Xiu Xiu – The Sent Down Girl

Is staying at our home town a basic human right or a gift granted by the government? Xiu Xiu, a Chinese girl, is sent to the Northeast China during the Cultural Revolution to learn horse bearing. She is left in the remote territory and cannot return home which she terribly desires for. Director Joan Chen criticizes the Cultural Revolution in an extraordinary way. She portrays the naive girl who loses her life due to the poor administration of the Chinese government, hence, condemns the Cultural Revolution. In this essay, I am going to discuss how the Cultural Revolution devastates the naive girl Xiu Xiu.

Xiu Xiu, at the beginning, is a pure girl who likes bathing. The day before she is sent to the remote Northeast China from Chengdu, she is washed by her mother. When she goes to the Northeast, she works very hard in a milk powder factory. Then, with her good performance, she is assigned to work with Lao Jin for horse bearing. On the first day she lives with Lao Jin, she washes her herself with a small bowl of water. Despite her early days when she does not adopt to a simple life there, she gradually likes the great earth and her company Lao Jin. She is a naive girl who always tricks Lao Jin. Because she likes bathing, Lao Jin makes a “Tian Yu”, a natural pound for her. “Tian Yu” can wash away all Xiu Xiu’s dirt and makes her clean and pure. Up till now, the world before Xiu Xiu is still beautiful. She loves bathing, implying that she is a pure girl. But her homesickness let her leave “Tian Yu”, that is purity, behind.

Xiu Xiu becomes a whore just because she wants to go home. The pure Xiu Xiu, originally, can go back to a small town in the Northeast China. But she is left behind to live with Lao Jin. She is depressed. One day, she meets a guy who pretends to love her. He tells her that many beautiful girls like her have already gone back to Chengdu because of relations with high-ranked officials. Then Xiu Xiu finds that if she wants to get back home, she has to build up connection. The pure girl loses her virginity because of ignorance. She thinks that the guy really loves her. After the first time, she has had sex with many other “important” men in order to build up relations so that she can come home. Every time she has sex with others, she needs water for bathing. This shows that although her body is for men’s pleasure, her heart is still pure. She wants to clean herself. What’s more, she wants to go home. Lao Jin condemns her as a whore. Xiu Xiu understands her shameful conduct . But it is the only chance for her to go back to Chengdu. Xiu Xiu is being devastated.

Xiu Xiu loses her life but regains purity at last. Having sex with many men, Xiu Xiu is pregnant. But no one takes the responsibility. There is even no one who dares to say that he knows Xiu Xiu. Soon after Xiu Xiu has given birth to a baby, a disabled enters the delivery room and has sex with Xiu Xiu. After the intercourse , Xiu Xiu aspires after water to clean her body. She realizes that sex cannot help her. But she gets another idea. She is ready to shoot her toes. As a disabled, she will probably be sent back to Chengdu. She tries but she dares not to hurt herself. She turns to Lao Jin. She does not ask Lao Jin to shoot her toes, but her heart. Have not been to the “Tian Yu” since she becomes a whore, Xiu Xiu dies in the natural pond with the naive face shown in the very beginning. She understands that she can never get back to Chengdu. She is tired of building relations. She knows that only death can make her peaceful. She is cleaned by the “Tian Yu” and dies with purity.

Xiu Xiu is not a bad girl. She is forced to change by the Cultural Revolution. Lulu, the 16-year-old actress who plays Xiu Xiu in the movie, does a great job. She successfully shows the devastation of the Cultural Revolution. She is a nice girl. Her childish face shows that Xiu Xiu is naive and pure. She is very charming and lovely. After Xiu Xiu believes in building relations, Lulu, obviously, changes to an impolite girl. She is depressed of homesickness, as well as shame. Again and again, Lulu helps to express the contradiction of Xiu Xiu. On the one hand, the purity of Xiu Xiu rejects her to have sex with others. This makes bathing a must for her. On the other hand, the homesickness makes Xiu Xiu has to have sex with others. At last, Lulu smiles before the fatal shoot. This smile is peaceful and pure, but heartbreaking. Lulu’s performance is great that deserves the best leading actress awards of the Golden Horse as well as the International Paris Film Festival.

All in all, Xiu Xiu – The Sent Down Girl takes different view to discuss the disaster of Cultural Revolution. It is not comprehensive enough to show the demerits of the anti-rightists movement as Zhang Yimou’s Lifetimes does, but it shows how purity is lost by external factors. Xiu Xiu is a victim of the Cultural Revolution. Water cleans her body, but her heart is always pure. She just wants to go home!