Turn On the Right Way to Life (2023)

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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Don't waste your time with this drama - boring as hell.

"Turn on the Right Way of Life" is about 42-year-old Bian Liang is at a loss with his career and life. It was an interesting plot to see how he maneuvers as he is juggling career and family life.

I was interested in the story, but after watching 11 episodes, I lost interest and am thinking of dropping it.

It did not show his struggles with his job well, and his character is the passive-aggressive type I hate. He was too nice and passive at work but aggressive with his family.

His wife, played by Mei Ting, was too weak; she was a doctor and gave up her career to be a stay-at-home mom. The muddling between her mom and father-in-law was annoying.

Every episode is about the same thing work and family emotional problems; it would be much better if it were not draggy. It does not need to be 40 episodes long; I think it would be much better in 20-24 episodes.

I give it a 5.0 rating because the plot and the ensemble's acting abilities were bad.

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