Osmanthus Alley

Ti-Hung and her younger brother Ti-Jiang are left motherless while still young. Ti-Hung takes on the role of guardian for Ti-Jiang, while their aunt and uncle oversee them. The loss shapes her early responsibilities and the burden of growing up quickly.

As Ti-Hung grows into a skilled embroiderer with bound feet, Lady Li of North Gate notices her talent and arranges a marriage to Rui Yu, the wealthy grandson. A fellow villager and poor fisherman, Ah Hai, also harbors affection for Ti-Hung. The marriage promises escape from poverty.

Ti-Hung overhears a conversation about the Cut Palm fate, learning that a woman with this fate is a jinx to the men in her life. The superstition unsettles her and foreshadows the strain she will face. This belief seeds the tension in her future choices.

Ti-Jiang drowns while out fishing, leaving Ti-Hung alone to shoulder family responsibilities. His death deepens her resolve to secure a stable future for herself. The loss marks a turning point toward the arranged marriage with Rui Yu.

Ti-Hung agrees to marry Rui Yu, hoping that joining the wealthy Hsin family will lift her family out of poverty. The wedding ties her to a life of privilege but also sets up new pressures. The union is a turning point from her earlier guardian role toward a new social identity.

Ti-Hung gives birth to a son, Hui Chih, but Rui Yu dies of pneumonia soon after, leaving Ti-Hung a widow at a relatively young age. She becomes the sole guardian of Hui Chih and faces the family’s fragility. The loss triggers her protective, sometimes harsh, management of the household.

Rui Yu's uncle manages the family accounts, while Ti-Hung grows protective of Hui Chih. She blames her bad fate for Rui Yu's death and learns from a monk's prediction that Rui Yu's life would be short, which oddly relieves her guilt.

Ti-Hung embraces wealth and leisure, becoming enamored with opera and neglecting her duties as a mother. Her personal maid hints that the family is slowly unraveling under her inattentiveness. The erstwhile caregiver shifts into a controlling matriarch.

After the uncle dies and Ti-Hung attends his wake, she falls into opium use and begins an affair with Chun Shu, the young servant. When Chun Shu becomes cocky, she engineers his theft and has him imprisoned to silence him.

Ti-Hung discovers she is pregnant and tries to hide the pregnancy while Hui Chih visits. He comforts her and proposes taking her to Japan to deliver away from gossip. The newborn is later adopted in Japan.

Back in her hometown, Ti-Hung worries for Hsin Yue's youth and marriageability. Hsin Yue reveals a dowry prepared for her, and Ah Chu—the staff she once fired for leading Hui Chih astray—proposes; Ti-Hung blesses the match.

Decades pass and Ti-Hung, now in her 70s and aging, discovers Ah Hai has risen from fisherman to a wealthy, influential businessman. Her son Hui Chih has become a busy delegate for the Japanese, rarely visiting.

Ti-Hung's memory of her youth returns as time winds down; she dies peacefully alone, surrounded by wealth yet without lasting companionship. The final scenes flash back to her youth as she passes away.