Green, Green Grass by the River, ep. 01-04
Mon, Jan. 28th, 2008 04:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceter(That's my own translation of the title Qing Qing He Bian Cao -- the title is unsubtly a combination of the main characters' names, Qing Qing, Xiao Cao, and He Shi Wei. Though the character for "he" is different.)
I used to watch this on TV as a kid in Taiwan. My mom, in an act of incredible generosity, bought me a huge set of cdramas based on Taiwanese novelist Qiong Yao's works, several of which I've watched but only vaguely remember.
They are so cracktastic! Well, at least this one is. Over-the-top melodrama and eighties bangs and shoulder pads under period clothing too!
I based the following on an email I wrote to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rachelmanija to cheer her up (Rachel, I added more plot stuff if you want to skip to the end). It's spoilery, but given that this hasn't been subbed in English anywhere, I encourage people to read it regardless.
Also, it has what is possibly the most ineffective suicide attempt ever.
It's 1915, and the young master of the house has fallen in love with one of the women who presumably work at his house. We open on his father beating him with a stick and yelling that he's shamed the house. The woman says the father should beat her instead, and the father does! Then the mother comes in and tries to put herself between her son and the giant stick!
They lock the son in his room, but one of the servants conspires to get him out and tells him to meet his lady love. They run away together!
Literally.
As in, the entire household chases them while holding flaming torches! And every time his mother weeps and wails about how unfilial he is, he and his lady love must plug their ears to shut out her mournful cries, which weaken their resolve!
They end up marrying in a western church and come back to the house to beg once more to be recognized by his parents (Explanation: "Look at our rings! It is a western custom. It was a strange marriage, but it is legal."). The mother is so happy to have him back that she wants to take him back, but the father refuses! Then he calls his son the shame of his heart! (or something, I can't quite translate) Then the son steps in and yells that he respects his parents and loves them, which is why he came back, but now that his father has, gasp, called him the shame of his heart, he will forever now be a stranger to the family! He walks out, and the father yells "I have no son! NO SON!" while the mother weeps and wails.
One years passes, and the gloomy household puts up decorations to celebrate the father's birthday in an attempt to cheer things up. But little do they know that over the hills, we see footsteps in the snow, with cutout paper coins floating everywhere... it's the lady love in funeral garb! With a giant funeral procession! Bearing the son's COFFIN! (and her newborn daughter. I keep forgetting about the baby.)
They go to the house and she tells the father and the mother, "I am so sorry to bring back your son like this." (only with more hysterics) The mother wails. The father quails. They insist that the coffin be opened because it cannot be their son in there! And yet, it is! They weep and wail! When asked on how he dies, it turns out that they lived in dire poverty, and a week ago, in the middle of a snowstorm, they ran out of firewood, so he insisted on chopping firewood. She and her mother pleaded, but to no avail, so off he went and came down with a horrible cold. There was no doctor to be found, so he died of who knows what, bravely trying to save his family by chopping wood!
The father then tells her that she killed his son by selfishly stealing him from a life of wealth to a horrible one in which he is in dire poverty, that she has taken him from heaven and thrust him into hell! (I kid you not, these are the very words he uses) Then the mother begins to accuse the father of killing him, along with accusing the wife and her mother. The mother then rushes up and asks them to at least recognize the poor baby, as it was the son's final request, that his family get their grandchild. But no, the father will not, because even though the baby is his flesh and bone, the tainted blood of the mother also runs in her veins! (also the very words he uses)
The wife then says, "Don't you think I suffered? I want to die! Well, you will have her no matter what!" She thrusts the baby into the father's arms and then runs to the coffin and proceeds to BASH HER HEAD against it in the most ill-advised, awkward suicide attempt EVER. I nearly died laughing.
Sadly, she doesn't actually die.
Ten years later, we are introduced to the adorable moppet and orphan Xiao Cao (I bet everything that she is their lost daughter), who lives with someone's nephew and is horrifically abused every day. Anyway, she and another orphan Qing Qing (this one 18, run away from a marriage to a 58-yo) escape and run to find the family, as Xiao Cao's grandfather lives there (not really her grandfather).
They end up meeting this rich student guy (He Shi Wei) on the road, and when they make it to the house, it turns out the mother is now blind! And INSANE! She mistakes the guy for their dead son because he says he's a stranger when she fearfully asks who the new voices are (we get a flashback to the son storming off saying he will forever be a stranger to the house for anyone who missed the connection the first time). She then makes everyone treat his wounds (he has head trauma from fighting some ruffians to defend the two orphan girls), as she is blind and kept clutching him to her breast then DROPPING him to the floor, repeatedly whacking his head against it!
Then! The father comes in, and he clearly still has anger management issues, as he threatens to tear her away, and then when the servants won't literally drag her back to her room, he threatens to have Qing Qing, Xiao Cao and Shi Wei taken away by the police! There is much weeping and wailing, and the mother's hands tremble as she sadly says she will return to her room.
We then get another tearful scene in which Yue Niang, the young and beautiful caretaker of the mother pleads with the father to not distress the mother so much. While I think the father has some serious temper problems, I still do not think letting the mother believe the guy is her ten-years-dead son is helpful. Also, I vaguely remember the father being in love with Yue Niang later, though maybe I'm making that up.
We next see the mother in her rooms, but she refuses to take her medicine because everyone shouldn't be taking care of her, they should be taking care of her poor, poor son! She knocks the medicine (it's a hot soup with herbs) to the floor, scalding her hands. She refuses treatment for her hands, as she wants everyone to go to her son, and when one of the servant women tries to tell her her son actually is dead, she accuses them of bowing to the father's temper! But apparently, Yue Niang has won her argument with the father, and she comes to take the mother to Shi Wei.
Shi Wei wakes up and quite reasonably asks where he is and who this woman is, and the mother goes off into hysterics, saying that it's been ten years, her eyes have lost their brightness, her hair has turned white (it is, in fact, still black), she's gotten more wrinkles, and that he cannot blame her because she literally cried herself blind!
Yue Niang had actually said this before, but I had taken it more as a metaphor, for the obvious reasons. But no, I think we are meant to take it literally!
Later on, Xiao Cao and Qing Qing decide to stay in case Xiao Cao's grandfather figure comes back to look for her, and they cry in each other's arms, as the mother's hysterics have reminded them that they are sad, motherless figures, and no one will ever care that way about them.
I think we end with Yue Niang retelling the story of Yuen Kai and Shu Lan (the son and his wife), complete with flashbacks! As if it weren't just three episodes ago!
Oh! I forgot! We get a scene with Xiao Cao's grandfather figure (Grandfather Hai) as he arrives at his nephew's house. He is four months late because.... he has broken his leg! And walked all the way over with it! He chews out his nephew and wife for not taking care of Xiao Cao the second the money went away and said they must have horribly treated her for her to run away. Of course, it's the wife who's the horrible one who goes off on Xiao Cao being a lazy bum eating all her food and everything.
And! We see a brief shot of He Shi Wei's parents, reading the letter he left when he apparently ran off. Apparently, he is too disgusted by all his privilege in life and by the fact that his lifestyle is supported by all these servants and people, so he has decided to strike it out on his own. I feel as a strategy to combat privilege, this is not necessarily optimal.
It is so awesome! I am just sad it does not have English subtitles.
I used to watch this on TV as a kid in Taiwan. My mom, in an act of incredible generosity, bought me a huge set of cdramas based on Taiwanese novelist Qiong Yao's works, several of which I've watched but only vaguely remember.
They are so cracktastic! Well, at least this one is. Over-the-top melodrama and eighties bangs and shoulder pads under period clothing too!
I based the following on an email I wrote to
rachelmanija to cheer her up (Rachel, I added more plot stuff if you want to skip to the end). It's spoilery, but given that this hasn't been subbed in English anywhere, I encourage people to read it regardless. Also, it has what is possibly the most ineffective suicide attempt ever.
It's 1915, and the young master of the house has fallen in love with one of the women who presumably work at his house. We open on his father beating him with a stick and yelling that he's shamed the house. The woman says the father should beat her instead, and the father does! Then the mother comes in and tries to put herself between her son and the giant stick!
They lock the son in his room, but one of the servants conspires to get him out and tells him to meet his lady love. They run away together!
Literally.
As in, the entire household chases them while holding flaming torches! And every time his mother weeps and wails about how unfilial he is, he and his lady love must plug their ears to shut out her mournful cries, which weaken their resolve!
They end up marrying in a western church and come back to the house to beg once more to be recognized by his parents (Explanation: "Look at our rings! It is a western custom. It was a strange marriage, but it is legal."). The mother is so happy to have him back that she wants to take him back, but the father refuses! Then he calls his son the shame of his heart! (or something, I can't quite translate) Then the son steps in and yells that he respects his parents and loves them, which is why he came back, but now that his father has, gasp, called him the shame of his heart, he will forever now be a stranger to the family! He walks out, and the father yells "I have no son! NO SON!" while the mother weeps and wails.
One years passes, and the gloomy household puts up decorations to celebrate the father's birthday in an attempt to cheer things up. But little do they know that over the hills, we see footsteps in the snow, with cutout paper coins floating everywhere... it's the lady love in funeral garb! With a giant funeral procession! Bearing the son's COFFIN! (and her newborn daughter. I keep forgetting about the baby.)
They go to the house and she tells the father and the mother, "I am so sorry to bring back your son like this." (only with more hysterics) The mother wails. The father quails. They insist that the coffin be opened because it cannot be their son in there! And yet, it is! They weep and wail! When asked on how he dies, it turns out that they lived in dire poverty, and a week ago, in the middle of a snowstorm, they ran out of firewood, so he insisted on chopping firewood. She and her mother pleaded, but to no avail, so off he went and came down with a horrible cold. There was no doctor to be found, so he died of who knows what, bravely trying to save his family by chopping wood!
The father then tells her that she killed his son by selfishly stealing him from a life of wealth to a horrible one in which he is in dire poverty, that she has taken him from heaven and thrust him into hell! (I kid you not, these are the very words he uses) Then the mother begins to accuse the father of killing him, along with accusing the wife and her mother. The mother then rushes up and asks them to at least recognize the poor baby, as it was the son's final request, that his family get their grandchild. But no, the father will not, because even though the baby is his flesh and bone, the tainted blood of the mother also runs in her veins! (also the very words he uses)
The wife then says, "Don't you think I suffered? I want to die! Well, you will have her no matter what!" She thrusts the baby into the father's arms and then runs to the coffin and proceeds to BASH HER HEAD against it in the most ill-advised, awkward suicide attempt EVER. I nearly died laughing.
Sadly, she doesn't actually die.
Ten years later, we are introduced to the adorable moppet and orphan Xiao Cao (I bet everything that she is their lost daughter), who lives with someone's nephew and is horrifically abused every day. Anyway, she and another orphan Qing Qing (this one 18, run away from a marriage to a 58-yo) escape and run to find the family, as Xiao Cao's grandfather lives there (not really her grandfather).
They end up meeting this rich student guy (He Shi Wei) on the road, and when they make it to the house, it turns out the mother is now blind! And INSANE! She mistakes the guy for their dead son because he says he's a stranger when she fearfully asks who the new voices are (we get a flashback to the son storming off saying he will forever be a stranger to the house for anyone who missed the connection the first time). She then makes everyone treat his wounds (he has head trauma from fighting some ruffians to defend the two orphan girls), as she is blind and kept clutching him to her breast then DROPPING him to the floor, repeatedly whacking his head against it!
Then! The father comes in, and he clearly still has anger management issues, as he threatens to tear her away, and then when the servants won't literally drag her back to her room, he threatens to have Qing Qing, Xiao Cao and Shi Wei taken away by the police! There is much weeping and wailing, and the mother's hands tremble as she sadly says she will return to her room.
We then get another tearful scene in which Yue Niang, the young and beautiful caretaker of the mother pleads with the father to not distress the mother so much. While I think the father has some serious temper problems, I still do not think letting the mother believe the guy is her ten-years-dead son is helpful. Also, I vaguely remember the father being in love with Yue Niang later, though maybe I'm making that up.
We next see the mother in her rooms, but she refuses to take her medicine because everyone shouldn't be taking care of her, they should be taking care of her poor, poor son! She knocks the medicine (it's a hot soup with herbs) to the floor, scalding her hands. She refuses treatment for her hands, as she wants everyone to go to her son, and when one of the servant women tries to tell her her son actually is dead, she accuses them of bowing to the father's temper! But apparently, Yue Niang has won her argument with the father, and she comes to take the mother to Shi Wei.
Shi Wei wakes up and quite reasonably asks where he is and who this woman is, and the mother goes off into hysterics, saying that it's been ten years, her eyes have lost their brightness, her hair has turned white (it is, in fact, still black), she's gotten more wrinkles, and that he cannot blame her because she literally cried herself blind!
Yue Niang had actually said this before, but I had taken it more as a metaphor, for the obvious reasons. But no, I think we are meant to take it literally!
Later on, Xiao Cao and Qing Qing decide to stay in case Xiao Cao's grandfather figure comes back to look for her, and they cry in each other's arms, as the mother's hysterics have reminded them that they are sad, motherless figures, and no one will ever care that way about them.
I think we end with Yue Niang retelling the story of Yuen Kai and Shu Lan (the son and his wife), complete with flashbacks! As if it weren't just three episodes ago!
Oh! I forgot! We get a scene with Xiao Cao's grandfather figure (Grandfather Hai) as he arrives at his nephew's house. He is four months late because.... he has broken his leg! And walked all the way over with it! He chews out his nephew and wife for not taking care of Xiao Cao the second the money went away and said they must have horribly treated her for her to run away. Of course, it's the wife who's the horrible one who goes off on Xiao Cao being a lazy bum eating all her food and everything.
And! We see a brief shot of He Shi Wei's parents, reading the letter he left when he apparently ran off. Apparently, he is too disgusted by all his privilege in life and by the fact that his lifestyle is supported by all these servants and people, so he has decided to strike it out on his own. I feel as a strategy to combat privilege, this is not necessarily optimal.
It is so awesome! I am just sad it does not have English subtitles.
(no subject)
Tue, Jan. 29th, 2008 11:35 pm (UTC)Wow.
(no subject)
Wed, Jan. 30th, 2008 11:45 pm (UTC)