Yellow Earth () is a 1984 Chinese drama film. It was the directorial debut for Chen Kaige. The film's notable cinematography is by Zhang Yimou. At the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony on 27 March, 2005, a list of 100 Best Chinese Motion Pictures was tallied, and Yellow Earth came in fourth.Unknown. "Hong Kong Film Awards to celebrate Chinese cinema", China Daily, 2004-12-12. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.

Plot

Yellow Earth begins with showing 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 Cui Qiao. The story then focues 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" eventually indoctrinates the girl into foolishly trying to desert her family to join the army. After her marriage, she crosses the Yellow River at night but fails and drowns. The story then fast forwards to a rain dance being performed by the villagers, as the land has dried up and people's crops have died.