In 1911, why didn't Chang free Ah Mei?

> he freed Spring because he opposed the tradition of having concubines.

He freed the girl in spite of the fact (and not because) he opposed the tradition of having concubines. That's what it says in the original Chinese intertitles. Someone has messed up the English subtitles big time. No wonder people are misunderstanding this movie!

> Chang, who'd been seeking to free Taiwan, finally saw it turned into Janpanese's hand

Oops, mistake again. Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, so Chang did not "finally saw it turned into Janpanese's hand". In 1911, Taiwan was already part of Japan. The Wuchang uprising was against the Manchus.

All those Western critics...got it wrong obviously. :)

Firstly, the English intertitles are wrong. Ah Mei was not the Shu Qi character, she was the younger girl who got married. The Shu Qi character, the courtesan, has no name. Who on earth is spring?


I thought that the reason why the poet didn't marry her was clear - he already has a wife. He obviously has a child, and the courtesan asked about whether the child had recovered from his illness.

If he has a child he has a wife, and clearly, later in the movie he says that he is against the marrying of a concubine.

In China's history, the relationship between a courtesan and a client may not be sexual. It is the case with some famous courtesans (Dong Xiaowan etc.) Clearly what brought the poet here is not sex but because she is a soulmate, someone whom he could talk to (she is obviously very intelligent), so there's no likelihood of her getting married because she's pregnant.

But she's trapped because of the poet's refusal to bail her out. In no way did the film make the suggestion that a revolutionary cannot be married (many in history are, in fact). The film does make the ironic connection that he is working to free China from the Qing dynasty and Taiwan from Japan, yet refuses to redeem her.