The Rice Dumpling Vendors (1969)

Overview

Tsi-Bing is living a wealthy and successful life. However, he is manipulated by his mistress into believing that his wife is having an affair and he throws her out. After his mistress vanishes with his money, Tsi-Bing is forced to relocate to a makeshift home with his three children, who take on various jobs, such as selling rice dumplings, to make ends meet. The story centers on a man who loses his social and economic status but manages to regain his place in his family through sacrifices – much like the experience of female protagonists in melodramas. This male-centric narrative was recognized as part of a subgenre of Taiwanese-language melodrama. The depictions of a powerful male figure losing his power before finally turning the tide, and a woman able to support herself after leaving home, both suggest the changing attitudes of the late 60s as people were less convinced of the perfect family, but could still find beauty in its cause.