Raise the Red Lantern

Raise the Red Lantern

Year: 1991

Runtime: 125 mins

Language: Chinese

Director: Zhang Yimou

DramaMoving relationship storiesEnduring stories of family and marital dramaTragic sadness and captivating beautyHeartbreaking and moving family drama

In 1920s rural China, 19‑year‑old Songlian is sent to become the fourth wife—officially a concubine—of the wealthy household master. She must navigate strict rituals, share a single lantern that signals the master's attention, and vie with the three senior wives for favor, freedom, and survival within the oppressive family hierarchy.

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Timeline & Setting – Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Raise the Red Lantern (1991). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1920s

Set in Republican-era China during the 1920s, the story unfolds amid social upheaval and shifting gender norms. Wealth and tradition collide as the Master’s choices determine daily fortunes within the household. The backdrop of political instability highlights the personal turmoil behind luxury.

Location

Chen family mansion, Chen estate

The Chen family mansion serves as the central setting, a lavish estate that mirrors the social climb and power games of Republican China. Its grand halls and red lanterns symbolize wealth and status, while the rules governing the wives create a claustrophobic atmosphere. The house functions as a stage for manipulation, jealousy, and hidden desires.

🏯 Mansion 💎 Wealth 🔒 Confinement

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:37

Main Characters – Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Meet the key characters of Raise the Red Lantern (1991), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Songlian (Gong Li)

A 19-year-old educated woman who arrives as the Fourth Mistress. She navigates the brutal power dynamics of the Chen household, tries to manipulate the Master by feigning pregnancy, and grapples with profound loneliness and disillusionment.

👩 Protagonist 🎭 Female Lead 🏮 Social Constraint

Master Chen (Ma Jingwu)

The powerful head of the estate who determines which wife he will spend the night with. His face is rarely shown, making him an enigmatic symbol of authority and control over the household.

🎭 Patriarch 🧭 Authority 🔎 Power

Second Mistress Zhuoyun (Cao Cuifen)

A shrewd, socially adept wife who befriends Songlian while secretly conspiring to maintain her own status. She collaborates with Yan’er to undermine Songlian, revealing the ruthlessness of the house’s hierarchy.

🎭 Rival 🧭 Cunning 💎 Class

Third Mistress Meishan (He Saifei)

A former opera singer who is spoiled and aloof, clinging to youth and favor. She harbors an affair with Doctor Gao, illustrating the precariousness of each woman’s position and the capacity for manipulation within the estate.

🎭 Rival 💋 Affair 🕊️ Power

Yan'er (Kong Lin)

Songlian’s maid who resents her and is involved in secret, forbidden actions. She is caught with red lanterns and a curse charm bearing Songlian’s name, and she ultimately suffers severe consequences for the house’s intrigues.

🚪 Servant 😠 Resentment 🧊 Hardship

First Mistress Yuru (Jin Shuyuan)

The eldest mistress who bore a son decades earlier; firm and rigid, she stands as a guardian of tradition and a counterweight to Songlian’s youth and the Master’s attention.

👑 Matriarch 🧭 Authority 🧩 Tradition

Doctor Gao (Cui Zhigang)

The household physician drawn into its intrigues, involved with Meishan and used as a pawn in the mansion’s schemes.

💉 Doctor 💘 Affair 🕵️ Intrigue

Old Servant (Cao Zengyin)

An elder servant who has witnessed the house’s rituals and power shifts, embodying the old order and the loyalties of the Chen estate.

🧰 Servant 🧭 Authority 🪵 Tradition

Chen Baishun (Zhou Qi)

Grown son of the First Mistress who appears briefly, playing the flute and symbolizing an earlier generation’s influence and potential lineage tensions.

🎶 Youth 🧭 Heritage

Mother Song (Ding Weimin)

The aging matriarch representing the family’s decline and the social duties that shape the women’s lives within the estate.

🌀 Matriarch 🧭 Tradition 🏠 Family

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:37

Major Themes – Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Explore the central themes of Raise the Red Lantern (1991), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🔒 Power and Control

The Master wields absolute authority, deciding which wife receives attention each night and dictating status within the household. The hierarchy is rigid, and favor is earned through ritual and proximity to the Master. The film uses this dynamic to examine how control can corrode personal autonomy.

🚪 Gender Roles and Isolation

Songlian enters the household as a young, educated woman expected to navigate a confined domestic sphere. The wives’ identities revolve around their relationship to the Master, not their own desires. Isolation deepens as tradition and surveillance limit genuine connection.

🕵️ Secrets and Betrayal

Whispers, forbidden acts, and concealed lanterns reveal a web of deception within the estate. False pregnancies, rivalries, and hidden loyalties drive the plot toward escalating betrayals. The house itself becomes complicit in the secrecy that surrounds the women.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:37

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Raise the Red Lantern Summary

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Raise the Red Lantern Summary

Raise the Red Lantern Timeline

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Raise the Red Lantern Timeline

More About Raise the Red Lantern

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