What is this drama about?
The drama tells the story of several couples who, for various reasons, decide to get married. Fei Ni and Fang Muyang get married to receive an apartment allocation from the factory where she works. This allows her brother to also return from the countryside and marry his longtime girlfriend. Fang Muyang’s sister, on the other hand, agrees to marry a doctor she barely knows because his family’s military background will allow her to join a special project at university. They all have to cope with the difficult everyday life and emotions that arise in newlyweds.
This was a very good drama. I don’t even know where to begin summarizing it; I have so many different thoughts about it. So, let’s start from the beginning.
First, the romances and relationships.
In this drama, we actually have several couples with completely different relationship dynamics and completely different family backgrounds. First of all, we have to start with the original title of the novel on which the drama is based: “Pragmatic’s Love.” This title perfectly describes what happened between these couples. They all married for a practical reason. Only in one case was love the driving force behind the choice (Fei Ni’s brother), and ironically, this relationship was the most turbulent. All couples had to go through a difficult period of getting to know each other. Mutual respect, mutual help and support in difficult times, and mutual understanding emerged. This allowed love to flourish. Where this was lacking, the relationship fell apart. The best couples were Fang Muyang (Chen Feiyu) and Fei Ni (Sun Qian), and his sister’s marriage, Fang Mujing (Cristy Guo). There was truly hard work in these relationships; nothing came easily. The Fang siblings benefited the most from their marriages, especially the sister, who opened up to people thanks to her patient and very handsome husband, a doctor (Wang Tianchen). Fang Muyang and Fei Ni’s relationship developed very slowly, but very charmingly and positively. Above all, he gained a wonderful family, and she gained invaluable support in her university ambitions.
Drama Plot and Times.
Only after finishing the drama and delving deeper into Chinese history can one see how the dynamics of that time were portrayed in the drama. This story encompasses all social classes—from intellectuals, to a family with military traditions, to a party family, to a working-class family. At first, I was surprised that many things were portrayed in a rather negative light (and I know how propagandistic Chinese dramas can be)—nepotism, obsessive adherence to party doctrine, informing on colleagues, the party’s interference in citizens’ most intimate matters, forcing people to sever ties with their families, exiling young people to remote areas to work, and stigmatizing intellectuals. All of this was part of the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76, and it was presented here, but subtly. Surprisingly, there was no mention of Mao’s death, which definitively ended this terribly difficult ten-year period in Chinese history. The change was again presented very subtly, without any clear political judgment. Viewers could draw their own conclusions if they knew even a little history.
What I liked most was how warm and pleasant this drama was. These were difficult times, but I enjoyed watching these people enjoy such simple things as a little space of their own, a simple job that allowed them to earn money, share a meal, study, or participate in a neighborhood community. Life unfolded in the here and now. Modern people can no longer enjoy themselves like that, because everything is readily available, and interpersonal relationships become superficial and slowly fade away.
I really enjoyed this drama, in every way—the plot, the visuals, and the acting. It’s more than just a drama about love affairs in the 1970s. It’s primarily about young people of that time, their problems, their sorrows, and their dreams. Personally, I highly recommend it.
Who is this drama for?
Primarily, it’s for people who enjoy quiet, true-to-life stories, for fans of 20th-century Chinese history, and those who appreciate a happy ending.
