A Chinese Ghost Story

A Chinese Ghost Story is a 1987 Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung and produced by Tsui Hark. The plot is loosely based on a short story about Nie Xiaoqian from Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and is also inspired by the 1960 Shaw Brothers Studio film The Enchanting Shadow. The film was popular in Hong Kong and several Asian countries, including South Korea and Japan. Although the film could not gain access to movie theaters in mainland China when it was first released, it became a cult film among young people in the mainland. At that time the film generated a phenomenal cult following among audiences, especially the generation born in the 1980s. In 2011, the Hong Kong producers screened a restored version officially in mainland China. Most notably it boosted the stardom of Joey Wong, won Leslie Cheung popularity in Japan, and sparked a trend of folklore ghost films in the Hong Kong film industry, including two sequels, an animated film, a television series and a 2011 remake. The film was ranked number 50 of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures presented at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards, the Special Jury Special Award of the 16th French Science Fiction Film Festival and the Best Film Award of the Portuguese Science Fiction Film Festival. Plot Ning Choi-san, a timid tax collector, goes to a rural town to collect taxes but fails and runs out of money. He has no choice but to take shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the outskirts of the town. That night, he meets a beautiful and alluring young maiden, Nip Siu-sin, and falls in love with her. In the morning, however, after he recalls that night's events, he becomes increasingly fearful and superstitious because Yin Chik-ha, a Taoist priest, told him that the people he saw in the temple are ghosts. That night, he returns to the temple and confirms his theory that Nip is actually a ghost. Nip tells Ning her story of how she became eternally bound to the servitude of a sinister Tree Demoness. She explains that as long as her remains are buried at the foot of the tree, her spirit will be forever enslaved by the Tree Demoness. Ning attempts to free her from her suffering, so he seeks help from Yin Chik-ha. Yin fights with the Tree Demoness and attempts to free Nip's soul but fails. As punishment for betraying her master, Nip's soul is banished to the Underworld.