A Chinese Ghost Story IV 2011

Fantasy

Action

Box Office

$3.2M

Runtime

100 mins

Language

Cantonese

Directed by

Wilson Yip

Made by

Golden Sun Films

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A Chinese Ghost Story IV Plot Summary

Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for A Chinese Ghost Story IV (2011). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.

Ning Choi-San, a timid debt collector, travels to a rural town to collect taxes but quickly finds himself short on funds. With nowhere else to turn, he takes shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the town’s edge. That night, he meets a beautiful and alluring young woman, Nip Siu-sin, and he falls in love.

In the morning, as he recalls the night’s events, fear and superstition take hold after a Taoist priest warns him that the people he saw in the temple are ghosts. That night, he returns and confirms Nip is a ghost.

Nip explains that she is trapped by a sinister Tree Demoness. As long as her remains lie at the foot of the tree, her spirit is enslaved. Desperate to free her, Ning seeks help from Yin Chik-ha. Yin battles the Tree Demoness and tries to release Nip’s soul but fails. As punishment for betraying her master, Nip’s soul is banished to the Underworld.

Ning refuses to give up and insists that Yin help him. Yin reluctantly opens a temporary portal into the Underworld and brings Ning along to search for Nip. The Underworld is crowded with spirits, making the search difficult, but they finally glimpse Nip briefly near dawn as they manage to return to the world above.

When sunlight falls on the urn containing Nip’s cremated remains, Ning shields it with a curtain to prevent Nip’s soul from being destroyed by sunlight. Before leaving for good, Nip tells him that the only way to save her soul is to rebury her remains at a more auspicious burial site. Following Yin’s advice, Ning buries her remains near the crest of a hill, lights a joss stick, and prays for Nip’s soul as Yin watches solemnly.

The story closes with Ning and Yin riding off toward new adventures, a rainbow arching across the sky.

A Chinese Ghost Story IV Timeline

Follow the complete movie timeline of A Chinese Ghost Story IV (2011) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.

Ning arrives in the rural town

Ning Choi-San travels to a rural town to collect taxes but finds himself short of funds. With nowhere else to turn, he seeks shelter in a deserted temple in the forest at the town's edge. The temple becomes the unlikely stage for the film's haunting events.

Daytime Forest-edge temple, rural town

Ning meets Nip in the temple

That night, in the candle-lit temple, he meets Nip Siu-sin, a beautiful and alluring young woman. He instantly falls in love with her, drawn by her charm and mystery.

Night Deserted temple in the forest on the town's edge

Priest warns of ghosts

In the morning, Ning recalls the night with growing fear after a Taoist priest warns that the figures he saw in the temple might be ghosts. The warning unsettles him and casts doubt on what really happened.

Morning Temple vicinity

Ning confirms Nip is a ghost

That night, he returns to the temple and confirms Nip is indeed a ghost. The revelation sets him on a desperate quest to save her.

Night Temple

Nip's imprisonment by Tree Demoness

Nip explains she is trapped by a sinister Tree Demoness, and as long as her remains lie at the foot of the tree, her spirit is enslaved. Ning learns that freeing Nip requires breaking this dangerous bond.

Night Forest near the temple, at the foot of the tree

Ning seeks help from Yin Chik-ha

Desperate to help, Ning seeks the aid of Yin Chik-ha, a figure versed in occult matters. He travels to find Yin and pleads for assistance in freeing Nip's soul.

After Nip's revelation Yin Chik-ha's locale

Yin battles the Tree Demoness

Yin Chik-ha confronts the Tree Demoness and fights to release Nip's tethered soul. Despite his efforts, the demoness overpowers him and Nip remains trapped.

Night Tree clearing near the temple

Nip's soul banished to the Underworld

As punishment for betraying her master, Nip's soul is banished to the Underworld. The loss strengthens Ning's resolve to find a way to reach her.

After the failed attempt Underworld

Portal to the Underworld opens

Ning refuses to give up and insists that Yin help him. Yin reluctantly opens a temporary portal into the Underworld and brings Ning along to search for Nip.

Night Underworld portal

They glimpse Nip at dawn

The Underworld is crowded with spirits, making the search difficult, but they finally glimpse Nip briefly near dawn as they manage to return to the world above.

Dawn Underworld and surface

Nip's cremated remains threatened by sunlight

Back in the world above, sunlight falls on the urn containing Nip's cremated remains, and Ning shields it with a curtain to prevent Nip's soul from being destroyed by the light.

Daytime Urn site / cremation shrine

Nip's instruction to rebury at auspicious site

Before leaving for good, Nip tells him that the only way to save her soul is to rebury her remains at a more auspicious burial site. Ning vows to find a proper site and do what it takes.

Auspicious burial site (to be chosen) / hilltop

Ning reburies Nip's remains

Ning follows Yin's advice and buries Nip's remains near the crest of a hill, lights a joss stick, and prays for Nip's soul as Yin watches solemnly. The act marks a turning point in her redemption.

Evening Hillcrest burial site

Ning and Yin depart toward new adventures

The story closes with Ning and Yin riding off toward new adventures. A rainbow arches across the sky, symbolizing hope for Nip and their future.

Ending Road leaving the hill / town

A Chinese Ghost Story IV Characters

Explore all characters from A Chinese Ghost Story IV (2011). Get detailed profiles with their roles, arcs, and key relationships explained.

Ning Choi-San (Yu Shaoqun)

A timid debt collector who travels to a rural town to collect taxes but ends up stranded with little money. He falls in love with Nip Siu-sin and becomes determined to free her soul, risking danger and social disapproval in pursuit of true love.

🧭 Persistent 💼 Debt collector 💕 Romantic

Nip Siu-sin (Liu Yifei)

A beautiful young woman who is revealed to be a ghost trapped by a Tree Demoness. Her remains anchor her spirit to the world; Ning's love and the plan to rebury her remains become the path to her salvation.

👻 Ghost 😇 Trapped soul ✨ Ethereal beauty

Yin Chik-ha

A Taoist priest who warns Ning about the spirits and guides him to attempt a dangerous portal into the Underworld. He is cautious and reluctant, but ultimately helps confront the supernatural crisis to save Nip.

🗝️ Mentor 🪄 Magic 🕊️ Guidance

A Chinese Ghost Story IV Settings

Learn where and when A Chinese Ghost Story IV (2011) takes place. Explore the film’s settings, era, and how they shape the narrative.

Time period

Set in a mythic past, the world blends rural life with ancient folklore rather than a precise year. The tale uses traditional Chinese ghost-story motifs—debt, temple spirits, and demon lore—to anchor its time frame in legend. This timeless, folkloric setting heightens the dreamlike mood of Ning's quest.

Location

Rural town, Deserted forest temple on the town's edge, Underworld

Set in a quiet rural town at the forest edge, its atmosphere blends everyday life with superstition. A deserted temple in the woods serves as the gateway to the supernatural, concealing Nip's ghostly presence. The Underworld scenes extend the setting beyond the village, offering a crowded realm of spirits that looms over the town.

🏞️ Rural town 🌲 Forest temple 🌌 Underworld

A Chinese Ghost Story IV Themes

Discover the main themes in A Chinese Ghost Story IV (2011). Analyze the deeper meanings, emotional layers, and social commentary behind the film.

💖

Romance

Ning Choi-San's growing love for Nip Siu-sin drives the entire story. The romance defies death as a living man and a ghost attempt to bridge worlds. Ning's commitment to Nip motivates risky choices, including seeking help from a Taoist priest and venturing toward the Underworld. The theme shows how love can persevere beyond fear and social boundaries.

🕯️

Sacrifice

Nip's spirit is bound to a Tree Demoness, demanding a perilous plan to free her. Ning and Yin Chik-ha undertake a dangerous journey into the Underworld, risking their safety and fates. The act of reburying Nip's remains at an auspicious site becomes the key to saving her soul. Sacrifice drives the plot as courage and hope are paid in full.

🌌

Supernatural

The story weaves a dense web of spirits, demons, and portals between realms. Tree Demoness, the Underworld, and fleeting glimpses of Nip's ghost create a liminal space that challenges the living to confront folklore. A temporary portal allows mortals to cross into a crowded afterlife, revealing a larger mythic universe beyond the town. The rainbow at the end hints at new possibilities across worlds.

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A Chinese Ghost Story IV Spoiler-Free Summary

Discover the spoiler-free summary of A Chinese Ghost Story IV (2011). Get a concise overview without any spoilers.

In the remote reaches of the Black Mountain Village, a parched land clings to legends of cursed cliffs and restless spirits. The villagers whisper of a forgotten pathway that leads to a hidden spring, a promise of relief that has drawn outsiders for generations. The mist‑shrouded forest that guards the mountain feels alive, its ancient trees looming like silent sentinels, and the very air seems to hum with an uneasy mix of hope and foreboding.

Ling Choi Sin, a disciplined government official, arrives with a contingent of volunteers, tasked with the pragmatic yet perilous quest for water. Though his official bearing suggests confidence, there is an undercurrent of doubt in his eyes, hinting at a man who must reconcile duty with the strange mysteries that linger on the mountain’s slopes. As the group presses upward, the landscape reveals its hidden layers—subtle signs of otherworldly presence that hint at a world just beyond ordinary perception.

Amid the winding paths, the ethereal Siu Sin appears, a strikingly beautiful maiden whose aura feels both warm and otherworldly. Her arrival stirs more than admiration; it creates a delicate tension with the stoic Yan Chek Ha, a seasoned demon‑hunter whose pragmatic approach to the supernatural clashes with Ling’s sense of responsibility. Their interactions spark a quiet rivalry, each drawn to the mysterious woman while confronting the unsettling reality that something far older and darker watches their every move.

The tone of the tale balances gothic romance with a foreboding horror, painting the mountain as a character in its own right—its cliffs echoing with ancient curses, its shadows hiding the legendary Tree Demon and a solitary one‑armed hunter. Together, these three protagonists must navigate the thin line between duty and desire, all while the unseen forces of the mountain test their resolve, promising a journey where love, fear, and the supernatural intertwine.