A New Old Play

Qiu Fu dies and is escorted by Ox-Head and Horse-Face toward the netherworld to perform for Yanluo Wang. He resists the fate laid out for him, arguing that his life as an artiste began when he was young and that memory and craft will guide him. His reluctance triggers a reflective pause as he contemplates his life's journey.

During the Warlord Era, Pocky gains power and forms the New-New Theatre School. He discovers Qiu Fu and takes him on as an apprentice, recognizing his potential. Qiu begins training with the troupe before making his stage debut.

Qiu Fu, a foundling of a famed opera actor who died on stage, is sent to the troupe by his mother, who abandons him to remarry. He grows up under the troupe's tutelage and begins learning opera. The early years establish the path that will define his career.

After some training, Qiu makes his debut as an opera performer. His initial performances are described as unsatisfactory, but they mark the start of his long career. The crowd and teachers still recognize his potential.

With the Second World War looming, the troupe undertakes charity tours to raise funds against the Japanese invasion. Qiu's talents contribute to the troupe's growing reputation during these perilous times. The tours deepen his experience and resilience as a performer.

One night, after drinking a bowl of mushroom soup, Qiu dreams of flying across the city on a leaf. The dream is brutally interrupted when a Japanese fighter jet bombs the area. The surreal moment foreshadows the war's reach into personal lives.

In the netherworld, Qiu follows the envoys to the Naihe Bridge, where he encounters Crooky, a troupe member who vanished decades earlier. The envoys explain they never received orders to take Crooky, yet he keeps returning, trapping his soul between realms. Crooky opens an inn to welcome the deceased and demons.

Qiu decides to reunite with Crooky and stays at the inn at Naihe Bridge. He watches his young apprentices perform rituals back in the living world and begins reminiscing about his own early career. The inn becomes a haven where memories merge with the afterlife.

By 1945, Qiu has established himself as a prominent opera actor. Simultaneously, Pocky fears his fate under Chiang Kai-shek’s rule and disbands the troupe to protect the actors and their families. The living world moves through upheaval even as Qiu gains fame.

Unemployed after the war, Qiu's life worsens, but the troupe is later reformed under the new People's Republic of China and renamed the People's Sichuan Opera Troupe. The changing political climate reshapes his professional world. He continues to perform despite the hardships.

Qiu's daughter dies during the Great Chinese Famine, a devastating blow that mirrors the era's hardship. His son Hei survives, carrying forward the family's memory. The famine's shadow lingers over both his personal life and his art.

Qiu finds an abandoned infant girl on the street and, despite dire conditions, takes her in. He and his wife struggle to feed her, resorting to desperate means to keep her alive. Their resilience is tested by poverty and the political environment.

During the Cultural Revolution, the New-New troupe is labeled feudal and persecuted by the Red Guards. Hei, now a teenager, tries to join the Big Link-up in Beijing but is locked up; he escapes through a window and flies across the city on a leaf. Years later he returns as a high-ranking Red Guard and confronts the family's past.

Qiu is released from labor and given minor roles in plays as the cultural climate shifts again. He continues to reminisce about his career, bound to the memories Crooky and the troupe shared. The closing act reveals Meng-po soup as a final ritual for those memories.

Qiu bids farewell to Crooky and drinks Meng-po soup; the envoys reassure him that artistic instinct will guide his memory. He boards a boat to the other side as the camera reveals other characters drinking in their own moments. The director appears in modern attire, finalizing the film’s cyclical frame.