The affair begins with a stolen glance, escalates to a fumbling kiss in the greenhouse, and culminates in a scene of intimacy that, while tame by Western standards, was radical for mainland China in 2007. The "2007" timestamp is crucial here. This was an era before the explosion of LGBTQ+ content on streaming platforms. Brokeback Mountain was banned in mainland theaters. The internet was slow, censored, and decentralized. Releasing "Chu Que Wu Shan" in 2007 was an act of guerrilla filmmaking. The film was not given a Mainland theatrical release due to the strict prohibition of depicting "homosexual behavior" in a positive or neutral light. Instead, the film traveled the festival circuit (Pusan International Film Festival, 2006, before landing in Europe in 2007).
Critics, particularly in the Chinese underground, argue that the film relies too heavily on the "tragic lesbian trope." Without spoiling the ending, the film adheres to the classic censorship requirement: deviant love must be punished. The male figure (the botanist/father) ultimately exerts a tragic, patriarchal control over the narrative. Furthermore, some argue that the explicit scenes were included primarily to attract international festival buyers, a common criticism of early Chinese Queer cinema. The Soundtrack: The Forgotten Hero No article on this film is complete without mentioning the score. The haunting erhu and piano interspersed through "Chu Que Wu Shan" evoke a sense of wabi-sabi —a beautiful melancholy. Unlike modern Chinese dramas that use pop songs, the 2007 film uses ambient silence, the sound of rain hitting banana leaves, and the rustle of silk. This auditory minimalism forces the viewer to lean in, to listen to the whispers, mimicking the secrecy of the romance itself. Legacy: The "Mulan" of Modern Queer Cinema Why does the search term persist in 2024 and 2025? Because "Chu Que Wu Shan 2007" has become a historical marker. For a generation of Chinese queer women (Lesbians and Lalas ), this film was their first mirror .
For those searching for the term "Chu Que Wu Shan 2007," you are likely looking for more than just a film review. You are looking for an artifact—a piece of Queer cinema history that navigated the narrow straits between poetic allegory and explicit desire in contemporary China. This article dives deep into the film’s origins, its poetic title, its narrative complexity, and why, nearly two decades later, it remains a whispered legend. Before analyzing the plot, one must understand the weight of the title. "Chu Que Wu Shan" (除却巫山) is a cultural shorthand derived from a famous Tang Dynasty poem by Yuan Zhen: "Having witnessed the vast sea, no water is worthy of praise; Having crossed the peak of Wu Mountain, no cloud is worth seeing." (曾经沧海难为水，除却巫山不是云). chu que wu shan 2007
For Chinese audiences, the keyword "Chu Que Wu Shan 2007" became a digital passphrase. It was spread via burned DVDs sold under the counter and low-resolution torrents with badly translated English subtitles.
Fans argue that the film is a masterclass in "soft imagery." Director Li Yu uses water, rain, and plant sap as fluids of love rather than explicit nudity. The famous "boat scene" where the two women drift down a river shrouded in mist is a direct visual translation of the poem's "Wu Mountain clouds." It is art-house lesbian cinema. The affair begins with a stolen glance, escalates
Does the film hold up today compared to glossy K-dramas like Nevertheless or Thai GL series Gap ? Technically, no. The sound mixing is poor, the pacing is glacial, and the ending is a gut-punch of sorrow. But emotionally, "Chu Que Wu Shan" transcends its flaws. It remains the cloud above Wu Mountain—rare, unreachable by mainstream standards, and unforgettable for those who have witnessed it.
The implication is profound: After experiencing the ultimate, nothing else compares. By using this phrase for a 2007 film about a lesbian relationship, the director immediately elevates the romance from a "taboo affair" to a classical, tragic, and epic love. The "Wu Mountain" of the title becomes the female body; the clouds become the fleeting moments of intimacy. The film argues that this love, though socially invisible, is the standard by which all other loves should be judged. Directed by Li Yu (a female director known for her raw, naturalistic style, though she has since distanced herself from some of the more sensational marketing of this film), Chu Que Wu Shan (internationally known as The Chinese Botanist's Daughters ) is set in a lush, isolated botanical garden in late 20th-century China. Brokeback Mountain was banned in mainland theaters
In the landscape of Chinese cinema, love stories are often subject to the unspoken rules of the "frame"—what can be shown, what must be implied, and what is forbidden entirely. Yet, every few years, a film emerges that bypasses the gatekeepers not through rebellion, but through the sheer, aching humanity of its characters. "Chu Que Wu Shan" (除却巫山) , which gained its cult following in 2007, is precisely that anomaly.