[1][2] The title refers to the solar term in the traditional calendars of China and Korea.

Grain in Ear was filmed in a small industrial town, an area 45 minutes' drive away from Beijing, yet just on the edge of farmland.

"[4] Grain in Ear examines the interplay of sex, economics, social class and race in a newly industrialized Chinese provincial backwater.

Korean Chinese are one of the recognized ethnic minorities in China, comprising about 2.7 million citizens.

Zhang, in his brutal focus on the challenges of assimilation for his native ethnic group, explains that "his film is essentially anti-terrorist.