In the early period of China's War of Liberation the Yan'an Nursey which housed the children of the revolutionary fighters had to be evacuated. Li Nan, an army instructor, guides the group of children to the liberated area in the Taihang Mountains and their parents. Made to mark International Children's Year.

Ten years before the outbreak of the Second World War in Asia, a Japanese Go master and his Chinese rival meet in China to play a game of Go (loosely described as an Asian version of chess). It soon becomes evident that the Chinese master's son is the most talented player that the Japanese master has ever encountered, and he convinces the boy's father to let him bring the child back to Japan to train him as a professional Go player. Years pass, and as the young Chinese master grows to maturity in Japan, the Japanese invasion of China forces him to choose between his triumphant career and his loyalty to his native country. His decision is complicated by his marriage to the daughter of the Japanese master, with whom he has produced a child. His choice will profoundly alter the lives of two families. Their saga serves as a reflection of the tragic relations between their two great countries, and the possibility of reconciliation and healing.

With World War II looming, a prominent family in China must confront the contrasting ideas of traditionalism, communism and Western thinking, while dealing with the most important ideal of all: love and its meaning in society.

During the Soong Dynasty, a beautiful woman named Liu is searching for a husband, but is unable to find one until she hears the avant-garde poetry of Chen. Soon the two are married and Chen discovers that his new bride is violently temperamental and insanely jealous, who limits his activities and lifestyle. When a princess falls in love with the poet and the Emperor decrees that Chen must take the princess in as a second-wife. The love between Liu and Chen is put to the test.