An elderly lawyer reflects on his past while dealing with three mothers facing different family conflicts
Story Structure — 3 Plot Phases
War and Memory
Young Binghan's experience during the Chinese Civil War and his eventual exile to Taiwan shapes his perspective as an elderly lawyer.
Key Events
Civil War Exodus — Young Binghan flees to Taiwan with Nationalists Characters: Young Binghan, BinghanLocation: Mainland China
Legal Career — Elderly Binghan works as a lawyer Characters: Binghan, Shuyuan, PeiyiLocation: Law Office
Legal Battles
Binghan takes on three challenging cases involving mothers facing different family conflicts, revealing societal issues.
Key Events
Legal Career — Elderly Binghan works as a lawyer Characters: Binghan, Shuyuan, PeiyiLocation: Law Office
Hong's Case — Binghan represents Hong in her son's violence case Characters: Binghan, Hong, FeihuaLocation: Courtroom
Family Violence — Feihua exhibits violent behavior toward mother Characters: Hong, FeihuaLocation: Home
Meien's Struggle — Binghan represents Meien in family dispute Characters: Binghan, Meien, Jinda, JiluLocation: Village
Indigenous Rejection — Meien faces rejection from father-in-law Characters: Meien, Jinda, JiluLocation: Family Home
Xie's Depression — Binghan helps depressed Xie with family problems Characters: Binghan, XieLocation: Elegant Home
Personal Reflection
As Binghan deals with these cases, he reflects on his past and questions whether the war's effects have truly ended.
Key Events
War Reflection — Binghan reflects on war's lasting impact Characters: BinghanLocation: Personal Space
Three Mothers — Binghan contemplates the three mothers' stories Characters: Binghan, Hong, Meien, XieLocation: Legal Office
Story Breakdown
Historical Background — Binghan's experience during Chinese Civil War
Civil War Exodus — Forced to flee to Taiwan as a child
Mother's Influence — Following mother's orders during exile
Legal Cases — Three challenging cases involving mothers
Hong's Case — Mother tolerating son's violent behavior
Meien's Case — Indigenous woman facing rejection
Xie's Case — Elegant mother hiding depression
Personal Reflection — Binghan's contemplation on war's lasting impact
War's Legacy — Questioning if war really ended
Three Mothers Connection — Finding parallels in mothers' stories
At age 12, in the twilight of the Chinese Civil War, GAO Bing-han followed the Nationalist government in their exodus to Taiwan under his mother’s orders. Now, in his 80s and a lawyer, GAO encounters three mothers in his work. The first is HONG, who tolerates her son’s violence. The second is JIANG, an indigenous woman who isn’t accepted by her father-in-law. And the last one is XIE, who seems elegant on the surface but is greatly depressed due to her family problems. In the midst of dealing with the conflicts of these three, GAO can’t help but sigh: “Did the war really end?”
