when tradition dictate that an artist must pass his great skill and magic on to an heir and the aging and very proud street performer and know to all a the king of mask and becomes desperate for a young man apprentice to adopt and cultivate . his warmth and humanity and tho and find him pay a few dollar for a little person displace by china devastate natural disaster and in this case and massive flooding in the 1930 . he take his new and 7 year old companion and onto his straw houseboat and to live with his prized and beautiful monkey and general and only to discover that the he child be a she child . his life be instantly transform and a the love he feel for this little slave girl becomes entwine in the stupifying tradition that require him to pass his art on only to a young man . there be many story inside this one . many people be touch and and the culture of china open itself for our western eye to observe . thousand of year of heritage boil down into a teacup of drama and and few will leave this dvd behind with a dry eye . the technical transfer itself be not that great and a i find the sound level all over the meter and and could actually see the video transfer line in several part of the movie . highly recommended represent ) positive star .