In the beginning of the film, the bowl hold no special meaning, it is common among the other bowls. But when the teacher comes to the village and helps to start building the school, Zhao uses this bowl to make her dish stand out, so that he will recognize the food and dish as hers. Initially he does not recognize the bowl when she points it to him, every time after he eats out of her bowl. This is symbolizes the strong bond that the two begin to create. However, this bowl goes through a lot.
When the teacher leaves after being called back to the city by the government, Zhao makes a dish for him in the bowl for him to take with him. He leaves before she can give it to him, and she runs after them on foot through the hills to deliver the dish. However, she trips and bowl is cracked in many pieces. This represents both Zhao's heart at that point in her life, and the state of her relationship with the teacher. She is heart broken and devastated, and the state of their relationship seems broken and fragmented. There is hope, however.
Zhao's mother takes the bowl to be repaired for her, since Zhao has become deathly ill and has become filled with despair since the teacher's departure. Even the bowl repairman comments how it might be worth more her time to get a new bowl instead of repairing this one, but the mother understands how much the bowl means to Zhao. The bowl being repaired symbolizes the effort needs and required to keep relationships alive, and that at times it is more worth it to repair something that may be damaged or seem hopeless than to move on.
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