Frost_edelweiss

Some prefer easy pre-chewed meat, some like it hot, some like it spicy, some like it balanced and "healthy": everyone has their own conceptions and biases. It's a pity that some turn the page of the menu without letting themselves taste different flavors, but it's their loss, and both their right and their wrong to think they should influence others against the different fare.
The story of the wild Rose is acknowledged as more appealing for older persons who have some experience with life, that can resonate with the artistic views here. Some young fast-food eaters may not get it.

Have a look at the brief bio of the author, Ni Yi Shu, in my "companion piece" to get some insights into the fictional character and where it takes its roots from... :)
https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-story-of-rose/126207-the-story-of-the-rose-miscellaneous-details

(I am still tinkering with some sections, notably figuring out who is who on the portrait gallery in section 4 - if you think you have firm clues for the question marks, don't hesitate to offer your views. I will also add the actors/actresses names and Weibo links when I can find them).

You can, in Discussions section, if you got some :)
I have put a number into my "companion piece", although not about the actors and actresses. That could be an added section, maybe, but making gifs is somewhat time consuming , despite not really difficult, technologically. :)

I think that once burned twice shy : Fang is not going to give in too easily to a gold digger. He must be smarting from the sting of having to break down and let Huang Yimei go, take the daughter away and only see her once in a while with no "property" rights any longer. Fang has had to reevaluate his relationship with his wife and with women and to... wise up.

I don't think I saw Lin Gengxin play in a really bad role although he appeared almost as a villain in some dramas I watched, but usually with redemption, such as Master of My Own, or rather complicated twists and turns one like To Love. His most well known dramas are the costume Princess Agents and now The Legend of Shen Li, where he plays very different, still relatively complex characters. I was impressed by To Love, so went on later watching Master of My Own, although avoiding going back to Princess Agents because of the notorious cliffhanger ending.
Watching a live stream a couple years back, showed a distinctive personality that seemed both aloof and sharply attuned to questions, a man who is comfortable with his body, not spending outrageously amounts of time working out to fit ultra-slim and handsome stereotypes, but who has a solid and easy no-nonsense presence with his own ideas about the work as actor. A personality who does not need hordes of people following him and who manages to keep his own space. That aroused my interest too, although not enough to explore the "kids" fandom much further, yet. If I have time, I will try to watch more of his work.

I wonder why his fandom has that strange "kids" name? and why some portray him as a "playboy"? (perhaps he's got people who don't like him and wag their tongues to slander?)
He probably has a lot of real friends, beyond stage and social acquaintances, but is careful not to display them, which is commendable. So we only know about Zhao Liying, who was close enough to him to invite him to do another drama, Shen Li, together with her. But despite the romantic scenes, Kenny Lin did not leave room for misunderstandings or too much hype of the CP despite the added traffic that such often used ploys generate, to keep attention on a drama. So I do believe that these two are just very good friends and colleagues.
I was impressed to hear that he took a PhD recently, with almost top marks, from Beijing Film Academy: he certainly is one cut above many young "xiao xian rou" "traffic actors". Respect to the star.

Lin Gengxin's Fang Xiewen was also a complex character, and the way he is played is very nuanced : from relatively endearing despite worrying young infatuated manipulator to fully despicable psycho, who breaks down in the end to let his wife have her freedom, while knowing he has lost and broken his most valuable "possession", and that he was wrong because it never was a thing in the first place but a living, human friend, although he never knew how to interact with women friends before (despite his accepting some advice from Susu). It was acknowledged as the most difficult role to play in the drama, and LGX deservedly got praise for it, even by Liu Yifei, in interview.

nice prediction for a rainy or too hot weekend :)

Whatever, but now I think you should look at yourself. Who was erupting , throwing words like "offense" and now "narcissist" ?
Convo over and out. "you are now blocked".

The Tale of Rose ? Yes.
The Double ? It's entertaining and not too dull, costume drama with a gorgeous Duke character, I stay because of him lol, when my attention flags from the convolutions of the almost Mary Sue like story. There are some major flaws in details such as the insistence on mistaking a guzheng for a guqin, and shoehorning in some references to pieces of music like Gao Shan Liu Shui as alibi for culture. It's almost cultivation for the Duke part: he flies wonderfully, even from far away, to appear just when FL is being attacked, lol, almost as wonderfully as the prince in Who Rules The World. Entertaining : not really that thrilling, but it has the makings of a tolerable cape and swords item. The red cape is nice, lol.
I don't hate it, although I already believe it will be forgettable. I am on ep.32, watching in big 5 episodes slices with pauses to explore elsewhere too, or do my chores, or compile companion pieces (last one about the Tale of Rose, after another about To The Wonder, and some fun with Joy of Life 1&2 which I finally did not start on further than a "recognizing characters on poster" challenge).
You can find my companion pieces in some drama Discussions. I listed them with short description and links, to satisfy the request of MDL member Cho Na, so now, you can find them by clicking on the announcer icon, on my profile.

at least, even though ZGD did not act on it, he did recognize and say that what HYM wanted was respect. We can see on his return that he really had been attentive, at least to what she liked, such as her favorite dishes. He almost rubbed FXW's nose into having missed these details.

For a complete change, you can try To the Wonder -- only 8 episodes but so beautiful.

What's really contradictory was when he told his mom at the engagement/marriage dinner that he was "not hiring a maid" when he chose HYM.
But he ends up treating her exactly as one when he maneuvers to coerce her into staying at home. Worse is when he starts on the "let's have a son" as if he was not satisfied he had a daughter, also contradictory with his claims that he was going to spoil his first child because he was her father. That guy is one conflicted character and HYM spotted it early on, but just refused to believe it was going to hurt her. So she got burnt.
It looks like the cat disappeared with the birth of the child. Was that the MIL doing? It was not old enough to die of old age yet, even when HYM decided to visit her parents, 3-4 years after.

Well if you thought I was rude thinking you got it wrong, that's on you; your answer is not exactly gracious? But I'll let it slide. Everyone can have their own opinions on a subject. I found your enthusiasm for your pet movie both cute and hammered a little too strongly, in so many comments, when this is not about that one but about the My Altai series.

Oh, I don't object to your recommendation that people should watch Days of Heaven, or other excellent Terrence Malick movies like Tree of Life. But this is not the forum for going on and on advertising those. To me, MDL is for Asian and in this case Chinese movie and drama discussions and recommendations. And the celebration of Teng Congcong does not need to get an added spice like your claim about what you think is copied (or homage), like the influence of Kurosawa on spaghetti westerns, in reverse. Of course, it's interesting to find "visual quotes" that link interesting works to each other, and good filmmakers have done it and will do it for the gleeful pleasure of those who spot them. Urging people to up and leave here to go watch "Days" because it was your preferred one like you did was almost like marketing other movie as "better" and dismissing the originality of the series....

There's a section for drama and movie recommendations where your favorite could have been shoehorned in, if MDL was about international movies and not specializing in Asian ones... For once, I regret you could not fit Days of Heaven in this section, like I did Road Home, for the parts in almost same corner of the province.

Hmm. I also felt that the namesake movie was underwhelming, so... One thing I do know is that it was not the choice of Li Juan or Teng Congcong, but a very awkward foreign markets oriented marketing decision, like what gets hatched in hasty brain storming sessions. Who knows? maybe someone on the board really wanted to tie it to Terrence Malick's minor movie? The title sounded nice in English and probably was construed as more meaningful for people and audiences who have no idea where Altai is, and might have equated "My Altai" title to something like .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbr60I0u2Ng that's certainly also a relic and a classic, lol nothing condescending in the use of the words except your suspicious mind ... (but I am not saying this has any connection with the series, either !)

Have a nice day, Johnny. Amused to think you view me as a snowman, lol. Bemused that you believe you are always right and need to rebuke those who are not exactly aligned with your oft repeated opinion.

I am happy that we agree that To The Wonder is a gem, on its own, and also if it elicits added pleasant memories for you.

Do read the novels I suggested. They could also make you happy, differently, for the pushing horizons and understanding you would get of those places and people, which is one of the main reasons people watched the To The Wonder. series.

Everyone has favorite movies, and this very American one is certainly a good one. Ennio Morricone music, Terrence Malick at camera, Richard Gere and everything needed from Hollywood technology (yes, okay, it was also low budget at the time, and there were hurdles for it before it aired)...

Thing is, as much as I like that favorite of yours as a cultural relic inducted into the American Library of Congress best-of list, it has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the To The Wonder series, which is almost exact opposite : no big name director, actors, composers and theme song from one that was sliding into oblivion, and filming in real locations with only post production studio support. But despite the modest budget, it did not face many hurdles : things went smoothly except for the relatively expected lukewarm foreign reception.

I am happy you liked the series and that you feel it links with one of your favorite movies: you did a nice review too. But if you think the US movie was an inspiration for the Chinese drama, I think you are totally wrong. The movie you mention is not that well-known in China, outside some staunch Malick admirers ( Teng Congcong could have come across them too, during her cinema studies. Perhaps). Teng Congcong was a graduate of Beijing Film Academy, where veteran director Xie Fei was her tutor (and to me I feel more influence by Xie Fei movies than anyone else in To The Wonder). Also, Teng Congcong took a long time writing the script, with approval from original writer, using the mind images that vividly illustrate the basis for the series, and neither Teng Congcong nor Li Juan have ever expressed any admiration for Malick. Teng Congcong and her did not need to "pay homage" to foreign movie makers, and ultimately, I don't think there was influence from "abroad".

In fact, I was annoyed that the English title chosen was identical to another Malick movie, because these really have nothing in common, and the Malick movie title interferes with searches for the Chinese series "My Altai". Why production does that is beyond my understanding...

The series is based explicitly on the essays/memoirs of Li Juan : a writer who is now well-known in China, almost a cult writer (only one small book of hers is translated into English, you can find the link to it in my companion piece to the To The Wonder series, housed above in Discussions section).

Literary wise, Li Juan's essays also belong to a period when stories of the borderlands and Northern reaches of China with their special culture and scars started to become popular :
* The right side of the Ergun river (2006), translated as "The Last Quarter of The Moon" in 2012, novel by Chi Zijian,
* "Wolf Totem", the 2004 semi autobiographical novel by Jiang Rong, pen name of Lü Jian (this one was adapted as movie, btw),
* "Sky Burial", the 2004 novel by Xinran.
These are the most famous examples, also well-known abroad thanks to good translations or sometimes direct English writing in the case of Xinran (who is also read in China despite she chose to expatriate). They also have some shared connection with the depiction in the series, as depictions of ethnic groups lives and struggles.
So instead of urging c-drama watcher MDL users to leave here and dive into American cinema, that's what I would recommend : read those books. They are very interesting and engrossing.

Yes some dramas are inspired by real life tragic stories. This Rose story is just a novel.
But the Korean angle is something that needs some background about to be understood from Chinese perspective. I have tried to sum it up in the relevant section of the companion piece I compiled in Discussions section.
Perhaps that will give a better idea of where Fang comes from, we don't know much about his family, if he had a dad or was an orphan or his lumpen proletariat waitress mom might have been a single mom living on the edge of society in the suburb or village her house is in. The guest house was a clue that this was not in Yanji center city.
Anyway, here is the link to my findings and views on the matter (click on section 7 title to go directly to the stuff about Chaoxianzu, ajumma, and Korean weddings).
https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-story-of-rose/126207-the-story-of-the-rose-miscellaneous-details

Mother in laws, especially from different culture, should be held at as many kilometers distance as possible, especially if they have a tendency to interfere, or if they are not really liking their son or daughter in law. So better without any of those "elders" around, and simply hire a trusty and capable maid.
If FXW can afford to offer 5000 yuan to his mom to play prison guard for his wife, he could afford an ayi : that would cost him less, perhaps satisfy HYM, and FXW could get same info less aggressively, if he felt he needed it so bad, to keep some tabs on her (ayi might also play double agent for HYM, checking his stuff : that could be fun).

Of course, FXW should have inquired if his wife would like her mom to come over, that's basic.
But he is scared of the Beijing people, that's what I feel. Perhaps scared they are close to government and he has something in his past he might prefer stay buried that could be uncovered by them.

He's not a monster, but in a way, very stupid : shoots himself in the foot when he wanted to look better than he is. He's already lost HYM from the moment he quit her job for her and parachuted his insufferable ajumma mom on her. She is delivered from the baby and is soon going to escape from her prison, the baby is not going to shackle her for too long.

I'd say she should be steely and tell the guy : you want the kid? Fine, take her. I don't want to hear from either of you any longer, hand my money back and get lost ! So, babies are cute and innocent. They are also smelly, noisy, costly, and bring a whole litany of trouble home. Cats are better. (Erm, I am playing devil's advocate, of course : that's what a lot of young people think now in China, hence the nose diving fertility rate and worries in government about the aging population.... lol)

The Fang mom was a waitress in a city where warmth is scarce. She is obsessed by money, never had enough, suspecting her daughter in law of freeloading and bleeding her son dry for her whims (flowers, books, food..) which she can't understand. She clearly had uncharacteristically little education. Where is her husband, if she had any ? We didn't even really get to know her name. Perhaps she was an unmarried woman who struggled to raise a boy in the margins of society. She says she don't understand HYM parents when they talk in Chinese: the vocabulary is too complicated for her and she is too old to learn, resents it when she is made to see that the lady professor cooks better than she does. No wonder the two (her and son) suffer from ingrained inferiority complex.
Huang Yimei was too naive to let herself be carried away by Florence Nightingale syndrome to care for her "broken lover" once she found that he was being ruined by the company he worked for, after having chosen to stay in Shanghai for her, when he could have gotten a better offer in Shenzhen and left like Zhuang Guodong did (although he did not know the story yet).
She should have understood that class differences and cultural differences are something that will not be easy to deal with. Better avoid them. She is learning, painfully...
FXW cannot change his ways, despite he did try. He values her like a gem he would have stumbled on , which he wants to keep as his most precious possession. But back in his head was "how can I use these people for my advantage, how can I make them do what I want": never a good premise for a romantic match.

That's why FXW signed when HZH bluntly told him if he didn't do it, then he, her brother, would do it at all costs. FXW suddenly realized he might kill HYM and even his own child, if he did not allow the anesthesia.

Thing is: an epidural is fine when there has been preparation in less stressful moments. Done in emergency, it could either not work until the strength of the mother-to-be is spent, and thus make the extraction even more difficult, or worse again, if the anesthetist's hand slips, a botched epidural can cause major harm.

I think that for all the Fang's "care" and HYM reading about childcare, this was not a birth procedure going right.

Delivering one week early is no big deal: babies can come earlier or later than "due date".

One or two months earlier is another matter, and if she was bleeding, it could have been worse : placental abruption are still a cause for mom an baby death at birth, although if diagnosed and operated speedily, lives can be saved. Placental abruption are less frequent than eclampsia, but can happen any time during mid or late pregnancy in women who seemingly have no big heath issue, have no discomfort in carrying the baby. I have known three women like that who never threw up, never had strange food urges or the like, and who continued to work happily and even overmuch, until the day they had to get to hospital by ambulance in an emergency one to two months before term...

Pregnancy should indeed be monitored, esp with regard to blood pressure. Counseling to do less stressful, even part time work, be kept in an optimistic and joyful mindset, not worrying about moving house or carrying bulky and heavy loads, postponing long road trips or transcontinental flights, especially in the last 4 months, is only common sense.

That's why FXW signed when HZH bluntly told him if he didn't do it, then he, her brother, would do it at all costs. FXW suddenly realized he might kill HYM and even his own child, if he did not allow the anesthesia.

Thing is: an epidural is fine when there has been preparation in less stressful moments. Done in an emergency, it could either not work until the strength of the mother-to-be is spent, and thus make the extraction even more difficult, or worse again, if the anesthetist's hand slips, a botched epidural can cause major harm.

I think that for all the Fang's "care" and HYM reading about childcare, this was not a birth procedure going right.

Delivering one week early is no big deal: babies can come earlier or later than "due date".

One or two months earlier is another matter, and if she was bleeding, it could have been worse : placental abruption are still a cause for mom and baby death at birth, although if diagnosed and operated speedily, lives can be saved. Placental abruption are less frequent than eclampsia, but can happen any time during mid or late pregnancy in women who seemingly have no big heath issue, have no discomfort in carrying the baby. I have known three women like that who never threw up, never had strange food urges or the like, and who continued to work happily and even overmuch, until the day they had to get to hospital by ambulance in an emergency one to two months before term... One even had to be moved to another hospital because the first one had no slots available to do a c-section, so the woman thought she was going to die on the way ! The couple lived 3 hrs away up in a mountain town where the local hospital had recently closed the maternity department "because there were less than 300 births a year there".

Pregnancy should indeed be monitored, esp with regard to blood pressure. Counseling to do less stressful, even part time work, be kept in an optimistic and joyful mindset, not worrying about moving house or carrying bulky and heavy loads, postponing long road trips or transcontinental flights, especially in the last 4 months, is only common sense.

Oh no, consider it as Liu Yifei did, praising him in interview for the difficult role he took. LGX is a talented actor.

Oh no, consider it as Liu Yifei did, praising him in interview for the difficult role he took. LGX is a talented actor.