The marriage of Shen and Du, from union (contract) to breakdown (national feud), to secret "cooperation" (intelligence) and the final separation of life and death, each step of the transition is closely aligned with the major historical nodes of the Republic of China (Northern Expedition, September 18th, Battle of Songhu, Fall of Shanghai, victory in the Anti-Japanese War, and the War of Liberation). Their love, hatred, struggle for survival, and personal choices are all the epitome of the fate of countless individuals in that era of broken mountains and rivers and national peril. The hidden volume of the Taipei National Palace Museum scene extends the personal tragedy to the long historical river that separates the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, giving it a deeper echo of the times.
