Plot summary
Set in Mankam, a remote town in Tibet, the story shows the plight of Tibetan women during the 1960’s when the Chinese extended the Sichuan-Tibet highway to this area.
The film revolves around the liberation of a young Tibetan serf and the subsequent criticism and under miner by the old Tibetan society she is leaving behind. The remainder of the film then focuses on the riot of Tibetans to resist Chinese influence.
Zhuma is a 16 year old orphan born as a serf or labor slave. She was part of the old Tibetan society that gives few rights and opportunities to women, especially if the woman was born to the lower class as serf or labor slave.
When Zhuma meets the outsiders, she is both fascinated and scared by the Chinese because, among other things like secularism, Chinese also bring in professional women in command and modern medicine.
Later, Zhuma is saved from a bad miscarriage by the Chinese doctor despite her own preference for ineffective traditional Tibetan water treatment. Zhuma is offered an opportunity to become a modern, educated and independent woman in the Chinese hospital.
Unfortunately, Zhuma’s heart is torn by the Chinese Culture revolution that destroys Tibetan religion. On the other hand, her liberation is also criticized and undermined by the local Tibetans she is leaving behind.
At the end, when Zhuma must leave Tibet because of escalating hostilities towards her and the Chinese hospital, she takes her life rather than leave Tibet, her roots and her upbringing behind.
EXT. Lamasery/ Tibetan City Mankam - NIGHT
The Lamasery is lightened and located up on the hill. Two young Tibetan girls (Zhuma and another girl) are led by an elderly Tibetan woman through the walled yard of a mud-walled house, through a gap in the wall and up a goat track to the long, steep flight of steps to the lamasery.
Then, through the courtyard of the lamasery they go down to an underground tunnel with dim light.
INT. Prayer hall of Kalu Lama - NIGHT
A young monk opens the secret entrance of the tunnel and greets them. The old woman bows to Kalu lama then leaves the room with the young monk, leaving two girls in the room, standing nervously.
Kalu smiles at the girls. His finger points to the other girl first.
Kalu is practicing Tantric sex with the other girl and he is trying to control the flow of semen through yogic breath. He murmurs “upwards, along the spine, and- into the head”, he suddenly bursts into bliss in his face and the girls exchange happy smiles. The other girl slightly raises her bent body but immediately the lama’s hand presses on her back. “Don’t move”, he says, “hold until I absorb all your fluids to gain additional strength.” With the help of Zhuma, the girl struggles to bend down her head lower and the lama closes his eyes while continuing the intercourse from behind.
Ext. Courtyard outside the prayer hall – NIGHT
The young monk tells the elderly woman her daughter was a great success and that their family has finally gained personal prestige. The woman is very happy and proud and sends thanks to the Buddha for letting her daughter be part of helping the lama become stronger intellectually and spiritually. Then she prays to the Buddha to let her son into the lamasery as a monk and to let her pregnant daughter in-law to bear a grandson who would become a monk also. The young monk looks down on her and tells her that as serfs of the lamasery, her family had to pass more faith test from the lama and lamasery before any family member can become a monk. Their conversation is interrupted by screams and shouts from inside.
INT. Prayer hall of Kalu Lama - NIGHT
Zhuma has fallen on the floor with her cloth open. She is crying. The lama is angrily kicking her body and is cursing her. “Seductive demon!” he shouts at her. “you and your dead parents will remain in serf walls, bad karma for future lives, forever!”
Zhuma is scared and kneels on the floor and asks the master to show mercy to her. She begs the lama to give her another chance. Instead, the Lama declares that Zhuma is a demon who has stolen his semen and with it, his strength from his holy body for the past 2 years. He wants to order a marriage for Zhuma to one of his serfs who lost an arm as a punishment for stealing tea.
Zhuma is desperate. The other girl is also scared and both kneel to the master.
Right then an old monk breaks in and whispers in lama’s ear that the Chinese Construction Army has just arrived at the Jinsha river outside the Mankam town. He also reports that the local Tibetan government has given some houses in downtown to the Chinese army to build a hospital.
Fear appears in Kalu Lama’s face and everybody becomes nervous and silent. The Chinese Construction Army came too fast!! Kalu couldn’t believe the Chinese highway had been completed through the glacier on the 4700m high Haizi Mountain. He sighs and laments that even Buddha can’t stop the devil’s footmark, the Sichuan-Tibet highway. He states sadly that he is afraid his lamasery will in the end be wiped off from his land and that his people will be converted through the power of devil.
The old monk argues that the political reforms have only changed land ownership and taxation systems but Tibet’s religious systems remain unchanged, and the lamasery and monastery in Tibet were always and would always remain privileged and untouched by the Chinese. He also reminds Kalu Lama that Kalu himself holds an important position in the newly formed Chamdo Tibetan autonomous region.
Kalu looks stressed and old. He says he will pray to Buddha for protection of his people and all Tibetans. He then orders the girls to leave and not come back to see him until the Chinese Construction Army has left. He demanded that the girls swear vows of secrecy towards other serfs and the Chinese. He tells the girls that the Chinese are all demons who invaded Tibet to kill all Tibetans and destroy all Buddha. He warns the girls that madness, trouble or even death could follow if they ever speak to the Chinese.
All women are terrified. They bow to their master and leave silently. Just before she inters to the secret tunnel, Zhuma turns back and looks to Kalu Lama with tears in her eyes. She feels beaten when she sees Kalu is looking at a map and not paying attention to her.
EXT. LAMASERY/DOWNTOWN MANKAM - NIGHT
Zhuma and other two women walk quickly but silently in the street and pass through the mud-walled house. They suddenly stop because a strange voice came through the walled yard. Immediately they hide behind the mud wall and peek inside.
INT. CHINESE HOSPITAL/DOWNTOWN MANKAM - NIGHT
The 20 or-so people Chinese Construction Army hospital resided in the mud-walled Tibetan house. Two Chinese doctors are operating 2 wounded Chinese soldiers with crushed legs and one Tibetan serf attacked by snow leopard. The serf is accompanied by his wife and kids.
The Tibetan serf cries out when the male doctor (Zhao) is disinfecting his wound and stitches the muscle together. On the other side of the room, a female doctor (Hui) stops the bleeding and saves both soldiers’ lives with the help of two nurses. Zhao also finishes the operation on the Tibetan serf and claims success. The Tibetan serf’s family thanks Zhao with tears and give him a kathak, the holy Tibetan ritual cloth. Zhao put the kathak around Hui’s neck. People are full of joy and hugging each other celebrating their success.
EXT. CHINESE HOSPITAL/DOWNTOWN MANKAM - NIGHT
Zhuma is enchanted by Hui, her bravery and her confidence. She had never seen a professional woman as important and powerful as men before. However, the old Tibetan woman tells her that Hui was a witch send by a Chinese god and warned the girls to stay away from her.
EXT. VALLEY/MANKAM SURBURB- DAY
The area boasts the holy mountains, Buddhist temples and a wonderful hot summer. Zhuma stands in the field with heavy tea bags on her shoulder looking at the faraway hills where Chinese Construction Army is building the highway. Wild red deer are running about in the grasslands and below the hill is the incredible three-color Lake in black, white and yellow.
A group of Chinese riding horses are coming in her direction, she is scared and immediately turns and starts to run. After a few steps, she feels sick and starts to vomit.
The riders see Zhuma and come to her aid. As the horses stopped around her Zhuma passes out. Hui jumps off her horse, does a quick check of Zhuma and orders her men to take Zhuma to the hospital.
INT. CHINESE HOSPITAL/DOWNTOWN MANKAM - DAY
Hui checks Zhuma and tells her that she is pregnant. Zhuma immediately panics. She tells Hui that she is an orphan and works for the lamasery and that she is unmarried and only 16 years old.
Hui wants to know the name of the father and promises that the Chinese Construction Army will take care of the whole matter and be her family to help her.
Zhuma is shocked and remains silent.
Hui tries hard to explain to Zhuma that in China men and women are equal and that all men have to be responsible for the children they make. She invites Zhuma to work for her in the hospital as her Tibetan assistant. However, no matter what Hui says, Zhuma remains silent. Zhao came and asked Hui back off. He told Hui that educating and changing the Tibetan’s mind was a hard and long-term work.
INT. CHINESE HOSPITAL/DOWNTOWN MANKAM - NIGHT
The Tibetan serf Zhao had saved earlier secretly brings several other Tibetan serfs who have wounded arms or legs. While Hui and others are focusing on the new patients, Zhuma escapes.
INT. Prayer hall of Kalu Lama - NIGHT
Kalu looks distraught when Zhuma tells him about the pregnancy. Zhuma tries to pull him back from his far away thoughts by holding and massaging his feet. Suddenly she starts to kiss the feet. A strange feeling climbs up to Kalu’s heart, which he never felt for his young serf and dakini before.
“You have to get married.” He speaks firmly.
Zhuma doesn’t want to get married to the handicapped serf. She begs Kalu to keep her as his sacred dakini for all her life. She also begs Kalu to let her have his baby and use his power to take care of the child when it grows up. If it is a boy, Kalu could take him into his lamasery when he became 2 years old and if it was a girl, Kalu could introduce her to be a Buddhism nun in far away place, like in India or Burma.
Kalu sighs. He doesn’t know whether he could tell this young girl the truth. He has lost most of his political power ever since Chinese take-over 8 years earlier, and now with the Chinese Construction Army right at Mankam, he can’t have any more official dakini and Zhuma’s child could only endanger him. On the other hand if he can explain away the child and be discreet, all may not be lost.
When Kalu tells her that she has to marry for her own good, Zhuma is disappointed. She knows Kalu is lying and is scared of the life unknown in front of her. She tells Kalu that she really loves him and can’t marry to any other man.
Kalu sounds calm. “Zhuma, I am not an empty body like your serfs or the common monks. My spirit is dealing with vast thoughts and big responsibilities. Everyday I have to communicate with Buddha and pray for the peace of Tibet or the whole world. My personal life, nothing of myself is in my prayers. I am tired today and I have to concentrate on the coming bathing festival with the Chinese.”
Kalu orders the old monk to send Zhuma out from the front entrance because he doesn’t want there to be any chance for the Chinese to learn about the existence of the secret tunnel.
EXT. Lamasery - NIGHT
Zhuma has no idea how she follows the old monk through the whole courtyard. She almost falls at the steps at the entrance but the old monk kindly escorts her all the way down the steep flight of steps down to the goat track.
The old monk looks at Zhuma’s back and murmurs, “My child, may Buddha bless you.”
EXT.warehouse for tea bags - DAY
Zhuma and other Tibetans are carrying heavy tea bags out from the warehouse and load them on a horse driven carriage. People notice the change of her body and start to whisper.
Zhuma sees people’s pointing at her and tries to approach the carriage and unload her tea bags quickly. She trips over a tool lying on the ground and falls with the tea bags on top of her.
Some male serfs laugh. A few female serfs run to help her. Suddenly the old woman we saw in the first scene screams “Blood! Blood! She is hurt.”
Zhuma is lying pale on the ground, a big pool of blood is under her.
The Tibetan serfs are scared and start to discuss. Some say they should take Zhuma to see the Chinese doctors because they have magic powers from a more powerful Chinese God; others argue that they should take Zhuma to the bathing festival and let Buddha use the power of Venus to cure her.
Zhuma asks the people to take her to the Jinsha river bathing festival.
EXT. Jinsha river/Tibet bathing festival – EARLY EVENING
Hundreds of tents from the Chinese Construction Army and Tibetans are scattered along the Jinsha river. Tibetans are in their best clothes and waiting at the limited flat ground along the river. Chinese soldiers are mainly watching. As the stars rise to the sky, the mass bathing starts.
Kalu Lama is sitting in front of a tent together with several high ranking Chinese officers. He explains to the Chinese that according to Tibetan Buddhism, the water in Tibet now combined with Venus having the right heavenly position, is believed to have super healing powers to cure people’s diseases.
One officer starts to laugh over Kalu’s words and says that he would rather have a real bath with shampoo and soap. The general immediately stares at him seriously and warns the officers that they have to pay respect to the holly water and shouldn’t upset the local people by polluting the water with soap and shampoo. Then the Chinese officers greet Kalu and leave the festival.
Anger shows on Kalu’s face, but he tries to hide it.
The Tibetan serfs, including the old woman and the other young girl, followed sadly after Zhuma’s carriage. Zhuma was lying in the carriage unconsciously. The Tibetans put down the carriage at a small beach.
The women start to take water from the river and pour it on Zhuma while praying. They get no response. They keep on repeating the same action with great hope that Zhuma will awake.
As the stars retreat and morning comes, Zhuma still doesn’t wake from her coma.
Tibetans don’t want to leave Zhuma. They surround Zhuma and pray for her.
Kalu looks to Zhuma with great caution and sadness. He orders the old monk to get his doctors and have Zhuma checked.
EXT. Jinsha river/Tibet bathing festival – LATE EVENING
Kalu looks anxiously while he watches two Tibetan doctors checking Zhuma. His face slightly trembles when the doctors announce that Zhuma is already dead and there is nothing more they can do to save her.
Some Tibetans suggest send Zhuma to the Chinese doctors, but Kalu immediately vetoes the suggestion. The old monk steps to him and whispers in his ears, but he shakes his head. He speaks angrily to the old monk: “If I can’t save her, nobody can.”
Kalu starts to pray to Buddha. All Tibetans are holding their breath and waiting for him. When Kalu stops and makes his decision, his face looks sharp and very firm.
Kalu tells the Tibetans that in a previous life Zhuma was a mistress of a very powerful landlord and caused him some trouble. In order to punish her, the landlord cast a spell which caused Zhuma’s illness and her death.
The Tibetans are scared and start to leave Zhuma. When the old monk asks people for help to carry Zhuma for a water burial, nobody responds. The old monk sighs and tells people that himself will dismember Zhuma’s body and throw into the river according to Tibetan tradition. Kalu takes the last look at Zhuma and leaves without a word.
EXT. FOREST/Jinsha river – EARLY MORNING
The old monk carries Zhuma to a hidden place up in the woods facing a giant sharp rock in the river. He takes out a long sharp Tibetan knife.
INT. Lamasery - DAY
The old monk reports to Kalu that he has thrown Zhuma’s dead body into the Jinsha river.
“Did you dismember the body?” “No. I heard some noise from Chinese soldiers so I quickly packed her body in a black cloth and throw it on the giant rock. After I heard the body hit the water, I immediately come back to see you. The rock is so sharp and the river runs so fast, there is no way she could still be alive.”
An empty feeling comes over Kalu. Over the past 2 years, this young seductive vixen has been a demonic test he was supposed to conquer. In order to gain the ultimate spiritual power, he must complete a successful Tantric sex practice with Zhuma to prove that he, the holy Kalu Lama was the rightful ruler of his world. Now that Zhuma is dead, he has lost the chance to enhance and prove his spiritual power. He decides to pray in front of Buddha.
The old monk looks at Kalu’s back as Kalu slowly walks in front of Buddha and starts to pray. He leaves the room with a mysterious smile.
EXT. JINSHA RIVER – DAY -
Four Chinese soldiers are changing shifts at a river monitoring point. Suddenly, one soldier noticing something: “look, what’s that?”
There is a white Kathak blowing in the wind at the top of a tree close to the Chinese tents away from the river. Under the tree the soldiers find Zhuma who was wrapped in a black cloth with only her face outside.
INT. Chinese hospital – DAY -
Zhuma lies in the operation room getting a blood transfusion. Zhao and Hui are checking her. Zhuma opens her eyes and see Hui’s smiling face. Hui hugs Zhuma in happy exhaustion.
Zhuma bursts into tears. She asks Hui whether Hui still wants her as an assistant.
Hui tells Zhuma that she will help her to be a doctor. Zhuma can’t believe her fate.
Hui also tells Zhuma that the Cultural Revolution has just started in Tibet and every old and bad tradition from the old Tibet will be abolished. Zhuma looks happy to hear this.
INT. Chinese hospital – DAY -
Hui is teaching Zhuma and other Tibetan serfs to read Chinese.
Zhao is giving medical lectures to Zhuma and other Chinese nurses. Zhuma looks very excited.
A Chinese nurse is showing Zhuma how to disinfect the wound of a Chinese soldier.
Zhao is operating a Tibetan serf. Zhuma and another nurse are helping him.
EXT. Fields –DAY-
Zhuma rides horse with Hui and other doctors. The “red cross” signs on their bags are very significant.
When they pass through the highway construction field, all the soldiers greet them in such a laud voice that it beats the noisy background from the construction equipment. Zhuma laughs with Hui.
When they pass through the Tibetan residence, some Tibetan serfs greet them while others try to hide from their way.
Zhuma proudly greets the Tibetans.
INT. Auditorium tent/Chinese construction army – DAY-
Thousands of Chinese and Tibetans are sitting in the Auditorium tent and everyone wears the red armbands which is a symbol that they have joined the Red Guards. A portrait of Mao Zedong is hanged down from the roof and a banner under says: “"Completely destroy the old world! We shall be the master of the new world."
The Chinese are brandishing the Quotations from Chairman Mao. Every Tibetan is looking at the script prepared by Chinese army written in Chinese and having Tibetan translation. Most serfs look confused because they can hardly read.
Several serf patients of Hui and Zhao carry Buddhist statues into the auditorium. With people’s applauds and screams, they destroy the statues.
Zhuma is so shocked that she almost jumps up from her seat. A Tibetan serf grabs her arms and pulls her down. Zhuma’s eyes are full of puzzle and fear.
INT. Lamasery – DAY-
Kalu looks quite exhausted when the young monk reports to him about the meeting at the Auditorium and that a dozen Tibetan female serfs have followed Zhuma to become the assistants in the Chinese hospital.
Kalu gets very angry and starts to blame the old monk for his mistake to let Zhuma become alive and joins the Chinese. The old monk bows to him and explains that the Chinese soldiers were too close to him and saved Zhuma right away and that it was Zhuma’s fate that she shouldn’t die.
Kalu feels extremely hurt by the fact that his little Dakini who once, was condemned by him to be a dead body carrying a “bad spell”, has now become a example for liberated Tibetan serf. He feels himself is drowned in the Jinsha river by Chinese and Zhuma.
He says that the young seductive vixen is a demonic test from he must conquer in order to gain the ultimate spiritual power. The old monk kneels and tries to persuade Kalu to forget about the young girl. Kalu orders the old monk to leave his room immediately and to fast for a week for punishment.
After the old monk left, Kalu asks the young monk to keep eyes on the old monk. He also tells the young monk to get the young monks group to have a secret meeting with him.
Kalu looks very serious and in horror. He tells the young monks that when Chinese launched social and agrarian reforms in 1959, he and his lamasery lost the ownership of all the land and the serfs but still keeps the privilege to get a large percentage of the proceeds from the land so the life style of Kalu himself and other monks have remained mainly unchanged. However the cultural revolution is now spread everywhere in Tibet and that the lamasery will no long have the proceeds from the land, but instead, all monks, include himself will be paid salary from the government. He tells the monks that from now on, all the noble lama and monks are no longer a high class, but as low as their serf slaves.
All the young monks get excited and say that they will rebel. The construction army is here for building the highway and doesn’t have so many armed soldiers. Some complain that the communists were atheists and enemies of the rich.
Kalu says that the Chinese communist are worse, they were cannibals in China, and now they are devils who manipulate the Tibetan serfs’ brains. He tells the young monks that he has an idea to throw the Chinese out of Mankam. They have to make all Tibetan serfs believe that Chinese are cannibals and rebel.
EXT. CHINESE HOSPITAL – NIGHT -
Several people are dressed in black and have their faces covered with black cloth with only the eyes showing. They move silently and fast on the goat track toward the hospital.
When they see the Chinese guards, they immediately hide. When the guards go away, they jump through the mud wall and start to search for their objects.
INT. CHINESE HOSPITAL – NIGHT -
In one operation room Zhao is operating a Chinese soldier.
EXT. Outside the operation room, the leading night warrior shakes his head meaning “NO” and they move to another room.
INT. Chinese hospital – NIGHT -
In another room, Hui and Zhuma are helping a Tibetan woman to deliver her baby. Zhuma looks very stressed. When finally a sound of a loud baby cry comes out, she almost lost her steps.
Zhuma bursts into tears.
Hui happily gets the baby out and tells the mother that it is a girl. The Tibetan woman and her husband are very disappointed.
Hui notices their reaction and says “Now we are in the new Tibet, a girl can grow up to everything, including being a medical doctor.”
The parents are very humble and say that their family has always been serfs for over 1000 years, they don’t dare to hope the kid will become anything special. They prefer to have a boy so that he will be more helpful to the family to work in the fields.
Hui is not happy and tries to educate the parents that they shouldn’t still think like serfs. They are as noble as lamas and aristocrats and their daughter will get education and will have a great future.
The parents are not convinced. Hui invites them to the Tibetan serf’s learning class about the cultural revolution in Tibet.
After hearing this, the husband grabs the baby and wants to take his wife back home. His wife struggles to go up and says they don’t want to go to the devil meetings where people try to kill the Buddha.
Hui and others try to stop the couple, but Zhuma doesn’t. She looks sadly at the couple leaving with their baby.
Hui notices Zhuma’s attachment to a religion that has oppressed and put down her ancestors for generations. She asks Zhuma, why she can’t see that her religion was never for her or her family’s benefit, it was always only for the benefit of the ruling class, the monks and the lamas?
Zhuma looks at Hui stoically and says that she was born as a Tibetan serf and can’t be turned to destroy Buddha, because Buddha was what her parents believed and lived for.
When Hui response that Zhuma still has special feelings toward Kalu Lama and that stops her to improve herself and get totally liberated, Zhuma becomes upset and runs out of the room with crying.
EXT. LAMASERY – NIGHT -
The black warriors follow Zhuma to the steep flights of steps. They kidnap her when she kneels and starts to pray.
INT. Temple of Lamasery - DAY-
Zhuma is locked in the top floor of the temple of Kalu’s lamasery. Her hands are tied and her mouth is stuffed with a black cloth. She looks around and sees a lot of Buddhism Classic books displayed with yellow Kathak in gorgeous wood cabinets, a golden statue of Buddha and a table with beautiful hand crafted signs of Buddha. She realizes that she is at the temple of Kamlu’s lamasery. She is scared. When she hears the steps coming and the door is being opened, she knees.
Kalu comes in with a long whip in his hand. He looks surprised and proud to see Zhuma still knees in front of him. For a while, there is an absolute silence in the room.
“Raise your head, let me see you.” Kalu orders. Zhuma does so. She trembles when sees the whip. When Kalu asks her whether she wants to confess her sins in front Buddha, Zhuma shrinks and says no word.
Kalu is glad. He starts to accuse Zhuma of being a demon who almost destroyed his sexual karma. She has now shown her true colors when becoming a follower of the godless Chinese communist. Following every sentence, Kalu lashes Zhuma with the whip. Zhuma starts to cry and beg him to stop.
Kalu stops and is happily watching blood come out of Zhuma’s back. He asks Zhuma to confess her crimes to him, her parents and to Buddha.
Zhuma follows his demands. She prays to Buddha and says that she feels horrible and guilty to see other people killing Buddha. She apologizes for not fighting and protecting Buddha. She begs Kalu, her parents and Buddha to forgive her, she also pray to Buddha not punish her parents and continue guiding them through their rebirth. (In Tibetan Buddhism there are 6 levels of rebirth: hells of torment, ghost worlds, world of animals, human beings, demi-gods and gods.)
Kalu is satisfied. He sits down on a chair and tells Zhuma that in order to let Buddha forgive her crime and not punish her parents, she has to serve the Buddha by helping Buddha get revenge of the Chinese.
Zhuma doesn’t answer. She looks very stressed and hesitant.
Kalu whips her again and shouts that if she doesn’t do what he tell her to do, Buddha will let her suffer until death in her this life and let her be reborn in hells of torment, and her parents will stay forever as animal of labor to be whipped by human and never reborn as noble men. Zhuma starts to cry and begs him to not punish her parents. She says that she will do whatever Kalu tells her.
Kalu takes out a bottle full of powders from his pocket and hands to Zhuma. He tells Zhuma that it is a magic medicine Buddha gives to the Tibetans so that every Tibetan takes it will not be brain washed by Chinese and turn to against Buddha. He asks Zhuma to put it into every Tibetan patient’s drinking water or food. Zhuma is very scared and in doubts, but she still accepts the bottle. She tells Kalu that she also wants to give Buddha’s medicine to her Chinese friends in the hospital so that they will not want to fight Buddha.
“Yes,” Kalu says with a surprised smile. “That is a very good idea.”
Zhuma looks at Kalu with doubts and she is trying to think. The moment when Kalu’s doctors claimed her death and ordered a water burial for her flashes through her brain. She suddenly opens the bottle and says, “I should be the first one who needs Buddha’s medicine.” She was about to eat the powder.
Kalu jumps up and wipes the bottle away with his long sleeve. “Demon!” He shouts.
Zhuma knees down and begs Kalu “let me be your slave again and work as a castle for you. Please don’t let me do things to hurt the Chinese doctors. They saved my life!”
Kalu get very angry and start to ship at Zhuma with his screams and shouts. He doesn’t stop until he sees Zhuma passes out. Angrily he goes out of the door and the door locked behind him. The old monk comes out the hiding corner and looks very sad.
INT.Hospital – NIGHT -
Hui is blaming herself for pushing Zhuma too hard. Zhuma’s and other Tibetans devotion to their religion seem stronger than anything Hui has seen before. In addition, Zhuma is a serf and even though it seems wrong to Hui because they are not the beneficiaries of the religion, it seems that the serfs are more committed to the religion than even their master are.
Zhao tells Hui that Zhuma’s running away has already been noticed by the locals. Given that Zhuma is the most high profile Tibetan convert in Mankam, the army has ordered that the hospital has to find Zhuma and help her to become a true liberated Tibetan.
Hui says that she thinks Zhuma went back to Kalu because nobody else has seen her.
Zhao looks very serious. He says Kalu is the vice Governor and Zhuma was one of his sexual consorts. If Zhuma goes back to Kalu, they can not go to the lamasery to ask for Zhuma. Zhao then leaves, leaving Hui hurting alone and blaming herself.
One soldier comes in and tells Hui that a strange Tibetan serf wants to talk to her alone outside. Hui is surprised but she goes out to meet the serf.
EXT. CHINESE HOSPITAL – NIGHT -
The serf is the old monk who tells Hui where Zhuma is. After learning about Zhuma’s situation, Hui get excited and says she will report Zhuma’s kidnapping to the military command and get the soldiers to go to save Zhuma.
The old monk stops her. He says that if Hui take soldiers to get Zhuma, Zhuma could easily be hidden and killed.
Hui calms down and asks the old monk why does he want to save Zhuma.
The old monk sighs and says “not all men follow the way of the Buddha. This is true for ordinary men but it is also true of monks and even lamas.” Hui is startled but also cautious. “How can I trust you?”
The old monk says “a white Kathak, on the top of a tree. Zhuma lies under.” Hui opens her eyes: “It was you?”
The old monk nods his head, then he tells Hui that in order to save Zhuma, Hui has to follow him immediately and secretly without letting any other people involved.
INT. Temple of Lamasery – NIGHT -
Zhuma lies unconsciously on the floor with blood coming out of the wounds in her face and through the whipped openings of her clothes. Her arms and shoulders are almost all out without any covering.
Kalu stands aside looking at his unconscious beautiful dakini. He suddenly feels thirsty.
A feeling becomes stronger and stronger that he must complete a successful Tantric sex practice with Zhuma to prove he, the holy Kalu lama was the only ruler of this young woman. He rushes to Zhuma’s unconscious body and strip off her clothes, then put Zhuma facing down and arms stretched out leaning on a table covered by yellow cloth decorated with Buddha’s image.
The poor girl awakes and tries to move.
Kalu presses her down, order her to be quiet and continue to rape her. Zhuma starts weeping and pray to Buddha.
INT. UNDERGROUND TUNNEL/LAMASERY – NIGHT -
The old monks leads Hui walking in the deem light through the tunnel. He stops at the secret entrance, listen for a while to make sure there is nobody inside, then he opens the door.
INT. PRAYER ROOM/LAMASERY – NIGHT –
Hui follows him into Kalu’s prayer room, they hear some steps and immediately hide behind the statue of Buddha.
The young monk comes in with two of his peers. They search around and check the secret entrance. However, they didn’t go behind the Buddha.
The young monk says the old monk disappeared and nobody has seen him, Kalu doubted that he had gone outside through the tunnel.
One other monk asks whether the old monk has done bad thing and turn against Kalu. The young monk says there is no evidence but Kalu doubted that the old monk had taken Zhuma to the Chinese and now escaped to giving news to Chinese. He says that Kalu will whip Zhuma again after she awakes and if she still doesn’t want to follow Buddha’s demand, Kalu will kill her.
The other monks all agreed that to such a converted communist witch, Kalu lama should have no mercy.
The young monk orders one other monk to stay at the room and use the emergency signal in case anything bad happen. He and the other monk will check other entrances.
Two monks leave the room and the one stays sits down right in front of Buddha.
The old monk gives signs to Hui asking her to attack from the back. Hui understands.
The old monk suddenly goes out and talks to the monk with a smile. The monk is surprised and before he can do anything, Hui jumps out from the Buddha and knock him down with a Buddhism ritual object.
INT. TEMPLE OF LAMASERY – NIGHT -
Kalu is practicing Tantric sex with Zhuma while Zhuma is praying.
Kalu was nervous when they started but he feels better now and more in control of his body than during other sessions with Zhuma. His body still responds differently to Zhuma than it did to other women. But today his mind is up to the challenge! If he wants to have a chance of winning the upcoming religions war, he has to get to the next level.
Zhuma is shaking, Kalu hasn’t felt this scared, this excited this alive in decades. It is up to him to save Tibet from this insidious Chinese godless invasion! He murmurs “upwards, into the head, into the head”, sweats power down on from his head while his movements speed up. Suddenly he bursts into bliss in his face. He reached ecstasy without spilling a drop of semen!
“Oh Buddha”, he bows to the golden Buddha statue and becomes excited, “I succeeded! I have finally conquered this demon!” He presses more on Zhuma’s back, “be still girl, I am now going to absorb all fluids from your slave body and gain additional strength.”
Zhuma weeps, the image of Buddha becomes so blur in her eyes.
Hui kicks the door open and runs in with anger. “Stop, you bastard!”
Zhuma tries to turn her head to see Hui but can’t. She struggles to move her arms and legs.
Kalu is outraged. How dare this communist devil interrupt him! He is about to complete a singular moment he has pursued for over two years!. He throws Zhuma heavily to the floor and turns to stare at Hui. “You will pay with your life for this!”
This doesn’t stop Hui. She run up to him and starts pushes him away from Zhuma.
This woman has such a strength! Kalu can hardly push her away. But when he remembers that he was finally successful in his quest to control his bodily urges, he feels stronger. He remembers that he is fighting a communist devil, woman or not. He roars and throws Hui against a wall. He pulls out a long traditional Tibetan knife from his yellow boots. Now this Chinese witch will pay!
As Kalu approaches with his knife in front of him, Hui is scared and grabs an oil traditional lamp to defend herself.
Zhuma screams “No!!” Kalu lunges forward and stabs with his knife.
As Kalu strikes, Hui is throwing the lamp at him, but Kalu ducks. Just as the knife is about to reach Hui, the body of the old monk falls on the knife.
Everybody is too focused on the dying monk to realize that the lamp has hit the bookshelf and broken. The fire spreads rapidly through the books.
Having lost the knife, Kalu runs out of the room. Suddenly the warning sound of emergency arises.
Hui holds the old monk and is checking his wound. Zhuma crawls to them. After realizing that the wound was lethal, Hui starts to cry and says “thank you!” to the old monk.
The old monk tells them he has always been ready for Buddha to claim him. However, doesn’t understand why Buddha claimed him now, just as the forces of fallen believers have declared war on the non believers. He tells both women to immediately run back to the tunnel before other monks come. Then he dies.
Hui and Zhuma hold the old monk’s body and cry.
EXT. Courtyard of lamasery – night -
Kalu is listening to a message from the young monk. There are about 100 monks are gathering in the courtyard. The smoke comes out of the temple. Most monks are crying and kneel down to pray.
When hearing that Zhao and 5 soldiers are outside at the main entrance requesting to come inside, Kalu says angrily. “The Chinese meddle in everything!” He orders the young monk to blow the largest Dung (Tibetan trumpet) of lamasery telling all Tibetans that the lamasery is being attacked and needs everyone to protect it. He also orders the other monks to inform Zhao that Hui and Zhuma broke into the temple and set up the fire to burn it down.
When hearing that the Chinese doctor and her liberated serf have burned the temple, all monks get angry and want to catch them and their leader and punish them all by death.
Kalu stops them and tells them that what has happened is Buddha’s will. The temple is a small sacrifice in the glorious war against godlessness. Kalu says that right now they should do nothing. After all, they are men of peace! The Temple is already damaged, so let it burn down. It is better not to catch and punish Zhuma or the Chinese. If the monks don’t enforce justice, he is convinced that the serfs will stand up and do it for them!
Some old monks get scared and confused. They throw themselves more deeply into prayer. The young monks, on the other hand, all stand up and cheer: “Long live Kalu, the liberator of Tibet!”
INT. TEMPLE OF LAMASERY – NIGHT -
In the temple, Hui puts the old monk’s body leaning at the base of the golden Buddha and she and Zhuma both kneel in front of the dead monk. Then she asks Zhuma to escape with her to the hospital through the tunnel, but Zhuma refuses.
Zhuma is desperate and says that the temple is burned because of her and the old monk died because of her. She has to die with the temple.
Hui gets impatient. She grabs Zhuma and drags her with her. Under heavy smoke, they escape to the tunnel.
EXT. Entrance of lamasery/the steep flight of steps – NIGHT -
Thousands of Tibetan serfs are at the entrance, many of them with knifes and tools for planting. Kalu has problems hiding his satisfaction but he manages to look distraught and upset.
Kalu tell the Tibetans that the Chinese female doctor Hui and one liberated serf Zhuma have burned the lamasery’s holy temple. This is the true intent of the Chinese. “Kill Buddha, kill our religion and kill our way of life! The Chinese promises us modern marvels and an easier life. However, this life is godless and foreign to every Tibetan. When the Chinese realize the power of Buddha, they are trying to hurt Buddha by destroying the temples and enslaving the monks. The Chinese can never win, but they can create unthinkable pain as long as they are allowed to remain in Tibet. Let us all unite and drive the Chinese out today!“ Kalu screams to his previous serfs.
Everyone is spell bound but when the young monks chant “Chinese Out, Chinese Out!”
Everyone falls in and with the young monks as leaders, the serfs march together to the hospital.
EXT. CHINESE HOSPITAL - MORNING -
Outside, thousands of Tibetans surround the hospital and demand that the Chinese leave immediately. Zhao and the soldiers try to keep the mob breaking in. Because they don’t want to fire at the civilians, they stand no chance because they are outnumbered one hundred to one. The mob moves forward, trampling everything in its path.
Afterwards, Zhao lies on the ground with bloods running out of his head and his eyes are bruised and swollen.
Hui and Zhuma come and find Zhao. They both cry.
Zhao tells them to immediately escape to the Jinsha river and bring the news of Mankam to the Construction Army. He asks Hui to tell the army officer that the most important thing is to protect the highway.
Zhao gets a photo out of his pocket from his chest and hands in a photo of his wife and his son full of blood to Hui. Zhao says, “tell them I love them,” then he dies.
Hui and Zhuma cry while escaping.
INT. CHINESE HOSPITAL – MORNING-
Inside the hospital, all Chinese laid dead, and the Tibetan assistants are beaten. Equipments, medicines, everything is destroyed.
INT. CHINESE ARMY TENT/Jinshan river – DAY-
The officers listened to Hui’s report. They pay respect to everyone who died in Mankam.
The general orders all people in the Construction Army to stay at site and protect the highway. He also reports the Tibetan riot to the central government by telegram and asks for stronger army support.
Hui asks to join the fight while Zhuma remains crying.
The general says, “No, you have already been through enough. This is probably even more true about Zhuma.”
The general orders a dozen soldiers to escort Hui and Zhuma cross the Jinsha river and back to Sichuan, the adjacent Chinese province. Later both women will go to Beijing to study or work and not come back to Tibet.
EXT. Jinsha river – DAY -
Hui and Zhuma are riding on horses and are escorted by Chinese soldiers. They are going over the newly constructed bridge across the Jinsha river. Zhuma keeps on looking back and tears are running through her face.
When they reach the sign for Tibet-Sichuan in the middle of the bridge, Zhuma suddenly jumps off the horse and her body falls down like a falling feather to the river. She is killed immediately at the impact with the water far below.
Hui and others scream.
