“Miss Congeniality” (part two)

And now the most interesting part — my thoughts on the plot and the story of the drama The Legend of Zhuo Hua in general. To be honest, I expected much better. At the beginning of each episode, the audience was told that it was fiction. But the creators of the series did not take that opportunity to make a really cool and anti-sexist historical series. It turned out to be the opposite.

There was only one woman-official in the drama, the imperial throne was once again occupied by a man, and women were made guilty of all the deadly sins. It's just an epic fail! I was well aware while watching it that in reality, in China at that time, women were not only not allowed to pass the imperial exams and become civil servants, but they were not allowed even to breathe. However, the drama could have shown a completely opposite, alternative reality, which, unfortunately, was not fully done. Though, if I were sent back to ancient China with the time machine, I would bite all those who considered that women belonged only in the home, in the kitchen and around children.

First of all, I would bite Confucius, whose sexist statements led to a rigid patriarchal and purely chauvinistic way of life in ancient China, which has partially survived in China to nowadays. Reading his statements, I came to the conclusion that he hated women. He constantly told women to love, but for some reason he forgot to tell that to men. Confucius was a banal ancient chauvinist and sexist, and on top of that, an ignorant idiot. That's all I have to say about him.

No one needs to remind women to love, because they know how to love. It's men who don't know what love is, especially for a woman. The Lord Jesus Christ knew that very well, that's why He protected women, and they were drawn to Him like flowers to the sun.

The Apostle Paul also understood it. That was what he wrote to the men in his Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 25-33: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for Her to make Her holy, cleansing Her by the washing with water through the word, and to present Her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the Church — for we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”. This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the Church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband”.

And that was what the Apostle Paul wrote about the equality and unity of men and women in Christ (the Epistle to the Galatians, chapter 3, verse 28): “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus”.

In the drama, I noticed a hint that the Princess Rou Jia was similar to the only empress-monarch in the whole history of China, Wu Zhao, aka Wu Zetian. The Chinese seem to have learned nothing and understood nothing. I'll try to explain something to them. The Princess Rou Jia in the series was not distinguished by anything special, neither by a sharp mind, nor by talents, nor by beauty, but only by her cruelty, vengefulness and intrigues.

Wu Zhao was different. Not only was she amazingly beautiful, but she was also extremely intelligent, talented, had an excellent education, was a great judge of people, and could persuade any man to her side. At the height of the Chinese civilisation, God sent a genius to the Chinese, but they didn't understand it and rejected that genius only because the genius was a woman.

I have a lot to criticise the Empress Wu Zetian for. She was cruel, vindictive, was a pagan, an idolater, built a lot of unnecessary Buddhist temples, etc. At the same time, she was an excellent military strategist, during her reign the territory of China increased; she raised the wealth of the lower classes, engaged in culture and art, wrote poems and ensured the prosperity of the Chinese nation.

Yes, she ruthlessly dealt with all her enemies, especially with officials who tried to overthrow her on the grounds that she was a woman and put one of her talentless sons on the throne. She dealt with all of her rivals in the same cruel way. But they shouldn't have gone to bed with her husband. The worst of them all were her numerous relatives, who craved her power and throne. Christ was right when He said that a person's enemies were those in his or her own household (the Gospel of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 10, verse 36).

But was the Empress Wu Zetian the most cruel and bloodthirsty ruler in Chinese history? Not at all. Apart from her, there were many other Chinese emperors who committed such outrages that it was even scary to mention them. She hadn't reached the level of the same Cao Cao, no matter what anyone thought or said. But she received the most negative attention from her descendants, once again, only because she was a woman. All the best that she did for her state and nation was rejected by the same nation. What a pity… To be honest, I do not believe half of the bad things that are written about Wu Zetian in the history. History has always been written by men, and Chinese history, moreover, has been rewritten a hundred times.

Do you know who I think deserves to be the ruler in The Legend of Zhuo Hua? It's not the foolish Liu Chen, not his even more stupid younger brothers, not the wench-dragon Princess Rou Jia, and not even Liu Yan. The only one who really deserved to be the monarch of the Southern Chen was the main heroine Mu Zhuo Hua, who I liked more than any other character in the drama. With her sharp and clear mind, her sense of proportion and conscience, and her original ideas, she could have been a great ruler. It’s a pity that it was not shown in the series.

Unfortunately, for some reason, the Chinese misunderstand their own philosophical doctrine of yin and yang. These two elements are not opposite, but just different. But these two energies cannot exist apart from each other. Only when they are together do they ensure balance and harmony in the world. Let me explain why I think so.  

First, Confucianism and Taoism must be completely rejected, each of which excludes one element and focuses on another. Yang energy is purely masculine, hot, sunny, but also destructive. Yin energy, on the contrary, is feminine, cold, lunar and constructive. One cannot exist without the other, otherwise the world will be in turmoil and chaos. That's why God created to the first man, Adam, the first woman, Eve. Without a woman, Adam would have walked around the world unhappy and unrequited.

In fact, it is much harder for men to live without women than vice versa. A woman can live without a man, but a man can hardly live without a woman. Unable to find a wife for a long time, most single men get drunk, become drug addicts or commit suicide. Women have a remarkable ability to transform and influence men. In Ukraine, people say that a man is a head and a woman is a neck. Where the neck turns, the head turns.

I don't want to offend the Chinese, but it is a purely pagan and consumerist attitude towards children on the part of parents to want to have a boy rather than a girl just because a boy will be able to provide for them in their old age. What if a boy grows up and can't do it, but a girl grows up and can? For Christians, every child, whether boy or girl, is a blessing and a gift of God.

But I will be subjective and wrong if I say that only in China sexism and male chauvinism prevail. Sexism has not disappeared in other countries, including democratic ones. It is everywhere, somewhere more, somewhere less. Do you think there are few jerks among Christian men? You are deeply mistaken. Many men twist the words of Christ and His apostles to justify the inferiority of women to men. In the entire, albeit short, history of the United States of America, no woman has ever been president of that country. In my opinion, that is a disgrace for the United States.

If I were a man, with my intelligence, education and talents, I would be an army general, president or prime minister of the country. Instead, I always felt hated by men because I was smarter than them all, and envied by women because of how beautiful I was and how elegantly and tastefully I dressed (was it my fault that those stupid hens couldn't dress as well as I did? :).

But while enduring all that, I always reassured myself with the words of Christ from the Gospel of the Apostle John, chapter 15, verse 20. Here they are: “Remember the word that I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master”. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours”.

I should say that it is among Christian women that you can find women similar to me. In the early years of Christianity, the pagan men admired the first Christian women for their ability to love, be faithful and devoted to their husbands, therefore they themselves became Christians. More than two thousand years have passed and nothing has changed. The pagan and atheist men still admire the Christian women. And you, men-pagans and men-atheists, admire me, dream about me and see me in your sweet and wet erotic fantasies and dreams, I have no doubt about it. :) 

I will say even more. If I had gone to China on a tourist tour, I would not have been able to return to Ukraine, the Chinese men would not have let me out. :):):) Did you think that all  Christian women wear headscarves and long black skirts? Look at the South Korean actress Lee Ha Nee. She is a gorgeous woman, and she is a Protestant Christian. But I am unique, there is no one else like me. :)

Do you think I am just preaching Christ to you? I am fulfilling God's will to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Read the following words of Jesus Christ about the end of the world (the Gospel of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 24, verse 14): “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”. Well, were you scared? 

Before the end of the world, the Gospel of God must be preached to all nations, but in China, the preaching of Christ is a problem. That's why God chose me to be one of the instruments for that preaching to the Chinese, although not only to them. So read what I write attentively, believe in Christ and repent of your sins before it is too late. For the end is near, judging by what is happening in the world now.

Coming back to Zhuo Zhuo Feng Liu, what I found most disturbing in the drama and what made me lower my score was the presence of premarital fornication between the main heroine and the main hero. Scriptwriters, are you serious?! Have you gone mad?!!! I have seen enough of that nastiness and immorality in real life. Do I have to also watch it in the Chinese historical drama?! It's good that in the end the Emperor was smart enough to marry them. It was the best thing he did in the series. :)

The conclusion of my review is the following. In general, it was not a bad drama, but it could have been much better... if I had been hired as a scriptwriter. :):):) Many thanks to the actresses Jing Tian and Wang Li Kun for their wonderful performance. And thanks to Qu Gao Wei for making me laugh out loud for three episodes. :)

For Feng Shao Feng I have one advice: to sit in the chair, turn on the TV, watch dramas with my favourite South Korean actor Jang Hyuk and learn from him how to act without unnecessary snots, but with the right emotions. In my humble but correct opinion :), the role of Liu Yan is not his role, it's Qu Gao Wei's role. Qu Gao Wei has already performed successfully a similar general in Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy, and he would have acted no worse as the Lord Ding.

I'm not defending Qu Gao Wei (there's no need to defend him, he can defend himself well :). I just want to watch Chinese dramas with strong lead actors and good acting, not to watch lead actors who don't act well but are good at licking the Chinese government's ass and acting in propaganda movies like 1921 and others.

By the way, Qu Gao Wei is very similar to Jang Hyuk. They are similar to each other in appearance, in terms of types and acting. I'm very positive about Jang Hyuk, considering him to be one of the strongest actors in the Republic of Korea, so that's a compliment to Qu Gao Wei. Therefore, I advise him to perform such roles as Jang Hyuk, if he will have such an opportunity.

And I was still right about the “kindergarten teacher”. I advise you to watch the thirty-first episode of Tribes and Empires, scenes from the eighth minute and nineteenth second to the ninth minute and forty-fourth second, as well as scenes from the eleventh minute and fifty-third second to the fourteenth minute and third second. By watching those scenes, you will understand who is the “teacher” and who is the “child”, who has really acted in those scenes and who has been grimacing.

I understand why Cao Dun takes Zhou Yi Wei in his dramas, because Zhou Yi Wei is a real talent. But with Dou Xiao, he clearly missed the mark. Dou Xiao is still a child at the age of thirty-five, stupid and untalented.

As for Jang Hyuk, it would be interesting to see him in a joint Chinese-South Korean historical drama in the male lead alongside Liu Tao in the female lead role of the Empress Wu Zetian about China's war with the Korean Peninsula during her reign. The real man and the real woman in one drama. That would be cool. But I'm afraid that Chinese and South Korean scriptwriters would have fought with each other while writing the script, deciding who has been right in that war: China or Korea. :) But in fact, there is only one woman in the world who can act the Empress Wu Zetian perfectly, and that is me. :) 

If South Koreans think that I have forgotten about them and their dramas, they are deeply mistaken. I just need to teach and instruct the Chinese a little bit :), and at the same time preach the Word of Christ to them. But one day I will definitely return to Korean dramas. 

In the end, I dedicate two songs by Modern Talking to the main heroine of Zhuo Zhuo Feng Liu, Mu Zhuo Hua: Cheri Cheri Lady and You're My Heart, You're My Soul. And to the actors Jang Hyuk and Qu Gao Wei, I dedicate one of the soundtracks of the South Korean series My Country: The New Age, a song by Kim Jae Hee called Wild Road. As you have already witnessed many times, the OST of that Korean drama is just amazing. What a beautiful Korean language still is...