Impressive performance in the tale of rose. I read that you go to college for Phd, hope u have a good time studying…
Sorry, I remembered wrong from the Marcus Here snippet of news of June 14. It's Shanghai Theatre Academy. I wanted to check back and had some trouble finding the video, so I looked up directly on Chinese news. And found that he still has 4 years studies to do before getting the title officially. He is now "doctoral student", admitted on June 12 with next to top score, still enough to have it mentioned and be congratulated by Tong Dawei during their Tale of Rose live stream talk 👏👏
Was anyone rooting for Zhou Shi Hui😂 he was so funny😂😂😂 and he was right not to marry his GF, everyone…
Yes but he came out a bit too lecherous, and unpleasant with his newly acquired mania of informing her brother with snapshots taken on the sly. Good thing his fiancée dumped him and found a better husband. She looked prosperous when seen again: well over the ... 7 years (!!!) she'd wasted on that Zhou.
Meigui had much more trouble getting over her obsession with Zhuang Guodong who kept popping up physically or in imagination (see the hallucination at the art exhibition) at worst timing to rip up her mental scars. Her reaction to He Xi's departure was an indication that she still was not totally healed despite all the sheltering, soft cotton like and hard walls later, that Fang had put around her. That was also why Fang hated Zhuang and all returnees so much : he had witnessed his goddess despondent and crying, and throwing up as if poisoned, after the restaurant incident. And next, her implied admission that she was not really over Zhuang even when she married him made Fang lose the goddess image, the gentleness and admiration he had for her. Susu was right when she said Meigui had committed an irreparable mistake in transferring her burden to Fang, although Zhenhua and his dumb meddling was at fault, too. That was the root of Fang morphing into T rex during their married stint (he mellowed some, in stages, after the divorce, and was probably supporting her on the sly, through self determined alimony, since they had done it consensual, he even got her the doctor for her next man!). Zhuang had also polluted her relationship with Jiaming by popping up when the gallery was under construction. There was a parallel between Jiaming's death and Zhuang's expatriation, and she reacted to both with a painful dance, also a moment of similar anxiety and hallucinations when He Xi left.
Alright, I am through analyzing this complicated and entangled group of characters who played so well. I put some chosen gif for that in the Symbols section of my companion piece.
I will now leave the illustrated companion piece which I added in Discussions section ; you might find interesting tidbits there, on many things related to the drama. I ended it with a Mini-Profile of Lin Gengxin (which might be added to, if some anecdotes can be found to spice it up some more. There are also links to the music the he likes, pictures of him with his friends, possible lovers, and idol, and of course a catalogue of his most memorable movies and dramas, with the name of the character he played there.... The mini profile is linked to the Table of contents, which allows easier navigation between the sections through cross links. You can have a look starting at the mini profile (or going to Table of Contents first, as you please) :
Yes Liu Yifei's dad An Shaokang was a scholar who translated Notre Dame de Paris, taught French and served as…
I'm not reading nor really want to read the original novel the drama is adapted from. Have you ? From those who have, it seems that the scriptwriter adapted a lot, and the He Xi character is a new addition. So it is quite possible that the script introduced elements that LYF could relate to since the drama is partly a new creation. I was wondering what happened to the cat in the drama. It disappeared after the birth of Taichu, if I'm not mistaken.
With whom do you wish to see Lusi acting with next in a drama?My top picks are:Wang Xing YueZhang Ling HeZhang…
If it's a business drama with a tough story, I would not mind seeing what she could do with Lin Gengxin - if the melon about Perfect Lobbyist is half ripe. He has been playing with older actresses of good fame (Liu Yifei, Zhao Liying), but we know Rosy can do wonders even with older actors, so if she finds the script interesting, it could be an interesting change and challenge !
Already before, a site reported that : "29 April 2024: Deng Ke apparently followed Lusi in Weibo. It is hotting. 29 April 2024: :Lusi announced during her YoyiC fan meeting in Chengdu that she was imminently to film a drama."
Basically you say you knew it all without watching it. That's an astounding admission of bias. And you say you…
Bless you. Hope you will find something to grab your soul despite the tsunami of dramas hailing down on potential audiences. I do hope we all have a life nonetheless.
Me, I liked this drama a lot, for its acting, actors/actresses, colors, design, arresting and sometimes deep dialogues, small moments to be unsettled by fleeting details to dig into. 😁
Happy The Tale of Rose is holding up as #1 TV drama watched in China last week for 3rd week running, and that Douban rating is rising (from 7.1 opening while the drama had just started to 7.3 now. Not stellar but very decent, considering Douban seldom goes to 9 (btw, it did rise briefly over 9 this year for the short series To The Wonder, which was exactly wonderful, but very different from usual entertainment).
I didn't know Fang rosie 2nd boyfriend was half Korea and ChineseFound out in Ep20
Some say that's why he's got that rigid, thrifty, money conscious, paternalistic, controlling attitude, in his marriage, and why he called his mom in to keep help within the family instead of hiring a maid to help Meigui, when he became too busy to do all the chores and the cooking for her himself. They termed that "Korean country rustic".
I don't know if the writer had a bias against Koreans, she did depict the mom as a sort of she-devil and Fang Xiewen as a sort of half educated pauper from the cold north, who needed rising in his job to alleviate his inferiority feelings, who clung to Meigui as if she was Gollum's Precious Ring that he needed to keep away literally from the eyes of and all the dangers of the world, becoming an autocrat to do so !
He did not ask her to cover her head and hide in burqa, nor remove her nail polish and burn her skirts, he had admired her in the yellow gown (not knowing it was the one in which she first seduced Zhuang) and did not pressure her or elaborate why he hoped he could invite her to eat noodles that evening. He never forced her physically or beat her, but he did not want other men, and Zhuang in particular, to get too close and lay claim over her, and Fang forgot his vow to not deceive her again after she found out about his sacrifices and schemes to seduce her. In fact I never felt Fang was a real boyfriend. He was always planning to marry his first love, as soon as he could, and become the pater familias not sparing a glance for other women who came pursuing him (the girl at university, the employee in the end episodes..), expecting Meigui to be as faithful as he was, even after their divorce.
As Lin Gengxin assessed the character, Fang was difficult, but not a scumbag.
Contrary to Zhuang he did understand why they were unsuited for each other, why she divorced, and he went on supporting her through self determined alimony so she never went without money : he had a good pretext with his daughter's needs over the next 10-12 years. He did hope they could make up in the future, but did not show up to tear at her wounds same way as Zhuang did. He could even joke with her in the end, and leave her decision to go free unchallenged. He was the only one among her males who grew, in my opinion.
Yes Liu Yifei's dad An Shaokang was a scholar who translated Notre Dame de Paris, taught French and served as diplomat in France from 2008 until joining the Confucius Institute department of the Paris 8 university. He is still listed as director there, on Baidu and FB, but I suppose he has retired and gone home to Wuhan now, unless he has chosen to expatriate for good and retire in France. His wife who was a ballet dancer, divorced from him and took her daughter to the US, where they got citizenship and lived in New York. Liu Yifei decided to change her birth name to keep the family name of her mother.
I'm a little confused about the ending with the young guy, what was the first airport scene where he ignores/didnt…
Your question was very interesting to me, as I had a vague unease about the disjointed pilot sightings but had not stopped to really think about it, my attention going to the, familiar to me, terminal 2, and wondering what year was that.
If you watch the first pilots sequence very attentively, you will notice the difference in height of the three pilots, when they have passed her on their way on to whatever duty they are off to. On the flip side, when they were still approaching her, one of them looked like He Xi, tall and unconcerned as if she did not exist ; when they had their backs to her, walking away, you could see they were shorter, especially the tall one was not among the three. In fact, that tied back to Meigui's hallucinations of Zhuang in Shanghai at the entry of the art exhibition where she went with Fang, when they did not know each other well, and she was in the throes of dark depression over her break-up. She had experienced a shock that left scars in her mind, causing her to hallucinate ZGD everywhere, at the entrance to art galleries : not with pleasure but with pain. Fang never caused her waking nightmares before or after they parted, but Jiaming's death had been a renewed shock, when she had consciously or not danced the grief away. Only when she took up flying did she feel joy again. But now, He Xi was going to leave for one year. One year or forever, and her mind played a trick on her that he already was leaving, abandoning and ignoring her.
She was at the old terminal 2 of "Beijing International Capital airport" 30 some km northeast of Beijing that now serves only some destinations since the bigger "Olympic" terminal 3 (operational since March 2008), a little further away north east, that looks like a turtle and a Y, took over many long distance connection. Today, historic terminal 1 serves mostly for freight. Terminal 2 serves certain lines, including Air Koryo (DPRK/Pyongyang in North Korea) and some members of Skyteam (notice the counter with that name that the three pilots are walking by) which is one of the three major airline alliances that includes KLM, Air France, Alitalia , Aeroflot ... The others are served from huger Terminal 3 "Olympics" one. T2 and T3 are interconnected through a highway and rapid transit rail to the Beijing metro in Chaoyang District which the airport is an extension of. Today, a new, even bigger airport 46 km south of Beijing capital : "Daxing" handles most of the important lines. It looks like a six pointed starfish or a "phoenix in flight". The airport was planned to be able to handle "120 to 200 million passengers a year, which, if capacity were fully used, would make it the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic", Many airlines alliances have relocated there, and the new airport serves both Beijing, 46 km away, Tianjin, and Lanfang in Hebei province through rapid underground transit rail, buses, highways.
Meigui may have been going for a short business overnighter for the gallery. Or it was a nightmare, akin to her fever dream of dancing with faceless men and ZGD when she trashed his apartment. The three pilots were the embodiment of her anxiety flaring up again, despite all her appearing brave and composed. Anyway, she had arranged to meet, in that airport, He Xi who this time was really going away for his studies as pilot. That's when he gave her the painted "iron rose"he had crafted for her.
I will try to put some pix and a short description of the commercial Capital T2/T3 and Daxing airports, in addition to the flying school in Badaling already covered, in my Companion piece, housed in Discussions.
As a avid K/C/J/T drama watcher of over 15 plus years and to top it off I have watched many USA history of America…
Basically you say you knew it all without watching it. That's an astounding admission of bias. And you say you liked all the actors. Are you sure you saw them all, skipping from 1 to 38? But at least you were honest enough not to log the drama in and rate it.
I need you guys perceptive on this why can't rosie just accept the long distance relationship in Ep8?
Commenter Marlo is right : maybe you figured it out by now that you presumably have watched more of the story progressing? If you have not progressed up to Zhuang's reappearance in Shanghai, wait until you have to read my perception of the reasons you are inquiring about. The perceptions from different people may vary, though. That's also the beauty of this drama that it can be interpreted differently, like a work of art where some see structure, others colors, others again a vision tying in with personal resonances.
So, are you ready ? Here goes :
1. He sprung it on her without preparation as if it was like going on tour for a weekend when his expatriation project was for ..... years. 2. She was not prepared mentally or linguistically to expatriate. She did not speak French and phrase books are okay for a short visit, but it's not the same for going through long term visa applications, where a reasonable command of the language is required. He had never included her in his plan and was all talks, no substance. He did not communicate really. 3. She understood he did not care about her family, did not care about ever meeting her parents, and she was not prepared to leave that way, after having announced to her parents that she would bring him to have them meet. He looked down on her and her family as if he was a prince who could sever her ties to family and country. He was treating her as furniture that has no sentiment for other than the glorified behind that flops into the chair that can be pushed in a corner when the king has other business to attend. 4. She resented that he prioritized his career over her budding one, his aspirations over her own. She wanted respect and equality, and all he offered was lip service and physically subduing her at his whims. He did not offer respect. 5. She had no plans to study abroad, had left the Arts studies without a graduate diploma and therefore could not enter the Beaux Arts in France, because her qualifications were too low. She had bet on the emerging arts scene in Beijing and Shanghai to learn with the experts there the business of arts curation which looked challenging and glamorous. She was not going to start from scratch abroad in a foreign country, with no prospects of income for herself and depend on someone who had proven to be less than dependable. He did not offer a future, other than perhaps clandestine house maid at lowest level. 6. He had told her he was going through learning himself. He had no time and no real means or will to support her ; anyway she did not want to give up her independence yet, not in that perverted way he proposed. He did not offer security. 7. His mother did not accept her and she saw that Zhuang would be pushed into someone else's arms. She was not ready to even witness the maneuvers without getting out of that trap. He did not even propose faithfulness. 8. He did not understand her own visions of art and freedom. He was thoroughly selfish.
He was all wrong for her, just a pretty face, and the clashes they had gone through and which she had forgiven for passion all came back with a vengeance. She had contributed her large painting of roses, and he did not care for it, contrary to what he had said. So, she whitewashed it to disappear and erase the memories turned painful. Breaking off like that was painful but the only solution so as not to totally lose herself. She was pulling at straws next, to recover the passion for art that Zhuang had destroyed with his selfish only love. He did not even respect her need to be free of him, calm and secure, and never see him again after a clean break-up. He kept popping up at the worst moments, shamelessly and selfishly, over the years, "when he had time", claiming possession of her after the thread was broken, like pulling open a scar. He said he wanted her happy but destroyed all she built and left her in a wasteland of painful memories that turned to obsession and made her sick. Repeatedly.
None of the protagonists are perfect, they all have flaws, some obvious some less. Why was Meigui also at fault, can you see? Why was Zhuang a nemesis for Fang and her ? Most will complacently stop at Fang's faults - he clearly has many. But why was he acceptable at first and why did things turn sour ? SuSu had answers and Fang and Meigui always listened to her counsel, even though they did not always heed them. She had faults as well... Huang Zhenhua often meddled and was full of biases. The Beijing parents were too centered on their own sweet comfort. And still we get to love some characters, almost hate other ones, forgive when maybe we shouldn't.
To celebrate the third week of The Tale of Roe staying #1 among the top 10 TV dramas of the week, I have added some more data to the "companion piece" in Discussion section, and am considering adding, as an appendix, a mini portrait of Lin Gengxing.
I have enough data to do it, I think, although would welcome the views of members of the Kids tribe, if any are here, and/or them explaining how and when that tribe originated or elaborate on his brands endorsements and events, and whatever anecdote they see fit to be remembered. I am presently collecting the pictures (all linked to sources) that will illustrate that mini profile.
The Discussions being open to collaborations, if someone wants to tackle Liu Yifei too, or one or other of the actors or actresses, and are not afraid to throw pictures in, in addition to text, they can add there too, under their handle. In case someone wants to try it, and is not familiar with the tools, just DM me and I will explain how to do it and how to link to the Table of Contents in the beginning of the thread.
Anyway, I would be happy to read your thoughts about the suggested Mini Profile appendix or annex addition(s). There is no time limit to do it, anyway and it is only as labor of love. Well, perhaps it would be better to add new section(s) before the drama falls out of top ten most watched ? As a matter of comparison, The Legend of Shen Li has now been in the charts for 15 weeks running. I can't bet on how long The Tale of Rose will last, except I believe it will not disappear too quickly either.
this drama was so much like a beautifully written romance novel. very mature, not cookie cutter, a lot of real…
Yes, the drama hardly leaves indifferent those who really watch it without a finger on ff button.
I think it is better than the original novel which was published in 2007 but subsequently dealt with characters of the end 1980s to early 2000s. There is a difference in era between the 20th and 21st century. Revisiting the story, making it more relevant to our times was not easy for scriptwriter, but a festival for us audience, especially the older who remember those quaint machines, phones, cars, and even banknotes that evolved at breakneck speed until our days.
The drama ends before the next great epoch change of covid. But the fashion is present-day, and in my opinion, it was a good move, both marketing wise for sponsors, but also to bridge subliminally the 4 dark years to pave the way to that glorious ride between golden leafed trees, to the next horizon, and make the whole story relevant to our days. Liu Yifen was wonderful to look at in her different "incarnations" as carefree skater, passionate lover awfully hurt by her partner, depressed student finding a fairy-tale shelter : the facade of the Shanghai building evoked images of Rapunzel combing her tresses to invite a lover in from the wild city, or Juliet at the balcony wondering at her fate with an adoring Romeo battling the odds of corporate corruption, but morphing like a cute dinosaur baby into full T Rex. The third period was like a change of colors and a reaching to summits with a sense of inexorability from time accelerating to another stop, and finally, picking up her courage, the mature woman facing soon menopause, remained young at heart, counting her chances : "I am 40, and if I live to 90, I still have 50 years left. I have time. I am still a child". Having been burnt enough by the realities of her different incarnations and dependence on men, she was like a phoenix rising again, but not wanting to repeat the mistakes of too deep entanglements : flying was a symbol of the lightness she now intended to stay with, not giving up on loving, but resolutely and healthily going for freedom.
It is a feat from this great cast and crew to have delivered such a mature and thought provoking drama. Some nitpickers will stop at trifles, but most of those are among the hasty ones who never watched it from end to end to really appreciate it, but quickly superimposed what they believe from a quick glimpse and reading of reviews. Better take time to watch it and even re-watch it. It is not a coincidence that it tops charts for third week running, with very little hype, compared to the hammering around the costume drama competition.
I am also very happy in particular for Lin Gengxin that this year 2024 allowed him both to play the easier, but endearing, wistful and sweet role of "last God" , and now the challenging, but very nuanced and human role of Fang Xiaowen, husband and dad ushering in the new generation of mischievous and strong women!
To celebrate the third week of The Tale of The Rose standing #1 among the the ten most watched TV dramas in China, I have added some stuff, and am considering to add a "mini profile" for Lin Gengxin who is an interesting fellow. What's your opinion ?
Impressive performance in the tale of rose. I read that you go to college for Phd, hope u have a good time studying…
And yes, impressive acting in The Tale of Rose. Not an easy role. He's once again earned respect from his peers. And I was glued to screen for that one, even went back and re watched , for many details and meaningful tidbits of dialogue by Liu Yifei but also Lin Gengxin and some others ! ❤️❤️❤️ I wrote an illustrated companion piece for it too, housed in the Discussions section of the drama under the (at first "working title") https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-story-of-rose/126207-the-story-of-the-rose-miscellaneous-details It's fairly complete now, although I might add an appendix which was still "in the works" by end of June.
He filmed the Tale of Rose with Liu Yi Fie in 2023
Actually that "guest" role is very misleading since LGX appeared in about 18+ episodes of the 38. There was an agreement that only the actors for FL, FL's brother and FL's once boss and future sister in law be termed "leads", all four "men in Rose's life" being termed guests. Perhaps it solved somewhat the position of billing. Lin Gengxin's role is more in line with a proper ML in that drama. About his apparent sabbatical from cameras, since November 15, 2023 (wrap of the shooting for The Tale of Rose that took part of his time from June 2023), he's been taking part in a couple and more TV shows, and his thesis + promotional duties for Shen Li and Rose probably took some of his time, too. ☺️ Let's expect good news about finding him again in the cast of c-dramas or movies!
Impressive performance in the tale of rose. I read that you go to college for Phd, hope u have a good time studying…
He earned his PhD from Beijing Film Academy already in May, with next to top score :) EDIT : no, i was dreaming lol It was Shanghai Theater Academy, and his admission was on June 12.
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It's Shanghai Theatre Academy. I wanted to check back and had some trouble finding the video, so I looked up directly on Chinese news. And found that he still has 4 years studies to do before getting the title officially. He is now "doctoral student", admitted on June 12 with next to top score, still enough to have it mentioned and be congratulated by Tong Dawei during their Tale of Rose live stream talk 👏👏
Meigui had much more trouble getting over her obsession with Zhuang Guodong who kept popping up physically or in imagination (see the hallucination at the art exhibition) at worst timing to rip up her mental scars. Her reaction to He Xi's departure was an indication that she still was not totally healed despite all the sheltering, soft cotton like and hard walls later, that Fang had put around her. That was also why Fang hated Zhuang and all returnees so much : he had witnessed his goddess despondent and crying, and throwing up as if poisoned, after the restaurant incident. And next, her implied admission that she was not really over Zhuang even when she married him made Fang lose the goddess image, the gentleness and admiration he had for her. Susu was right when she said Meigui had committed an irreparable mistake in transferring her burden to Fang, although Zhenhua and his dumb meddling was at fault, too. That was the root of Fang morphing into T rex during their married stint (he mellowed some, in stages, after the divorce, and was probably supporting her on the sly, through self determined alimony, since they had done it consensual, he even got her the doctor for her next man!). Zhuang had also polluted her relationship with Jiaming by popping up when the gallery was under construction. There was a parallel between Jiaming's death and Zhuang's expatriation, and she reacted to both with a painful dance, also a moment of similar anxiety and hallucinations when He Xi left.
Alright, I am through analyzing this complicated and entangled group of characters who played so well. I put some chosen gif for that in the Symbols section of my companion piece.
I will now leave the illustrated companion piece which I added in Discussions section ; you might find interesting tidbits there, on many things related to the drama. I ended it with a Mini-Profile of Lin Gengxin (which might be added to, if some anecdotes can be found to spice it up some more. There are also links to the music the he likes, pictures of him with his friends, possible lovers, and idol, and of course a catalogue of his most memorable movies and dramas, with the name of the character he played there.... The mini profile is linked to the Table of contents, which allows easier navigation between the sections through cross links. You can have a look starting at the mini profile (or going to Table of Contents first, as you please) :
https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-story-of-rose/126207-the-story-of-the-rose-miscellaneous-details?pid=3081829&page=2#p3081829
I was wondering what happened to the cat in the drama. It disappeared after the birth of Taichu, if I'm not mistaken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grd9PW-xhPI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grd9PW-xhPI)
Repeated here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6tOhuqf9VA (Zhao Lusi and Lin Gengxin's Exciting Pairings 'The Lobbyist' Drama Revealed!" )
and before : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvUHXvLIg-M (Lin Gengxin and Zhao Lusi could pair up in a new movie)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCzVUkoE3_s (Zhao Lusi & Lin Gengxin will collaborate after Director Deng Ke followed Lusi on Weibo last night)
Already before, a site reported that : "29 April 2024: Deng Ke apparently followed Lusi in Weibo. It is hotting. 29 April 2024: :Lusi announced during her YoyiC fan meeting in Chengdu that she was imminently to film a drama."
Me, I liked this drama a lot, for its acting, actors/actresses, colors, design, arresting and sometimes deep dialogues, small moments to be unsettled by fleeting details to dig into. 😁
Happy The Tale of Rose is holding up as #1 TV drama watched in China last week for 3rd week running, and that Douban rating is rising (from 7.1 opening while the drama had just started to 7.3 now. Not stellar but very decent, considering Douban seldom goes to 9 (btw, it did rise briefly over 9 this year for the short series To The Wonder, which was exactly wonderful, but very different from usual entertainment).
I don't know if the writer had a bias against Koreans, she did depict the mom as a sort of she-devil and Fang Xiewen as a sort of half educated pauper from the cold north, who needed rising in his job to alleviate his inferiority feelings, who clung to Meigui as if she was Gollum's Precious Ring that he needed to keep away literally from the eyes of and all the dangers of the world, becoming an autocrat to do so !
He did not ask her to cover her head and hide in burqa, nor remove her nail polish and burn her skirts, he had admired her in the yellow gown (not knowing it was the one in which she first seduced Zhuang) and did not pressure her or elaborate why he hoped he could invite her to eat noodles that evening. He never forced her physically or beat her, but he did not want other men, and Zhuang in particular, to get too close and lay claim over her, and Fang forgot his vow to not deceive her again after she found out about his sacrifices and schemes to seduce her. In fact I never felt Fang was a real boyfriend. He was always planning to marry his first love, as soon as he could, and become the pater familias not sparing a glance for other women who came pursuing him (the girl at university, the employee in the end episodes..), expecting Meigui to be as faithful as he was, even after their divorce.
As Lin Gengxin assessed the character, Fang was difficult, but not a scumbag.
Contrary to Zhuang he did understand why they were unsuited for each other, why she divorced, and he went on supporting her through self determined alimony so she never went without money : he had a good pretext with his daughter's needs over the next 10-12 years. He did hope they could make up in the future, but did not show up to tear at her wounds same way as Zhuang did. He could even joke with her in the end, and leave her decision to go free unchallenged. He was the only one among her males who grew, in my opinion.
If you watch the first pilots sequence very attentively, you will notice the difference in height of the three pilots, when they have passed her on their way on to whatever duty they are off to. On the flip side, when they were still approaching her, one of them looked like He Xi, tall and unconcerned as if she did not exist ; when they had their backs to her, walking away, you could see they were shorter, especially the tall one was not among the three. In fact, that tied back to Meigui's hallucinations of Zhuang in Shanghai at the entry of the art exhibition where she went with Fang, when they did not know each other well, and she was in the throes of dark depression over her break-up. She had experienced a shock that left scars in her mind, causing her to hallucinate ZGD everywhere, at the entrance to art galleries : not with pleasure but with pain. Fang never caused her waking nightmares before or after they parted, but Jiaming's death had been a renewed shock, when she had consciously or not danced the grief away. Only when she took up flying did she feel joy again. But now, He Xi was going to leave for one year. One year or forever, and her mind played a trick on her that he already was leaving, abandoning and ignoring her.
She was at the old terminal 2 of "Beijing International Capital airport" 30 some km northeast of Beijing that now serves only some destinations since the bigger "Olympic" terminal 3 (operational since March 2008), a little further away north east, that looks like a turtle and a Y, took over many long distance connection.
Today, historic terminal 1 serves mostly for freight. Terminal 2 serves certain lines, including Air Koryo (DPRK/Pyongyang in North Korea) and some members of Skyteam (notice the counter with that name that the three pilots are walking by) which is one of the three major airline alliances that includes KLM, Air France, Alitalia , Aeroflot ... The others are served from huger Terminal 3 "Olympics" one. T2 and T3 are interconnected through a highway and rapid transit rail to the Beijing metro in Chaoyang District which the airport is an extension of.
Today, a new, even bigger airport 46 km south of Beijing capital : "Daxing" handles most of the important lines. It looks like a six pointed starfish or a "phoenix in flight". The airport was planned to be able to handle "120 to 200 million passengers a year, which, if capacity were fully used, would make it the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic", Many airlines alliances have relocated there, and the new airport serves both Beijing, 46 km away, Tianjin, and Lanfang in Hebei province through rapid underground transit rail, buses, highways.
Meigui may have been going for a short business overnighter for the gallery. Or it was a nightmare, akin to her fever dream of dancing with faceless men and ZGD when she trashed his apartment. The three pilots were the embodiment of her anxiety flaring up again, despite all her appearing brave and composed. Anyway, she had arranged to meet, in that airport, He Xi who this time was really going away for his studies as pilot. That's when he gave her the painted "iron rose"he had crafted for her.
I will try to put some pix and a short description of the commercial Capital T2/T3 and Daxing airports, in addition to the flying school in Badaling already covered, in my Companion piece, housed in Discussions.
So, are you ready ? Here goes :
1. He sprung it on her without preparation as if it was like going on tour for a weekend when his expatriation project was for ..... years.
2. She was not prepared mentally or linguistically to expatriate. She did not speak French and phrase books are okay for a short visit, but it's not the same for going through long term visa applications, where a reasonable command of the language is required. He had never included her in his plan and was all talks, no substance. He did not communicate really.
3. She understood he did not care about her family, did not care about ever meeting her parents, and she was not prepared to leave that way, after having announced to her parents that she would bring him to have them meet. He looked down on her and her family as if he was a prince who could sever her ties to family and country. He was treating her as furniture that has no sentiment for other than the glorified behind that flops into the chair that can be pushed in a corner when the king has other business to attend.
4. She resented that he prioritized his career over her budding one, his aspirations over her own. She wanted respect and equality, and all he offered was lip service and physically subduing her at his whims. He did not offer respect.
5. She had no plans to study abroad, had left the Arts studies without a graduate diploma and therefore could not enter the Beaux Arts in France, because her qualifications were too low. She had bet on the emerging arts scene in Beijing and Shanghai to learn with the experts there the business of arts curation which looked challenging and glamorous. She was not going to start from scratch abroad in a foreign country, with no prospects of income for herself and depend on someone who had proven to be less than dependable. He did not offer a future, other than perhaps clandestine house maid at lowest level.
6. He had told her he was going through learning himself. He had no time and no real means or will to support her ; anyway she did not want to give up her independence yet, not in that perverted way he proposed. He did not offer security.
7. His mother did not accept her and she saw that Zhuang would be pushed into someone else's arms. She was not ready to even witness the maneuvers without getting out of that trap. He did not even propose faithfulness.
8. He did not understand her own visions of art and freedom. He was thoroughly selfish.
He was all wrong for her, just a pretty face, and the clashes they had gone through and which she had forgiven for passion all came back with a vengeance. She had contributed her large painting of roses, and he did not care for it, contrary to what he had said. So, she whitewashed it to disappear and erase the memories turned painful. Breaking off like that was painful but the only solution so as not to totally lose herself. She was pulling at straws next, to recover the passion for art that Zhuang had destroyed with his selfish only love. He did not even respect her need to be free of him, calm and secure, and never see him again after a clean break-up. He kept popping up at the worst moments, shamelessly and selfishly, over the years, "when he had time", claiming possession of her after the thread was broken, like pulling open a scar. He said he wanted her happy but destroyed all she built and left her in a wasteland of painful memories that turned to obsession and made her sick. Repeatedly.
None of the protagonists are perfect, they all have flaws, some obvious some less. Why was Meigui also at fault, can you see? Why was Zhuang a nemesis for Fang and her ? Most will complacently stop at Fang's faults - he clearly has many. But why was he acceptable at first and why did things turn sour ? SuSu had answers and Fang and Meigui always listened to her counsel, even though they did not always heed them. She had faults as well... Huang Zhenhua often meddled and was full of biases. The Beijing parents were too centered on their own sweet comfort. And still we get to love some characters, almost hate other ones, forgive when maybe we shouldn't.
I have enough data to do it, I think, although would welcome the views of members of the Kids tribe, if any are here, and/or them explaining how and when that tribe originated or elaborate on his brands endorsements and events, and whatever anecdote they see fit to be remembered. I am presently collecting the pictures (all linked to sources) that will illustrate that mini profile.
The Discussions being open to collaborations, if someone wants to tackle Liu Yifei too, or one or other of the actors or actresses, and are not afraid to throw pictures in, in addition to text, they can add there too, under their handle. In case someone wants to try it, and is not familiar with the tools, just DM me and I will explain how to do it and how to link to the Table of Contents in the beginning of the thread.
https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-story-of-rose/126207-the-story-of-the-rose-miscellaneous-details (I regret that I did not title the link directly as Companion Piece : at the time, I thought I'd just lazily pick up some miscellaneous details and describe them, but it ended up as quite more comprehensive than I initially envisaged, and MDL does not allow changes in title link...)
Anyway, I would be happy to read your thoughts about the suggested Mini Profile appendix or annex addition(s). There is no time limit to do it, anyway and it is only as labor of love. Well, perhaps it would be better to add new section(s) before the drama falls out of top ten most watched ? As a matter of comparison, The Legend of Shen Li has now been in the charts for 15 weeks running. I can't bet on how long The Tale of Rose will last, except I believe it will not disappear too quickly either.
I think it is better than the original novel which was published in 2007 but subsequently dealt with characters of the end 1980s to early 2000s. There is a difference in era between the 20th and 21st century. Revisiting the story, making it more relevant to our times was not easy for scriptwriter, but a festival for us audience, especially the older who remember those quaint machines, phones, cars, and even banknotes that evolved at breakneck speed until our days.
The drama ends before the next great epoch change of covid. But the fashion is present-day, and in my opinion, it was a good move, both marketing wise for sponsors, but also to bridge subliminally the 4 dark years to pave the way to that glorious ride between golden leafed trees, to the next horizon, and make the whole story relevant to our days. Liu Yifen was wonderful to look at in her different "incarnations" as carefree skater, passionate lover awfully hurt by her partner, depressed student finding a fairy-tale shelter : the facade of the Shanghai building evoked images of Rapunzel combing her tresses to invite a lover in from the wild city, or Juliet at the balcony wondering at her fate with an adoring Romeo battling the odds of corporate corruption, but morphing like a cute dinosaur baby into full T Rex. The third period was like a change of colors and a reaching to summits with a sense of inexorability from time accelerating to another stop, and finally, picking up her courage, the mature woman facing soon menopause, remained young at heart, counting her chances : "I am 40, and if I live to 90, I still have 50 years left. I have time. I am still a child". Having been burnt enough by the realities of her different incarnations and dependence on men, she was like a phoenix rising again, but not wanting to repeat the mistakes of too deep entanglements : flying was a symbol of the lightness she now intended to stay with, not giving up on loving, but resolutely and healthily going for freedom.
It is a feat from this great cast and crew to have delivered such a mature and thought provoking drama. Some nitpickers will stop at trifles, but most of those are among the hasty ones who never watched it from end to end to really appreciate it, but quickly superimposed what they believe from a quick glimpse and reading of reviews. Better take time to watch it and even re-watch it. It is not a coincidence that it tops charts for third week running, with very little hype, compared to the hammering around the costume drama competition.
I am also very happy in particular for Lin Gengxin that this year 2024 allowed him both to play the easier, but endearing, wistful and sweet role of "last God" , and now the challenging, but very nuanced and human role of Fang Xiaowen, husband and dad ushering in the new generation of mischievous and strong women!
What's your opinion ?
I wrote an illustrated companion piece for it too, housed in the Discussions section of the drama under the (at first "working title") https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-story-of-rose/126207-the-story-of-the-rose-miscellaneous-details
It's fairly complete now, although I might add an appendix which was still "in the works" by end of June.
About his apparent sabbatical from cameras, since November 15, 2023 (wrap of the shooting for The Tale of Rose that took part of his time from June 2023), he's been taking part in a couple and more TV shows, and his thesis + promotional duties for Shen Li and Rose probably took some of his time, too. ☺️
Let's expect good news about finding him again in the cast of c-dramas or movies!
EDIT : no, i was dreaming lol
It was Shanghai Theater Academy, and his admission was on June 12.