"Assassin Nie Yinniang" contains Hou Hsiao-hsien's historical thinking and political views on cross-strait relations.
The film begins at such a moment: the central revival of the Tang Dynasty began to weaken the local separatist forces, and Wu Shu was subdued, and the soldiers pointed to Heshuo. Tian Ji'an (Zhang Zhen), the leader of the separatist regime in the Wei Bo area, was faced with the dilemma of surrender and resistance, and he hesitated. A Taoist nun with the status of a princess sent her disciple Nie Yinniang down the mountain to assassinate Tian Ji'an.
1.
Why did Tian Ji'an want to kill Tian Ji'an?
The identity of the Taoist nun is a princess, and she has a distant connection with the court (central). Killing Tian Ji'an is a link in the great cause of unification.
So what is Tian Ji'an's position?
In the meeting room scene, the Fanzhen faction (independence faction) and the imperial court faction (unification faction) are arguing. Tian Ji'an was angry with Tian Xing, his uncle sent by the imperial court. Yinniang's father, Nie Feng, was silent.
This scene is quite consistent with the current situation of Taiwanese public opinion. The unification party either speaks to criticize, or aphasia. And the independent speech, although unfeasible and credible, speaks freely.
The feudal lord Tian Ji'an (leader of the Taiwan region) has been restrained and transformed by the feudal town faction (independence faction), and he is unwilling and unable to mention the imperial court (mainland).
2. The symbol of
Nie Yinniang The character of Nie Yinniang represents Hou Hsiao-hsien's personal thinking, namely non-intervention and elimination of intervention.
Tian Ji'an's mother, Princess Jiacheng, and Nie Yinniang's teacher, Princess Jiaxin (a Taoist nun), are played by the same person, implying that both sides of the strait have the same origin. One "sincerity" and one "trust" are the cornerstone of cross-strait cooperation.
However, Princess Jiacheng, who should have been honest, ruined the marriage between Tian Ji'an and Nie Yinniang, and buried Tian Ji'an's marriage to the local power Tian Yuan (Zhou Yun). According to this episode, we can associate Chiang Ching-kuo's wrong transfer of the throne to Lee Teng-hui and the split of the blue camp in the 1990s.
Tian Ji'an and Tian Yuan's are political marriages, and there is no love, so the side room "Hu Ji" is introduced. Hu Ji appeared as the object of love to strip off the intervention. She has no force behind her, and represents the natural human nature and emotion. She was pregnant with Tian Ji'an's flesh and blood, but in order to avoid Tian Yuan's persecution, she used chicken blood as menstrual blood to pretend she was not pregnant.
Tian Yuanshi is actually Jinger, an assassin placed beside Tian Ji'an. It is equivalent to the traitor lurking in the blue camp in Taiwan's green camp, the biggest of which is of course Lee Teng-hui of the Millennium Infernal Affairs.
The "medicine-gathering old man" who used paper figurines to murder Hu Ji was deliberately disguised as a barbarian with a big nose and was a representative of foreign forces. From a dialogue between Ruan Jingtian and Zhang Zhen, it can be seen that the old man with the big nose has used the paper figurines to secretly manipulate the political activities in the Weibo area for decades.
Nie Yinniang was a betrayal of the imperial court faction (the unification faction), and had no choice but to become the apprentice of the Taoist nun (the central government), and reluctantly went to the assassination mission. However, instead of carrying out her master's instructions, she chose to limit the intervention of the Fanzhen faction - defeating (rather than killing) Jingjinger, stopping the conspiracy of the big-nosed old man, rescuing Huji, and saving another one in Huji's belly. A possibility (non-uniform, non-unique, unknown).
Faced with the master's questioning, Yinniang's answer was: If Tian Ji'an is killed and the heir is young, the Weibo area will surely fall into chaos. The implication is that it is better to keep Tian Ji'an to maintain stability.
3. Tian Ji'an's choice
If Tian Ji'an was killed by Nie Yinniang, and he was succeeded by the forces of the Fanzhen faction, why would it be something the court would like to see?
Hou Hsiao-hsien's thinking is different. He is warning the separatists on the island that the separatists taking power and taking the hurried path of independence may be the opportunity that the mainland expects to speed up the reunification process.
Nie Yinniang violated the Taoist nun (the imperial court), not supporting the separation of the vassal towns, but not wanting to let the unification process hurt the common people. Peace and stability are higher than any kind of political proposition. The master said that Yinniang "wasn't strong in her heart", but in fact Yinniang's compassion and cultivation were above her master.
Nie Yinniang did not interfere with the historical process, what she did was to clear other people's interference in the historical process. In the end, although Tian Ji'an's choice is still unknown, Nie Yinniang no longer takes the leisurely care of a saint and returns to the countryside.
Which choice will Tian Ji'an make?
He has no choice.
It is history that chooses man, not man who chooses history.
When they are together for a long time, they must be divided. After a long period of time, it must be reunited. Divide or combine, it all depends on whether the center is strong or weak. If you follow it, you will be the Tao; if you go against it, you will be miserable.
The trend of cross-strait relations, according to Hou Hsiao-hsien's proposition, should be a natural development, and it may feel a bit against the sky to go either way.
However, I think Hou Hsiao-hsien still takes himself and Taiwan too seriously.
View more about The Assassin reviews
