what about the Chinese old man?

I'm not sure that he symbolizes anything, except that a person chooses how he wants to spend his life, and may become a prisoner of it. In his case, the man never got over being betrayed by his girlfriend and his brother, and so his world is reduced to a small cabin in the woods.




There, daddy, do I get a gold star?

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I think the old man was in mourning and close to death himself. He came to the forest to reflect and say goodbye. He, like much of the film, shows the spiritual processes of lie in the forest and a life lived within nature.

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.

The old Chinese man was in the forest for 40 years. He went there to escape civilization basically. His motivations were betrayal and humiliation. Nonetheless, he was there for 40 years with little human contact, possibly only having intermittent contact with Dersu (who probably helped him with supplies from time to time).

He had removed himself from civilization completely. With the arrival of the soldiers, comes the arrival of civilization to this man once again. I view it as kind of sad really, as Arseniev's crew essentially ruins the peaceful solitude of the Chinese man. It is no coincidence that he leaves almost immediately upon this confrontation, as his entire reason for being in such a remote outpost has been shattered. There's no reason to be there anymore, there's no place he can be alone. He might as well head back home after 40 years.