White deer plain is originally a novel written by the renowned Chinese writer Chen Zhongshi. The cinematographic version adapted from the book, in fact, is an excerpt due to some sensitive contents that may face censorship for its publication in Chinese mainland. The film tells the story of families living on the plain in Shaanxi Province, also home to author of the book. Half a century has seen them through the vicissitudes of the newly-born China. The ups and downs of the family is also a miniature of the whole nation; the destiny of every personage represents the suffering of ordinary people in a tumultuous era.