What is the significance of the ending of "The Barren City"?

The profound meaning of the ending of The Story of the Wasted Capital is the strongest attack and satire on the national inferiority and the people's insensitivity.

Several gunshots exposed the cruelty of the villagers. They regard the corrupt food director as a "great" existence, and regard helpless women as sacrifices in exchange for benefits. They were born in a deserted city, died in a deserted city and lived in a huge cave all their lives. Living is their goal. This place, which always shouts "propriety, justice and honesty", actually reveals that there is no propriety, justice and honesty.

This sense of ugliness and absurdity reached its peak in the scene where Li Yilian was burned to death. The villagers wore masks with blue faces and fangs and danced around the fire. In the fire, young and beautiful life is dying, but no one cares. This is a kind of sacrifice, taking beauty as a sacrifice, just making the absurd dream of desire burn longer.

But in the end, the farce was told that everything Chang Bao and the patriarch did was doomed to be in vain. The more illusory, the more ridiculous their plot is; The more meaningless it is, the more it can reflect the greed and ignorance of the villagers.

This sharp irony, like the back of a knife just sharpened in a clear sky, is about to stab into the flesh. The death of Li Yilian is the most powerful attack on the national inferiority and people's insensitivity in the film, and this attack is presented in the form of "tragicomedy". It's ridiculous because it's ridiculous, but there is blood and tears in the smile.