A drama for the soul

The Story of Ming Lan is a real find for me. This drama is a joy, medicine and peace for the soul. I have long wanted to watch something so pleasing to the eyes and the heart. I have stumbled upon this treasure while looking through the filmography of actress Zhang Jia Ning (Karlina Zhang). She's also worthy of being on my list of Chinese actresses of the younger generation whose looks, acting talent and works are worthy of note. After I liked her acting in Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy, I was looking for something else with her participation to watch and chose the historical drama The Story of Ming Lan, in which she acted one of the main female roles.

At first I have had doubts about watching this series, given the large number of episodes. But after looking at its rating and reading the viewers' reviews, I risked, started watching... and didn't regret it. From the very first frames, I have realised that this drama deserves to be watched. The plot of the drama is interesting, the acting is strong, the costumes are beautiful and elegant, the music is gentle and melodic, it corresponds to the content and mood of the drama.

The atmosphere in this series is so realistic that while watching it, the viewer seems to be transported to the epoch and time in which the events take place. I also like very much the fact that in the series it is repeatedly emphasised that a husband and wife are one body. It's mentioned in the Bible, and Jesus Christ has focused His attention on it.

The cast of the drama is gorgeous. Moreover, half of the actors are familiar to me from other films and TV series. For example, I immediately recognised Zhu Yi Long. In Legend of Mi Yue, he performed the son of the main heroine. It's hard not to remember him. He has a very handsome, eye-catching appearance. Also, I've already lost count of how many cinema products I've watched with Wang Ren Jun in them. He just “won't let me go”. :) However, he shouldn't have been acting in 1921, because it's not a movie, but propaganda nonsense. There's no point in continuing the list, because if I keep listing all the actors I know, it will take me an hour.

I liked the main heroine of the drama, Sheng Ming Lan. She and I are different in some ways, but similar in many ways. Of course, it is difficult to compare us visually. I am a beauty with big dark hazel eyes, long, below the waist, light brown hair, the hourglass figure and the third size of the breasts. Zhao Li Ying is not as beautiful, but she has a sweet, pleasant appearance. In my opinion, that's how Sheng Ming Lan was supposed to look like.

In what we are most similar to each other is that we are both genius. So it was painful for me to watch how, being the smartest and the best in her family, she had to hide it to just survive. We are also similar in our love and respect for our mothers. My mum told me that in my childhood I was a very obedient child and she had no problems with me. I almost never asked her for anything, because I thought she would give me everything I needed anyway. And she did. She gifted me a happy childhood, gave me a decent upbringing and a decent education.

Compared to me, Huang Xuan and Sun Jian are two tramps from a big road, especially Huang Xuan. He has got out of poverty, but he pretends to be a crown prince. I am from an intelligent family, and he is an arsehole with huge ambitions and a lot of money that he doesn't even know how to spend wisely. And he had the insolence to criticise me! Laugh and sin! The only Chinese actor who can roughly reach my level is Hu Ge. He and I are both excellent but in different fields. Although I'm still better than him, because I'm an excellent in any field and any thing I do. That's what it means to be genius!

By the way, speaking about Hu Ge. After the horrible car accident in which he barely survived, he racked his brains for years, wondering why he survived, for what purpose, what was his destination in life. During that time, he acted in many films and TV series, collected a bunch of awards and even tried his hand at screenwriting, but he never did the most important thing, the thing for which God had saved his life.

He survived so that he could believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and become a Christian. He has all the qualities and capabilities to do so. He has a Christian soul, it is evident even in his acting works. This applies not only to Hu Ge. Or am I preaching to you in vain here?!

Returning to the protagonist of the series, Ming Lan, we are very similar in another way, namely our temperaments. Inside us there are much more emotions than it seems at first glance. So, given the many similarities between us, I sympathised with her throughout the series and worried about her. And I was pleased to see how cleverly, calmly and elegantly she dealt with her enemies one by one.

I also liked the main hero of the drama, Gu Ting Ye. Although he is an ambiguous personality with his own flaws, he can be called a real man. He destroys all obstacles on the way to what he needs. He is like a battering ram that can break even through an iron wall. He developed such a great scheme to marry the woman he wanted that even Si Ma Yi from The Advisors Alliance and Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon would have been jealous of such a scheme. Gu Ting Ye is also a good husband. A woman can really feel like she's behind a stone wall with him.

Apart from the main heroine and the main hero, I also liked the other characters. I'm not going to list them all, because there are so many of them, I'll just mention the ones that have impressed me the most. Firstly, this is Sheng Ming Lan's older sister, Sheng Ru Lan, well performed by Zhang Jia Ning. This heroine is similar to me in her directness and straightforwardness. Jesus loves direct and straightforward people because He is like that. There is no lie or hypocrisy in Him.

The next heroine is a minor one, appearing in only a few episodes. But that was enough for me to remember her. This is Momo Kong. What an intelligent, wise and just woman! I would like to learn from her myself. I also liked Nanny Chang. She gave one “madam” such a good lesson in the series that it was impossible not to laugh at that scene.

And finally, the last character is old Mrs. Sheng, Ming Lan's grandmother. She is a wise woman who sees through people. One of the characters should have listened to her advices, but I won't tell you who, so as not to spoil too much.

The drama The Story of Ming Lan deserves its high rating and good reviews. For me, the episodes flew by unnoticed. At the end, I even wanted there to be more of them. I didn't want to say goodbye to the drama. I even burst into tears in the last shots. I definitely advise everyone to watch this Chinese series. Maybe one day I will rewatch it because it deserves it.

You know, to me and the main heroine Sheng Ming Lan suits the music track River flower from the South Korean historical drama My Country: The New Age. We both are just like it: calm, silent, and at the same time stormy, kind, gentle, but also strong and smart... smarter than everyone else. To the main hero, Gu Ting Ye, I dedicate the music track Battlefield from the same South Korean drama. This melody is like his whole life — a struggle for survival.

I like that Korean series, for many reasons, but most of all, perhaps, because Yang Se Jong wonderfully acted Seo Hwi, and Jang Hyuk fantastically portrayed Yi Bang Won. I'd like to particularly mention the acting of the last one. Huang Xuan and Sun Jian will never be able to perform like Jang Hyuk. To act like that, you not only need to have acting talent, but also to be real men like him, not stinking goats who use women for their own mercantile interests. I think every woman has her own anti-rating of men-goats. I have it too. Guess who take the first two places in it.

To the “sweet couple” Huang Xuan and Sun Jian, I would like to say the following. You should be ashamed to look at yourselves in the mirror. You used me, taking advantage of the kindness of my heart, and even in the most difficult period of my life, when there was a war in my country, I lost my job, and my heart was broken because of an unhappy love. But don’t worry, God will repay you in due time. You will see, your career will soon come to an end. And for me, neither you nor your work exists anymore.

In conclusion, I officially inform everyone that my heart is finally free and now I am in search of real, true love and my soul mate. Life is an interesting thing. The longer I live, the better I realise it. And I have understood something: no matter how difficult life circumstances are, there is always a reason to be happy.

Ming Lan said a very wise phrase in the drama that you should never look back. What golden words! It is written in the Bible that Lot's wife has looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. You should never do this. And I will no longer look back.

Huang Xuan and Sun Jian can only sing me in a duet a song by the group Double You called Please Don't Go, but that won't help them anymore. And the song is beautiful...

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A blue and yellow series

The amount of blue and yellow colours in this drama is off the charts, from the opening screensaver to the final credits of each episode. For example, in the second episode, one hospital is shown, and even its doors are one blue and the other yellow. The main heroine often wears the same yellow and blue suit throughout the series. Moreover, in the last episode, a high-rise building was illuminated with blue light, and it looked like a blue and yellow one. In general, it is not a series, but a solid Ukrainian flag. :) I was very pleased to see іt all.

I liked the story, as well as the drama itself. It is short, with only 12 episodes, but this is its advantage, not a flaw. While watching, I didn't notice any gaffes or plot holes in the drama. The story developed smoothly, consistently, logically and concisely. I especially liked the mini-theatre at the beginning of each episode. It was original. I've never seen anything like that before. I liked the mini-theatre in the last episode the most.

The story deals with the eternal problem of the relationship between parents and children, in particular a mother and a daughter, as well as the personal tragedy of each of them. But that tragedy is also shown in an original way. The drama reminds me more of art house cinema, and it is definitely a quality melodrama series.

Everything in this drama is well thought out and written: the plot, the main idea, the characters, the music, and even the titles of the episodes. I finally watched the cinema picture that I wanted to give the highest score to.

This TV series is about the importance of loving, respecting and cherishing your mum. If you make a mistake, you need to apologise to her in time, because you never know when she will be gone and you may not have time to do it. One of God's commandments in the Bible is to honour the father and the mother. That is why it’s so important to love and appreciate your parents.

But the drama is not just about that. Parents also often make the mistake of hiding the truth from their children, thinking that will protect them from harm, but in fact, they do them even more harm. So for me, this series is a story about the necessity of mutual understanding and openness between mothers and daughters, despite the mistakes they both make... despite everything.

I liked the protagonist. She is, of course, with her own flies in the head, but she is cool and natural, just the way she is. I agree with the idea expressed in the series that you don't need to copy the behaviour of another person, but to be yourself, even if your behaviour doesn't fully meet generally accepted social standards. You need to live your life as best you can, as you are able to; love yourself, enjoy life and appreciate it, and not try to be the first in everything, living as if in a constant race.

I also came to that conclusion after living my whole life like one of the heroines of the drama, Yi Zu Zhu. All my life I endured insults and then came home and cried into my pillow. And when I defended myself against bullying, the people who insulted me would trumpet to the whole neighbourhood that I had a bad temper. Yeah, how easy it is to defame and ruin a person's reputation. All my life I have had impeccable behaviour, but unfortunately, no one but God appreciated it. Now I try to be a little bit like Lady Tough. :)

Moreover, one cannot be saved by any good deeds, but only by faith in Jesus Christ. This is what He Himself has said, as we can see from the Gospels, especially the Gospel of the Apostle John. The Apostle Paul also emphasised it in his epistles, in particular the Epistle to the Romans.

The mother in Lady Tough, on the contrary, tried to get her daughter to live a perfect life, not to be herself, although she herself had made enough mistakes in her life, and she didn't even dare to tell her daughter about it, hiding the truth from her all her life. Perhaps, trying to make her daughter perfect, she wanted to compensate for her own mistakes. Because Liu Min Zhi was far from perfect.

I really didn't like her behaviour in one of the scenes. She should have put wedding rings in that fruit instead of condoms. Did she want her daughter to make the same mistakes and live like her? Condoms do not protect against pregnancy one hundred percent.

In the series, I have seen a problem that exists not only in China, but probably all over the world. It's the public opinion that women who are unmarried for a long time are either mistresses or sluts. But, of course, that's not true. There are many women in their thirties (what can I say, I'm one of them) who have never slept with a man and are still virgins. It's not something that's accepted in society to talk about; only parents and a personal gynaecologist know about it.

It's unlikely that any of them are waiting for a prince. They just had no luck meeting their soul mate. As for me, that was my personal conscious choice. I have always tried to live by God's commandments. I didn't want to live in fornication, and I didn't meet a worthy candidate to marry. So much for the difference between gossip and reality. I could only guess what was said about me behind my back, but I didn't care. It's my life and my choice.

I would like to speak about a few more storylines in the drama. For example, I was glad that the main heroine was not given that female cat. Because that “princess” would have sat on her head, stretched its paws and ruled her as it wished. But animals should serve people, not people should serve animals. It is better to take a cat from an animal shelter that is desperately waiting for its owner, whom it will love and serve faithfully.

Similarly, the protagonist should not have been so upset that her ex-boyfriend was not coming back to her and was marrying someone else. That her ex-boyfriend suspiciously resembles Huang Xuan. She doesn't need that kind of “happiness.” :)

Almost from the beginning, I guessed how things really were with the main heroine's father, but I still hoped Liu Min Zhi wasn't lying to her daughter. You must admit that it is better to be born from a test tube than from a bad father, an alcoholic, drug addict or mentally ill father. The truth turned out to be sad and banal. It's a pity...

But I liked everything about the drama, something more, something less. I had a lot to think about while watching it. I enjoyed the cast and the acting. All the actors were in their places... I mean, in their roles :), and they did their job well.

I would also like to focus on the actress Kan Qing Zi (Adi Kan), who performed the female lead, and her acting. As you might have guessed, this is the actress from the younger generation of Chinese actresses that I like the most. She even looks a bit like me with her facial features, especially when she frowns. So you see, I have kept my promise and have told you who is my favourite actress from the younger generation. I think she's a strong actress and she has acted her part in this drama just perfectly. In addition, in my opinion, she is also beautiful in appearance with a good figure.

Kan Qing Zi has acted with Huang Xuan in more than one drama, but he hasn't even paid attention to her! Of course, he specialises only in whores. О_о Instead, he chose Xu Lu, a wimpy and emotionless wench, thin as a sliver, who had no intelligence, imagination or talent, and pursued her for five years like a sexual maniac.

I first saw Kan Qing Zi as Princess Ji in Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy, and since then I've really liked her as an actress. In my opinion, she was supposed to act as the female lead, Lady Su Yu Ning, in that fantasy drama, but Huang Xuan pushed his “love interest” into that role.

I probably know the best how Lady Su Yu Ning is supposed to look and behave. Because I am the real Su Yu Ning. I have always been her. In the worst times of my life, I forgot about it, but God would poke my nose and remind me. And the real Su Yu Ning has nothing to do with the one we have been pushed for seventy-five episodes in a row in Tribes and Empires.

When I first read the synopsis of that fantasy drama and watched the opening credits for the first time, I thought: “Yeah, with an empress like that, Emperor Muyun Sheng will freeze in bed like an oak tree and die young. :):):)” I think it's unnecessary to write anything more about Xu Lu's so-called acting. But Kan Qing Zi would have performed her wonderfully, just as she did as Princess Ji.

You know, there is one very symbolic scene in Tribes and Empires. At the wedding feast, Prince Lu grabs Su Yu Ning's hand and drags her out of the hall away from Muyun Sheng. Guess who has pulled Blue water tigress, aka the real Su Yu Ning, away from the real Muyun Sheng? It was Jesus Christ. And the puffed-up and plucked peacock, aka Sun Jian, overslept. He continues to sleep, thinking that God will do everything instead of him.

God is not going to do anything instead of him. He will just give Blue water tigress into the hands of someone who will love, protect and defend her for the rest of her life. And He will keep her away from such goats as Huang Xuan and Sun Jian. By the way, Sun Jian also used me. But it didn't hurt me, because I didn't even love him. I wanted to sneeze at him from a high tower.

I also never cease to wonder why I have fallen in love with Huang Xuan. Indeed, what did we have in common: while he was drinking and chasing girls, I was studying hard and winning first places in Olympiads.

I was disappointed in Chinese men. I was told that they were among the best men in the world. But it turned out to be a lie and a myth. Did those two jerks think they were superior to me because they were actors? They forgot the times when people like them were called clowns, plebeians, buffoons, and the price of their services was pennies. I can remind them of those times. Maybe people have forgotten, but God remembers everything.

Do they think that they are doing more good with their acting than ordinary people who work all day long from morning to evening in the sweat of their brow? The great English playwright William Shakespeare said: “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players”. In saying that, he was not far from the truth. We're all a bit of an actor, so why don't we get the same fees as other actors?

Do you know who the real men are and who are really worth marrying? They are Ukrainian soldiers who are on the frontline defending the territory of the Ukrainian state from russian invaders. I dedicate a Ukrainian song to them, which is written about them. This is a song by the Ukrainian singer Jerry Heil called Kozatskomu Rodu (To Cossack kind). I'll even give you a link to this song on YouTube. Here you have it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhKEUfSuRws. It is available with Ukrainian and English subtitles, and can be automatically translated into any other language.

So, we've come to the end of my review. If you ask me whether the Chinese series Lady Tough is worth watching, I'll say it is definitely worth it. If you ask me whether it's worth rewatching, I'll say yes. I advise all mothers and daughters (and not only them) to watch it and draw their own conclusions.

I wish Kan Qing Zi success in life and more leading roles. This is definitely not the last drama I will watch with her in it. I wasn't disappointed in her acting, quite the contrary, and that's good. I have been disappointed in many things lately, more than I should be. That's enough.

In recent times I have also come to understand better why so many women have served and followed Christ. Not only did He speak and behave with them as if they were His equals, but He could reach them more easily than He could reach men with their pride and arrogance.

And it's very interesting for me to watch how He is waving you all around, choosing exactly the right dramas for me. I wonder what will happen next... See you soon.

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The queen of the wolves

This is how the main heroine of Sound of the Desert can be called. Although in this drama she is called the princess of the wolf pack, the title “the queen of the wolves” is more appropriate for her. She reminds me of Mowgli, a fictional character and the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book stories. He, like her, was raised by wolves.

However, she reminds me not only of him. In the series, one of the male characters says to the protagonist that he is not a gentleman and she is not a lady, so they are perfect match. Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler say a similar phrase in the legendary Gone with the Wind. The main heroine Jin Yu, aka Xin Yue, reminded me a little bit of Scarlett. They have some qualities in common.

In the drama Sound of the Desert, I liked the cast and the music. I also liked the story at first. I especially liked the blue dress worn by the main heroine. I was even ready to give the drama 10 points. However, then the series began to “deflate”, and the plot slipped into banality and snot at the end.

It contains many gaffes, inaccuracies and absurdities. The reality of some events in the drama seemed questionable to me. For example, it was hard for me to believe how quickly the protagonist adapted to life in a big city after growing up in the desert. In addition, the story that is told in the series has a distorted moral. Some bad things was presented as normal, which confused me. The last few episodes were so boring that I barely watched them. The watching was also complicated by the fact that in many episodes of the drama posted on YouTube, the sound was lost in some places. So I never heard many of the dialogues between the characters.

To be honest, I didn't like the main heroine. She and I are too different for me to like her. I have liked Liu Shi Shi more as Yun Xian from The Imperial Doctress than in this role. In my opinion, Xin Yue is too cunning, too arrogant, too belligerent and too businesslike. In a word, I am a lady, and she is not. However, she also has positive traits. She is kind, generous, intelligent, and has principles that she adheres to.

Much worse than her is a female character named Qin Xiang. I don't have the normal words to describe her. She brought herself to the end she got. She poisoned her own life and the lives of the others. The other court dames are no better than her.

Among all the female characters, I liked only Ding Ling, perfectly portrayed by Xu Xiao Sa. I'm just like her: modest, well-mannered, fond of family warmth and home comfort. Besides, I think she is beautiful with a wonderful figure. She really looked like a woman, not a mop.

Of the main male characters, I liked the calm and kind Mo Xun. I didn't like the tough and cold Wei Wu Ji at all. He doesn't even have the right to be called a positive character. How could we call positive someone who killed a person for no reason and didn't even regret it?!

Despite the fact that I am different from the main heroine of the drama, we have something in common. My love, like hers, was rejected by the man I loved. Although Xin Yue was much luckier with her beloved man than I was. Huang Xuan has to grow and grow before Mo Xun, and it is unlikely that he will ever reach his level. All his love writing on Weibo is just empty talk. If he really loved me, he would have contacted me directly a long time ago; he would have written to me, not played with me like a silly girl.

He is almost 40 years old, but he is still playing... playing with other people's lives and destinies. I gifted him my heart, but he returned it kicking with his foot. I don't even read what he writes on Weibo anymore. What's the point of doing it if everything related to him is now an unbearable pain for me?

There is something else in which I am similar to the protagonist. Like her, I want a big and happy family, just like any normal woman.

There are a few other details in the series that I would like to draw your attention to. Firstly, here I have seen many actors who have acted in The Imperial Doctress. Secondly, I haven't known before watching this drama that Hu Ge has acted as Mei Chang Su in two different dramas. :) Mo Xun has a lot in common with him, but he is inferior to Mei Chang Su in terms of intelligence and organisational skills.

But there is something I have noticed in the series. In the third episode, the main heroine covers herself with a bedspread with a familiar to me pattern on its ends. I have a bedspread made in Turkey with the same pattern. In addition, this pattern appears repeatedly in the series on various things. It can be seen on the tablecloths lying on the bedside tables next to the bed on which the protagonist lies in the fifteenth and twentieth episodes. Also in the twenty-second episode, one of the female characters, after giving birth, lies on a roller with the same pattern on it.

There is another pattern in the drama that I am familiar with. It can be seen, for example, in the fourteenth episode on the railing of the main heroine's bed. I have blue and yellow face and body towels with this pattern. The pattern is depicted on my towels with yellow and gold threads on a blue background.

Do you know why I have noticed these patterns in the series? Because when I was watching it, I used those towels, and I had the aforementioned Turkish bedspread on my bed. Will you continue to think that all this is just a coincidence?! This is no coincidence. I was also surprised when I discovered it. And I saw the blue and yellow colours in the drama. But I won't tell you where. If you want, you will find it yourself.

Despite the numerous flaws in the story of the drama, there is something instructive in it. It would be especially useful for Huang Xuan and Sun Jian to watch this series. In it, I saw many familiar and new to me wise phrases from which you could learn a lot.

In the drama, there is a phrase that men are fickle. It's hard to disagree with it. Take Huang Xuan, for example. He is a firework man. For every woman he is in love with, he burns brightly... but not for long. O_o Then he falls in love with another woman, and runs headlong, jumping from bed to bed, to the next woman, forgetting what he has promised the previous one.

Sun Jian is no better. He's always taking pictures with some wenches. Do you believe they are just his friends? I don't. I don't believe in friendship between a man and a woman at all. Men like him usually live comfortably for two or three families, and even think they deserve more.

To be honest, before Huang Xuan and Sun Jian, I didn't believe in one truth about men. I thought it was too categorical. However, Huang Xuan and Sun Jian have convinced me that all men are goats. Now I have no doubt about it. The Only One who is worthy to be called a real man, as well as a real Christian, is the Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

I don't like the end of this drama. I wanted the protagonist to choose another man. To me, she forgot her first love too easily and too soon and threw herself into the arms of another. There is nothing that cannot be forgiven to a loved one, especially if he repents and asks for forgiveness. But the one she has chosen definitely matches her. They are, as they say, of the same field. The moral of all this is that when God gives you a chance to be happy, you need to grab it with both hands and not kick it away, because you may not get a second chance.

You know, the title of the queen of the wolves suits me just as well as the main heroine, given how many “wolves” I have fallen in love with me. :) The irony here is that I have fallen in love with me almost half of the male Asian beau monde, but I have not reciprocated from the one I have wanted.

In this regard, the song Dance With The Wolves by the Ukrainian singer and patriot of her country Ruslana is dedicated to both me and the main heroine of this drama. Judging by the lyrics of this song, it suits me even more than Xin Yue.

There is another song that suits me even more. This is a song by the Ukrainian singer TAYANNA called Lelia. This song seems to have been written for me and about me. Affectionate Lelia is a shortened name from my real name. That's why I'm Lelia too. The lyrics of this song suit me even more than its title. If you don't believe me, listen to it for yourself.

Well, are you still alive there? :) Don't you dare to die! Because there are still many interesting things ahead...

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There is a huge difference between a good man and a bad man

A Dream of Splendor is a Chinese historical comedy that I have been lucky enough to find and watch before the winter holidays. For those who are thinking about what to watch over the holidays, I recommend that you consider this comedy as an option for watching. There are many interesting, funny and positive moments in this series that cheer you up. And although the plot sags in some places, it's not critical.

In this series, I have seen both the blue and yellow coloured things and the familiar pattern which is depicted on my blue and yellow face and body towels. This is probably the most popular pattern in China. :) In addition, in the series I heard again the phrase “dead bees don't buzz” that I heard in Shang Yang Fu (The Rebel Princess). It's an idiom, and even though it sounds in English like “dead men tell no tales”, however, it is translated into Ukrainian just as “dead bees don't buzz”. As I have written earlier in my review on Turn on the Right Way to Life, the Ukrainian singer Pavlo Zibrov has one of his songs with the same title.

God has given me signs and clues in every drama I watch. You know, I believe that Ukraine's fate is linked to China, just as China's fate is linked to Ukraine. Moreover, I am sure that my destiny is connected to China. God has given me enough signs and clues about this not only in the dramas I watch, but also in real life.

I love to drink tea, especially green one, so it has been interesting for me to watch tea craftsmanship and tea painting in this comedy. Also, thanks to the series, I found out about the existence of such a Chinese four-stringed plucked musical instrument as the pipa. While watching the show, I enjoyed the fans Tuanshan, just as I did while watching The Story of Ming Lan. I even bought one of those fans. Although I also have a folding fan, I like the fan Tuanshan more.

What I didn't like about the series was that the characters in it swore very easily, especially by heaven, without planning to fulfil their oaths. In the Bible, in the New Testament, it is forbidden to swear at all, as Jesus Christ has pointed out. Here are Christ's words from the Gospel of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 5, verses 33-37: “You have also heard that it was commanded to the ancients: “You shall not swear falsely”, but “you shall keep your vows before the Lord”. But I say to you that you shall not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King; nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. But your word shall be “yes, yes”, “no, no”. Anything more than that is of the evil one”.

I was happy to see many familiar actors in the series. I was especially happy to see Wang Luo Yong, who perfectly acted Zhuge Liang in Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon. In A Dream of Splendor, he performed no worse. By the way, in A Dream of Splendor, one of the scientists had a fan similar to the one that Zhuge Liang had in Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon.

There is a huge difference between a good man and a bad man. The series shows it very well. Unfortunately, the three main heroines had to learn what a bad man was. The youngest of them was especially unlucky, having experienced it twice. And though the two older protagonists were lucky enough to know what a good man was, the youngest was not so lucky.

I should say that I didn't like the actress Liu Yi Fei (Crystal Liu), who performed the main heroine Zhao Pan Er in the comedy. I liked neither her appearance nor her acting. In my opinion, Zhao Pan Er was supposed to be the most beautiful and spectacular heroine in the series, but that was not shown. Liu Yi Fei has bulging eyes, a humped nose and horse teeth. Her acting in the series is also mediocre. She spoiled her character with a bad performance. Liu Yi Fei is vulgar and has made her heroine vulgar, although according to the plot she shouldn't be, despite her past.

As for me, the main goal of the series is to show that you can work as a musician, singer or dancer in a brothel and not be a whore; but you can not work in a brothel and be a whore, because a whore is not a profession, but a state of mind. Liu Yi Fei couldn't show it. But Jelly Lin (Fei Xia), who portrayed Song Yin Zhang in the comedy, showed it perfectly. As a result, due to Liu Yi Fei's bad performance, I didn't like her character as much as I should have. It was necessary to cast a more beautiful and more talented actress for that role.

But I really liked the actresses Ada Liu (Liu Yan) and Jelly Lin, who acted Sun San Niang and Song Yin Zhang accordingly, both in appearance and in their performance. I especially liked Ada Liu's character, Sun San Niang. Not only me, but even a blind person could have noticed her beautiful figure, especially her lush bust. In my opinion, this is how a real woman should look like. In Ukraine, older men say that it's better for a woman to have a little cellulite and excess weight, as long as she has something to grab onto. :) No one needs a “ladder” in bed.

Sun San Niang was not only very beautiful in appearance, but she was also brave, courageous and had “golden” hands. What delicacies she could cook! You will lick your fingers! How was it possible to abandon such a woman?! Her first husband is a complete idiot. And her son is an ungrateful little pig, just like his father. It's a good thing that life has taught him to appreciate his mother. The only thing I agreed with Du Chang Feng on was that Sun San Niang spoke as if she had swallowed a firecracker. :) She should have a little more tenderness. But it's not such a big flaw.

Among the male characters, I liked very much Gu Qian Fan. He is another “kindergarten teacher” in a body of a warrior. :) Gu Qian Fan is tough, strict, principled. He is the best detective in the Capital Security Office. For his integrity and justice, his enemies and detractors gave him a nasty nickname that didn't correspond to him at all. Gu Qian Fan didn't hesitate to kill even his best friend for his betrayal, but he treated the protagonist Zhao Pan Er like a small child. And rightly so, because it is a man who should carry a woman in his arms, and not vice versa. He quickly figured out his feelings for her. What can I say, he's a straightforward guy.

Gu Qian Fan helped his beloved woman as much as he could, but when she shone like a star, he stood behind and silently admired her success. From the first time I saw him, I knew he was a good man. Watching Gu Qian Fan, I thought “where does my “Gu Qian Fan” walk and when will I meet him?” He is tall, slim, strong and smart. You can see such men only in films and books. But it was a pleasure to look at him. Chen Xiao did a great job in his role.

Gu Qian Fan said the right thing in the series. Weak men can't stand up to any test. Only a real man can defy the odds and be with the woman he loves no matter what. I believe that the main hero is the kind of person who can challenge any circumstances.

Gu Qian Fan had a charming assistant in the series named Chen Lian. However, in my opinion, he didn't know anything about women, even though he boasted about it. All his knowledge about women ended when he met Ge Zhao Di. :) But that dude was so sweet that he melted even her heart.

Guan Yun Peng performed splendidly not only in the series but also in the advert. If you've watched episodes of the series from Tencent Video on YouTube, you'll know what I mean. I especially liked the moment at the end of the fifth episode with the flower in his ear. :) I love watching episodes from Tencent Video. They always have high-quality subtitles. Not only the lyrics of the songs are translated, but also the names of all the buildings, inscriptions on the beams, the names of the characters, etc. By the way, in the advert of A Dream of Splendor episodes, I also saw Liu Tao and Tang Yan. Liu Tao is unsurpassed even in advertising.

Gu Qian Fan and Chen Lian are two cool “chupa chups” :) whom I have liked the most among the male characters. But there were two more “chupa chups” that made me laugh. They are a “play-man” Chi Pan :):):) and a fatty but kind “chupa chups” He Si. And although Dai Xu went a little overboard with his acting, Hu Yu Xuan coped with his role one hundred percent. Honestly, while watching, I wanted to stand with He Si and his fellows, beat the drum and shout as well with them. :) As I have already said, I don't like when men dress in women's clothes. But He Si was just a superstar in the series. :):):)

As for Xu Hai Qiao and his character, I will say that he is obviously born to perform all sorts of assholes. He portrayed such a schmuck in Marvelous Women. But in A Dream of Splendor, he acted a real scoundrel. His character Ouyang Xu reminded me of that sucker on thin, crooked legs, a hundred and five centimetres tall, similar to the ugly Zaches-Zinnober that I once fell in love with by mistake.

A year ago, that scarecrow wrote on one of his Weibo pages regarding me something like “we will protect such beauty”. Of course, I didn't believe his lies, and then I thought: “You should learn to defend yourself first, you jerk! I will do without your protection. God will protect me”.

I've dealt with such jackals in my life that that lousy goat is like a piece of pie in my mouth. I can crush him with one of my paws. When last year God let me know that he was not my soul mate, as I thought, but a fake, I laughed so hard for several days that I could not calm down, so it was funny to me. A good “Muyun Sheng” is a screen, a golden mask. In fact, he is a thoroughly rotten, lying, vicious and useless piece of shit. Let him stick his “protection” up his ass! Let that pig-dog continue to eat mud and bark like Ouyang Xu does in the series.

That sadist and sexual maniac never understood that I was a furious tigress whom Christ released from the leash, pointed at him and gave me the command “attack”. It was for all the bad, evil and immoral things he had done in his life. You know, I don't even hate him anymore. Because, as Tuo Ba Jun rightly has noted in The Princess Wei Young, there is hate when there is love. I have no love for him, no hatred, only deep contempt and indifference. I hope he ends up like Ouyang Xu. Anyone who cannot empathise with others does not deserve to be empathised with.

Sun Jian is another piece of shit who thinks he can use women to his advantage and get nothing for it. He has no feelings or emotions, he is like a mannequin and looks the same. How many plastic surgeries has he had, twenty, thirty? I wish him to end up like such male characters of A Dream of Splendor as Zhou She and Shen Ru Zuo.

Well, and the third “honourable” place in my anti-rating of men-goats deservedly goes to Dou Xiao, because I feel contempt for men who marry rich women for profit. They are called alphonsees, which is what Dou Xiao is.

At the same time, I will name three male Chinese actors who I like the most as actors and who look like men, not mannequins. They are Hu Ge, Zhou Yi Wei and Qu Gao Wei. But this trio of actors should not relax. Because just as I raised them to the heavens, so could I lower them below the plinth. Let them just give me a reason.

By the way, next year will be the year of the dragon. So Blue water tigress will have fun! She is not afraid of any dragon. She will put out his fire with her water, tear off his wings, bite off his head and send him by her paw under his ass in the course of the russian warship. Although, I will tell you that last year has been the year of Blue water tigress, this year has been and next year will also be the year of Blue water tigress. I will not let some lice dragon take my place! :)

It's time for me to quote you my characteristic according to the Pythagorean square. Here it is: “An extraordinary personality with a rare mind. Such people are almost completely protected from failure in any endeavour, everything is very simple for them. The person's mind is a supercomputer. The truth and the nature of knowledge are revealed to this person. The school curriculum, higher mathematics, Chinese, programming are like seeds for her. She can hold and process many processes in her head.

The potential of the person's talent is very strong. She has the talent of a genius. This person can share energy with others. Sometimes such people can have healing abilities. The person is a good family member with a developed sense of responsibility. You can rely on such a person, she is always ready to provide support. Family values are not an empty sound for her. She consciously plans to start a family and proves to be a good family member. She wants a partner who shares this goal”.

That's my brief description, but that's not all, it's just the main thing. But now you know who I really am. When I have said that I am a genius, I have not bragged, but have stated a fact. And in general, I am a woman-paradox. I have a man's mind and “iron” logic, but the heart and appearance of a real woman.

I dedicate to myself a song by Roy Orbison called Oh, Pretty Woman. And to the main hero of the comedy A Dream of Splendor, Gu Qian Fan, I dedicate the song All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey. The title of this song is a solid spoiler. :)

As I have already mentioned such a wonderful holiday as Christmas, which is approaching, I would like to recommend you to watch two movies that are suitable for watching on this holiday. Firstly, it is The Nativity Story (2006). In my opinion, people have not yet made a better film about the birth of Jesus Christ than that one.

I also advise you to watch The Christmas Candle (2013). The soundtrack to that film is a Susan Boyle's song called Miracle Hymn. Very rarely have I heard such a magnificent, angelic voice as Susan Boyle's. She also performs one of the female roles in that movie. Be sure to watch that film and listen to its soundtrack.

I recommend to all listening to the wonderful song Jesus To A Child by George Michael. That's not just a song, but a musical poem about love. I dedicate these songs about Christ to Him. I also want to dedicate another song to Jesus. It's the song O Come, Emmanuel which is sung by Simon Khorolskiy.

And no more any “Last Christmas”. I will no longer give my heart to anyone for free. To get it, you have to deserve it. Besides, I have already given my heart to Jesus Christ, because He is my true love. I used to be a big romantic and idealist about romantic and family relationships, but God showed me what a naive child I was. Now everything will be different.

You all need to understand that I am a princess who sits in a fortress whose walls are much higher than the Great Wall of China, and this fortress is guarded by the Greatest and Most Powerful Lion in the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He will let only another lion come to me, and all the wolves, hyenas, jackals, goats, peacocks and other evil spirits may “walk in the forest”.

To this year, which is coming to an end, I dedicate the music track Remember (Instrumental Ver. Feat.서호) from the South Korean TV series My Country: The New Age (what is happening now in my country can also be called “my country: the new age”). It was a turning point year. This year, the Lord has turned my life around and has made it what it should be; He has changed my life for the better, and me with it.

But the most interesting things are still ahead. So, see you in the new year.

Merry Christmas... and the Happy New Year!

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On-screen love was embodied in real life

The Princess Wei Young is another find for me. After this series, I have appreciated the importance of recommendations on MyDramaList, because it is in the recommendations for one of the dramas on this website that I have found it. But, of course, it is not by coincidence that I have found this series. I had to watch it, for many reasons.

The historical drama The Princess Wei Young confirms the fact that there are very few good people in the world whom bad people insult, plot against them and even wish them dead. But this drama also proves that every bad person will pay for every evil deed he or she has done, both before God and before people, if he or she doesn't repent and fix what can be fixed.

It is remarkable that none of the villains in the drama repent and give up until the very end. But they all get the end they have deserved. As the ancient folk wisdom says, “don't dig a pit for someone else, because you'll fall into it yourself.” That's what happened in the series: each villain fell into his and her own pit.

I have already watched a lot of Chinese dramas and after that I have come to the conclusion that the Chinese are very fond of blue and yellow and yellow and blue colours. The Princess Wei Young is not the first Chinese drama where I have seen the colours of the Ukrainian flag, but here I have seen probably all shades of blue and yellow, from the lightest to the darkest. There were so many things of the blue and yellow colour in the drama that my eyes were running around while watching.

Here are some examples. The female character Chi Yun Rou often wears the same yellow and blue dress in the drama. Her mother in one of the scenes also appears in a yellow and blue with lilac dress (the twenty-third episode). The female characters Li Chang Ru, Li Chang Xi and the Ninth Princess Tuo Ba Di also often wear yellow and blue dresses.

Besides, in the thirty-fourth and forty-fourth episodes, Li Chang Ru appears in a blue and yellow dress. Even the lady with whom Li Chang Le argues in the twenty-fourth episode is wearing a blue and yellow dress (behind her is another lady, also wearing a blue and yellow dress). In the same episode, there is a blue and yellow painting behind Chi Yun Nan, who is sitting in his tent. This painting appears in several more episodes. In the forty-eighth episode, behind one minister sitting at a table, there is the same painting.

At the end of the tenth episode, the imperial hall has blue and yellow windows and doors. These windows and doors appear in many other episodes. They are shown even in the opening credits. In the drama, women wear a lot of blue and yellow jewellery, and that's not all. I can list and list, but I don't think there's any point in doing it. I suppose everything is clear.

In no other drama have I seen as many things of the blue and yellow colour as I have seen in The Princess Wei Young, not even in Lady Tough. The Princess Wei Young is not just a blue and yellow series, it's the biggest blue and yellow series I've ever watched.You may not believe me, but besides all this, in this drama I have repeatedly seen again a familiar pattern, which is depicted on my blue and yellow face and body towels. It's not a drama, but a solid jackpot. :)

The plot of the series is strong, it keeps the viewer in suspense until the very last scene. In some places, the drama resembled a detective and even a thriller, but that made it even more interesting to watch. The OST also didn't disappoint. I advise everyone not only to listen to the songs from this drama, but also to find a translation of their lyrics for those who don't know Chinese. You will be surprised.

The cast is also strong and successful. Many of the actors in the drama are familiar to me. These are, for example, Wu Hong and Li Yi Xiao from The Story of Ming Lan, Li Ang from Bright as the Moon, and even my favourite “eunuch” Zhang Tian Yang, whom I have seen for the first time in Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon. And these are not all the actors of this drama I know.

I've watched a lot of Asian historical dramas, and each of them had polygamy and harems. They were also in The Princess Wei Young. To be honest, I'm already sick of those harems. As I wrote earlier, according to God's plan, there should be one husband and one wife in a family, and no other husbands, wives or concubines.

The first person who broke God's will was Lamech from the lineage of Cain, who killed his brother Abel because of jealousy. Lamech was the first who took two wives, distorting the great meaning of marriage. Although the entire lineage of Cain has been destroyed by the Global Flood, that contagion called polygamy has spread throughout the world and unfortunately still exists officially, at the legislative level, in some countries.

In one episode of the drama, Li Chang Ru was forced to cut her hair and wanted to make her a nun. When I was watching that scene, I thought “God forbid!” Because I have no doubt that the same outrages are committed in Taoist and Buddhist monasteries as in Orthodox and Catholic ones. Of course, at that time I didn't know what a vile monster she really was. Ultimately, she got exactly the end she deserved. Being a nun in a monastery is too light a punishment for her.

By the way, in the series, one Taoist soothsayer turned out to be a charlatan and a paedophile. I wasn't even surprised by that. That's why the Bible forbids contacting all kinds of soothsayers, psychics, shamans, etc. Ninety-five percent of them are charlatans, and five percent are real sorcerers whose magic comes from demons.

In the thirty-fifth episode of the drama, the Emperor says that he is the supreme ruler of the world. I laughed at that his phrase. That dude has a very high opinion of himself. The Supreme Ruler of the world is the Lord God, not any human being, not even an emperor. No wonder the Apostle Paul warned us not to become slaves to people.

I have already quoted to you many phrases of the Apostle Paul from his epistles in the Bible in my previous reviews. And now I would like to recommend for those who want to understand better what kind of person this apostle has been, to watch the American film about him from 2018 called Paul, Apostle of Christ. I really liked that film. I hope you will like it too.

As soon as I started watching The Princess Wei Young, I saw one shot in the opening credits that I really liked and that convinced me that I was watching a good drama. At the end of the opening credits, the main heroine appears dressed in a black and blue with white dress, with a silver crown on her head, silver earrings and bright make-up. When I saw that shot, I thought: “Wow! What a beautiful woman and what a gorgeous image!” For the sake of such a main heroine, this series is worth watching.

In the twelfth episode, Chi Yun Rou says that a woman's best weapon is not wit, but beauty. Chi Yun Rou is as stupid hen as her brainless daughter Li Chang Le. A woman's best weapon is intelligence and beauty. An intelligent and beautiful woman can not only turn the heads and break the hearts of all men, but can even cause a revolution, the main thing is to choose the right prince. Such women are called fatal, many people adore them, but many also hate them. But these women are not guilty of being born so wonderful. God created them like that and gave each of them a special destination.

The protagonist of the drama Xin Er, aka Li Wei Young, is such a woman. She stands out for her beauty among all the women, and she is also smarter than all the women and men in the series. She is not only extremely smart and beautiful, but also strong in spirit. In the fifth episode, she had to endure painful treatment and she bravely withstood it.

Looking at that, I remembered that I myself had gone through a similar painful treatment more than once, and the doctors who treated me were amazed at a patient like me who didn't even twitch once during it, while their other patients were crying from such treatment. But all of that is in the past. I was cured and became stronger. In fact, physical pain is nothing compared to the soul pain and the pain of a broken heart. But I survived that too and became even stronger than I was before.

Thanks to her great intelligence and beauty, both internal and external, the main heroine conquered the hearts of almost all the men in the drama. Even the Emperor appreciated and admired her. She was duly appreciated by all men except one — Tuo Ba Han, the Prince Dong Ping. What can you do with him, he's as stupid as a felt boot. For such foolish men as the Prince Dong Ping, it is important for a woman to be beautiful, always follow his orders, talk less, be silent more and smile. He just didn't have enough brains to appreciate the main heroine. Doesn't he remind you of anyone?.. In Ukraine, wise people say that it is better to lose with a smart person than to find with a stupid one. This is a true statement.

The intelligence and beauty of the protagonist Li Wei Young drew to her two princes at once, but one of them was a man of light, and the other was a man of darkness. Tuo Ba Jun, the Prince Gao Yang, is definitely a man of light. Although he is a bit quirky, but with a great sense of humour. I really liked him. He parodied his mother so well in one of the scenes. :) A real parodist!

He is also a great actor, just like Luo Jin, who has acted him. I laughed at the “crazy” Tuo Ba Jun at the end of the series, :) even though I didn't believe in his madness. In the final episode, I cried for Tuo Ba Jun. That is how it happens in life: if a man is good, he dies early, and if he is a scoundrel, he lives a long time and poisons the lives of everyone around him.

And Tuo Ba Yu, the Prince Nan An, was a man of darkness. Men like him feel that they are in the dark, so they are instinctively drawn to women of light, like the main heroine. He is cold, ruthless, unprincipled, dangerous, and has only one desire — to gain power over people, become powerful and conquer the world. He is a real dragon. He also reminds me of someone. When the Prince Dong Ping was talking to the Prince Nan An for the first time, I thought “the rabbit is talking to the dragon”. And the dragon still “devoured” the rabbit. There is another dragon in the drama, it is Chi Yun Nan, but he is no equal to the dragon Tuo Ba Yu. This is how the dark Prince Nan An is. And such a man wanted to have such a light woman as the main heroine. О_о But he got the hole from the bagel, not Wei Young. :)

I would also like to draw your attention to the relationship between the main heroine and Li Chang Ru. The story of their relationship is a story about that someone who pretends to be your best friend and even your sister can actually be your worst enemy. That's why it's so important to choose friends carefully in real life and not to judge anyone superficially.

I really liked the main couple of the drama. Li Wei Young and Tuo Ba Jun are one of the most beautiful on-screen couples I've ever seen. The most interesting thing was that their on-screen love turned into real life and was embodied in the love between the actors who performed the main female and male roles. Even before the drama finished airing on Chinese television, on 6 December 2016, on the thirty-third birthday of Tang Yan (Tiffany Tang), who acted Li Wei Young / Xin Er, she and Luo Jin revealed their relationship to the public. Two years later, in 2018, they got married. Now they are still married.

Tang Yan did the right thing by marrying Luo Jin. I would have married him myself if I were in her shoes. I even regret that I haven't met him before her. :):):) I just hope that their marriage will be okay and won't end in divorce, like the marriage of Feng Shao Feng and Zhao Li Ying from The Story of Ming Lan.

I liked very much the Chinese historical drama The Princess Wei Young. It has an incredibly strong ending, even though it is sad. But it was probably meant to end that way. In conclusion, I dedicate to the main hero of the drama Tuo Ba Jun a music track from the South Korean series Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo called The Prince. This track is as bright and sunny as the Prince Gao Yang himself. And to the main heroine Li Wei Young / Xin Er, I dedicate two musical compositions from that Korean series at once: One for Me; Battle Bobo.

I would like to note that Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo is one of the best South Korean dramas I've watched (if the main heroine of that drama was removed from the plot, it would be perfect :). And the OST to it is also one of the strongest, although I don't like some of the tracks because they are too tough. My favourite musical composition from that Korean series is indisputably Wing of Goryeo. Pay attention to the musical transition at the end of this track. It's genius. Such musical compositions are not created without God's help.

I must confess to you that I am waiting for the premiere of another drama with the participation of Tang Yan. The main actresses there are so beautiful... and Hu Ge in the male lead. :) Anyone who follows the work of these two actors will guess what the drama I mean.

I will also tell you something about myself. In fact, I was also brought up like a princess by my mother, who loved me very much and hoped that one day, if not a prince, then at least a good man, I would meet, get married and be happy. Instead, all my life I've met not men, but only schmucks. :( However, I sent them all in the direction of the russian warship. That's where they all should go. Ugh at them three times, in Ukrainian! I hope that I still will meet a man worthy of me, whom God will choose for me.

Finally, I would like to thank Tang Yan for performing me so well, because I am the real Princess Wei Young. But the main question is who is the Prince Gao Yang in real life?..

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A very realistic Chinese series

Hello, everyone! Well, did you miss the blue water tigress, "burdocks"? Voila! She's back! Bingo!!!

But she came back very disappointed, because the biggest "burdock" turned out to be the fire sunny tiger. Such a woman confessed her love to him, and he did not react in any way! It is true that "not all that glitters is gold", and I would add "not all that shines is sunshine". In fact, the fire sunny tiger turned out to be a proud, plucked peacock. So the tigress has disappointed in him and has sent him away... to the place where the Ukrainian border guard has sent the russian warship, if you know what I mean. :))

In this series, he probably has acted himself — the same cold, rational, calculating egoist as his character Zhao Xian. He was as cold as an iceberg in the ocean, and he had such life values and views on marriage that I was very happy when one of the heroines of the series changed her mind and decided not to marry him.

This is the same opinion of the blue water tigress in this regard. But, to be honest, she lied to the tiger, saying that she loved him. Life was just testing him for “lice”. And he failed the test. In that case, as Arnold Schwarzenegger's character said in the second part of The Terminator: "Hasta la vista, baby!" Or like in the song "Goodbye My Love Goodbye" by Demis Roussos (a deceased Greek singer who had very beautiful songs). The word "love" here, of course, should be in quotation marks. She wrote earlier that it's hard for her to fall in love with someone, but once she did, it was probably forever. She wasn't joking about it, she was serious. As you might have guessed, it wasn't the fire tiger she fell in love with.

And the tiger, aka the plucked peacock, should have realised by now that those comments and reviews, especially the first ones that the tigress wrote to the lamb, could only be written by a woman to a man she truly loved. And the tiger was like a fifth wheel to the cart, or a third superfluous. But what can I say about the fire tiger, if the lamb itself doesn't seem to have understood it.

As for this drama, it's very realistic, you can't even imagine how realistic it is. Its undoubted advantage is the female cast. The actresses here are amazing, just like their characters: Mei Ting, Zhu Zhu, Liu Hai Lan, and all the other girls who have acted support roles. The protagonist Bian Liang was definitely lucky with women, one better than the other. But those women were not lucky with him.

I have a big complaint against the creators of the series regarding the male cast (well, yes, it's not Tribes and Empires, what can I do). They couldn't have found worse actors. There was only one very handsome man in the whole drama, Sun Jian, and he was shown either from a distance, or from the side, or from behind, as if the cameraman was filming him on his knees or with one hand, turning the camera back and forth. О_о

Chinese viewers almost “ate” their brains out, wondering what the reason was for the lack of close-ups with him. I also have several versions. In fact, we can speculate endlessly. But it seemed to me that he either had a quarrel with the director or the cameraman, or with the Chinese authorities... well, or the director and the cameraman were afraid that Sun Jian would swell up so much after the next plastic surgery that he would look like a frog, so it was better not to take any risks. :)

What can I say about the actor who has performed Bian Liang? His prototype in real life is much more handsome and well-fit because goes in for sports (well, Bian Liang tried to run, but not for long). You won't see it in the series. This is probably the only case where the hero of the drama is worse than his prototype.

The main trio of men in this series is like the well-known trio of Slytherins from the Harry Potter books and movies (who is Draco Malfoy here, you can choose for yourself :). The first is a sucker, the second is a mama's boy, and the third is a cold-blooded egoist. You can't imagine anything worse. Of all the men in the drama, I liked only one. He may not be as good-looking as Zhao Xian, but he is superior to all the others in terms of moral and purely male qualities. I'm talking about Li Shao Bai. I think that one lady in the drama who will be with him is very, very lucky.

But seriously, Bian Liang was not a bad man, he was just cowardly and indecisive in some matters, ignored his wife's opinion and wishes for a long time, and could not take sides in the company where he worked. However, towards the end of the series, it seemed to me that maybe he did the right thing, and the best decision was to just leave.

I was very worried about the female character Dong Xiao. She and I have similar, if not identical, views on marriage and family. That's why I was glad she didn't tie her life to someone who didn't understand or share her views. It's better to be alone than with someone like that. Such a marriage would still have had one ending — divorce.

Sun Jian wrote some strange words on his Weibo page after his character lost that woman, which I found cynical. He has written that gaining and losing is a normal state of affairs. Maybe it is, but it certainly doesn't apply to Dong Xiao. Because God sends a woman like her to a man only once in a lifetime: so beautiful, intelligent, responsible, delicate, cultured, well-mannered, stylish and elegant. Here it’s necessary to shed tears, not to write about the normal state of affairs. And it wasn’t normal, in that case, for sure.

Well, in the end, those words of Sun Jian boomeranged back to him in real life. Now it becomes clear why he is still single, and at almost 40 years old he still lives with his mother, and all his relationships with women are most likely superficial, because he doesn't know what true love is, judging by what he has said.

I liked the plot and the story itself. I listened and read every word spoken by the characters and looked at every frame. I was not bored watching the drama. And it has a very good, correct title — Turn on the Right Way to Life. This title has a special meaning for me, just like the blue water tigress. It's so important to live right in life and find your own, but the right way of life. Special thanks to the screenwriters for mentioning Ukrainian borsch. I was so pleased that I wanted to invite Xiao Fang to my country for an “internship”. I liked the ending of the drama. It has a certain hint of a good ending, or rather the continuation of the relationship between the main hero and one of the women.

Finally, I want to tell you a little more about the blue water tigress. The other day she learned that the Canadian wolf was getting married, but she couldn't be happy for him for some reason. When she read the news that he was marrying a she-wolf from a wealthy family, she immediately remembered a sad story about one South Korean actress who also once married one of the heirs of Samsung Electronics. It ended badly: she could barely get away from that wealthy family, and she couldn't see her children either. The tigress is afraid that the same thing will happen to the Canadian wolf: his "horns" will be “broken off”, and he will have no right to say anything but "hello", "goodbye" and "thank you"… оh, and "excuse me".

Personally, I remembered one of my former university classmates who, unlike others who chose women from wealthy families, also had wealthy parents, but married a simple girl from a poor family, but honest and decent. He was happier than all my other former classmates. I remember his story from time to time. I think he is the smartest of them all. So draw your own conclusions, men, and don't be so sneaky, otherwise you will only outsmart yourself.

You could probably guess who the blue water tigress really loved. She was too cruel to him and unfair in some ways. For that she apologises. It was just that she encountered true love for the first time, and she wanted him to pay attention to her, to know her feelings and understand her so much that she didn't notice how she had gone too far. The main thing that shocked her was not even that he did not understand her. What shocked her the most was that her beloved, who had so desperately helped and pulled up those who mocked, envied and schemed him behind his back, and the only person who really felt sorry for, sympathised with him, really loved him, and for whom she had cried for almost a year day in and day out, he had simply used and wiped his feet on.

But in the process, she forgot important things that God reminded her of: you cannot force someone to love or change oneself. Even God doesn't force anyone to do anything, because He has given everyone free will and the right to choose. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Apostle Paul wrote some wonderful lines about true love that I would like to quote: “Love is patient, merciful, love is not jealous, love does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, does not seek its own, is not angry, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; it covers everything, believes everything, hopes for everything, endures everything.”

And the tigress, with God's help, forgave the lamb. Now she doesn't demand anything from him, she just wants him to save himself, his life and his soul. She knows about his sins, no matter how much he tries to hide it or lie about it. But she doesn't ask him to be a saint, because there are no saints except the Lord Jesus Christ. She just wants him to change himself and his life, to free himself from his vices, bad habits and addictions, to stop lying and to play favourites with the authorities, and to finally open the “door” of his heart to Christ, Who has been knocking on it all his life and waiting for him to open it to save him. And perhaps after that, at least after death, the tigress and the lamb, who she hopes will become a worthy tiger or even a lion, will meet in Paradise, and she will tell him all her thoughts and feelings.

You know, it's interesting that after the lamb broke the tigress's heart and God put it back together again, she didn't stop loving the lamb. This kind of love is rare; it is a real blessing from God. Their love could of course be described by lines from Shakespeare's Othello: "She loved me for the dangers I had endured, and I loved her because she pitied me for having endured them". But you must admit that it doesn't make that love any less true.

In the end, I would like to dedicate the following wonderful songs by the Canadian singer Celine Dion to the lamb on behalf of the blue water tigress and on my own: 01. The Power Of Love. 02. My Heart Will Go On. 03. That's the Way It Is. 04. I'm Alive.

I really hope that people will never forget those her songs and will always listen to them, because they are real masterpieces. You can see it by reading the lyrics. I have recently rediscovered this singer for myself. I also advise everyone to read the lyrics to a song before listening to it. Because when I was choosing songs for the drama reviews and reading their lyrics, I got the impression that some of the songs were written by demons, not people. Don't listen to such nastiness.

In fact, you guys have no idea what has happened to me over the past few months. The Lord has intervened so much in my life to make it better, and me with it. He showed me that I was one-sided, too categorical and subjective, although I have tried to be objective all my life. Literally overnight, I changed my denomination from Orthodoxy to Protestantism. Because Protestants are right (and the Lord has shown me that): no good deeds will save a person, but only faith in Jesus Christ, in His ransom sacrifice for all mankind, and His mercy.

I was foolish to think that He had abandoned me. In fact, He has always been with me and has been leading me “by the hand” through my life. He revealed so much to me that I couldn't tell you everything at once. Believe it or not, I started constantly listening to Chinese music. It calms me down. And recently I discovered an interesting and useful Chinese spiritual practice called Qigong. I have the impression that I will soon go to Tibet on an excursion. But we'll have to wait and see how it goes.

In general, the more I get interested in China, the more I like it, and I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that it is not called the Celestial for nothing. But at the same time, I am increasingly convinced that the Chinese have a lot in common with us, Ukrainians, as if we have been one nation once. For example, in one of the Chinese TV series, one of the characters said the phrase "dead bees don't buzz". The Ukrainian singer Pavlo Zibrov has one of his songs with the same title. But Ukraine is no less blessed by God, believe me. Otherwise, we, Ukrainians, would never have withstood everything that has been piled on us throughout the history of our existence.

In final, I would like to tell you why I liked Prince Lu and Prince Sheng (the good half of him, ignoring the bad half) from Chinese Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy so much. I'll start with the second one right away.

Jesus Christ had a disciple, one of His apostles, whom He loved very much because of his soft, "female" heart. That apostle was the only one among the apostles who stood with the mother of Christ and other women near Jesus, Who was crucified on the cross, while the other apostles ran away in fear. I have always liked that apostle the most, as well as the Gospel he wrote, the fourth in a row. It differs from the other Gospels in many ways. One of its peculiarities is that it could indeed be concluded that it was written by a man with a gentle but brave heart. He is also the author of the last chapter of the Bible, the Apocalypse. That apostle is John the Theologian. It was good Muyun Sheng who reminded me of him.

And Prince Muyun Lu is the prototype of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the series, he really looks like Christ from the Apocalypse: all in white, girded with a belt, like the "lion" and the King. Sun Jian acted him very well, but he still didn't understand who he acted.

I'm currently watching one Chinese historical drama. The main male lead is acted by the Chinese actor Zhou Yi Wei. He perfoms a general and a hero of his country. This image of him is even better than Shuo Feng He Ye. I like him the most in that series, he's so handsome, statuesque and not much of a talker. Zhou Yi Wei is still a handsome and strong actor, it's a pity he's married (just kidding, just kidding :).

But what I like most about that character is not his beauty, or even his military exploits, but the fact that he doesn't take a drop of alcohol in his mouth. That's willpower! I'm still in the early episodes, so I haven't found out what the reason is yet, maybe he has been drinking himself to the point of a pig's squeak before, I can't say. But if so, his behaviour of not putting a drop in his mouth is the only way to stop drinking, otherwise you will break down. So I definitely like that hero.

I wrote almost everything I wanted to. I just want to advise you all to listen to one more song: Simon Khorolskiy — I Wonder As I Wander. I dedicate it to the One of Whom it is about — the Lord God, for God is love.

Goodbye, everyone, see you at Shang Yang Fu, and may the Lord bless you all.

P.S. The tigress hopes that the lamb will never have plastic surgery and spoil his naturally beautiful purely Chinese eyes, which she likes most in his appearance, with the second eyelid. Just let him try!..:)))

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