A woman married to the brutal and infertile owner of a dye mill in rural China conceives a boy with her husband's nephew but is forced to raise her son as her husband's heir without revealing his parentage in this circular tragedy. Filmed in glowing technicolour, this tale of romantic and familial love in the face of unbreakable tradition is more universal than its setting.
| Writing | Liu Heng | Writer |
| Sound | Ru-jin Xia | Original Music Composer |
| Production | Wenze Zhang | Producer |
| Art | Xia Rujin | Production Design |
| Art | Cao Juiping | Production Design |
| Production | Hu Jian | Producer |
| Editing | Du Yuan | Editor |
| Sound | Jiping Zhao | Original Music Composer |
| Production | Yasuyoshi Tokuma | Producer |
| Costume & Make-Up | Zhi-an Zhang | Costume Design |
| Directing | Zhang Yimou | Director |
| Camera | Gu Changwei | Director of Photography |
| Camera | Lun Yang | Director of Photography |
| Directing | Yang Fengliang | Co-Director |
