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  • Location: Cooking up world-changing ambition
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  • Join Date: July 13, 2024
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Xiang83

Cooking up world-changing ambition
Replying to suirennaa 21 days ago
Title Dream of Golden Years Spoiler
"I don't think there are actually two timelines. One possibility for her not being able to find her parents…
If they pull this off without another ending of "It was all a dream", so Xiaolan can stay- I believe Xiaolan would seriously be happier this way, even if it means forgetting everything of the future in time to come (maybe an accident happens at some point, that causes her to lose her memories of her future self but she remembers everything else).
Replying to criesa-jie 21 days ago
I'm reluctant to say goodbye to this series honestly, I'm taking my time really slowly for me to be able to watch…
It is very fun! I finished episode 21 yesterday night. Will definitely rewatch this drama!

Never thought I would enjoy a retro drama so much, but here we are! Watching Bai Zhenzhu and Kang Wei protecting the business that reminds me of an IKEA in the 80s, Xiaolan being more open about her vulnerabilities and doubts and fears- I nearly fell off the couch upon seeing her and Zhou Cheng together in episode 19.

The music is so apt for the episodes. By episode 20, we are in the 90s. It's amazing to see the juxtaposition between the 80s versus entering the 90s, when progress is rapid.
Replying to Mercy 21 days ago
Very unrealistic. If it continues. I will drop it.
Sorry, who are you? Why should I care about your profile picture?

Since you appeared to be in agony over a lack of kisses, I simply encourage you to find something you like. Whether you drop this drama or not because of kisses, the producers and cast are not going to change any episodes for you.

I have finished 21 episodes of this drama very easily. I also know there are others who muchly enjoy "Dream of Golden Years" being a well-produced drama being realistic about old-school romance, because we have simply seen a lot more and been through more eg the 80s and 90s, which younger viewers have not.

If people can't see beyond romance and certain preferences and do not like business-with-architecture dramas, this is not the drama for them. Having self-awareness of knowing what one likes and doesn't like is a form of humility. This retro drama is much easier to watch than Republican-era dramas but is just as engaging and meaningful as such dramas due to a different focus, and I frankly do not recommend Republican-era dramas for someone with your temperament.

Child. please grow up. Since you have an MDL account, you should know a drama doesn't revolve around you. What you want for a profile picture has nothing to do with my comments. I never attacked any artists in my comments, but expressed my thoughts and admiration about the cast of Pursuit of Jade especially the leads. Shifting goalposts to try to make your accusation stick on me isn't going to work. Petulance at not having a comeback because someone punctured your comment-flouncing about realism is unsightly.

May you get a clue about that in future XD
Replying to Lulu_haneul 24 days ago
Zhou Ye look so good in the 80's from the stills!! made me want to check out the show!! but from the comments…
I dropped "Scent of Time" after 2 episodes, so I'm the least-likely cheerleader for the FL.

However, I'm always open to changing my opinion. I really take my hat off to Zhou Ye in this drama. Zhou Ye is a huge factor amongst the strong ensemble cast that has enabled easy digestion of 16 episodes. She is marvellous as Xia Xiaolan and in terms of communication, the leads improve each other. I am pleasantly surprised at how mature their communication is. Our heroine learns about her own shortcomings as the drama continues, and also learns to open up.

Here are two of my summative comments:

https://kisskh.at/776939-again-my-life#comment-25505756

https://kisskh.at/776939-again-my-life#comment-25510262

Try 6 to 8 episodes :)

Luckily for me, episodes 17 and 18 are now available on IQiyi, along with a preview of episode 19. Enjoy your week ahead!
Replying to metanoia 24 days ago
why so low rating..? watched 7 eps and i loved this drama so muchh so far , it gives me confident...!
The ratings of this drama has been deliberately targeted by accounts twice over two different times on two different days, somewhere between the time of 3 pm to 6 pm US-time (the latest group attack was on 21 Saturday more than 48 hours ago, whereby that would correlate to a time of 3 am to 6 am in China).

Each time this happens, the drama falls below 8.0. Malicious down-voting by accounts with their own agendas.
Replying to suirennaa 24 days ago
he’s a future devoted husband, i approve! like xiaolan said, his qualities as a man are rare even in modern…
Not extinct. I'm sure the external packaging is different, but got to know where to find XD

Here's a hard choice, since a woman can't marry two husbands here: Which would you prefer, Zhou Cheng or Mayor Tang? I'd throw in Xiaolan's uncle Liu Yong, but that one is married ;)
Replying to suirennaa 24 days ago
Title Dream of Golden Years Spoiler
love, love granny yu! she’s wise, classy, and miles apart from that other grandma 😌
Grandma Xia's horrible words in episode 1 to Xiaolan and Liu Fen about how Liu Fen is unable to bear sons and should have died to do the Xia family a favour says a lot about what Granny Xia was brought up to believe. I wonder if they are going to attempt any redemption events for Granny Xia.
Replying to Svllnng 24 days ago
Thats how the poor coworker went out? I hope it was quick my goodness. I dont see a problem with him helping the…
Given how emotionally traumatised Zhou Cheng was by witnessing this, and how he once helped piggyback the Mayor who suffered acute gastritis, his sense of responsibility is strong. But of course, he isn't sure how much he should do. Given how emotionally-affected he was, he still chose to prioritise Xiaolan. It's good for him to talk frankly about this with Xiaolan.
Replying to Shantiece 24 days ago
I love the glow-up of the mom. I hope she does start dating the Mayor, though. They make a cute couple and she's…
Granny Yu is good for empowering Liu Fen. But Liu Fen understandably has a huge sense of inferiority given how she was treated for more than 20 years by the Xia family, plus feeling self-conscious after deciding to do one thing most married women don't do in her generation.

Mayor Tang just needs to persistently be himself. Episode 15 is awesome for that XD
Replying to nephie 24 days ago
The ML's co-worker's death made me nauseous. No dramatic slo-mo of the characters seeing it fall and pushing the…
It was so real that one can feel Zhou Cheng' being emotionally overwhelmed yet having to hold it all in, well-portrayed by Zhai Xiaowen. I almost couldn't believe they would show that so starkly. Kudos.
Replying to Mercy 24 days ago
Very unrealistic. If it continues. I will drop it.
BTW, if you want kisses, please watch Pursuit of Jade.

If you want to talk about realism, a male butcher is at the bottom of the social system in ancient China. A female butcher ie daughter of a butcher is more lowly than that. Someone from a village is perceived less favourably than someone from a city. Nobles will not be listening to anybody of that class, especially if they are from a village. That is part of the ancient class system of feudal China. My personal opinion doesn't mean anything, even if I might disagree with how class worked back then.

Ignorant villagers cannot grasp military strategy and fighting styles because of education issues, but if trained by a capable warrior, someone of any gender will know how to fight. How well they can fight is based on many factors, including their martial arts teacher. That said, capably employing military strategies usually require proper teaching and experience. Men of armies are instilled to be loyal to their generals, who are supposed to understand military strategies well enough as part of achieving that rank. The strategies of the general are a primary factor affecting the lives and deaths of an army. A general is valuable and cannot be easily replaced.

My condolences to the Zhang Linghe fans rightfully upset in C-Ent that his ML doesn't resemble Xie Zheng in the novel and his ML role is affected by the editing and script to be inconsistent and watered-down while the FL has plot-armour to rival the status of gods, in terms of why his character is legendary. I believe Tian Xiwei will be fantastic in her role because she can make anything work. It's a hit on Netflix, which is great for international viewers!

Over in C-Ent, I can see why "Pursuit of Jade" got a lot of brickbats. I feel sorry for the cast and crew that worked so hard. People should give it a try while it is airing.

I haven't watched "Pursuit of Jade", but I understand there's three screenwriters for the drama. If the other two screenwriters are not up to par with the primary screenwriter whose work is very good so that one will naturally be responsible for the first half of the drama script-wise and characterisation-wise in adaptation, the plot and characterisation quality for the second half of "Pursuit of Jade" is going to be very different from the first half. The quality of pacing for an entire drama requires all screenwriters to be well-aware of the source material plus each other's work, and the Director needs to be on top of that first. Otherwise editing is going to be all over the place in the second half of the drama, when the Director(s) make certain decisions post-production.

If you know nothing about military command in ancient China plus its social systems and haven't read the novel the drama is based on, I am certain you will definitely enjoy and prefer "Pursuit of Jade" over this drama.

You're welcome to learn about the social and cultural norms of the 80s, or perhaps educate me about it, since I completely disagree with your claim that Zhou Ye and Zhai Xiaowen not kissing in "Dream of Golden Years" as Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng until now is unrealistic:

https://kisskh.at/776939-again-my-life#comment-25517634

I said much earlier to another viewer that I'm waiting for things to build between this couple to a certain point, for a kiss. If you drop this drama due to your ideas of realism, I can understand.
Replying to Xiang83 24 days ago
Too bad the drama's cultural and artistic efforts are wasted on people who can't take one minute to use Google…
Zhou Cheng getting flustered over a cheek kiss is perfectly realistic. I have given insight into why that is the case here:

https://kisskh.at/776939-again-my-life#comment-25517634

And for anybody that wants to complain about realism, I've also illustrated an example of what realism should look like: https://kisskh.at/776939-again-my-life#comment-25518078

I'm glad for a variety of dramas. We all have different tastes, and we should find the ones that most appeal to us. "Dream of Golden Years" is well-executed this far, whereby I can see the Director and screenwriters really knew the material and understood each other's POVs plus the screenplay, and then reconsidered the scenes plus storylines after shooting, before editing.
Replying to Mercy 24 days ago
Very unrealistic. If it continues. I will drop it.
What does the 90s have to do with the 80s?

Can you tell me how many kiss scenes are in the likes of "Silent Tides", "The Guardians", "River Sunset" and others? I might have missed all of them in these Republican-era dramas, despite watching every episode. "This Thriving Land" is a rural-realist drama that partially falls into the era classified as Republican. I must have missed all the kisses there too.

I'm curious. How much private physical action do you expect a pre-marital couple to engage in, in the 1980s of China? One is a FL from a rural village. The ML is from the capital, from a family of respectable standing. Kindly be aware of the huge differences between a rural village and the city. I look forward to you doing a wonderful job of educating me about chinese culture of China in the 80s and of course, justifying why it is unrealistic for ML to be flustered about a kiss on the cheek.

BTW, I find his reaction to be realistic, given his position relative to his family's standing and his character in this era.

Since your cultural knowledge might need some help, here's a clue: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2022/07/30-years-of-kissing-in-chinese-cinema-and-society/

Do note that direct confessions of "I love you" in the 1980s is completely unrealistic, because expressions of love and affection are very different as Chinese. Indirect practical actions expressing love and affection were more common, given the extent of Confucianism influence present especially in the villages. Social boundaries are very strong. People do not usually engage in public displays of affection. Physical touch between unmarried singles has limits. Unmarried singles typically don't do sleepovers or camp one night in the other's household and if they do, they will be segregated by gender and most likely with another family member of household being the same gender. Singles of good standing, be it village or city, should be aware of the appropriate limits of physical contact before marriage EVEN in private.

Since you watched the first ten episodes of this drama, did you register how strongly the alleged violations of physical boundaries between unmarried people affected Xia Xiaolan as per public perceptions within the village and also the Xia family?

I'm glad you claim the leads are your faves, because I didn't get that impression at all. Glad we cleared that up!
Replying to Mercy 25 days ago
Very unrealistic. If it continues. I will drop it.
Why not use Google and educate your ignorance about public affection and chinese culture of the 1980s? You are welcome to drop the drama, since the lack of kisses are not working out for you.
Replying to suirennaa 25 days ago
i like that we get a glimpse of modern xiaolan at the start of each episode, followed by a meaningful episode…
Too bad the drama's cultural and artistic efforts are wasted on people who can't take one minute to use Google to understand the era this drama is set in, and insist on comment-flouncing about dropping this drama if they don't get kisses.

By all means, go ahead and drop the drama if this isn't your cup of tea. I'm glad the production team didn't make this drama based on ignorant minds not having a clue about chinese culture and public affection in the 1980s.

No wonder MDL ratings are sometimes viewed as a joke.
Replying to Sharlotka 25 days ago
Title Dream of Golden Years Spoiler
I'm a bit late, so I'm slowly catching up on the episodes but holy crap, the Xia family. I understand that filial…
Episode 1 was savage, in the sense that Granny Xia said such hurtful hateful words deemed normal culture of that time, from an elder in a village. it was also equally savagely cathartic, to see Xia Xiaolan stand up to her.

But good things come, and our merry gang has so much adventure and improvements to handle. Wait till you see episodes 12 to 16 XD
Replying to Mercy 25 days ago
Very unrealistic. If it continues. I will drop it.
You and others should drop the drama now, since you're not happy with 16 episodes of realism. Since a lack of kisses makes this so hard on you, this retro drama is not the drama for you.

In the 1980s, public displays of romantic affection are foreign to Chinese culture and classified as "bourgeois affectation".

At one point, the movie boom of 1980s led to school-age couples holding hands in public. How novel! Also noted here:

https://thwaites.com.au/rlc/chap5.htm#:~:text=The%20romantic%20movie%20boom%20of%201980%20sent,school-age%20couples%20could%20be%20spied%20holding%20hands.

In 1983, Deng Xiaoping's 严打 campaign against hooliganism resulted in the Shanghai police and moral watchdogs having couples apprehended and/or reprimanded for public displays of affection, as part of what the authorities considered as necessary measures against "Spiritual pollution" ie Western values.

That is the era this drama is set in.
Replying to Xiang83 25 days ago
This is the kind of retro drama that would do very well on CCTV, because it is well-produced. The ensemble cast…
I might have a slight advantage of learning mandarin from my family since I was born. The first time I called a parent anything was my mother, in Mandarin, and my maternal grandmother sang lullabies such as 小白船 to me when I was a baby.

Chinese platforms and/or fellow mandarin-speakers are usually where it's at for me, if I want detailed discussions about original context and all else.

I have watched up until the first half of episode 16, and Xia Xiaolan is anything but a Mary Sue. A person who has been bullied and learns only to rely on themselves (especially as an orphan) usually strives to make something of themselves, pushes themself too hard, and sometimes becomes a people-pleaser because they are afraid to lose opportunities and don't want to destroy the "world" of stability they have built for themselves relative to others, such as in a workplace. Such people tend to hold everything in. They can make a great sales pitch, but they are terrible at being vulnerable with others hence their lips are voluntarily sewn shut in that aspect unless something big happens to make them loosen up.

Episodes 12 to 16 are great for organically showcasing how Xiaolan opens up and shows her appreciation for Zhou Cheng by also learning and reflecting his communication methods, because he is non-judgmental and frank and diplomatic with her. Instead of jumping to conclusions, she confides in him and shows her lack of confidence and sadness. There's a lot happening in these episodes.

I believe viewers who like "Silent Tides" or "The Guardians" will definitely warm up to "Dream of Golden Years". Those are Republican-era dramas with tight storylines and mostly-fantastic acting, with fairly complex primary concerns eg monetary systems and mercantile issues or spy espionage thrillers where romance is not a primary feature if present, but everything else is, especially interactions and relationships of various characters.

BTW, it's not the cultural norm to start spewing to a casual friend or strangers about doubts, fears and being wrong. Someone you are close to and look up to, once you have enough time to be sure you're ready to open up to, is normal.

And when Xiaolan finally kisses Zhou Cheng ie locking lips (hasn't happened yet), I want that kiss to mean something beautiful and significant. I like mature couples (Chang Chen and Ni Ni in "Love and Destiny", Zhang Yunlong and Liu Shi Shi in "Love In Pavilion", Chen Zheyuan with Li Qin in "Fated Hearts", etc), and these couples finally sharing a kiss was so wonderful. I like our Liu Fen in this drama with someone (of course, no kiss). It's a lovely surprise for me to add Zhou Ye and Zhai Xiaowen to the list :D

What the screenwriter did in terms of changes for Zhai Xiaowen's character is very detailed in several incidents: https://m.weibo.cn/status/5277938889261907

Praise for the screenwriter, production team and cast from a novel-reader: https://so.douyin.com/video/detail?aweme_id=7618085007923711387

Occasionally I semi-explain stuff on MDL, such as the title of a drama that requires understanding mandarin and some literary references (no spoilers):

https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-25416512