Zhang Ailing is a bystander who looks at the world coldly, she will never be soft on the characters in her pen, and she will not pity Xiang Xiang and cherish Jade, and the women in her books almost have no good ending, such as Wang Jiazhi in "Color Ring", Cao Qiqiao in "The Golden Lock", Xiao Ai in "Xiao Ai", Gu Manzhen in "Half Life"...
Some of them died in remorse, some of them died of their hearts, and some of them loved and could not be mistaken for life.
Overall, Zhang Ailing's warmth seems to have been given to only one character: the white tassel in "Love in the Fallen City".
Even Zhang Ailing herself said at the end of the book: There are legends everywhere, but there is not necessarily such a satisfactory ending.
In September and October 1943, Zhang Ailing's new work "Love in the Fallen City" was divided into two volumes and two issues, and published in the Shanghai Magazine.
At that time, in the era of war, the world was uneven and turbulent, and the "white tassel" in the book also coincided with internal and external troubles, but fortunately, at the end of the novel, Zhang Ailing's men left a love, in the turbulent corner of the world, gave bai tassel a stable home, and she and Fan Liuyuan finally had a happy ending.
In the original work of "Love in the City", bai liusu was 28 years old at the time of the story, and 7 or 8 years had passed since she had divorced and returned to her mother's home after domestic violence.
Divorce, which was not accepted by the world at that time, was a deviant act, and all the people of the Bai family did not want to see her, and the brothers and sisters-in-law squeezed her money and began to shake her away.
Fortunately, at this time, her life took a turn for the better, and a British overseas Chinese named Fan Liuyuan fell in love with her, when Fan Liuyuan was 32 years old.
The story of White Tassel and Fan Liuyuan did not develop so smoothly.
At that time, a 32-year-old man with financial resources could of course marry a much smaller girl as a wife, for example, the fourth sister-in-law of the Bai family wanted to introduce her two teenage daughters to Fan Liuyuan; but the 28-year-old divorced woman was ruined and abandoned.
The white tassel wanted to grasp this life-saving straw, but he was afraid that he would be looked down upon by this man from now on, repeating the mistakes of the previous marriage.
Therefore, the two of them tried and ambiguously with each other, wanted to be close but their hearts were not steady, wanted to warm each other and deliberately kept a distance, until the baptism of war overturned the whole city, but only fulfilled her consummation.
Zhang Ailing's white tassel and Fan Liuyuan have been put on the big screen and big stage by later generations, and so far, four different versions of the white tassel have appeared.
In Zhang Ailing's book, the image of the white tassel is like this:
"Her petite body of the kind is the least old, always a slender waist, a child-like budding breast; her face, which used to be white like a magnet, is now changed from porcelain to jade—translucent light blue jade; the palate was round at first, and in recent years it has gradually become sharper, and the more it appears that small face, the smaller it is, the smaller it is, the cuter it is; the face is originally quite narrow, but the eyebrows are very wide, a pair of delicate drip, dripping water eyes."
This is the white tassel in Zhang Ailing's heart.
How tall is the so-called "petite body, not old" white tassel?
As we all know, Zhang Ailing herself is five feet six and a half inches tall, which should be about 168cm in conversion.
"Before I left Hong Kong in 1955, I took a boat to the United States, and the immigration check in Honolulu was a skinny young Japanese. Later, when I looked at the form on the entry paper, I filled it out: "Six feet six and a half inches tall, weighing one hundred and two pounds"] I couldn't help but laugh - there is such carelessness! Five feet six and a half inches will be written as six feet six and a half inches. It's actually a Freudian slip. The psychoanalytic master believes that there are no clerical errors or occasionally say a wrong word in the world, all of which are originally thought in my heart, inadvertently revealed, I am thin, looking particularly tall. That was the shocking record of the customs clerk. "--Zhang Ailing
Hu Lancheng once said when walking side by side with her: "Your figure is so tall, how can this be!" ”
It is not difficult to see that in Zhang Ailing's consciousness, the height of a woman about 168CM is tall, so the so-called "petite body" she wrote will never be around 168, which can probably be inferred that the white tassel of "petite body and not showing old age" should be more reasonable or even lower in height around 160CM.
—— Petite, not old, slender and thin, fair skin, small face pointed chin, eyebrows stretched, eyes clear.
Imagine that this should be a delicate, spirited girl's face, pinker than her actual age.
Inexplicably, the words describing the white tassel were all right with Zhou Xun, as if she matched each one.
With a basic understanding of the white tassel, we can better sit in the seat and see which version of the white tassel is more in line with the original work?
In 1984, Miao Qianren, who was born in Hong Kong, was 26 years old, and she and Zhou Runfa, who was 29 years old at the time, co-starred in the Hong Kong version of "Love in the Fallen City", and the age of the two was quite in line with the original characters.
Miao Qianren was originally born in Shanghai, and later moved to Hong Kong, with a background consistent with the background of the white tassel in the novel.
Miao Qianren returned to Hong Kong from Switzerland at the age of 18 to run for Miss Hong Kong, and won the "Most Photogenic Miss Award" with a hot posture, with a height of 168cm, a weight of 50KG, and a slim figure, but the height is not in line with the white tassel.
The left one Is Zheng Yuling, the middle Zhou Runfa, and the right one is Miao Qianren
From the looks of it, Miao Qian's face is narrow, the facial features are delicate, the chin is wide, the mouth is slightly convex, it is not a country, the whole temperament is very kind, it feels like the beautiful sister of the neighbor, it is said that Zhou Runfa Xie Xian Andy Lau was fascinated by her.
The white tassel of the Miao Qian people, in terms of image temperament, is not as delicate and beautiful as the white tassel in the book, and the bluntness of her facial features is slightly heavier, and there is no light spirit of the white tassel, nor is there the delicate pink of the girl.
Most people think that this version of the white tassel is difficult to make Fan Liuyuan like Zhou Runfa worry about his stomach.
This version should be the one that the audience remembers the most.
In 2009, Chen Shu, who was 32 years old at the time, starred with the 35-year-old Huang Jue in the mainland adaptation of "Love in the Fallen City".
Chen Shu's height is also 168cm, slender, and taller than the white tassel in the book.
Chen Shu once worked as a dance student in the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, with solid physical fitness, slender curves, thin and not chai, and was once named "the most beautiful actress wearing a qipao", she wore a cheongsam in the Republic of China period, which was particularly decent, beautiful and generous.
Seriously speaking, Chen Shu's facial features, dignified atmosphere, temperament biased towards the royal sister Fan, less of a girl's sense of weakness, more of a slight sense of age, in fact, the image is not quite in line with the appearance of the white tassel in the book.
However, Chen Shu's acting skills are first-class, and the shape and qipao shape add a lot of points to her white fringes.
Therefore, the audience is willing to believe that such a white tassel is certainly worthy of Fan Liuyuan's admiration like Huang Jue.
Wan Qian's white tassel is the white tassel in the play, the characters in the book are moved to the center of the stage, a stage is set up, and the story of the white tassel and Fan Liuyuan is vividly staged in front of the audience.
In 2021, Wan Qian, who was 39 years old at the time, played the 28-year-old white tassel, which was indeed much older in age, and the girl's sense of weakness was gone, with a height of 166cm, a weight of less than 90 pounds, a slender figure, and such a shape was also much taller than the white tassel in the book.
From the perspective of the facial features alone, Wan Qian has a delicate and small face, very beautiful and unique, the temperament is not soft and rigid, just right, her face is very storylike, and there is a faint hint of melancholy between the eyebrows, which makes people can't bear to look directly at her sadness, which can interpret the mood of the white tassel at that time.
Wan Qian's version of the white tassel is thrillingly beautiful, no longer qingling and delicate, but some dust and charm, Song Yang's Fan Liuyuan fell in love with such a white tassel, it is not surprising.
But the fly in the ointment is that it seems to be too beautiful, and the temperament is too gorgeous, which may be the need of stage performance.
This version of Su Yuhua and Liang Jiahui's white tassel and Fan Liuyuan is also a stage play.
In 2006, Hong Kong actor Su Yuhua, 38 years old, played a 28-year-old white tassel, whose appearance and temperament did not match the white tassel in the book, but at that time it was called "the best white tassel".
The above four versions of the white tassel, each has its own beauty, but also has its own advantages and disadvantages, personally believe that the best version is the 2009 Chen shu version of the white tassel, acting is the best bonus for the role.
Perhaps in the near future, there will be more versions of the white tassel in "Love in the Fallen City", and we will wait and see.
(This article is original by Linglong Eight Drama Gong, welcome to pay attention, take you along with long knowledge!) ）