Romance in the Rain

infobox television
show_name = Romance in the Rain


caption = The cast of Romance in the Rain.
format = Drama
runtime = 1 hour per episode
creator = 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 = People's Republic of China
network = CCTV
first_aired = May 03, 2001
last_aired = June 2002
num_episodes = 49
imdb_id = 0456796|

Romance in the Rain (zh-tspw|t=情深深雨濛濛|s=情深深雨蒙蒙|p=Qīng Shēnshēn Yǔ Méngméng|w=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 novel "Yan Yu Meng Meng" (煙雨濛濛), and a remake of the 1986 miniseries Yan Yu Meng Meng. 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 Tan Dong Song Ly Biet), Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, France,Philippines, and Russia.

Cast

"Philippine names are written in italics"
* Lu Yiping/ "Trixia Lu" (陸依萍/陆依萍), played by Vicki Zhao 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 expelled 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 finding out her half-sister Ruping's love for Shuhuan, she sought Shuhuan's love as revenge. However, Yiping soon falls in love with Shuhuan as well 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/ "Romina Lu" (陸如萍/陆如萍), played by Ruby LinRuping 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 unbeknowst 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/ "Nathan He" (何書桓/何书桓), played by Leo KuA 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 lead 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/ "Clifford"(杜飛/杜飞), played by Alec SuLike 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.

* Lu Erhao/ "Edwin" (陸爾豪/陆尔豪), played by Gao XinErhao 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/ "Gigi" (方瑜), played by Li YuThe 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/ "Judith Li" (李可雲/李可云), played by Xu LuThe 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.

* Lu Zhenhua/ "General Hector Lu"(陸振華/陆振华), played by Kou ZhenhaiThe 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/ "Ester" (傅文佩), played by Xu XingThe 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/ "Clarita Wang" (王雪琴), played by Wang LinThe 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 unbeknowst 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/ "Meldy Lu" (陸夢萍/陆梦萍), played by Yue TingtingThe 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/ "Officer Li" (李副官), played by Cao QiugenOne of Zhenhua's officers and most trusted person, Li Fuguan is also retired soldiers and living a quiet life in Shanghai. Originally servants for the Lu household, Li Fuguan and his family left after discovering Keyun's pregnancy. For several years, Li Fuguan 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 Li Fuguan.

* Qin Wuye (秦五爺/秦五爷), played by Huang DaliangA 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 YanPingping was the daughter of a statesman and a princess whom the young Lu Zhenhua fell in love with. Lu Zhenhua later pursued his hopes to become a victorious general in order to marry Pingping. 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).

External links

* [http://www.chiungyao.com.tw/ Chiung Yao's website] (in Traditional Chinese)
* [http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/f/qssym.html Sina.com.cn Romance in the Rain website]
* [http://www.cctv.com.cn/tvguide/drama/qingshenyumeng/index.html CCTV's Romance in the Rain website]
* [http://www.spcnet.tv/reviews/review.php?rID=424 SPCNET Review on Romance in the Rain]
* [http://www.spcnet.tv/reviews/review.php?rID=1023 SPCNET Review on Romance in the Rain]