In different stories of ZHANG Yi-mou, similar characters with different status are portrayed in different ways and styles which provides characters in his films all carry a symbolic feature.

张艺谋在不同的电影作品中，用不同的方式、不同的风格，塑造了不同身份但性格相似或相近的人物形象，使人物形象具有符号性和象征性。