Isabel Nee Yeh-su and the cover of the book The First Half of My Life (Photo/Xinhua)
Adapted from popular Hong Kong writer Isabel Nee Yeh-su's novel The First Half of My Life, the 42-episode TV drama of the same title stands as a dark horse amid fierce TV competition during the summer holiday.
Gathering a cast full of veteran and renowned actors including Chen Daoming, Mei Ting, Ma Yili and Yuan Quan, the drama mainly tells the inspirational story of a housewife-turned-career woman.
In the drama, lead actress Ma Yili stars as Luo Zijun, a simple-minded and dubious housewife.
However, her carefree life encounters misfortune after an unexpected divorce.
Luckily, with the help of her best friend Tang Jin, she makes changes and creates a new life for herself.
By emphasizing the importance of female independence, the series has caused heated discussions online and obtained high ratings since it began to air on July 4.
According to the scriptwriter Qin Wen, she is not surprised that the drama could stir up such a wave of popularity.
"I believe the secrets of its success lie in capturing modern life in China through several ordinary people's lives on one hand, and the great influence of book writer Isabel Nee Yeh-su on the other," she said.
Substantial changes from original work
Although the drama has won the favor of many females, quite a few book fans sharply criticized the TV version for veering too far from the book's plot.
The book writer Isabel Nee Yeh-su, or Yi Shu in Chinese, has written over 300 books and is renowned for her female portrayals.
Most females in her books typically have different family and educational backgrounds, yet their personalities all have something in common.
Those females have a meta-character of a "Yi-Shu Lady", who are rich, fashionable and are particular about their life.
Luxury cars, brand clothes, shiny diamond rings and champagne are their requisite tags.
Also, they are independent both financially and in spirit, and do not think marriage is the be all end all.
In the drama, Luo Zijun is a typical petty-bourgeois individual. In her world, her husband means everything to her.
Luo also has poor taste in clothing and is bad at dealing with relationships.
All elements of the character Luo are contrary to the ideal "Yi-Shu Lady", which is unacceptable to many of the book lovers.
Meanwhile, improper ethical values have been criticized by some viewers for degrading social conduct.
For instance, Luo fell in love with her best friend Tang Jin's ex-boyfriend He Han at the end of the story. Although Luo is not the direct cause of Tang and He's break-up, many viewers complain that the love relationship between Luo and He is unreasonable and divorced from reality.
New type of mistress causes controversy
In the drama, the mistress Ling Ling, played by Wu Yue, has given another definition of "home wrecker" for viewers.
"The first time I saw her, I did not think she would be a threat to my family as she is so common in daily life," Luo said during a monologue in the drama.
Indeed, Ling Ling does not seem like a typical mistress. She is not young, beautiful or rich.
