Temptress moon = Feng yue

Set in 1911 in Shanghai, during a time of political upheaval following the fall of the last emperor and the proclamation of the Republic, ‘Temptress Moon’ follows the slow downfall of the Pang family, a once rich and powerful clan slowly sinking into anarchy and opium addiction. Zhongliang (Leslie Cheung), an orphan boy, is introduced into the Pang family by his sister who is married to the heir of the family. In order to earn his keep, he is employed as a servant, his special duty looking after the opium pipes of his master. Following years of mistreatment, Zhonliang runs away to Beijing where he joins a gang run by Biggie. In Beijing, Zhongliang plies his trade as a gigolo and blackmailer. When news reaches Beijing that the Pang family has passed on the reigns of the estate to a a woman, Ruyi (Gong Li), and a cousin, Duanwu (Kevin Lin), Biggie sends Zhongliang back to Shanghai to seduce Ruyi and take over the estate. As Zhongliang infiltrates his way back into the Pang family, his childhood passion for Ruyi is revived and he finds it near impossible to carry out his mission. According to Chen Kaige, ‘Temptress moon’ can be seen as pure psychological drama, a film on male domination and hierarchy in China at that time, or as the story of a girl becoming a woman. But what mattered to the director was to produce a film on contemporary China, in spite of the historical setting. The film encountered many obstructions from the Chinese authorities due to its matter-of-fact depiction of sex and drug use and its barely masked reference to current political issues. In Mandarin with English subtitles.