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Imagine that you are rewriting “Regret for the Past” from a female perspective. How would you do it？

· Work in groups.15-20 minutes for discussion，and 3-5 minutes for each group to share.

· Explore Zijun's first-person perspective，imagining what obstacles she might encounter after leaving Jansheng and how she would overcome temptationsor be powerless to resist them.

· You may think about why does Zijun die, and what new thoughts does she have about love after her breakup with Jansheng, and how will this thought relate to her death.

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Group 2: Sitara Parks, Huang Bingjing, Hu Zhuochen, Alexis Jade Martin

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Group 2: Sitara Parks, Huang Bingjing, Hu Zhuochen, Alexis Jade Martin

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Leaving my home with Chuan sheng (initial regret)

As I closed the door to my room with Chuan sheng, the memories of our life together overwhelmed me. I felt lost in all the time we shared together, the love that had felt so full and wonderful. Every moment was becoming dark and cold, and I felt all of my joy fracturing into regret. It was baffling, how such golden memories could tarnish so irreparably. The door clicked closed, and the regret settled deep in my bones.

On the way back with father: blaming herself

On the way back, I can’t help but to recall the good and bad times with Chuansheng - which are all gone now. Who was the courageous young lady who said “I am my own mistress?”. She is a complete stranger to me now. How was I so blinded by my love for Chuansheng that made me abandon everything for him just to get abandoned by him now?

Reached home: strict regulations

Despite the uncomfortable silence with my father during our travels, I came to appreciate the company. Now as I sit by myself, a lack of company and loneliness has only left me with only the option to remember the past. I am unsure whether I harbor more ill feelings towards the man I loved so dearly, or the restrictions that made this miserable ending inevitable. I am no stranger to the traditional customs set forth for women that are often restrictive, and yet the chance to love freely made the risk valuable. Is it fair to be frustrated with the man who was also suppressed under the same circumstances as I?

Before she died:

Upon leaving him, I did not know what to believe in. I tried my best to challenge all the social expectations, the pressure that have been brought to me, because I loved him.

I thought that love could enable us to overcome everything. It might be true at that moment, but I neglected that love will disappear, and everything seemed empty.

Review by Yin Nuo：

Very good! Your portrayal of Zijun's mental activity is subtle and has a clear structure as you layer in different scenes. You guys realised that for Zi Jun, financial problems might not be the real cause of their breakup. Free love is just the beginning, and there are many intimacy-related issues awaiting the lovers afterwards. It's just that the constraints of society make it so necessary for many people to spend all their energy just to maintain a free love relationship that they forget to think about what they're going to do after that. Thank you so much for your successful rewrite.

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Shen Chenzi, Han Yizhan, Ala Krasowska, Keer Li （Group3）

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Shen Chenzi, Han Yizhan, Ala Krasowska, Keer Li （Group3）

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I can feel that I am vulgarized. Before living together, in our relationship we talked about romanticism, the great writers from the western, and revolutionary idealism. Yet see what I am dealing with now? The housekeeping staff all day. I am leaving, but I'll leave all I have to Juansheng so that he could survive without me.

When he stood on his knees and asked my permission, I thought I should feel the happiness of hearing the romantic expression, in this new and free way. However I feel the shame, the shame I have always hated. It reflects that inner part of me: the part that’s rooted with the old, traditional family structure. I tried to suppress it, as I convinced myself to believe I am living towards a new life, with my lover.

I was so tired. Tired of constantly feeling alone and tired of the burden of only being his support.

I reached out to Father, humbled by the failure of my relationship, asking to be taken back to the family.

But even that didn’t heal my broken heart. The broken pride. Who am I, but a housewife or a daughter? Do I not have any other role, or was I only made to serve others?

I refuse to keep on living this life of

The feelings are clear, my lover has changed. He did not love me as I love him, and he admitted that! What is the meaning of this relationship with love dying and only me devoted to the illusion?

"​​I'm my own mistress. None of them has any right to interfere with me." I recalled my words.

I will leave the house as an independent person.

Review by Yin Nuo：

Very well done! "Vulgarisation" is an interesting entry point. It means that your group tries to analyse Zijun's perspective as someone with high ideals of character. She doesn't want to be bound by traditional ethics and spend the rest of her life as a housewife. Instead, their breakup stems from the fact that she no longer feels this nobility in love. Very good perspective. It's worth thinking about why Zijun puts up with the drudgery of housework, cooking, etc. at the beginning of the relationship？

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Group 4 - Zi Xuan, Lilian, Saumya, Natalie

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Group 4 - Zi Xuan, Lilian, Saumya, Natalie

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Their forbidden romance steered them away from their social relationships - people around them judged and talked them.

She felt like she gave up everything for nothing. She stayed at home all day and became a housewife, had to get rid of her animals, and then gets broken up with.

She could have blamed herself as to why the relationship fell apart which led to her feeling lonely and committing suicide.

There is a stark contrast between their relationship before and after living together. In the beginning of their relationship, there was more time for romance, leisure, and intellectual activity. When they move in together she becomes burdened with the dull responsibility of homemaking and the financial stress of his unstable career.

We also feel that after she left, she would have faced more judgement and stigma from others than the guy.

Review by Yin Nuo：

Thanks to your group for the perspective, it was great. Your group has taken Zijun's perspective and realised the price she has to bear in this FORBIDDEN ROMANCE. Not just the sweat she puts into her chores, but also the comments of others, including after the breakup. One can only imagine the ridicule of those who were already unfavourable to them when the relationship failed. Zijun is brave, kind and responsible, though. The concept of free love, which seems so normal nowadays, faced many difficulties at the beginning of its birth. It was the result of the efforts and tears of many people.

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Group5：Chen Linxin, Yong Yew Han Daniel, Perkins Sydney Lee, Christina 

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Group5：Chen Linxin, Yong Yew Han Daniel, Perkins Sydney Lee, Christina 

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if they break up for financial reasons, her financial situation would get worse, so she's upset

she still loves him and lies about leaving

her subjectivity: she was always inside and she was reliant on him

leaving of her becomes an impossibility bc without him, he can't do much

she leaves to kill herself

shes an intellectual, but she had to stay home

balance female intellectualism with housewife

Pov: After they break up, she feels lost because she has lost the sense of self she built around him and the house.

POV: She goes back home and then kills herself

Pov: her loss of intellectualism is based in depression from isolation and lack of autonomy

Pov: she idolized him and she is conscious of the unequal dynamic

POV: she resents him because he promised freedom but then just isolates her

Pov: shes upset that her lover leaves her but also a betrayal of someone she probably looks up to him, intellectually and moraly.

Review by Yin Nuo：

WOW, you guys thought very carefully about my question right and thank you very much for your response. And, you guys have heartily provided very many possibilities about why Zijun committed suicide, what she was thinking after the breakup, etc.I think the best bit is this one: "hes upset that her lover leaves her but also a betrayal of someone she probably looks up to him, intellectually and moraly. " because for Zijun, her boyfriend is not just a lover, but also implies some kind of new age ideal, a new idea of love. Her boyfriend's betrayal might cause her previous beliefs to be shaken. She would be sceptical of the new ideas, but unable to identify with the old ethics. She is in a dilemma between the two and can't find her place to live. Living between the cracks is perhaps the biggest problem she has to face.