04.05.10

Getting Started on 蜗居

Posted in Pop Culture at 9:26 pm by Benjamin Ross

After finishing Fen Dou and taking a short break from Chinese television shows, I am now 11 episodes into a new series, Wo Ju (蜗居).  Broadcast in 2009, Wo Ju has been the most popular and controversial series to come from Mainland China in some time.  Due to its controversial subject matter, Beijing TV pulled the plug on Wu Ju ten episodes in, and Shanghai moved it from prime time to a late night time slot.  Many people (myself included) have thus taken to the Chinese Internets to watch the series in its entirety.

I am currently 11 episodes into Wo Ju, and the following is a brief synopsis and analysis of what has gone down so far.  (There are some minor spoilers coming, so if you don’t want to know the result of the first 11 episodes, I’d suggest you stop reading here.)

Wo Ju begins with a couple, Su Chun and Hai Ping, who both grew up in rural China, have recently graduated from top tier universities and moved to Jiangzhou, a fictional Chinese city reminiscent of Shanghai.  They live in a tiny studio apartment and work low-level, white collar jobs, providing just enough income to scrape by.  Yet they are happy just to be together, content that they are “making it” in the big city.

The story then flashes several years into the future.  Su Chun and Hai Ping are still in the same studio apartment living the same post-college lifestyle.  In the interim however, two major changes have occurred.  First, Hai Ping’s sister Hai Zao, seven years her junior, has also graduated college, and at Hai Ping’s encouragement is looking for a job in Jiangzhou.  Secondly, Hai Ping is now pregnant, further compounding the stress of living in a cramped studio apartment.

Hai Zao soon finds a job as well as a boyfriend (Xiao Bei), and begins her own life in Jiangzhou.  Once their baby (Rang Rang) is born, Su Chun and Hai Ping face the spatial limitations and inconveniences of raising a child in a studio apartment.  While visiting Jiangzhou, Hai Ping’s mother is appalled at their living conditions and convinces Hai Ping to allow her to take Rang Rang back to the village.  The plan is for Rang Rang is to be raised in the village until Su Chun and Hai Ping can afford to purchase a condo.  Hai Ping is reluctant to give up Rang Rang (Su Chun is indifferent), but realizes there is no better option.

Again we flash forward several years and Su Chun and Hai Ping travel back to their home village where Hai Ping spends every moment with her beloved daughter, now a toddler.  However, she is discouraged to find that Rang Rang hardly regards her as more than a stranger, having been raised her entire life by her grandparents.  This brings Hai Ping to a sudden realization.  She and Su Chun must no longer delay home ownership.  For the sake of keeping their family together, they need a condo, and they need it now!  But the problem is that neither she nor Su Chun have enough money for a down payment.  This problem is continually exacerbated as real estate prices escalate.

Meanwhile, Hai Zao has been doing very well for herself, both at work and in her personal life with Xiao Bei with whom she is now cohabitating.  But as an attractive, young female Hai Zao must deal with 陪酒, an annoyance common in the Chinese business world for young women like her. 陪酒 refers to accompanying her boss to face-garnering business meetings (over meals, on the golf course, etc.) for the sole purpose of drinking and socializing with his potential business partners.  Hai Zao despises this aspect of her work and even contemplates quitting her job.  Ironically though, through these social engagements she strikes up a seemingly innocuous relationship with one of her boss’ business partners, Song Si Ming, a wealthy married, businessman in his forties (for point of reference, Hai Zao is still only a few years out of college).

Su Chun and Hai Ping meanwhile continue to struggle with the financial realities which subject them to living in a cramped studio apartment and subsisting on instant noodles.  They still cannot afford a down payment for a condo, and Hai Zao, who credits all her success and good fortune to the help and guidance of her older sister, feels compelled to rectify the situation.  The issue comes up in casual conversation between Hai Zao and Song Si Ming, and Song Si Ming cordially offers to loan Hai Zao the money for Hai Ping’s down payment.  It is apparent, but not spoken, at this point that Song Si Ming has an interest in Hai Zao which extends beyond platonic and business relations.  It is also apparent that he has something which Hai Zao, or more specifically Hai Zao’s sister Hai Ping needs, cash.  Thus we have the setup for a situation which has to potential to become quite juicy.

Up to this point, I can already tell that by all measures that Wo Ju is a show of much higher quality than Fen Dou.  The acting is better, the production level is of relatively high quality (I haven’t seen a single overhead mic yet), and the story line is much more realistic.  (The plot of Fen Dou was about as plausible as your average Harry Potter flick).  But what I like most about Wo Ju so far is that it showcases real problems and conflicts which are regularly encountered by Chinese urbanites, such as corruption, infidelity, and the housing bubble.  It portrays them in a realistic light, and without cheesy miracle fixes and crackpot story lines to undermine the plot’s integrity.  I still have 24 episodes left, so I’m sure there is much more action ahead.  I’ll try to keep everybody posted.

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