海大鱼 [Enormous Legendary Fish] (2020)

 Last year I was able to watch one of China's best animated films 大鱼海棠 which is based on the classic 山海经. A few weeks ago I chanced upon 海大鱼 on Youtube and I don't know if I should be happy because I am at least not disturbed, unlike after watching 大鱼海棠. Anyway these days I watch light movies to relax because work has become too much and I have to divide my time well between my full time job and chores, and also my me time playing one of the hottest otome games on Google Play... in four servers! 

I'll make this brief so I can watch an interesting online lecture I found earlier. 海大鱼 has the folk belief or story 海神娶亲 (sea god gets a wife) as main backdrop. Ali is an orphan whose friend is an official. One day she is named as the next lady to be sent out to the sea as offering to the sea god. Her official friend betrays her but eventually tries to search for her. When Ali came to the sea palace, she sees her husband who has green hideous face, but keeps calm. They are suddenly attacked and Ali helps her husband remove one of the darts. (At this point I was thinking if this is Chinese version of Beauty and the Beast...) She eventually rescues a small fish who turns out to be a sea spirit. This sea spirit rescues Ali from drowning when she is attacked while taking a bath. (At this point, viewer should have the suspicion that sea spirit and husband is one and the same, or maybe I have been watching too many movies that surprises are very rare.) So to cut a long story short, husband and sea spirit turn out to be the same person. Ali's male friend dies. Husband has a super jealous wife who pretends to be Ali's servant and who is actually the one behind the attack on their wedding night. She also tries to kill Ali after realizing her husband is already in love with her rival. Basically the wife and husband's stepmother are in connivance and are the ones who fabricated the idea that ladies should be sent to the sea god so that these wives can bear an heir and the two can dispose of the ladies. 

So while the movie ends happily with Ali preferring to stay in the sea palace with her love, there are unanswered questions. Why doesn't sea spirit love his wife? In ancient Chinese belief system, although men are allowed to have more than one wife, he is still expected to at least show respect to his wife. If sea spirit is a virtuous person he should never allow his wife to serve a new wife as that is humiliating her. And there is also the double persona question although I know I shouldn't be making a big deal out of it, but Ali is voluntarily in an extramarital affair with sea spirit. She is technically married to her hideous husband but she becomes pregnant with whom she thought is another man. So... morality wise, this movie seem  to deviate from the norms.

伏魔济公 (2020)

I recently watched a Chinese movie about Luohan (罗汉) or arhats following YT recommendations. These days YT recommends a lot of Chinese folklore inspired movies, especially tales about local/ lesser known immortals. 济公 is someone I know of since my childhood days. Because I was first educated in a Protestant school, and have been immersed in Christian traditions, I find 济公 a rather weird god because as my parents explain, he likes alcohol and meat despite being Buddhist and despite Buddhism's advocacy to not consume these two. But anyway, Chinese pantheon of gods is quite different from western traditions where there is very good boundaries between good and evil. In eastern beliefs, these two spheres are blurred and many gods, like Greek ones, cause harm to humans every now and then. They possess humanlike characteristics and behave pretty much like the humans who fabricated them.

伏魔济公 is about 降龙罗汉 who descends to the mortal realm and becomes a normal human being whose name is 李修缘, a happy go lucky guy from a well-to-do family who meets 柳絮, a female demon-slayer. He is destined to defeat the evil lord/ prevent the revival of 蟠螭 when the seven stars align so before his real powers awaken, the evil lord and his minions plan to take his life. During this time, 李修缘 meets friends and allies like 土地公, also a very familiar deity especially for Southern Chinese since we offer food to him every lunar month. One critical role is another Luohan's whose name is 伏虎. Now 伏虎 is much more popularly known as Maitreya Buddha, at least based on my experience, Maitreya seems to be the most well known of the arhats. (While watching this movie I think of my trip to a big temple in Ipoh, Malaysia where the 18 arhats are found. At that time I couldn't appreciate them because I know so little about Buddhist mythology, it being like the inspiration for the super confusing Marvel Universe IMHO lol). Back to the story: 伏虎 collects  降龙罗汉's power items, the calabash bottle, the fan, and his kasaya (袈裟) from three other deities who protect them, and even gets attacked by friends when he is mistaken for an impostor by 柳絮 and company. The kasaya, just to explain to those who do not know anything about the rich cultures of Asia, are Buddhist robes. 

When at first 李修缘 accepts his destiny as 降龙罗汉, self-doubts set in when 柳絮 gives her life to save him from the evil lord. 李修缘 cries in remorse saying he is just a normal person, that it is because of him being the 降龙罗汉 that his parents, villagers, and 柳絮 died. He runs away and comes back to the village he saved before, only without his power items. The village is attacked by demons and one woman is burned at the stakes because the villagers would not bring 李修缘 out after hiding him in one of the houses. The little girl cries for her burning mother and this triggers 降龙罗汉's memories of drinking tea with an old man. 降龙罗汉 comments on the tea being too strong and the old man replies that what you see/feel may not be real, a very Buddhist way of discerning truth and illusions. He comes to his senses and fights off the demons, then proceeds to stop the evil lord from reviving 蟠螭. It turns out that 柳絮 still lives and the evil lord holds her hostage to use her blood for the revival ritual.

Would I recommend this movie? Truth be told, this is poorly made. When villagers hear of impending demon attack, they "hurry" to leave but they are not scrambling. It's actually funny to see them move like there is no sense of urgency. The plot is very very cliche, a seemingly mortal man finding himself to be the savior against his wishes, and with a love interest to boot. The first part of the movie offers a lot of slapstick comedy with 李修缘 and his page out to get 柳絮, and also with 伏虎 negotiating with other deities to have the three power items. In particular, I like the exchange between 伏虎 and the wealth god who demands safekeeping fees in exchange for the kasaya because he is both a wealth god and a money-grubber. On the other hand, I like movies based on mythology stuff so this is one of those movies that can be a good introduction to Chinese folk beliefs.

Would I still watch movies of this kind? Hell yes, they will not be my priority. I still go for more meaningful and substantial movies, the kind with good cinematography, good story line, and very good acting,

武动乾坤：涅槃神石 [The Immortal Stone of Nirvana] (2020)

A week ago, a friend recommended an onmyouji film 晴雅集 starring Deng Lun. I knew Deng Lun from the latest remake of my favorite Chinese story 封神榜 although I decided to drop it because of bad acting on the part of other actors. Also, the actress who played Daji is not even pretty.

This week after doing a chain of chores, Youtube recommended 武动乾坤 and I followed. China has been making a lot of nice movies based on games and this one is not an exception. It tells the story of 林动 who as a child, saw how his father is done injustice by the reigning 雷 clan which holds a tournament (狩猎大会) and whoever wins is granted an audience to 雷豹. At that time, 林啸 and his partner 罗成 from 狂刀武馆 win the tournament but the partner is killed whereas 林啸 is greatly incapacitated and lost his powers after meeting 雷豹. 

Eight years passed and 林动 grows up. His family is ridiculed in his clan especially by his paternal uncle, for "betraying" 罗成. He meets a member of 狂刀武馆 named 吴云 who later on becomes his partner in the tournament alongside a female archer whose master 古影 serves in the court of 雷豹. But before that, 雷豹' son 雷霹, attacks 林动 and 罗成, telling them to fight each other and that whoever wins shall get the bag of 阳元石. 林动 tells 吴云 that his father is innocent and that the real enemy is the 雷 clan. After saying so, he jumps off the cliff and is presumed to be dead. He is miraculously saved by the stone he earlier mined and he is able to quickly learn martial arts to save the village from the tyranny of the 雷 clan and to clear his father's name. He reappears just when his younger sister 青檀 is attacking 吴云 and blaming him for her brother's death. 

林动 wins the tournament and kicks 吴云 aside in order to protect him from entering 雷豹's court. But what happened to his father almost happened to 林动  were it not for 古影 and 雷霹s betrayal. 雷霹 killed his father 雷豹 and assumes the throne. Meanwhile, his brother 雷力 is smitten by 青檀 and plans to take her as his wife. During the wedding ceremony, 雷霹 reveals his intention to absorb 青檀s ice power. 雷力 blocks the attack meant for 青檀 and it is such a big waste to not see his character develop further. It would have been nice if he will join forces with 林动 and 吴云, with he and 吴云 becoming rivals for 青檀's affection since there seems to be a part 2 of this movie. After 林动 beats 雷霹, that's it. We don't even know what happens to 古影 and his apprentice 

Above image reminds me of Naruto's Kurama, and he does look like a nine-tailed fox although 林动 calls him a rat (老鼠). He functions in pretty much the same way as Kurama and is the source of 林动 advanced power.

Might be watching more of these kind of movies.

28岁未成年 [Suddenly 17] (2016)

 So I guess I hit jackpot again after watching some crappy Chinese movies. 28岁未成年 does not have that typical Mainland China feel. It feels very modern, very trendy, and for a film about creativity, creative. The story is about a 28 year old woman who lives with her partner. She does everything for 茅亮 and he seems to have been taking her for granted, prioritizing work over 涼夏. While it is not 100% shown in the movie, it is hinted that there is something going on between him and his secretary. 涼夏 sees a commercial about chocolates and orders online.

涼夏 attends her best friend's wedding and she is given the bouquet of flowers intentionally to get her boyfriend to also propose to her. 茅亮 is surprised as he is put on the spot and right then and there announces that he is breaking up with her. 涼夏 runs away and drives off, the box of chocolates in her car and so she eats one piece. After some time, she turns into a different person. She realizes that when she eats the chocolates she goes back to her 17 year old self. 

涼夏's 17 year old self once takes the train and while in there sees a beautiful boy who attracts her attention that she draws him in her notebook using makeup. But suddenly the effect of the chocolate wears off and the present 涼夏 takes over again, leaving quickly because of her appearance. (17 year old her prefers short hair so she wears a wig, wears sexy outfit and tights, pretty much like goth girl style.) She accidentally leaves behind her notebook and it is picked up by the beautiful boy who posts about it on the internet with the intention of meeting the mysterious creative girl who drew him. This post becomes viral and attracts the attention of 茅亮's client. 茅亮 discovers that the artist is none other than his own girlfriend so he requests her to create designs for him. Desperate to bring back her boyfriend's love and attention, 涼夏 decides to bring back her 17 year old self to create the designs as the present she no longer practices her craft. The problem is that 17 year old her is not interested in going back because she wants to be with the cute boy after meeting up with him. She is eventually rejected because the boy wants to have sex with her and she is not yet ready. 

Eventually the two 涼夏 reconcile with each other and help each other achieve what the other desires. 涼夏 gains back her confidence when she suddenly becomes popular thanks to her 17 year old self's help. The 17 year old on the other hand, is so heartbroken that after chasing the cute boy before he travels off, she falls down and faints, and relinquishes control over 28 year old her. For the ending, 茅亮 is shown running naked in the streets and proposing to 涼夏, somewhat similar to what he did a decade ago to make 涼夏 agree to become his girlfriend.

This is a refreshing Chinese movie that talks about trendy and modern Chinese people's dreams and aspirations. We see here tall buildings, beautiful cars, party people, and gadgets. We also see the creativity that China somehow lacks in comparison to other advanced countries. It seems to offer an allegorical message to go back in time and find inspiration in China's very rich cultural traditions. Compared to PH, of course China has gone a long long way in just a short period of time whereas, hello PH, we've had the first LRT in Southeast Asia and now look how far we have fallen behind our neighbors. It's so heartbreaking.

And I discovered that 28岁未成年 actually has a TV series. Hmmmm.

大鱼海棠 [Big Fish and Begonia] (2016)

《北冥有鱼，其名为鲲，鲲之大不知其几千里也 。》

Above is the opening line in this Chinese animated film that reeks of Studio Ghibli influences, most in particular my favorite SG movie Spirited Away. The first time I knew of this is through a song 《大鱼》performed by 周深 and 郭沁, both having such fine delicate voice quality, the kind that refreshes the soul. It is a coming-of-age story about a girl named Chun who follows the typical hero (or maybe we should create a new trope which is the heroine) journey which changes her life forever.

Chun is friends with Qiu and early on one can already sense that even these two have entangled fates, because well, homophones for 春秋 (Spring and Autumn). Both are part of a community of magical beings. For instance, Chun has powers to grow vines and trees pretty much like Kurama of Yuyu Hakusho and Ueki of Law of Ueki. Qiu has the power to control wind, like Airbender Aang and Fuu of Recca no Honoo. LOL I just can't help but compare. There is also a fire user who reminds me of 哪吒, for whom I have grown a big obsession because of his role in 《封神榜》. 

Chun participates in a ritual wherein youngsters visit the human world in the form of red dolphins for seven days. After that, they will come back to their community. Chun's mother is worried because previously a girl was not able to return and so she reminds Chun never to interact with human beings. Chun spends most days happily swimming with other red dolphins in the sea. One night she is caught by a net from a big ship and calls our for help to which a boy responds who set her free. The boy drowns in the process leaving his little sister crying in the storm. Chun becomes guilty and seeks of a way to restore the boy back to life. She visits the SoulKeeper and makes a pact with him that in exchange for the boy's soul, she will lose half of her life. She is given the responsibility to care for the fish, which reminds me of the animated movie 《哪吒之魔童降世》wherein the spirit ball is given to a master to cultivate and this spirit ball becomes the young fire warrior 哪吒. Qiu suggests the name Kun for the fish in reference to the big fish in Chinese mythology, and quoting 《北冥有鱼，其名为鲲，鲲之大不知其几千里也 。》For a while, Chun is happy with Kun until things get out of hand and a calamity is starting to be felt in the community which according to old folks, is caused by a violation of sorts to the natural order of things. Qiu helps Chun in every way possible even though at the start he also almost caused harm to Kun, but seeing Chun's determined efforts to bring Kun back to life in the human world, he helps him and sacrifices himself as well in the end, giving his own life in order that Chun will not die when she releases Kun in the human world. Qiu is also responsible for opening the portal to the human world so that the two can escape. In the destructive flood and chaos that ensue, the Mouse Keeper takes advantage of the open portal to go to the human world. Meanwhile, seeing her community in distress, Chun sacrifices her own life and merges herself with her grandfather who has now become a begonia tree "after death" to help the people to safety. After the chaos, Chun sets Kun free and at this moment, Qiu casts a spell given to him by the SoulKeeper so that he will burn away and in return, Chun will not die. He grabs Chun and they both jump off the cliff telling his friend that they will meet again (Spirited Away feels again). In the end, Kun is transformed back to his original form. He is seen washed ashore together with Chun. Qiu on the other hand, is revived to become the SoulKeeper's successor.

《上古有大椿者，以八千岁为春，八千岁为秋。》

Above confirms the relationship between Chun and Qiu, that they indeed have entangled fates.Why do I have the feeling that there will be a part 2 of this movie? 

In 1:00:30, Qiu tells a barman that he wants to forget something but can't seem to be successful in doing so. The barman tells him, it's no use to try to forget because to really forget something, one does not need to put in effort. 

Qiu: It's painful

Barman: Sometimes to feel pain is a good thing.

Qiu: Is there something I can take to ease the pain?

Barman: I have this what humans call 孟婆汤 which can make you forget all your painful and beautiful memories.

Qiu instead asks for a jar of wine.

Note: The 孟婆汤 in Chinese mythology allows one to forget everything when drunk. It can very well be the inspiration for Andy Lau's 忘情水. 

This is one animated film I will most probably watch over and over again. I wish China makes more animated movies of this kind. I've seen a few China-made animated films and so far everything has surprised me and exceeded my expectations, like the 2017 小门神 and last year's 哪吒之魔童降世. I am also looking forward to watching 白蛇缘起 next. Honestly, I want China to really develop an excellent animation industry because of the very very good materials that Chinese culture has. The four classics have been made into different film and TV series versions. And we're not yet talking about the ultra cool 封神榜 and 蒲松龄's 聊斋志异. As a huge fan of fantasy and having known some of these Chinese tales as a child, I have always relied on Japanese anime to adapt them and turn them into visual spectacles. Now is the time that finally China takes its soft power seriously and is paying attention to its creative industries which it should have done a long time ago. Western fantasy seems super boring compared to Eastern stuff, I must say. Just that to be honest there are a lot of crappy Chinese films and you really really have to sift through a lot of material to find gems.

中国加油！

藏獒多吉 [Tibetan Dog] (2011)

On Q's birthday, I was on leave. I filed this beforehand with the thought that we might be spending time together but then things ended in July, a week after our last meetup. Instead of cancelling my leave, I used the time to read on stuff and to watch a movie and 藏獒多吉 happened to catch my attention. I love big dogs and I think they are so much more huggable than toy dogs. If ever I would love to have a big furry one like chow-chow, Alaskan malamute, Siberian husky, and now a Tibetan mastiff. Super cute! Except I will need to sacrifice because these huge dogs carry with them huge appetites as well. 

The movie opens with a boy whose mother just died and so he is fetched to join his father in Tibet where he finds himself unaccustomed to the pastoral life. He takes on the duty of herding sheep and one day encounters danger when bears appeared but a golden Tibetan Mastiff saves him. The golden dog is challenged by another mastiff and they dueled until they fell off the cliff, but were both nursed back to health. The boy grows close to the golden dog.

Somewhere, another group of men encounters a wild monster, probably a yeti. The leader's brother is killed and the last thing the group sees is Toji the golden Tibetan Mastiff. They assumed that he is the one who did the killings. In parallel, the boy's father has also been investigating the unusual killings going on. Toji is held captive until proven innocent and fearful that the dog will be executed, the boy and his friend released him to escape. Eventually the yeti appears and kills off the other group's leader. The yeti and Toji engage in a fight and even Toji's friend, the challenger mastiff helped in the fight. When the boy's life was in danger, Toji rushed to him and saved him, himself falling in the process resulting in his death. Later on it is learned that Toji has left behind a cute golden puppy which now accompanies the boy wherever he goes.

This is a must-watch for children or even adults who love dogs. Not only does it show the friendship between humans and animals, it also shows how intelligent dogs can be. I shared this movie to Q after wishing him a happy birthday. He just said he'll watch but I doubt it, and I don't want to care. I stopped believing in a person whose integrity and sincerity is questionable in order to appear civil and polite. I believe that people can be polite while still being true and authentic. But then in many many ways, animals are way better than humans. It's true what they say about how caring for animals is more worth it than caring for humans who will one day just hurt you.

紫禁城里的小食光 [Royal Kitchen in Qing Dynasty] (2020)

I once again let YT recommendations choose what to watch and this week as soon as I opened my YT app, 紫禁城里的小食光 is the first video I saw and since I like food-themed shows, I watched it and the opening scene of chefs cooking fish made me decide to watch until the end although honestly the movie's story is a big bore although the food featured throughout seemed delicious.

The movie tells the story of  a royal chef 张东官who through flashbacks we learn used to be a commoner who strove hard to get in the  royal kitchens just so he could see his former sweetheart who became a princess. The princess 景娴格格 luckily is married to a general 长叙 who agrees to their arrangement of being husband-and-wife in name only. The princess meets her former lover again and is baffled why the latter is always evading her. Now there is another princess 婉贞格格 who is very naive and who likes to eat. She has a huge crush on a prince and wants to slim down. In order to please her, she is fooled into thinking that the more she eats the more she loses weight. 景娴格格 discovers the trickery and 婉贞格格 is tricked into doing many activities like kite-flying and tug-of-war so she can indeed lose weight. After some time, she slims down but discovers through an army trainer who is her friend and who likes her that the prince she likes likes her only for her status and will use her to gain power. She eventually realizes that the army trainer is the one who cares for her sincerely and when she is with him she can be herself.

The movie covers other storylines as well such as how a maid named 敏慧 is implicated in a crime about stealing the empress' treasures. Later on it is revealed that the empress is always short of money and the maid is used as a pawn to be able to smuggle the treasure out in exchange for cash. 景娴格格 visits the place she and 东官 used to hang out and learns that 东官 does not want to alter anything in the place. Eventually the two becomes close again until the princess sees her husband who is thought of as having died in battle. 长叙 and 东官 meet and negotiate to complete a mission. It turns out that 长叙 's beloved 紫鹃 is the one killed in battle and not him. She has taken his place when he was heavily injured and unconscious. After that, he told the rest of the army to inform the palace of his death or else he will commit suicide. He wants 东官 to steal the weapon plans kept in the palace to destroy it and not cause any more human destruction in fulfillment of 紫鹃's will. 景娴格格 and 东官 enlist the help of their friends but they are caught. It is revealed why they did such things and the emperor forgives everyone and the two lovers can now be together with the emperor's permission because as he says, this kind of true love is very rare inside the palace.

It's a very simple story actually with not much room for character development and further struggles. It's like everything is resolved because of the generosity and benevolence of the rulers who "understand" why the people act and behave in such way. In reality though, you can never trick a Chinese emperor without being punished heavily or without being put to death since the emperor loses face. Even 还珠格格 and company were thrown into prison and were supposed to be executed had not the princes decided to take them away to safety. And the title itself is very misleading because there is not much food shown in the movie although at the latter part the iced dessert 冰碗莲子羹 is served to the emperor so that the moisture will wet the pages of the book and will be taken away. Through this, 张东官 intercepts the official and obtains the book. It is a case of perfect timing because the emperor needs to read the right book when the dessert is served. The movie could have used much more clever tricks and more mind-boggling stuff for that wow moment as I sometimes encounter in some Chinese drama series. Also, I don't see how the different subplots cohere. It's like some are just fillers which can be developed into another film on its own. The same with 敏慧's case which is very characteristic of the palace's political intrigues.

四月天/ Spring Music

The lockdown in Metro Manila was initially set to end on April 14 and as soon as April came, Youtube has been very smart in recommending videos. I chanced upon three very nice and heart-warming songs about springtime and would like to share these songs as I have been listening to them on loop and I see no possibility of stopping any time soon. When the lockdown was extended, these songs have given me a reason to still smile and see the beauty of the world. 

Many know that I very rarely explore Western music nowadays. I am not up-to-date with all the fad these days because most songs, even local ones, talk about sex and drugs and whatnot. I miss the days when songs are gentle and romantic. Of course I am also into dark emotions, being a big fan of Linkin Park and Simple Plan, but then most times the soul craves really good music.

Last year, I discovered a lot of musical talents in China. I tune to to singing contests to look out for awesome singers. These singers do not just sing, they reinterpret songs and they really own the music. One of my first idols was 陈冰 whose vocal stamina really blew me away. Eventually I would be lapping up music by Tibetan artists and just fall deeply in love with their vocal range, the harmony emerging from combinations of different textures, the melismatic singing style that can put one in a trance, and discovering popular artists along the way.

One very beautiful song that intrigued me was a song by Dolphin Princess Jane Zhang (张靓颖).  The video I saw was 11-minute long from the music show 经典咏流传. After her performance, there was a short Q&A about the song and its connection to Zhang's personal life, especially her city Chengdu. Apparently, some parts of the song are actually derived from one of the most popular Tang poets 杜甫 (Du Fu) who was a contemporary of the more well known 李白 (Li Bai). The latter cannot be unknown to any Chinese who's had Chinese education as we are made to memorize his most famous poem 静夜思 (Thoughts on a Silent Night). I still know the verses up to now. I honestly knew about Du Fu only around my college days when I frequented a literature forum and there was a Canadian college student there whom I took a liking to because at such a young age he was very knowledgeable about literature and is also very much into Chinese literature, citing Du Fu more often than not. 

So anyway, I found the song super beautiful that I searched for the full episode and was super awed by how China reinvents itself from old traditions. Classical poems from different dynasties are transformed into songs and reinterpreted by professional singers. Since the song talks about the gentle spring rain and how it moistens all things silently at night. As explained by Zhang, she wanted the song to reflect the gentleness of old traditions in Chengdu, for it to have the flavor of the place, for it to be like the spring rain in Chengdu wherein the precipitation is very fine that instead of wanting to hold up an umbrella, you would instead feel comfortable. In fact, one poetry master commented that Du Fu lived most peacefully in Chengdu and has grasped the very unique characteristic of Chengdu's spring rain. Now I want to go to Chengdu badly. A Chinese scholar I met in Spain would always tell me that the hotpot in Chengdu is the best. Another bonus is that Chengdu is in Sichuan province so I would definitely unleash my foodie mode there. OMG I hope somebody sends me to China once all this Covid-19 thing is over.

And while listening to 春夜喜雨 nonstop one night, I finally also searched for 李春宇 (Chris Lee) whose name appears in some articles I read because of her winning the Super Girl contest despite his androgynous look. While I have been hooked for weeks now, it's just a few days ago that I realize that she may just be the live version of Sailor Uranus, and both are also into music. CUTE! <3

I don't like all of Chris Lee's songs so I am glad that Youtube first showed me 春风十里 which is about a person pining for someone. I imagine Q singing this to me because of the last line that says, "I say that there is not one wine that compares to you", because a few days prior we were chatting and we both said we miss each other. He suggested that we drink after lockdown and I said sure as long as he does the mixing coz he's really good at it and when I am with him, I feel safe. [Except it's been two weeks since we last had a really nice chat and our last chat was brief and not so good because he was angry at someone. Or I don't know, maybe he just stopped caring about me. But it's all good if that's what he wants. But as always, I am waiting in vain for guys to just tell me outright. But whatever.]

I was surprised that Chris was also featured in 经典咏流传 and she sang 你是人间的四月天 (You are Humanity's April Spring) which is adapted from a contemporary poem written by a mother for her son. The first time I heard this song, I felt like it is addressed to the our frontliners, to all the heroes doing all the work to prevent further transmission of Covid-19. Just so timely that Covid-19 will peak in April and so frontliners work extra hard. The song is full of beautiful imagery portraying spring and likens the object of affection to this beauty. It ends with 你是爱， 是暖， 是希望，你是人间的四月天 (You are love, warmth, and hope; You are mankind's April spring). I shared this song to Q thanking him for also being like an April spring to me. [And as I have already mentioned, right now we no longer chat. Maybe he got pissed when I subtly hinted at wanting to do a video call together the last time we chatted and he was in a foul mood. But whatever. I miss him. And again, whatever.]

御前侍卫 [Imperial Bodyguard] (2011)

Mainland China has produced a number of TV series on the Qing Dynasty, with Emperor Qianlong  (乾隆皇帝) as the favorite regime. The most memorable series is not from Mainland but from Taiwan, with its massively popular (还珠格格) which my family would watch every night. Or at least in my memory I would watch with my parents. In graduate school, I found out that it was such a big hit in Southeast Asia. In fact, in one Mainland drama series 翻译官(Les Interprètes), 还珠格格 was used for interpretation practice. At the onset of the lockdown, I came to know that one of my sisters has actually been watching 延禧攻略 (The Story of Yanxi Palace) which I do not watch. She first followed the dubbed version on ABS-CBN, and since the lockdown, have turned to online streaming to continue watching the series. After a quick Google search on 延禧攻略 and discovering it's set during Qianlong's rule, I pointed out to her that she might want revisit 还珠格格 as both figure the same emperor. I also gave her a brief history lecture on the 清 (Qing Dynasty). These days she alternates between the two, which gives a good balance as one is dark and serious, while the other is a light comedy.

The movie is set in the days of Emperor Qianlong when anti-Qing sentiments ran high, especially because of corrupt officials. Qianlong roams outside the palace to investigate the embezzlement of funds by an appointee magistrate named 李满仓 (Li Mancang). The funds are supposed to fix the river bank and to provide for the people as disaster relief. In those days, the popular slogan amongst the people is 反清复明 (Counter the Qing, Revive the Ming). The Ming Dynasty was the predecessor of the Qing and to cut a long story short, the Han people were not happy with barbarian rule. Anyone with basic knowledge of Chinese philosophy knows how strong sino-centrism is and how non-Chinese, or to be more specific non-Han, are thought of as barbarians. So anyway, there were also Japanese pirates already in Chinese society back then who seek to sow discord in order to allow Japanese forces to take control of China. These 倭寇 (wako pirates, literally "dwarf pirates") connive with local officials, and at least in the movie, with Li Mancang.

Now our main character 薛树英 (Xue Shuying) has many friends who are good at fighting. One of these is the cheerful thief 卓飞  (Zhuo Fei), also a ninja who spies on the Japanese and reports to our hero. An old brother, the 江香主 is anti-Qing and heads the 天地会 (Heaven Earth Association) which seeks to drive away the Manchus. All he wants  is to kill the emperor so he can go back to live with his wife and daughter peacefully. Jiang is ready to fight his friend for this mission but changes his mind eventually when Xue tells him the people will suffer more and chaos will ensue if the emperor is killed. That, plus when the Japanese killed his wife. Another is an old time friend 萧易明 (Xiao Yiming) whose wife died when he accidentally shoved her rather too hard while sparring with our hero. He blames his wife's death on Xue but in the end arrives in time to fight the Japanese big boss. There is also another swordsman whose entire family was killed by an imperial edict for writing a poem, thus all he wants is to avenge his family and kill the emperor. Eventually he becomes an ally when he learns that the imperial edict was actually forged and the emperor has already taken care of those involved in the forgery.

 The movie has many good action scenes but unfortunately, the story is too cliché, with the emperor running for his life and when almost cornered, heroes will turn up and sacrifice their lives to allow the emperor to flee. There is one burning question the whole time I was watching this film and that is, WHY ON EARTH DOES A PRINCESS WHO CANNOT FIGHT JOURNEY WITH HER FATHER??? A fat but loyal eunuch is also almost always a must in these types of movies so that's pardonable. But even when left to their own devices, it is the emperor who fights against ninja assassins. All throughout the movie, the princess' role is just to worry about Xue that those who watch this film understand why 春子 (Chunzi, the doctors's daughter) smiles rather too sweetly at the general who led the reinforcement at the end. It might be implied that the princess and Xue have something going on between them although at the start, it would seem that it will be Xue and Chunzi. To think Chunzi's father died for the emperor by pretending to be him so that the assassins will chase him instead of the real emperor. Also, I am curious as to what happened to the Lady Boss owner of  the restaurant. She is revealed to be such an awesome fighter who single-handedly dealt with the assassins while the royal company escape her restaurant, but her demise is implied. Chunzi herself is a courageous woman who offers to go out and bring the emperor's seal to the general for reinforcement, but which came late so the heroes mentioned earlier have mostly been killed already except for the cheerful thief whom I thought would be killed eventually as is common but who turns out to have survived and is bestowed the title of marquis afterwards. Awesome! I just love Robin Hood types because they are a rarity in this world full of sick people who are rude to the poor and the powerless yet treat those with money and influence very well. So disgusting.

Another salient characteristic of this movie which is also very common in Chinese films is its strong anti-Japanese sentiments. The Japanese are portrayed as brutal and bloodthirsty; they really need to slash Chinese people multiple times even though it is clear that the person is dead. They do not think twice about killing innocent people for their goals to destroy a country. And they are made to be foils to the Chinese (i.e. Xue) who fights for morality and justice. Japanese animé always emphasize that being good in the art of fighting is useless if it is employed for random violence. But in Chinese movies, this included, they are made to look evil, mayhaps as an extra effort to counter Japan's soft power. I wonder though why Japanese actors agree to be part of these kinds of movies, but I also am glad that they become part of Chinese film industry especially in atonement and acknowledgement of the Japanese nation's war crimes during World War 2. I hope the US and other Westerners produce films that speak truthfully of how they subjugated other peoples and created hell in this world.

Supermoon

So astronomers say that tonight's moon is the biggest supermoon of 2020. Last night I happened to go out to check out my leeks which I have planted after using up the upper stalks and happened to look up at the sky with the golden moon in it. Always the most beautiful jewel. And I envy my plants for being out there in the night sky to enjoy this magnificent spectacle.

If there is one thing I deeply regret this Covid-19, it is that I was not able to pay much attention to my babies. In 2018 I was overcome with this intense desire to do the things I've always wanted to do especially after spending seven months away from home, six in Spain, and one in Indonesia. I felt like a superhero when I came back, even though I found myself in dire straits because of financial problems. I thought to myself, maybe I should just grow my own food so there will be no need to buy. I read up on gardening, bought seeds and thankfully, also received seedlings from many people who are more experienced in gardening. My successes came one after the other for the remaining months of 2018. I was able to successfully get excellent soil from the compost I made from vegetable and fruit wastes. The soil was very dark and it smelled really good. I passed HSK Level 6 at first take and which I prepared for for only three weeks, even though I flunked the listening part as I was not able to focus properly because I suddenly had my period right at the time of the exam and I was only thinking of how to survive the day without making a fool of myself. But then I also think that I am not very good at listening because I struggle with that even in other languages. I was able to pass the comprehensive exam, for me the defining turn if I will continue my masters or not because at that point, I was already too disillusioned with the academe, seeing the same corruption in the government taking place and understanding more fully that even the academe is not spared of nepotism. My exam mates were all shocked to find this girl answering the essays with fury, arriving late in all three exams, and then leaving way too early in all three exams. I was just so depressed back then to find that the stuff I prepared for for two weeks did not show up, and I truly believed it was the end of my masters. But a great miracle happened and I passed the exams. A week after, my money-making wish was also granted. No wonder 2018 will remain my favorite year. I felt like a superwoman back then.

Fast forward to 2020 since there is not much to say about 2019 except for again, the latter part of the year wherein I accomplished very little. For instance, the whole year passed with me not being able to produce a decent thesis proposal. I have been busy learning Business Mandarin as I felt that what we learned in school is too focused on Chinese history and culture and so we graduates are ill-equipped to have business level proficiency unless we do something on our own or enroll in Confucius Institute. Being a language lover, I took on the challenge of doing everything on my own. I was just super lucky to discover excellent books with very good list of business vocabulary accompanying excellent business dialogues. The things I will learn will not benefit me a good deal for a retake of HSK 6 as most words I am learning are not part of the HSK 6 vocabulary. But what the hell, I have long known how mere scraps of paper do not testify to one's competence so I would rather build my skills with or without certificates. I also am proud to finally have made it to Malaysia and to really go around from one city to the other inspite of the smog and haze from Indonesia's forest fires. (I remember writing about this transnational problem during the entrance exam for my masters program.) Backpacking for two and a half weeks made me feel so much more alive. Malaysia is a really beautiful place, except I hate the lack of public transportation which made going around a bit difficult. The food is just superb and I fully understood why they say Malaysia Truly Asia. The food choices are just so wide and as ever, I fell in love with Indian food, Peranakan food, and ate as much asam pedas as I could. A newfound friend there even gifted me with a book "Asam Pedas untuk Dia" when I left his city. I also joined in a trash collection activity and met many earth-lovers. It was tiring and disgusting to pick up cigarette butts and the thought of many smokers nonchalantly throwing butts everywhere is something that I think is very unjust. They themselves should pick up their trash and hopefully quit smoking altogether. I admit when I was young I planned to smoke because I thought it was cool, but I am lucky to have come across important literature on smoking and the harm it contributes to this planet, not just the harmful substances one welcomes into the system, but also social issues of child labor, environmental destruction, artificial famine, etc. So no thanks. I am cool the way I am even though I know in the eyes of others, I am just a weirdo. On second thought there is a lot to be said on my MY trip so I will be writing about my awesome experience there soon.

In 2020, J (or better yet, Q which I think is a cuter name so henceforth I shall refer to him as Q instead) and I are getting to know more about each other. A common classmate, also from the same Russian language class, is set to get married at the end of this month but, since it is announced just today that ECQ will be extended until April 30, the wedding will have to be postponed to I do not know when as there is no official update yet. I chatted with the guy earlier and asked him about possibilities of postponing since my cousin who's getting married in May just announced that the wedding will take place next year instead.

So this ECQ, everyone will probably be expecting that people will finish a lot of tasks, but I am sorry to say that this superwoman is not so super after all. I deal with family stuff and house chores so the thesis will have to take the backseat. It's extra difficult when people in your own family do not see the point of you doing graduate studies and so there is very little moral support. For now I am the one walking kilometers to buy groceries, medicine, and other essentials. I am also expected to cook and wash dishes, among other stuff. Of course, a huge part of my time goes to money-making ventures because I want to live up to my late yaya's wishes for me to become self-reliant and independent, so that never mind if boys will break my heart, at least I can still be my own person. 

It dawns on me at this point how the supermoon can indeed affect the disposition of a person and with many streams of consciousness I find myself asking what the hell am I writing about here. And the title is not apt because I talk very little of the super moon and more about memories of victory, those few triumphant moments in my life that will every now and then inspire me and remind me that miracles abound in this world so I should not lose hope. Heck, I myself am a Miracle.  

红高粱 (1988)

This week I continued to watch a Chinese action film about the poet 李白 who is made into a vigilant reminiscent of Batman, and yet still did not finish the film. Today instead of working on my thesis, I watched a movie I have always been curious about.  I finally found a copy in Youtube except it does not have English nor Chinese subtitles (save for some folk songs in the movie) which is fine since I leveled up a lot after I vowed to be better at Mandarin upon seeing my low score in HSK level 6 exam. I did pass, but my heart is not happy with what I achieved. 

The film is about a woman named 九儿 (九 is homophone of 酒 which is also central to the story) who is being sent off to be married to an old man. Along the way, the entourage was blocked by a bandit who almost raped 九儿 had it not been for a worker who is referred to by the Main Narrator as "My Grandpa". This grandpa pounced on the bandit and initiated the attack that was eventually joined by his coworkers leading to the bandit's death. Later  on, grandpa will himself rape 九儿 although it is more like carrying her off in the fields of sorghum and it seems that whatever happened between them is consensual. The old man died suddenly and 九儿 assumes the role of boss of  the wine distillery with the help of an old worker Luohan. The men had a feast and folk songs are shown alongside rituals expressing pride of their own made red sorghum wine. Later on, 九儿 is kidnapped by a man named Sanpao who owns a butcher shop. He demands ransom and when 九儿 is freed, grandpa goes to Sanpao seeking revenge and calms down when Sanpao tells him he did not touch 九儿.

For a while, the distillery people lived in peace and 九儿 is seen to be happy with her young son who plays among the wine jars. Luohan leaves the distillery without a word and disappears as 九儿 chases after him. It turns out that he joined an anti-Japanese resistance and is later revealed to be caught alongside the bandit Sanpao. The Japanese round up the people of the distillery and cause terror, bringing with them the two prisoners. A butcher who works for Sanpao is praised and given money for his good work on skinning an animal and is later ordered to skin Sanpao alive which he refused and stabbed Sanpao instead to give his boss a quick death. Luohan is not as lucky as the other skinner obeyed the Japanese order because his life is under threat. The skinning alive of Luohan is witnessed by 九儿 and everyone. They vowed to avenge his death and in the end everyone dies except for the narrator's father (九儿's son) and grandpa.

This movie by Zhang Yimou seems to me to be an allegory of the struggles of the Chinese people. First is the emancipation from capitalism (death of the old leper). Then, the internal conflict seen in the bandit kidnapping 九儿, as well as the narrator's grandpa raping 九儿 (Chinese victimizing fellow Chinese). Third, is the terror wrought by the Japanese which made some Chinese turn to their own kind, but which also shows the nobility of the Chinese spirit to rise against foreign aggression. In all three, it is interesting that the female is seen as the ultimate victim who can temporarily achieve success but who will still ultimately die. There are so many things one can discuss with regards to this movie and it pretty much reminds me of the Filipino classic Oro Plata Mata which is disturbing to say the least. It should also be noted that Zhang Yimou is also the one behind another favorite wartime movie of mine: The Flowers of War.

畫皮 (I and II)

It was late in December last year when I watched 畫皮 the first movie. I remember being in my rented room near the office then and being depressed. When I watched the movie, I was deeply touched and tears fell in buckets because of many things I remember. While I cry for the betrayed women, I was equally disgusted by men giving in to temptations and by women who snatch men away from their wives/ girlfriends. 

畫皮 I and II pretty much has the same story but told in a different way. In the first movie, the fox spirit (小唯) is a really selfish and malevolent being who seduces a general. This general (王生) saves her from a band of barbarians and happens to already have a wife (佩蓉) who treats the fox spirit (they of course didn't know her true being) as a sister and yet the latter still betrays her all because she wants to get the husband's heart so she can be fully human. Now, she cannot just rip out his heart and eat it. The heart must be surrendered to her willingly.

What is supposed to be a simple story becomes complex when more characters turn up. For instance, there is 小唯's sidekick 小易 who will do anything for his lady love. Then there's 龐勇 who loves 佩 蓉 but eventually loses her to 王生. Despite this, his unconditional love for her will save her. Also, despite the seductions and temptations, 王生 is strong enough to remain loyal to her wife although he listen to her when she tells him that 小唯 is a demon, dismissing her fits as just jealousy. When he told 小唯, "我愛妳，可我已經有了佩蓉了。" I was speechless. Well, Chinese drama and movies often have characters who are neither purely good and purely evil. One even pities 小唯 in the end because it's not her fault she is born a demon and wants to be human. But then, one's aspirations and ambitions must not be such that they cause harm to other people. 小唯 has to eat human hearts to keep her beauty and youth.

畫皮 II is a bit tricky. Based on 小唯 telling 靖公主 about her past, 500 years has passed since the events of 畫皮 I. 小唯 is rescued from her frozen imprisonment by a a bird demon named 雀兒. She tries again to find a human who is willing to give her his heart so she can live as a human and experience the many different things only humans can get from life.

So 小唯 plots a scene wherein she is seen to be chased after by bandits. A knight with golden mask rescues her and it turns out that her rescuer is actually a woman, 靖公主! The princess took her to her fortress which is guarded by her beloved general named 霍心. These two were childhood friends and have fallen in love with each other. While 靖公主 tells 霍心 many times of her feelings, she always gets rejected because 霍心 thinks too much of their different status. 小唯 manipulates the princess to get what she wants, or rather what they both want. She exploits 靖's insecurities for having a scarred face which she got from a bear when she was outdoors on a winter day with 霍心.

I love strong independent women fighters like 靖公主. But then, deep inside sometimes strong independent women are insecure because they are not seen as feminine enough. HMPH! I can very well relate.

小唯 tells 靖公主 a harsh truth ”天下的男人眼睛里只有皮相“

 

The witch doctor and the wolf tribe who seem to speak some sort of Indian language because the doctor addresses the queen as "padme". But padme actually means "lotus" in Sanskrit... the symbol of enlightenment.

小唯 in 靖公主's body (background) because eventually the latter saw she can gain freedom to be with 霍心 using 小唯's form. But before she consumes her first human heart to transition to a demon forever, 霍心 intervenes and blames himself for being so stupid. That part when he confesses his feelings and admits his weakness for 小唯's beauty got me into tears. That part where he slashes his eyes so he can go blind and be freed from enchantment really got me sniffing. (I realize I only consume tissue when I watch movies like these. Ugh!!!) So in the end, I still like 霍心 for staying true to his lady love. And him making love to his sweetheart who's in a different body makes me uncomfortable but at least he does it because he somehow feels that it is his sweetheart he is making love to.  

**************************************

Watching the first movie made me ask, "真正愛妳的人會怎樣愛妳， 怎樣對待妳? 真正愛妳的人會為妳做什麼? " How does a real lover love and treat his/her partner? What can a real lover do for you? It's a difficult question that is explored in the first movie. 龐勇 can easily become a bitter person and leave the two on their own to solve their problems, but time and again he surfaces to remind 王生 that he is a threat to the couple, that he is there in case 王生 decides to betray 佩蓉. 王生  on the other hand, can be seen as a fool for choosing to side with a woman other than his wife and not to believe her. Yet in the end he redeems himself by stabbing 小唯 multiple times before killing his wife and himself.

On another note, I remember a male friend telling me that even though he has a girlfriend, he will still look at other girls. He says that it's when you act on your "desire" that it becomes wrong, but that it is not wrong to admire other girls. I wonder if there ever is a guy who tells that to his girlfriend and is not served a breakup notice.

Another takeaway: Maybe I ought to glam up and be more girly. It really is true that men do not care about good women if they don't make themselves beautiful. Such a shallow world we live in. But oh well, might as well enjoy life and enjoy getting attention from cute boys. LOL. Except it's a catch-22 coz I don't trust people who only sees the physical. Let's dig down deep, shall we???

陈艺搏-不愿错过你

哪一盏灯火 是属于我

一个人的街头

没人再 一起呐喊一起喝彩

哪一种美满 会属于我

两个人的温暖 会不会

种出不一样的烟火

孤独曾经 是种骄傲

岁月转眼难熬

时光流转 终于落单

兜兜转转才知道

平淡的陪伴最重要

我不愿错过你

我要我们在一起

煽情的话语 酒杯的情绪

熬过午夜还是失意

我不愿错过你

我要我们在一起

穿越千万里 只为遇见你

和你携手不离不弃

陪你慢慢老去

我不愿错过你

我要我们在一起

煽情的话语 酒杯的情绪

熬过午夜还是失意

绝不能错过你

我要我们在一起

穿越千万里 注定是你

和你携手不离不弃

陪你慢慢老去

摘自: http://www.d777.com/geci/buyuancuoguoni_42fq/

喻佳麗-我也難過

一眨眼你哭了 (In the blink of an eye you are crying) 有話想對我說 (wanting to tell me something) 你害怕就忘了 (You are afraid and you forget) 好像從沒見過我 (as if you have never met me) 你愛我我走了 (You love me but I left) 我也不想這樣做 (I also didn't want to do something like that) 可是真的想對你說 (But I really want to tell you) 明天開始就重新來過 (Starting tomorrow we'll start anew) 你讓我幸福過快樂過 (You gave me good fortune and happiness) 這些我都還記得 (I remember all of these) 別懷疑我 (Don't doubt me) 離開你我也痛哭傻了 (When I left you I also hurt to the point of going crazy) 忘記吧那些經過 (Just forget everything because the past) 都別再留 (will never remain) 我愛你可是你也說過 (I love you but you also said) 愛情並不是停留 (That love will never reach its stopover) 不往前走 (and will never move forward) 可是分岔的路口 (But when we reach the two-forked road) 你向左我往哪裡走 (Which path do you want me to take?) 告訴我 (Tell me)


Translated by The Sweet Melo Touch
Lyrics copied from the Youtube video.

************************************************

In less than a month I am going home and must remember to be strong no matter what. As I have learned, love is not just a feeling, but the willingness to exert effort and to work things out so that the relationship deepens and lovers grow. This song, with its simple words, capture exactly how I feel about A. I should have stopped seeing him a long time ago when he made it clear he doesn't want to commit. I was just too stupid and maybe too afraid of starting a new life without him. But six months far away from home made me realize I am very different from other women. While women in the West proudly proudly proclaim themselves to be strong and independent, I roll my eyes because they can't even travel alone nor can they achieve anything without relying on men (and using men in the process). Moreover, despite the many things that happened to me, despite the many encounters with narcissistic people and friendly users, I never lost my true self, I never gave up on humanity and retained that warmth and openness. I will always remember what a dear friend told me, that I should believe that I will encounter good people because I am also a good person. I am just too different and I now realize that I am far stronger than most people.

I let you go now and this is the last time I will cry for you.

微微一笑很倾城/ Love 020 (First Impressions)

So I have been crying while watching Godzilla (yes, I cried buckets of tears but don’t judge me!) and 四月わ君の噓 (which I can totally relate to and which is about music so I really am bound to cry!) and every Saturday I go to the municipal library to use their free WIFI and watch Youtube videos.

the virtual wedding of Yixiao Naihe and Luwei Weiwei

I stumbled upon Love 020 (a.k.a. A Smile is Beautiful/ 微微一笑很倾城) one day while randomly watching videos on Youtube. It kept appearing in my feeds and so out of curiosity I clicked episode 1, thinking it’s another one of those wuxia or fantasy dramas. (My sister also said she often sees it on Youtube… Hmmmm…) It turned out to be a good mix of both, except that the period stuff is limited to the virtual world of gaming while the characters are actually university students. It’s hard to believe that Mainland China has made this series. Previous attempts were a flop, like the Mainland version of Meteor Garden, which I never bothered to watch even an episode. So maybe what they say about China finally being serious with strengthening soft power is true. Also, what a fine way to finally showcase how well-off Chinese citizens are now. Love 020 is, in my opinion, a successful project because of the following elements:

1. good-looking actors and actresses so one can’t help but go KYAAAAAAAAAA~ (Compared to previous drama series where they fielded in common-looking actors… ugh!)

2. Excessive use of computer graphics which is sending out a message that China is now technologically advanced (After all, they now have the four modern precious inventions which are very relevant in today's digital age as the four precious ones were in the past. Indeed, we are seeing the revival of China in this century.)

3. The cutesy plot is similar to J-Dramas which feed on female fantasies of the ideal man (KYAAAAA~ again… My Domjouji ideal will soon be overshadowed because… Yangyang, why look so hot either as 肖奈/Xiaonai or as his virtual alter ego Yixiao Naihe 一笑奈何!!! *insert smiley with hearty eyes) Xiaonai is not just the top player in the online game, he is also a basketball player, a swimmer, a budding technopreneur, a go player, and a heartthrob to boot. (They should have added that he is a talented pianist or violinist, too! *sarcasm) If a person is that kind of a package, he will surely have large eyebags, but no, they packaged him as everything you can look for in a man, except he’s not a musician. BOO! (Coz damn it, the Chinese have a very long musical history, why not bank on that??? Come on!)

On the romance part, I find it really superficial that Xiaonai falls in love with Weiwei upon seeing her play, because she plays calmly and with grace, her swift fingers confidently pressing keyboard keys and effortlessly defeating her virtual alter ego’s adversaries with poise. (As in many shallow TV series, the characters fall in love because of superficial things, not because of virtues and values. Ugh!) It just so happens that Weiwei is an equally strong character. She is the top female player in the game, the Computer Science Department Beauty Queen, a brilliant techie who knows how to fix her own laptop, and is a loving friend. So in a way, it is refreshing to see a strong independent woman in this series unlike the those we usually encounter in K-Drama (Goblin anyone?). Her only “flaw” is just she “was an old shoe”, having “married” in the game to complete a quest and getting divorced by the asshole so he can “marry” a different female player. So when the super popular top player 一笑奈何 proposed to her, we see people’s double standards who think 芦苇微微 is not good enough for him but nobody condemned her previous “husband” for requesting “divorce” in the game. But 一笑奈何 acts as the perfect gentleman when he ensured that there will be a lavish wedding ceremony and that those who badmouth his wife are horribly punished. KYAAAAA~. And they really are a perfect couple because they both are so well-composed and sensible, both are well-respected and looked up to in school, and both are good-looking.

Luwei weiwei on her second wedding day--- this time to someone who will become his real lover

Yixiao Naihe on horsebck leading the wedding procession

First date as husband and wife... KYAAAA~~~

Notes:

1. The characters study in one of China’s prestigious universities, Tsinghua. I am astounded at how different the dormitories look compared to the ones I visited in Xiamen (not Xiamen University). I don’t know if these are just edited but I find Tsinghua University a beautiful place and the dormitories are very clean, tidy, and full of cute stuffs, like the ones you usually in Taiwan or Japan. So is this China’s way of luring international students to one of their best schools? If that’s the case, I WANT TO GO (and perhaps find my Xiaonai there KYAAAAAA)!!!

2. Is this China’s way of encouraging its youth, especially women, to take up Computer Science? I’ve watched one interview after Xi Jinping’s super lengthy speech during the last National People’s Congress and the Party openly says that science and technology are top priorities for the country’s continuous development. After that, a female scientist was interviewed about the pros and cons of working in the science sector because apparently female scientists are only allowed to work up to a certain age, a limiting factor indeed for women who have brilliant minds (and needless to say, an unnecessary loss to China’s booming tech industry.) So maybe they are lifting constraints for women after all?

So anyway, I will have to watch all 30 episodes to know. But this early, after watching two episodes, I already formed some observations and hypotheses. LOL. It’s the month of love (except I am lonely in a faraway country IN WINTER season) so I am allowing myself to partake in kilig moments in this series… while trying to shut my hyperactive mind up coz my overthinking often overshadows my [frail and fragile] heart. 

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Trivia: Yangyang played the role of Jia Baoyu in the 2007 remake of Dream of Red Mansions. *hearts in eyes.