became close friends and fell in love with each other. One day, Xu's sister came to visit him from Shanghai with two classmates. He accompanied them anywhere and invited Yu to join. However, Xu's sister and her classmates were contemptuous of Yu's innocence and rusticity. Yu was so sad that she declined Xu's invitation and hid herself in the bedroom weeping. When her father was away, Yu retrieved the copy of Dream of the Red Chamber from the storage and found herself some comfort in reading. |
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Xu felt sorry for abandoning Yu during his sister visit and went to apologise.
After a small quarrel Xu finally managed to cheer Yu up again.
Days later Yu accompanied Xu to hold an exhibition in Shanghai, where Xu came across his former lover Shi Naishuang. Shi married a rich man but would never forget Xu. She therefore bought most of Xu's paintings at the exhibition to make it a great success. As told, Xu volunteered to see Shi to thank her. However, Yu thought Xu was having an affair with Shi. Heart-broken, Yu returned home and drowned herself in the well. When Xu found Yu had gone and rushed back, it was already too late.
Starring: |