纸笼 Original

After the failure of the Huang Chao Rebellion, Emperor Xizong of Tang interrogated a captured woman: "All of you are daughters of nobles and officials, who have long received the favor of the state. Why did you follow the rebels?" One of the women replied, "It was the ministers and nobles who failed to defend the realm—why do you blame us weak women alone?" The emperor was speechless, yet he ultimately ordered all these women to be executed. Before the execution, most of the women wept as they drank their final wine, but this woman alone neither wept nor drank, and faced her death with composure.

From Daji, Meixi, to Yang Guifei, throughout history, too many dynasties have blamed their downfalls on women as "beautiful disasters." This film draws inspiration from this very phenomenon and offers a reflection on the historical scapegoating of women.