莲花公主

This fine arts film is an ink-wash animation adapted from the story of the same name in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," with screenplay by Hu Yihong and art design by Xu Lele. In a dream, scholar Dou Xu is invited to a banquet by the queen for his noble character. At the feast, he impresses the queen by pairing her couplet "A talented person ascends to the noble mansion" with his own "A gentleman loves the lotus flower," thus meeting Princess Lotus and marrying her. Later, when Princess Lotus is attacked by a giant demon and Dou Xu finds himself powerless to protect her, he is abruptly awakened by the cries of his page. He discovers a venomous snake coiled on the neighboring beehive. After killing the snake and securing the beehive, Dou Xu watches the bees regain their joy, feeling both relieved and wistful.