Finally, I watched a Chinese historical television drama called Love in Flames of War, with the participation of the Canadian wolf Dou Xiao, aka Shawn Dou. I wanted to watch the drama for a long time, even at the beginning of the year, but then I couldn't find the episodes with a proper translation, so I postponed watching the drama. And finally, I waited for the episodes of the series on YouTube with a good translation, with multi-subtitles from YOUKU.

First of all, I want to say that Dou Xiao should thank God for making him so handsome... very handsome. You can look at him like a painting for hours and not get bored. It's a pity that he didn't listen to my advice, which I gave him in my review on the Chinese series Turn on the Right Way to Life. I advised him not to marry a woman from a very rich family, warning him of the risks. He did not listen. Well, that's his right and his decision.

However, there is no turning back now. Because the Lord Jesus Christ said (the Gospel of the Apostle Mark, chapter 10, verse 9): “So what God has joined together, let not a human put asunder!” Because just as God hates divorce, so I hate it.

I only hope that Dou Xiao loves Laurinda Ho, not her money or the money of her family. Although I doubt it very much. Their compatibility horoscope says that the material component is the basis of their relationship. My now-former job colleague once told me that ninety-five percent of all men marry for the sake of calculation. And I say that not ninety-five, but all ninety-nine percent of men do so.

Despite this, Dou Xiao and I are somewhat similar. He, like me, is a warrior in the soul, so he chooses appropriate roles. Because just like Muru Han Jiang from Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy is a warrior, so is Xiao Bei Chen. I have only one question to Dou Xiao. Why did he act in that stinker called 1921?

Although this question should be asked not only to him, but also to such Chinese actors as Wang Ren Jun, Li Chen, Feng Shao Feng, Zhu Yi Long, Zhang Xiao Chen (Edward Zhang) and Li Zi Feng. What did they forget in that so-called movie? It's not worthy of them.

Also, Dou Xiao and I have similar sexual temperaments. We both have Venus in Scorpio in our natal charts. People with such Venus in their natal charts are the most passionate lovers, but at the same time, the most loyal and faithful to their soul mates.

Such people do everything to the maximum. If they love, they do it one hundred percent, and if they hate, they also do it one hundred percent. The worst thing in love for such people is the betrayal or the indifference of a loved person. Read even more about people with Venus in Scorpio in the natal chart on the Internet and you will be amazed.

In general, Dou Xiao is hungry for sex and money. Don't be surprised, I'm not writing from myself, it's written in the description to his natal chart, because there is not only Venus in Scorpio, but a lot more interesting things.

And now about the drama Love in Flames of War itself. I didn't have to think long about which of Dou Xiao's acting works to watch. On his Weibo pages, he has sorted and advertised his works so well for his fans that I didn't have to search and choose them for a long time. I have invented a cool nickname “the Canadian wolf” for Dou Xiao, because even in this drama, in the third episode, he is called a wolf. :)

The Chinese TV series Love in Flames of War is a hard drama about serious and tragic historical events in China in the first half of the twentieth century. I liked a lot of things about it, but there were also things I didn't like. So now I'm going to tell you about my thoughts on this series.

Firstly, I liked the crescents in the opening credits. It was original. Also I would like to note that this drama has high-quality subtitles, even the lyrics of the songs have been translated. Speaking about songs. The things I like most in Chinese dramas are the music and songs. And in this drama they are also good, except the Chinese opera. It's definitely not my thing. I don't like and can't understand it. When I heard Chinese opera in the series, my ears almost curled up.

Just as I don't like Chinese opera, I don't like the panda. Yes, I dislike that clumsy black-and-white Chinese bear because it does nothing but eat, sleep, pardon, fart, and is of no use to people. In the drama Love in Flames of War, the main hero has two beautiful German shepherds who are more useful than the panda.

Though I think that there is no cooler and better dog in the world than the four-legged Ukrainian sapper, the dog Patron. This dog really serves people. And don't mind on his small size, because it is thanks to such a size that he can dig up mines and stay alive. We, Ukrainians, even wrote a song about him. This is the next song: KARTA SVITU Pes Patron (Dog Patron). I'll give you a link to this song. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMSS6diyXQE. And don't worry, there is an option of automatic translation of Ukrainian subtitles into any other language.

In the very first episode of Love in Flames of War, I was a bit confused when I saw Dou Xiao on the stage in a woman's dress, coloured like a Chinese doll. О_о Of course, I laughed at “Madame Dou” :):):), but I don't like when men wear women's clothes and paint like women. A man should always be a man, and a woman should always be a woman.

I was also disappointed in his character Xiao Bei Chen when he gifted the main heroine Lin Hang Jing a russian matryoshka doll. I didn't like that scene, and Lin Hang Jing clearly didn't like the gift. Bei Chen couldn't give a worse present.

It would be better if he gifted her an expensive jewellery, a handmade qipao (only a long one, because nowadays the Chinese sew such short qipao dresses that they barely cover the bum :), or a Chinese fan Tuanshan embroidered with silk threads. And the best thing would be if Bei Chen gifted Hang Jing a Ukrainian national embroidered shirt called vyshyvanka. Hang Jing would be very beautiful in it.

I don't understand why the Chinese are so friendly with the russians. Don't they know what the russians really think of them?! The russians are real Nazis, they consider their own nation to be superior, and all other nations to be second and third class. They call the Chinese, like all the Asians, narrow-eyed. The Chinese may not know but we, Ukrainians, are well aware of how the russians are proud, arrogant and look down on everyone. I advise Chinese people to go to the russian forums on the relevant topics on the Internet and translate what the russians really think, say and write about them.

What I liked in the series was the mention of novel by the famous English author Charles Dickens called Oliver Twist, which I read. It's a good book, I recommend you to read it. I also recommend you to read a novella by this author called A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, and watch its film adaptation, A Christmas Carol, which is released in 1999, with Patrick Stewart in the lead role.

What I didn't like in the drama was the worship of the statue. I understand that it's hard to believe what I have written in my previous review on the Chinese series Bright as the Moon. If I hadn't experienced it myself, but someone told me, I wouldn't believe it either.

But it really happened to me. I didn't believe in mysticism until I encountered it. I have made sure from my own experience that miracles do happen in real life. Moreover, I have realised that there are miracles from God, and there are “miracles” from the devil. I experienced both.

But I had to get over it. God tests each person to see if he or she is worthy to be with Him. The Kingdom of Heaven is achieved by great faith and great work. I was saved by my faith in Jesus Christ and the fact that I was sincerely mistaken. Because of that, God had mercy on me, just as He had mercy at one time on the Apostle Paul.

You may of course ask me that if the Bible forbids worshipping anyone or anything except God, why not make images and statues of God and worship them? My answer to this is that no one has ever seen the true God the Holy Trinity, and no one knows how He really looks. Therefore, any images or statues that people will make will not be images or statues of God. That is why the Bible forbids them to be made.

To worship God, to glorify our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, we don't need to create icons, statues, temples, but we need that God be in our souls, that His laws be engraved on our hearts, and that we do God's actions. We are the temple of the Alive God, so He has to be inside each of us.

After everything I have been through in the last twelve years, and after God has saved me, He has shown me that I should not be afraid of anything or anyone, because I have been, am and always will be under His protection.

I'll tell you even more. In the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, chapter 12, verse 19, he says the following: “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is mine to take, I will repay, says the Lord.”

It is true. The Lord is taking vengeance on my enemies for me. He has already taken vengeance on many of them. Some of them lost their positions at their jobs, one even died. And God continues to take revenge on my enemies, even those whom I have long forgotten. I have recently found out that they have suffered misfortunes in their lives. That does not make me happy, because I have never wished evil to any of them, it is they who have done evil to me and my family. And God will reach all my enemies, He will get them all.

But what I liked about the drama was that the person who worshipped the statue and always walked around with those stupid white rosaries turned out to be one of the biggest villains in the series and the biggest traitor of his nation. The drama clearly showed how “righteous” and “pious” that person was. I absolutely do not share Shen Yan Qing's political views and beliefs, but at the end of the series he has done a useful thing: he has finally eliminated that idolater and traitor Kang Jing Xiong.

Another thing I didn't like in the series was the propaganda of communism and the Chinese Communist Party. I hate communism in any form, in any manifestations and in any country, because I consider it an utopia that cannot be realised in real life. Attempts to implement it have led to the destroying of millions of human lives and destinies. The twentieth century has proven that communism is a poison for human souls and minds. Where there is communism, there are established dictatorships and autocracies.

Democracy, on the contrary, is a product of Christianity. If the Christian faith had not spread so widely, there would be no democracy. Christianity is really about love, peace, brotherhood, justice, freedom, first and foremost from sin, the resurrection of the dead and eternal life with God.

All of this is possible because of the ransom sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He, being God the Son and God the Word, knowing, just as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit did, that in the future, after the creation of the world, the first people would commit sin, all of humanity would become sinful, and the world would become distorted, willingly agreed before the creation of the world to become a human and suffer for the sins of all people in order to save them.

The Lord Jesus Christ became a human being, lived like an ordinary man, died a terrible death for the sins of all of us, was resurrected and conquered the death. He has been like us in all things except sin, so He understands best all our troubles and sufferings and intercedes for us with God the Father in Heaven. In the Bible, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 15, it is written: “Because we have not such a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but Who has been tempted in every way, as we are, except in sin.”

That's why I liked the main heroine of the drama Lin Hang Jing only until she got involved with the Communists and lost herself. Like her, I also went through a some kind of rebirth, but instead of lousy communist party, I chose God and the Christian evangelical faith.

Overall, I liked the drama. It has a strong script, an interesting plot, although there are a lot of gaffes and inaccuracies, especially at the end of the series. The end of the drama is tragic, with many deaths. You shouldn't expect a happy ending for such a tough historical war drama. And I didn't.

And now I'd like to dwell in detail on the cast and characters of this series. The cast is also very strong here. I think all the actors have done a good job with their roles, even the supporting actors, except the main actor, Dou Xiao. Among the female cast, I liked most the acting of Chen Du Ling, Liu Meng Meng and Dong Xuan, especially the last one.

I liked Madame Qi, portrayed by Dong Xuan, the most out of all the female characters. What a wonderful woman she was! What beautiful dresses she wore, one better than the other! She was the most elegant of all the women in the drama. Madame Qi was a real woman, a real wife, a real mother and a real mistress of the house. As far as I understood, in the end she committed suicide because of what happened to her relatives. She shouldn't have done that. She should have moved on and done what she said: go to the place where her sons lived and studied.

I also really liked Jin Rou Ke performed by Liu Meng Meng. But, unfortunately, she was very unlucky in love. Thank God she survived, despite the death of her father.

Among the male cast, I liked the acting of Yuan Hao and Lai Yi (Leon Lai) the most. Dou Xiao acted badly. His acting in this drama is not the level of an actor of the lead role. Although, with his appearance, he could not act at all, but just defile on the set in military uniforms and nice suits, like a top model, which he actually did on the set of the drama.

Though I should give credit to Dou Xiao, because I finally saw in an Asian drama an Asian actor with hair on his chest. :) Asians may not think it's pretty, but in Ukraine it's considered a sign of male masculinity.

While Dou Xiao was flaunting his beautiful clothes, Yuan Hao completely overacted him. The protagonist Xiao Bei Chen in the drama did what Dou Xiao did in real life: he outsmarted his rival in love, tricked him and had him sent to a place where he almost died. But Mu Zi Zheng was not such a snot like Huang Xuan. He turned out to be a “sturdy nut”, so sturdy that he survived more than once, being on the verge of death and continued to fight for his beloved woman. And he died looking at her. It was a very powerful scene.

When Mu Zi Zheng came back for the last time after barely surviving, I was so happy that I clapped my hands. It was boring to watch the show without him. It was interesting to watch the confrontation between him and Xiao Bei Chen. They were equal rivals.

Of course, I understood that Mu Zi Zheng was wrong in many ways, that he had been caught on the hook by the Japanese. But thanks to Yuan Hao's brilliant acting, I subconsciously sympathised with his character. I think that Yuan Hao performed the best of all the actors and actresses in the series. He should be given more leading roles.

I also liked Mo Wei Yi, acted by Lai Yi. He was a kind of detective in the drama. He solved a lot of intrigues in the series and, in my opinion, was the smartest among the three friends.

Now, a few words about the main hero Xiao Bei Chen and the main heroine Lin Hang Jing. Their relationship can hardly be called love. For Bei Chen, it was an obsession, and for Hang Jing, it were torments. The main hero was as hot as a kettle. I kept waiting for someone to cool him down with a bucket of ice water. In some scenes with Hang Jing, Bei Chen looked like a dog that had broken free of the chain. She was as delicate as a flower, and he was as rough as a cobbler.

All Bei Chen did was get jealous of Hang Jing at every pillar and lie to her, and she ran to rescue Mu Zi Zheng, or escaped from Bei Chen altogether. It's not a marriage, but a pun. And that's not to mention the fact that their marriage was fictitious at first. Hang Jing was actually forced to marry Bei Chen. There was no mutual understanding or trust between them. They were, as Lin Hang Jing herself said, from different worlds.

I think she would have been better off marrying Mu Zi Zheng. They were on the same wave and understood each other perfectly. It was not surprising that sympathy arose between them at the first meeting. If they had married, many of the tragic events that occurred in the drama could have been avoided. Those few days that Lin Hang Jing and Mu Zi Zheng spent together in a small house, hiding from Bei Chen, proved that they could live so together for the rest of their lives, respecting and caring for each other.

True love is not passion, not serenades under the window, and not posts on Weibo. It is, first and foremost, mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust. It is a unity not only of bodies, but of souls and minds. It is, after all, the ability to do anything for a loved person, even to quarrel with a mother or come to a country where there is a war. People who do not understand each other cannot be not only a couple, but even friends. That's why this drama has such an ending: it hints at something, but promises nothing.

The protagonist Xiao Bei Chen is not a bad character. In the drama, he is a real soldier and a true hero of his country, who is ready to fight to the end of his life to protect it. But I would have liked him more, firstly, if he had been acted better and, secondly, if he hadn't been so rude to Lin Hang Jing.

As for Dou Xiao, that he, being a schemer, outsmarted himself. He has married a woman he doesn't love for her money and status, and the woman he really wants, he will never get. Because Blue water tigress needs a strong and wise tiger, not some shabby wolf. However, it should be noted that if the Canadian wolf and other “wolves” and “hyenas” had not intervened, I  would have got caught up in such a schmuck as Huang Xuan. So I thank God that by their hands He has prevented me from making the biggest mistake of my life.

The main hero of the drama, Xiao Bei Chen, as well as the actor Dou Xiao himself, suits one music track called The Wolf and the Moon by BrunuhVille. This track is also suitable for one person of the female gender, who is the Moon in this track, the Moon that the Wolf will never reach.

Besides, while I was watching the drama, I was re-listening to the OST of the South Korean historical series Hwarang. Several music tracks from that Korean series suit some of the characters of Love in Flames of War. The main heroine Lin Hang Jing suits a music track from that Korean drama called Blossom. The male character Mu Zi Zheng suits the music track Dangerous Sign. And to the main couple of the drama, I dedicate the music track Sea Of Crying from that same Korean series. This sad melody best reflects their relationship.

In Love in Flames of War, one of the male characters says about the main heroine Lin Hang Jing that she does everything perfectly. I also always did everything perfectly in my life, but who ever appreciated it except the Lord God.

In addition, in the fifth episode of the drama, the following phrase is sounded: “They say that one who survives a great disaster is destined for good fortune”. I have gone through a difficult school of life, have experienced a lot of disasters and troubles, so I hope that in the future I will have great happiness.