Romance in the Rain
| Romance in the Rain | |
|---|---|
| Format | Drama |
| Created by | Li Ping, Chiung Yao |
| Starring | Zhao Wei Ruby Lin Leo Ku Alec Su Gao Xin Li Yu Xu Lu Kou Zhenhai Yu Xing Wang Lin Yue Tingting Cao Qiugen Huang Daliang |
| Country of origin | China Taiwan |
| No. of episodes | 49 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 1 hour per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CCTV (China) |
| Original run | May 03, 2001 – June 2002 |
Romance in the Rain (simplified Chinese: 情深深雨蒙蒙; traditional Chinese: 情深深雨濛濛; pinyin: Qīng Shēnshēn Yǔ Méngméng; Wade–Giles: Ch`ing shen shen yu meng meng, lit. Passions Deep, Rain Misty)) is a Chinese drama television series produced by Chiung Yao, a famous novelist in Taiwan. Romance in the Rain is an adaptation of her 1964 novel Yan Yu Meng Meng (煙雨濛濛). The series follows the Lu family in 1930's Shanghai, China. It stars Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin, Leo Ku, and Alec Su. It was shown on television in the following countries and regions: mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, the United States, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam (where it is known as "The Parting River" or "Tân Dòng Sông Ly Biệt"), Australia, Indonesia (where it is known as Kabut Cinta), Cambodia, Thailand, France, Philippines, and Russia.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
- Lu Yiping (陸依萍/陆依萍), played by Zhao Wei
The protagonist of Romance in the Rain, Yiping is one of the many children of Lu Zhenhua, a retired general with nine wives. Her mother, Fu Wenpei, is the general's eighth wife. Both she and her mother are banished from the Lu household through the actions of her father's ninth wife, Xue Qin. She has two half-sister Ruping and Mengping, one half-brother Erhao and one stepbrother Erjie. The only family member she bore no strong hatred from the 'other side' was Ruping. At first she was at odds with her half-brother Erhao and half-sister Mengping but was able to learn to love them and accept them as her sibling. She had one sister who was also the daughter of her mother called Xinping (陸心萍/陆心萍) who died 7 years before the scene. Xinping was the favorite daughter of her father and she always thinks that she could not replace and be better than Xinping. After an earlier encounter, she meets a reporter named He Shuhuan at a Shanghai nightclub. Shuhuan is soon captivated by Yiping's singing talent, emotion, and mystery. After discovering her half-sister Ruping's love for Shuhuan, she sought Shuhuan's love as revenge. However, Yiping soon falls in love with Shuhuan and softens as a result. After the death of her father, Yiping became the sole financial support of the Lu family as Erhao also enlist in the army.
- Lu Ruping (陸如萍/陆如萍), played by Ruby Lin
Ruping is one of the daughters of Lu Zhenhua, as well as Yiping's half-sister from her father, sister to Erhao and Mengping and half-sister to Erjie from her mother. Her mother, Xue Qin, was father's ninth and final wife. Pretty and sympathetic, Ruping grew up in a wealthy environment but is not prejudiced against Yiping like the rest of her family. Ruping's first love interest is Shuhuan, who she met after Shuhuan asked her to guard some negatives for him. At the same time, she also meets Du Fei, Shuhuan's colleague, who develops a strong feelings for Ruping. After the failure of her engagement with Shuhuan and helping her mother and Erjie to escape by contacting Wei Guangxiong which leads to the poverty of the Lu family she ran away trying to commit suicide; however, later she did not commit suicide but joined the red cross and became a nurse helping the wounded soldiers in the battlefield. For a long time, Ruping only loves Shuhuan but when she meets Du Fei in the battlefield during the war, she told Du Fei that unbeknownst to her she has fallen for him for such a long time. She told Du Fei that she missed Du Fei everyday. They end up getting married.
- He Shuhuan (何書桓/何书桓), played by Leo Ku
A reporter from Nanjing, He Shuhuan is the love interest of sisters Lu Yiping and Lu Ruping. His feelings towards Yiping are romantic, while he only treats Ruping as his friend. At the beginning of the series he was thought to be having a relationship even though he was only treating Ruping as a special friend. Despite several arguments, and going back and forth between Yiping and Ruping, he remains passionate towards Yiping. After reading Yiping's diary and discovering that Yiping was only dating to get revenge with 'that side' of the family he was led to anger and broke up with her. He later engaged with Ruping but left her during the engagement party for Yiping. Towards the end of the story, Shuhuan goes off to fight in the war between Japan and China, leaving Yiping waiting for him.
- Du Fei (杜飛/杜飞), played by Alec Su
Like Shuhuan, Du Fei is a reporter. He is extremely passionate about his love for Ruping, but Ruping attempts to reject his love. A caring man, Du Fei always helps others in need but is also careless and clumsy. During the war between Japan and China, Du Fei, upset by Ruping's disappearance, goes to the battlefield as a reporter, and after several years discovers Ruping's love for him and marries her.
- Lu Erhao (陸爾豪/陆尔豪), played by Gao Xin
Erhao is the son of Lu Zhenhua and Xue Qin, brother to Ruping and Mengping, and half-brother to Yiping from his father and Erjie from his mother. He is the love interest of Yiping's best friend Fang Yu. However, his relationship with Fang Yu becomes complex after Erhao discovers that his past childhood love, Keyun, once had his child and is now mentally disabled. At the beginning of the series Erhao hated Yiping but for the sake of Fang Yu he tried hard to make peace with Yiping. He was able to put aside his hatred towards Yiping and grew to love and accept her as his sister and part of the family. Erhao later enlists in the army as well leaving Fang Yu waiting for him.
- Fang Yu (方瑜), played by Li Yu
The best friend of Yiping who falls in love with Yiping's half-brother, Erhao. Yiping is at first against Fang Yu's relationship with Erhao, especially after finding out about Keyun, but Fang Yu continued to love Erhao despite complications in their relationship.
- Li Keyun (李可雲/李可云), played by Xu Lu
The daughter of Li Fuguan and Li Shao, Keyun had a childhood romance with Erhao which resulted in a pregnancy. She did not inform Erhao about this. After their baby's death, Keyun developed a mental illness. Throughout Romance in the Rain, Yiping, Shuhuan, Erhao, Ruping, Du Fei, and Fang Yu attempt to help Keyun recover her memory. In the end, Keyun gets better when she saw a motherless baby during war. She decided to raise him as her own.
- Lu Zhenhua (陸振華/陆振华), played by Kou Zhenhai
The father of Yiping, Lu Zhenhua is a retired, respected general. He was married to nine women, all of which he eventually lost interest in. As a result of his tragic romance with Pingping, Lu Zhenhua is inclined to marry any woman who bore a resemblance to Pingping. It is revealed later after he died that the person who bore the closest resemblance towards his long-lost love Pingping was not his wives but his daughter the deceased Xinping, the sister of Yiping and daughter of Wenpei who became his favorite daughter. Although his relationship with Yiping is tumultuous at the beginning, the two eventually build a strong bond through their similarities. At first he was hated by Yiping especially after he whipped Yiping, but as the series goes on Yiping grew to love him. He died after getting shot while fighting off Japanese soldiers trying to protect Yiping and Shuhuan.
- Fu Wenpei (傅文佩), played by Xu Xing
The eighth wife of Lu Zhenhua, Fu Wenpei is gentle and moral compared to Zhenhua's ninth wife, Xueqin. After Zhenhua married Xueqin, he lost interest in Wenpei and eventually was expelled from the Lu household. She and Zhenhua had two daughters: the deceased Xinping and Yiping. The death of Xinping brought great disturbance and grieve to her. She cannot forget about Xinping and always thinks of her much to Yiping's dismay who thought that she could never replaced Xinping in Wenpei's heart. Wenpei was of noble character especially when she talked for Wang Xueqin to Zhenhua even after she was always treated unfairly and badly by Wang Xueqin. She later became the mother figure to the children of Lu Zhenhua with Wang Xueqin especially towards Mengping. At the beginning, Wenpei lives a modest life with Yiping.
- Wang Xueqin (王雪琴), played by Wang Lin
The ninth wife of Lu Zhenhua, Xueqin is devious and power hungry. She also had an affair outside her marriage for more than ten years with a man named Wei Guangxiong which started in the Haerbin and followed her to Shanghai when she moved to Shanghai unbeknownst to Zhenhua. Although Zhenhua has a strong interest in her at the beginning, eventually her negative actions cause him to change his feelings. After Zhenhua found out of her affairs she was locked up together with her youngest son Erjie. He also tried to shoot her, but was stopped by, surprisingly, Yiping and Shuhuan, who hated her the most. Xueqin told Ruping to call Wei Guangxiong and rescue her. She was rescued, but was neglected later as Wei Guangxiong lost interest in her. She and Zhenhua had three children: Lu Erhao, Lu Ruping, and Lu Mengping. Her youngest son, Erjie, was the result of her affair with Wei Guangxiong.
- Lu Mengping (陸夢萍/陆梦萍), played by Yue Tingting
The youngest daughter of Zhenhua and Xueqin. Mengping is the sister of Erhao and Ruping and half-sister of Yiping from her father and Erjie from her mother. Mengping is at first prejudiced towards Yiping like her mother, but later learned to love Yiping. She enjoys partying and having fun, but after she is raped as a result of drinking too much, her personality changes drastically. She turns more forgiving and eventually learns to accept Yiping as part of her family later after the death of her father she lived with Yiping, Wenpei, Li Fuguan, Li sao, Keyun in the Lu mansion. She helped took care of the orphaned children whose parents were killed or separated during the war. Mengping later take Wenpei as the mother figure as the replacement of the mother who left.
- Li Fuguan/ Adjutant Li (李副官), played by Cao Qiugen
One of Zhenhua's officers and most trusted person, Adjutant Li is also a retired soldier and living a quiet life in Shanghai. Originally servants for the Lu household, Adjutant Li and his family left after discovering Keyun's pregnancy. For several years, Adjutant Li and his family were financially assisted by Yiping's mother, Wenpei despite her own financial difficulty. Later Yiping take a job as a songstress in "Big Shanghai" nightclub not only for the sake of herself and her mother but also for the sake of supporting the family of Adjutant Li.
- Qin Wuye (秦五爺/秦五爷), played by Huang Daliang
A wealthy businessman in Shanghai, Qin Wuye is the owner of a nightclub called "Big Shanghai." When Yiping comes in search for work, Qin Wuye offers her a job to sing at his nightclub after being stunned by Yiping's attitude. Eventually, Yiping's relationship with Qin Wuye grows stronger and Yiping relies on him several times for assistance. Qin Wuye gave the job as a songstress in the "Big Shanghai" during the war and during the financial crisis of the Lu family.
- Pingping (萍萍), played by Wang Yan
Pingping was the daughter of a statesman whom the young Lu Zhenhua fell in love with. She also returned his love and they promise to marry each other someday. However, furious about this, her father tried to kill Zhenhua but stopped by his daughter. Lu Zhenhua later pursued his hopes to become a victorious general in order to marry Pingping. And she promised him she will wait for him until he kept promise. However, before he achieved this, Pingping committed suicide in order to avoid an arranged marriage, which had a powerful effect on Zhenhua. Because of his love for Pingping, Lu Zhenhua gives all of his daughters a name that includes the character Ping (萍): Xinping (心萍), Yiping (依萍), Ruping (如萍), and Mengping (夢萍/梦萍).
[edit] Awards
1st Top 10 Outstanding China Television Artists Awards
- Won: Top Actor (Zhao Wei)
[edit] Reception
- Rank 1 of the Year, average rating 12%, highest episode rating is 20%.(Source:AGB Nielsen)[1]
This was CCTV's first co-produced television series with Taiwan, also is the first time broadcasting in primetime.
[edit] Influnce
There are three South Korean television series of Zhao Wei's role-poster or clip, Little Lady, Ruru Princess and Luobo Paocai.
[edit] Soundtrack
Most of the lyrics for songs were written by the writer, Chiung Yao, sang by Zhao Wei.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "情深深雨濛濛" (Romance in the Rain) | Chiung Yao | Xu Jialiang (徐嘉良) | Zhao Wei | |
| 2. | "好想好想" (Miss You) | Chiung Yao | You Jingang (尤景仰) | Zhao Wei | |
| 3. | "烟雨濛濛" (Misty Rain) | Chiung Yao | You Jingang (尤景仰) | Zhao Wei | |
| 4. | "小冤家" (Jambalaya) | Chiung Yao | unknown | Zhao Wei | |
| 5. | "偶然" (Occasionally) | Xu Zhimo (徐志摩) | Chen Qiuxia (陈秋霞) | Zhao Wei | |
| 6. | "往事难忘" (Long Long Ago) | Chiung Yao | unknown | Zhao Wei | |
| 7. | "新兰花草" (Orchid) | Hu Shi (胡适) | C.Tso (左宏元) | Zhao Wei | |
| 8. | "雨天的故事" (The Story of Raining Day) | Chiung Yao | C.Tso (左宏元) | Zhao Wei | |
| 9. | "离别的车站" (The Separation Station) | Chiung Yao | Xu Jialiang (徐嘉良) | Zhao Wei | |
| 10. | "满场飞圆舞曲" (Waltz Waltz) | Bao Yi (包乙) | unknown | Zhao Wei | |
| 11. | "自从离别后" (Since I Leave You) | Chiung Yao | Guo Liang (郭亮) | Zhao Wei |
[edit] Other film and television based on the plot
Misty Rain (1965) (煙雨濛濛) is a Taiwanese film starring Kuei Ya-Lei (歸亞蕾).
Romance in the Rain (1973) (煙雨濛濛) is a 20 episodes series produced by TVB starring Louise Lee.
Love in the Rain (1986) (煙雨濛濛) is a 40 episodes series produced by Chinese Television System starring Leanne Liu Shue Hua (劉雪華).
[edit] External links
- Chiung Yao's website (in Traditional Chinese)
- Sina.com.cn Romance in the Rain website
- CCTV's Romance in the Rain website
- SPCNET Review on Romance in the Rain
- SPCNET Review on Romance in the Rain
- Romance in the Rain at the Internet Movie Database
[edit] References
- ^ 《康熙王朝》收视率年度第二，吸引高学历人群 ， CCTV 14 January 2002。
