Gu Qing, a soldier from the propaganda department of the CCP Eight Route Army in CCP-controlled Shaanxi, travels alone from Yan'an to the northern KMT-controlled area of Shaanxi, Shanbei, with the task of collecting the peasants' folk songs in order to re-write them with communist lyrics in order to boost the morale of the Eight Route Army soldiers. Yellow Earth begins with a scene depicting a communist soldier walking several miles. He reaches a small village where he is assigned to live with a poor family with the task of recording local folk songs for use in the army later. He learns the hardships of peasant life and especially of that of a peasant girl named Cuiqiao. The story then focuses on the girl, who at only age 14 is forced to marry a significantly older man as her wedding dowry was used to pay for her mother's funeral and brother's engagement. The Communist soldier "Brother Gu" attempts to dissuade Cuiqiao from running off and joining the CCP, but recognizes her despair. After her marriage, Cuiqiao crosses the Yellow River at night, and her drowning is implied. The story then fast forwards to a rain dance being performed by the villagers, as the land has dried up and peoples' crops have died.
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