The Grand Ancestor Hall

This film (drama)Also known as大祠堂，is aMainland ChinaProducerbeauty live，At2012Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin Chinese，Current Douban rating8.1(For reference only)。

http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/2006-07-31/14111179588.html 　　The ancestral hall is the sacred place of the family. 　　In an era valuing men over women, the ancestral hall is also a forbidden place for women. 　　Our story about the ancestral hall begins, develops, and ultimately leads to an unpredictable conclusion centered around a woman. 　　During the late Ming Dynasty, the Xie family in Linyuan, Huizhou, enjoys a reputation for familial unity, symbolized by their ancestral hall, the Ti Liang Hall. The elder grandson of the previous Xie family, Xie Zhiqing, and the elder grandson of the later Xie family, Xie Zhi Cheng, hold their wedding ceremony in the ancestral hall. Amidst the festivities, the hall's entrance suddenly collapses, injuring Xie Zhiqing and casting an ominous shadow over both clans. 　　Zheng Xiuyun, the daughter of the theater troupe leader Zheng Zhimeng, grows up alongside Xie Zhi Cheng, but by a twist of fate marries Xie Zhi Qing. Shortly after their wedding, Zhi Qing and Zhi Cheng leave together for business, and Xiuyun begins her long, lonely wait, embodying the plight of Huizhou women who endure a "marriage for a lifetime but separation for three and a half years." 　　Represented by Xiuyun's father-in-law, the scholar, the previous Xie family and the current Xie family, led by the third master, have been secretly vying for control of the ancestral hall. The scholar, having failed numerous imperial examinations, places all hopes on his second son, Zhi Xiang, whom the neighbors regard as a child prodigy. Although the third master of the later Xie family has three sons of his own, he regards the eldest grandson, Xie Zhi Cheng, as the backbone and invests in his education. 　　The conflict between the two Xie families becomes clearer with the success of the third son of the later Xie family, Xie Gefei, in the imperial examination. In response, the scholar invites Xiuyun's father, Shan Zhimeng, to mediate. Shan presents his newly written moral play, hoping that a grand performance will resolve the conflict between the two families, but unexpectedly, Xiuyun's sister-in-law, Yufen, elopes with a young actor during the performance. 　　In her ordinary life, Xiuyun faces extraordinary trials, bearing the heavy burden of managing the family at just over twenty; her younger brother Zhi Xiang, due to illness, becomes heavily reliant on her; Yufen, who is brought back, faces punishment of "sinking to the river" for violating family rules; her husband Zhi Qing returns from an eight-year absence with a beautiful concubine and a son who can just walk; Zhi Xiang succeeds in the imperial exams; the scholar loses his sanity; and Yufen disguises herself as a man to join the theater troupe; meanwhile, Zhi Qing encounters unexpected misfortune at the height of his business success...As time passes, the Ti Liang Hall experiences one ceremonial thanksgiving after another under the alternating stewardship of the two Xie families, welcoming numerous Xie clan members who conclude their life journeys with honor or mediocrity. Meanwhile, the women kept outside the hall silently wait, toil, and hope, their youthful beauty fading and their hair turning gray. 　　Twenty years pass fleetingly, and the elderly scholar finally completes the genealogy of the Xie family that he has devoted over a decade to compiling. While the members of the previous Xie family rejoice, the seventy-year-old third master gathers the later Xie clan to attack the new genealogy, vowing to resolve all unresolved doubts in the history of the Xie family. The two families are engaged in an unresolvable conflict when the now wealthy Zhi Cheng returns with news that the rebel leader Li Zhaonwang has entered Beijing, and the Chongzhen Emperor has perished with the country, as the Manchu cavalry crosses the Shanhai Pass. 　　The villagers who have never traveled far express their anxieties about the state's future and are divided in opinion. At this moment, Zhi Xiang, who died heroically in battle eight years ago, suddenly appears before Xiuyun. After the initial joy and excitement, the Xie family learns that Zhi Xiang has been appointed as the Huizhou governor by the Manchus, bringing back their first decree: shaving heads. 　　The fiery youth of the two Xie families wants to kill Zhi Xiang to eliminate the traitor, while the third master and the scholar are caught in a dilemma trying to ensure the family's survival. An unprecedented grand ceremony becomes the most tragic confession of the Xie family to their ancestors, as a massive fire destroys the Ti Liang Hall established by the founding brothers of the two Xie families, marking the end of an era of loyalty, simplicity, and respect, while also burying a gradually rewritten historical truth for future generations. 　　The story does not end here; after Xiuyun buries her father-in-law, she unexpectedly receives a commendation from the Qing Emperor. This certainly is a result of Zhi Xiang's efforts. Xiuyun expresses her gratitude, entrusting her children to Zhi Cheng, and promises him a life bond before setting off alone to the capital to meet Zhi Xiang... 　　Individual, family, clan, and country; desire, morality, honor, disgrace, love-hate, and life-death. "The Grand Ancestor Hall" signifies the unending lineage of the Chinese nation and the continuous vitality of Chinese civilization. "The Grand Ancestor Hall" represents the supreme value of culture as well as the transcendence of life over eternity. 　　"The Grand Ancestor Hall" involves a complex and diverse set of interpersonal ethics: lovers, uncles and aunts, husbands, fathers and sons, wives and concubines, masters and servants, friends, and brothers, telling a moving story that is both simple and natural yet stirs the heavens and weeps the ghosts.