stressed men no. 1

Stressor: Leadership
In this world, there are leaders and followers. Not everyone is capable of being a leader because leadership requires a lot of skills. Leaders must be intelligent, fearless, eloquent, self-confident, and charismatic. Whether they want to be or not, men are groomed to be leaders. Their status as men requires them to be domineering for leadership is a "masculine" trait. As a result, this role brings some men a lot of stress because they either just don't want to or cannot lead.




Emperor Sung Jing - Moses Chan
from Perish in the Name of Love



Character Introduction: It is often said that every man desires to be an emperor - and why shouldn't he? An emperor has the facade of endless power, wonderful riches, spacious palaces, and most importantly... hundreds of beauties to choose from at his command. Behind the facade though, being an emperor is not all that it's made out to be. It's okay if the empire is secure, but if the empire is on the verge of dissolution, then being the emperor is a most fearful thing. When an empire is weak, there's a great necessity for a leader to bring it back up and make it strong. It is at such times when being an emperor is truly the greatest test of leadership.

Emperor Sung Jing is a man of such a fate. He ruled the dying days of the Ming dynasty, when corruption and chaos were rampant. He is not a capable or strong monarch. He lusts around and is lazy, failing to attend his political work. When he finally attempts to restore the glory of the Ming, the efforts are much too late and far too little. He lives a life full of stress.



Why is he stressed?
His country is falling apart. The Ming dynasty will fall in his hands, and this is a blame and responsibility he doesn't want to accept or let happen.

What's causing the stress?
His corrupt officials with their selfish plots. He doesn't have enough competent help and fate seems to be against him. Also, no one believes and understands the fragile state of the Ming and continue to live lavishly in the palace as if nothing is happening and that the Ming will never fall.

What are his stress relievers?
His wife, Empress Chow (Maggie Siu), and daughter, Princess Cheung Ping (Charmaine Sheh). They are the only two people who understand him and what he's going through. They support and care about him unconditionally, helping him to formulate and execute plans to save the Ming dynasty. Without these two, Sung Jing's stress would go over the top because everyone else around him is either useless or conniving. Empress Chow and Cheung Ping are the only two people who are honest towards Sung Jing.



Is his stress alleviated?
No. Sung Jing lives and dies a stressed man. Sung Jing fails as an emperor not only because he wasn't an efficient ruler, but also because his stressors far outnumbered his stress relievers. Thus, with too much stress, he couldn't function to his full capabilities. He is just one man with far too many problems to attend to and much too little time to fix things. The Ming dynasty consequently falls in the hands of Sung Jing.



Additional Comments: From historical texts, Sung Jing is said to be a very incapable man who just lusts around and lets his kingdom fall. They also said that he committed suicide out of fear when the Manchurians invaded. What I like about Perish In The Name of Love is that they portray him in a different light. Yes, Sung Jing wasn't a good ruler and he acted too late, but he did try to save his country. I really liked watching the scenes where he would work so hard to find plans to help the Ming. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough help and he had lost too much power over everyone. I also liked that one scene when he breaks down and cries to Cheung Ping and Empress Chow. He expresses his insecurities and fears and they listen... and understand. After this point, Sung Jing begins to change and fight for the Ming with Empress Chow and Cheung Ping by his side. Perish does so well at portraying Sung Jing's trials and disheartening failures. As a viewer, you grow to like him and root for the Ming (all the while knowing that it's doomed). Leading is indeed a very tough job, which is why many of us opt to be followers instead and live a less stressed and "peaceful" life.

Prior to Perish, I had seen Moses Chan in Where The Legend Begins and Family Man - both of which were terrific and showed his versatility as an actor. I found his performance in Perish believable and he has nice chemistry with Maggie Siu. Emperor Sung Jing and Empress Chow's subtle affections were just so clear and touching. I still find it absurd that Moses has to play a role so beyond his actual age (being a father to Charmaine Sheh?), but he made the role is own. I'm sad to say this, but I think Moses's acting has degraded a bit lately. His performances are not spectacular, leaning on repetitive and lacking excitement. I wonder if it's the roles he's been getting, but Moses doesn't really give me the feeling like he's trying very hard on his recent roles... In any case, I still do like Moses and he's one of my favorite actors.

coulda but didn't #2

Perish In The Name of Love

The 2003 grand production of Perish In The Name of Love was based on the historical opera on Princess Cheung Ping. According to the Dai Lui Fa legend, Princess Cheung Ping is the sole survivor of the Ming royal family after the country fell to the Manchurians. In order to calm the people, the Qing dynasty government arranges a grand wedding for Princess Cheung Ping and her lover, scholar Chow Sai Hin. However, unbeknownst to everyone else, Princess Cheung Ping and Chow Sai Hin were actually planning on killing themselves the night of their wedding! They would rather die for their fallen country than to live under the rule of the invaders. Thus, the lovers drink poison wine and die in each other's arms...

With any adaptation, there's always the question of "How true will they remain to the original?"

The Could Have
TVB could've easily stuck to the original Dai Lui Fa story, keeping the true legend alive, bringing it from the stage of the opera to television screens all over the world.

In fact, the way they opened Perish was quite true to the opera's opening. The opera begins during Cheung Ping and Sai Hin's wedding night, where they talk about committing suicide and reflect upon the past. Within the first twenty minutes of the series, we see Cheung Ping (Charmaine Sheh) and Sai Hin (Steven Ma) getting ready for their wedding, reliving their memories, and then drinking the wine that will take both of their lives. "I hope that when I wake up, I'll see you," they say to each other. Finally, the two lovers embrace each other and a beautiful image of Cheung Ping and Sai Hin peacefully perished as cherry blossoms fall on them paints the television screen. The scene fades to black and the back-story of how they came to suicide is told...

From the introduction and the synopsis that TVB provided, the viewer thinks that Perish will be true to the legend of the doomed lovers.

The Did Not
TVB totally altered the legend of Cheung Ping and Sai Hin. In episode 32, a torturous repeat of episode 1 occurred for much of the episode, leading up to the big "death scene" (and anticipated ending) that the viewer already saw in full. Of course, after the couple dies, the screen blacks out. The viewer gets a sense of deja-vu... is the series repeating itself again?! Nope. Instead, we're given a flash-forward and come to find Cheung Ping and Sai Hin still alive and living happily ever after!

It turns out that the two "faked" their deaths that night...

Alas, the viewer realizes that TVB did not stick to the original script. Why did they do this? I'll present two theories and then the actual truth behind the changed ending that not many people know about.

They wanted to surprise the audience. Because "everyone" knows the story, it would be really "predictable" to have the lovers just die and then roll the credits. Therefore, for that extra "surprise" kick, TVB gave an old legend a new ending.

They did it for originality's sake. To turn a couple hour play into a 32-chapters series is quite a feat. Therefore, TVB added many new characters and conflicts into the series. They even played around with history a bit. To keep the audience's interest, TVB had to be different and "original" since Dai Lui Fa is so famous. Therefore, why shouldn't they put their creative reworking into the ending? After all, wouldn't the audience be so pleased and thrilled to see Cheung Ping and Sai Hin with a happy ending after so much heartache, tragedy, and partings?

The truth as to why TVB gave viewers a "surprising" ending was because they did not want to pay to use the true ending! Although Dai Lui Fa is a very popular story, the copyright for it still belongs to the opera. Therefore, being its ever-economizing self, TVB refused to pay in order for Cheung Ping and Sai Hin to drink to their deaths. That is the reason why Sai Hin and Cheung Ping live happily ever after.

Thoughts
I feel such dismay when I reflect upon Perish In the Name of Love. It was one of my most anticipated series of 2003 (besides Virtues of Harmony II). I loved the "grand production" aspect of it, the cast was good, it had beautiful costumes, and a the series had a most poignant premise with Cheung Ping and Sai Hin's tragic love story. In fact, I believed this series was going to be so good that I made a website for it waiting for its release! Yes, Perish could have been very good and it has the "looks" to be a classic, but sadly, the Coulda But Didn't from this series ruined everything.

Dai Lui Fa is liked because it is a tragedy. People want and expect the lovers to die together at the end. I was quite shocked that the death scene occurred in episode 1 and I hated how the last episode basically re-used episode 1's footage in entirety. I could tell something "fishy" was going to happen (besides the fact that the ending was already spoiled for me by the time I watched it) because if the ending was truly just them dying, TVB would not be showing scene-by-scene almost everything the viewer already saw in the first episode. I cringed when I watched the "happy ending" of the last few minutes. I wished that those minutes didn't exist and that when the screen faded to black after their death, the ending credits would just roll...

The other problems with Perish included the tedious and irritating "childhood love" scenes in the beginning, way too many repetitive flashbacks and dialogue, excessive "praying" scenes (My god, I swear every single time something bad would happen, the first thing anyone would do is get down on bended knees and start praying! "Nope, we're not going to try to think of a plan of action. It's hopeless. We're doomed. Only the heavens can save us." Seriously! The praying was so ridiculous and over-the-top that it became a joke.), and too much predictability and melodrama in the script. It was very mundane in the first ten episodes, but after that, Perish gets much more enjoyable. I absolutely loved the war episodes and how the Ming was falling. The writers did a great job giving everyone (the characters & viewers) so much hope only to find (and know) that it's hopeless because the Ming is destined to fall. They certainly wrung my emotions and captured my attention during the turbulent war episodes of heightened drama.

Sadly, just when things were getting good, TVB had to screw up the ending. Like I said earlier, the last episode was unbearable and to make matters worse, Cheung Ping and Sai Hin don't die! Dai Lui Fa is memorable and meaningful because the lovers commit suicide for their fallen country and live happily ever after in death. It really ruins the entire "point" of the story by having a happy ending. Why can't I accept a happy ending for Sai Hin and Cheung Ping? Didn't they go through so much? Yes, but the story just isn't Dai Lui Fa then!

Perish could've been great, but TVB didn't make it so because of multiple flaws and so, it has to settle for mediocrity as a whole.

desperate widow no. 2

Empress Chow - Maggie Siu from Perish In The Name of Love

Character Introduction: Empress Chow is the last Ming empress and one of the many wives of Emperor Sung Jing. Being an empress is not an easy feat, especially in the dying days of the Ming. The country is falling apart, but this doesn't stop the endless fights and plotting among the concubines. Empress Chow's biggest rival and threat is the evil Tin Fei (Jay Lau). She gets Empress Chow kicked out of the palace and later causes her to become a low palace maid. Despite the setbacks and constant hurt, Empress Chow remains kind and hopeful. She loves her husband regardless of what he has done to her. As the mother of Cheung Ping (Charmaine Sheh) and Chiu Yan (Sonija Kwok), she cares and loves them above all else. Because of her rather meek personality, Empress Chow is often abused and taken advantaged of. She faces her problems passively, leading a life of quiet desperation, which worsens when Emperor Sung Jing dies and the Northern Ming falls to the Manchurians...

What is she desperate for?
Saving her marriage, family, and the Ming dynasty.

Why is she desperate?
Because of Tin Fei, Empress Chow loses the favor of Emperor Sung Jing several times. This and the fact that he is very lustful jeopardize her marriage and relationship with him. Chiu Yan constantly disappoints Empress Chow by engaging in corrupt and selfish acts and she finds it increasingly difficult to love Chiu Yan. The corruption among the Ming officials has grown so bad and the government has become so weak that it's almost an impossible feat for Emperor Sung Jing to save his country.

What acts of desperation does she commit?
Despite her humble and passive personality, she takes charge in the Southern Ming after the Northern Ming falls. She tries to take over her husband's position and continue what he would have wanted to do had he not had to commit suicide. She stands up against the Southern Duke and attempts to lead toward a Ming dynasty resurrection. Even though she's sick, she pushes herself to appear fierce and powerful for the sake of her family and Emperor Sung Jing.

Is her desperation satisfied?
Yes and no. After all that they went through, Empress Chow and Emperor Sung Jing finally reconciled and shared a deep and loving relationship. He realizes that she is the only person who understands him and supports him unconditionally. Despite the hurt and betrayal of the past, Emperor Sung Jing and Empress Chow come to stand on common ground as they fight for the Ming dynasty's life. Unfortunately, actions were too little and too late. The Ming was doomed. Empress Chow tried so hard to lead the Southern Ming and to rebuild the empire, but her efforts were undermine by power extortionists and an ungrateful daughter. She died not being able to witness Cheung Ping's marriage nor to see glorious days for the Ming dynasty, but still thought of the people in her death bed.

Additional Comments: Like many widows, Empress Chow tried to take over her husband's position and fill in the gap left open by the husband's death. Upon a husband's death, there's a void in the family that must be filled. Usually, the husband holds the power in the family and makes all of the decisions with the wife just supporting him. Similarily, Empress Chow stood behind Emperor Sung Jing as he made actions to save the Ming. However, once he was gone, she had to take over - leading and making the decisions herself. She was no longer a supporting role, but the main one. This transition isn't easy and it's overwhelming to be suddenly placed in a position of power and forced to make crucial decisions. However, the transition must be made because there cannot be a void in leadership.

I loved Empress Chow and Maggie Siu did a wonderful job - as expected. Surprisingly, Maggie and Moses were acceptable as a couple. It was definitely strange that TVB casted Maggie to play the mother of Charmaine and Sonija and I feel sorry that Maggie had to play such an "old" role so soon. Surely, TVB must be blind. In any case, Maggie shone in her scenes and she overpowered everyone. I especially loved it when she begins to take a stand. But then again, it was sad because you could see that she was really pushing herself. In fact, Empress Chow is not a leader nor an emperor. She's just a loving wife and mother. Her ending was definitely a tear-jerker.