["Chou Nu Wu Di"] — China (2008)   ["Chou Nu Wu Di Wan Mei Ji"] — China (2010) Synopsis | Trivia | Cast Hunan Satellite TV (aka HunanTV) co-produced this Betty adaptation, along with Mexico's Grupo Televisa. This production was originally planned to be directly based on Mexico's "La fea más bella" and it was reported early on that the story would unfold over the course of 400 episodes, spread out among five 80-episode seasons. Filming of the 150 million yuan ($21 million) series took place at a new studio in the central city of Changsha, Hunan Province. Originally, the Chinese title was translated into English as "Ugly Invincible Woman", but has also been reported to be "The Ugly Without Rival", which is more similar to the translation of "La fea más bella", which means "The prettiest ugly girl" in English. Or the title can be translated simply as "Ugly Wudi".  At the time of the original press release, producer Chen Xiaodong said that the format and story required some adjustments in order to accommodate the sensibilities of a Chinese audience.   Series Development Unlike most previous official versions of the Betty story, "Chou Nu Wu Di" does not take place at a fashion house or a glossy magazine. In this adaptation (following the previous example of "I ♥ Betty la Fea"), the workplace is an advertising agency called IDEA, a name that evokes the name of the production house on "La fea más bella", which was called Conceptos (means "concepts" or "ideas" in Spanish). The original reports stating that there would be a total of five 80-episode seasons turned out to be inaccurate. Instead, each season lasted around one month, and the seasons did not all contain the same number of episodes. For example, the first season had 40 (one-hour) episodes, but the second season had 68 (half-hour) episodes. It was reported in December 2009 that there would be no fifth season, despite the show's enormous popularity, because many of the cast members felt that being committed to one show for two years was long enough and they were ready to move on. "La fea más bella" had a total of just over 300 one-hour episodes, so if "Chou Nu Wu Di" was going to have an additional 100 episodes, as originally planned, its writers would have had to come up with extra plot lines.  Unfortunately, when the length of "La fea más bella" was extended—due to its popularity—many fans felt that the superfluous scenes and plots that the writers concocted were just pointless filler that detracted from the show's original focus. Other international Betty adaptations had also been extended because of their huge ratings, but whenever this happened, audiences have generally felt that their beloved shows suffered a sharp decline in quality, simply to satiate their producers' desires to make more money by keeping their programs on the air longer. The most notable examples of this trend were India's "Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin", Germany's "Verliebt in Berlin", and Spain's "Yo soy Bea". So, it is probably for the best that "Chou Nu Wu Di" concluded its run with 186 episodes, which were presented over the course of four well-structured, compact seasons. First Season: In the biggest branded-content deal in China to date, Unilever integrated product placement into "Chou Nu Wu Di" to promote Dove shower cream, Clear anti-dandruff shampoo, Lipton tea, and other products. Within episodes, the IDEA office staff could be seen using Dove products in the company bathrooms, there was a water cooler in the conference room had the Lipton logo on it (even though it didn't appear to be filled with iced tea), and Fei Denan used Clear shampoo. It was also planned that when Lin Wudi would eventually get her dramatic makeover, she would switch from wearing glasses to using Bausch & Lomb contact lenses, but this never happened because Wudi never got an extreme makeover and she wore glasses right up until the end of the series. Although the show's advertising agency setting helped to facilitate product placement for these and other sponsors within the context of the show, most viewers found the embedded advertisements to be intrusive. "Chou Nu Wu Di" debuted with a ratings share of 6.35 percent of the viewing audience during its timeslot, garnering 11.58 percent of an important demographic of young viewers. In some countries, 6.35 percent wouldn't seem particularly impressive, but in a country as populous as China, that percentage adds up to around sixty-five million viewers. When you look at it that way, it dwarfs the ratings numbers of other international adaptations like "Maria, i Asximi", which regularly pulled in a whopping 45 percent of the Greek viewing audience, but that percentage only added up to around two million people. Within a few days, the ratings share for CNWD actually increased to 8.71 percent, which exceeded all expectations. Despite the show's instant success, many viewers felt that the character of Lin Wudi, who is supposed to be highly intelligent, was coming across as being somewhat mentally challenged. This familiar charge had previously been lobbed at Angélica Vale, whose background was in sketch comedy, for the way she portrayed Lety, the lead character in Mexico's "La fea más bella". Some viewers complained that Vale's broad style of slapstick humor made the show's protagonist seem too much like a cartoon character. It was difficult for many viewers to reconcile the fact that they were being told that this young woman was supposedly very intelligent, yet she behaved like a clownish buffoon. Then again, many of the show's fans found Vale's portrayal to be endearing and sweet, so ultimately it was just a matter of personal taste. Another criticism of Lin Wudi was that she wasn't really ugly, but was just dirty and wore very old-fashioned clothes. This accusation, minus the "dirty" part, had been leveled at almost all of the international Bettys, but perhaps the people who make a big deal out of this facet of the character are missing one the points of the story. On the show, just as in real life, being considered "ugly" isn't always about having a surplus of physical flaws, but is sometimes just a matter of a person's lack of style or grooming. In Wu Di's case, her family's working class background was another thing that set her apart from the snobs at IDEA. Second Season: The second season began airing on January 12, 2009, at 8:30 PM. First season director, Zheng Feng, turned over directing duties to Jiang Jiajun. Despite the first season's strong ratings, the producers decided to respond to some criticism by making changes based upon the results of online polls. They began by changing Wudi's wardrobe and making her appear less "dirty"; in fact, they amped up the fashionability of all the show's characters, as well as the sets. They also toned down some of the character's inane behavior. Producers also planned to make the integration of the controversial product placement a little more seamless and natural during the second season, so viewers wouldn't feel as if they were just watching extended television advertisements. The writers also wove in various elements from the real world, such as news stories (e.g. the Beijing Olympics, stock market troubles, ecology) and pop culture references (e.g. Kung Fu Panda), not only to make the show more topical, but also to keep a steady barrage of topical jokes flowing, as is done in the Scary Movie franchise. Third Season: Due to the popularity of Disney's High School Musical franchise, producers of "Chou Nu Wu Di" decided to give the series a musical format during the third season, and they brought back season one director Zhang Feng to guide the cast again. The third season began on August 29, 2009, at its original time, 10:00 PM. The season ended on September 24, 2009, with a total of 52 episodes.  Although they had been following the original story of "Yo soy Betty, la fea" during the first two seasons, producers intended to make the series "interactive" by using public opinion polls to allow fans to make important decisions relating to character development and the direction of major story lines. Early in 2009, an online polling contest was devised in order to determine who would be cast to portray the man who would try to win Wudi's love during the third season, after Denan breaks her heart. A special website was set up where people could register and then nominate any man—within a specific age range—for the new role by filling out an online form and uploading a photograph and introductory video featuring the candidate. All registered users could then vote to narrow the results. The wide field of 2533 applicants was trimmed to forty competitors, which was then whittled down to twenty. Eventually, this pared down group of young men appeared on a competition reality show called "Wu Di Yi Hào" (which could be translated as "Invincible One", "Unrivaled One", or "Wudi's One"). The show's viewers voted for their favorites and narrowed the field down to the final five contenders. Polls closed on February 19 and at the end of the reality show's final episode on March 29 the winner was Deng Anqi, who would play Léi Jiong. Two of the contest's runners-up were also tapped for other roles: Zhang Keyi would appear on "Chou Nu Wu Di" as Meng Xianguo and the other lucky aspiring actor would appear in a brand new series. Not only was Lin Wudi's new love interest chosen by fans, but supposedly voters would also decide whether Wudi would get a beauty makeover at the end of the series, as well as decide which man she would end up with. Because of these innovations, "Chou Nu Wu Di" had the potential to veer off in a new direction and end very differently from every other adaptation (except "Bela, a Feia" and "Ugly Betty", neither of which followed the plots of YSBLF). Fourth Season: When the fourth season began on February 20, 2010, at 10:00 PM, three prominent new characters were introduced. One was Lin Wudi's little cousin (some online translators render the word as "sister"), Lin Wuxin. Other new characters were a mysterious shareholder, Gu Xiaoyin, who happened to be Léi Jiong's beautiful stepmother, and Sulei's long talked about (but never previously seen) wealthy husband, Leng Weisu. They also recast the role of Adaier, because Gu Xuan had scheduling conflicts. Many viewers disliked some of these cast additions, particularly the character of Lin Wuxin, because this little cousin of Lin Wudi had never even been mentioned during any of the three previous seasons. And many fans also felt that Zhou Fang was too sweet looking to convey the devil/angel dual nature of Adaier as convincingly as Gu Xuan had done during the third season. For the final season, the biggest change for the series was its title. Initially, it was announced that the title would change to "Chou Nu Da Fan Shen" (literally, "Ugly Woman Major Translate Body"; figuratively, "Ugly Woman [gets a] Huge Makeover"*). The runner-up choice for the new title was "Wu Di Da Fan Shen" ("Wu Di's Huge Makeover" or "Invincible Huge Makeover"). Despite the "makeover" reference in the new title, many people still speculated that Wudi would not get a physical transformation for the finale. Instead, they surmised, the word "makeover" actually referred to Wudi's transfiguration as a person, from a shy, ridiculed girl into a confident, successful businesswoman. Ultimately, though, the fourth season was entitled "Chou Nu Wu Di Wan Mei Ji" (Invincible Ugly: Final Beautiful Season, or Perfect Season). * In Chinese, the context in which words are said is extremely important, so for a person who knows nothing about the series, the proposed new title—"Chou Nu Da Fan Shen"—could be alternately translated as "Homely Woman's Great Liberation," "Plain Jane's Big Metamorphosis," "Fat Girl Stands Up (or Turns Over)," or "She-Clown's Giant Torso-Flip (Adult Somersault)," among other combinations. The final season was the shortest of the four, lasting just under two weeks. The season had a total of 26 episodes, with two back-to-back episodes being shown each night, instead of just one. The finale aired on March 5, 2010, but the episode did not conclude with a dramatic makeover or a wedding for Wudi, just a marriage proposal from Denan, who knelt down in front of Wudi to ask her to marry him, as the entire IDEA staff looked on. Many fans complained about the lack of a beauty transformation for Wudi in the last episode, as well as the omission of a big wedding scene, but it is possible that the ending was intentionally left as open-ended in order to incite audience demand for a sequel. Of course, if Wudi had been given a makeover, or if she had married Denan, there would have been many other fans who would have said that she should have remained single and stayed true to herself by not changing her appearance.   Story Synopsis: First Season: Just as the board members at IDEA are voting to determine who will replace Fei Bocheng as the head of the company, Lin Wudi is arriving for a job interview. Employees seem shocked by Wudi's appearance, especially the two men who conduct the interview, Sun Pei, the head of Personnel, and Chu Guoliang, the Finance Director. The interviewers seem much more interested in pretty Pei Na, despite her lack of qualifications, than in the unfashionable girl with the braces and glasses. Later, when Wudi returns home, she and her best friend, Tang Yajun, conduct a little online research to learn more about the major players at IDEA. During the board meeting, Li Anxi casts the deciding vote for her boyfriend, Fei Denan, who is Fei Bocheng's prodigal son. Anxi's brother, Li Anrui, is upset because he was the other candidate for the position, and his own sister voted in favor of her filandering boyfriend instead of her own flesh and blood. Wudi and Pei Na are both hired, despite the fact that Denan doesn't really want either one of them to be his assistant. Denan is amazed as he observes Wudi's proficiency on the computer, so he gives her the keys to the storage room that is connected to his office and tells her that it will be her new work space, which leaves Pei Na with nothing more to do than to answer phones and to be a pretty face to greet visitors at Denan's door. Denan calls Wudi into his office to tell her that he is entrusting her with his personal agenda, which contains all of his appointments and phone numbers. Then Denan's best friend, Wu Yong, comes into the office to tell him that he witnessed Pei Na eavesdropping on the conversation he'd just had with Wudi. At first, the other secretaries seem to shun Wudi, but after Wudi has a clumsy mishap at a restaurant the other women invite her to have lunch with them, and they soon make her a member of the Chou Nu Ju Le Bu (Ugly Girl's Club). Second Season: The story continued to follow the basic plots of "Yo soy Betty, la fea": Denan used Wudi as a buffer to keep his fiancée from discovering his infidelities; Luo Lan loses control every time she sees her husband Fu Xin's mistress, Xue Feifei, at IDEA. Denan creates a shell company, Tiān Cái (which means "talent-", "genius-", or "heaven-material"), to assume IDEA's debts and he puts the dummy firm in Wudi's name; Wu Yong thinks that he saw Wudi and Tang Yajun behaving like a couple, and he begins to suspect that Wudi and Yajun are therefore a threat to the company, so he convinces Denan that he has to woo Wudi in order to control her; Wudi learns of Denan's betrayal. Third Season: After Fei Bocheng dies, Zhou Yuanyuan grows even more disappointed by, and distant from, Denan and she spends more time with Li Anxi. Still reeling from her discovery of Denan's betrayal, Wudi decides to throw away all of the mementos he gave her. While on a busy street, she literally bumps into Léi Jiong and their back packs get mixed up. When Léi Jiong discovers the mix-up he is frantic because his bag was filled with money. He and his landlady, Bao Zu Po, to whom Léi Jiong owes a large sum, find Wudi right after she has set the bag of money on fire, thinking that it was filled with the gifts she'd received from Denan. Back at IDEA, Denan helps Tang Yajun to earn points with Pei Na by fabricating a situation in which Yajun can come to Pei Na's defense. Léi Jiong, who owns a night club called Gou Léi Ba, gets a call from his friend Adaier that makes him think that she is in some kind of trouble. He goes to meet her in a park and he sees her standing on a rock above the lake. He thinks that she is going to commit suicide, so he runs to stop her, but he trips and falls into the water. Wudi is also in the park and she sees this happen, so she jumps in to save Léi Jiong, as does Adaier. After this incident, Wudi goes to the bank to withdraw some money and she runs into Ye Rong. At first, Wudi tries to avoid Ye Rong, but then Ye Rong talks Wudi into coming to her P.R. office to talk about her post-IDEA future. Ye Rong says that she is doing promotion work for a big entertainment event and she wants Wudi to work for her. After a while Ye Rong is finally able to convince Wudi to take the job. Léi Jiong's bartender, Meng Xianguo, the bar's tough female bouncer, Xiao Longnu, and other staff members from Gou Léi Ba go to audition for the extravaganza that Ye Rong is working on, but Ye Rong rejects them. Ye Rong puts Wudi in charge of finding a venue for their big event, so Wudi is pleased when she gets a call from Bao Zu Po saying that she can rent Gou Léi Ba. Unfortunately for Wudi, Léi Jiong has no idea that Gao Zu Po has made this deal and has already taken the money, so is completely surprised when Wudi shows up at Gou Léi Ba with plans to make changes to the decor. Because of this series of mishaps, Léi Jiong and Wudi seem to be fated to be in each other's lives, but their relationship starts out filled with antagonistic tension. Back at IDEA, Wu Yong and Denan are desperate because Wudi's presence has been requested at an upcoming business meeting, so Wu Yong suggests that one of the secretaries should disguise herself in braids, braces, glasses, and body padding to impersonate Wudi. Ma Shasha, Fan Chunhua, Zhang Ling, and Xiao Yi all audition, with Chen Jiaming's styling help, but they're all rejected. Anxi overhears the details of the scheme, so even she dresses up like Wudi and offers her services, but Denan tells her that he can't allow her to do it. Finally, out of desperation, and even though Denan has said that they should abandon the scheme, the others decide to see how Pei Na would look in a Wudi disguise and they discover that she is a pretty close match. Denan learns that Anxi and Pei Na have gone to meet with the client despite his objections to the plan, so he rushes to the meeting place to stop them, but he is too late. He makes an honest but embarrassing confession to the client, even though he knows that such a revelation could cost IDEA a lucrative contract. Throughout the third season, various characters from Wudi's former life at IDEA happened to wander into Gou Léi Ba; for example, in one episode Li Anxi and Li Anna went dancing there, and in another episode Tang Yajun brought Pei Na there for drinks. The season concluded with a cliffhanger:  Li Anrui framed Wudi and got her arrested. Fourth Season: In the last episode, Wudi is told by IDEA's creditor that for every 100 boxes of Bimbo she moves by herself in the warehouse, with no help from anyone and without using any heavy equipment, the repayment of IDEA's debt will be postponed for one day, so Wudi works all night and moves 3000 boxes in order to delay repayment for an entire month.   Trivia: The title, "Chou Nu Wu Di", was sort of a play on words: "chou nu" means "ugly girl", and "wu di" means "invincible" or "without rival", but since Wudi is also the name of the main character, the title means both "Ugly Wudi" and "Ugly Girl Without Rival" (or "Ugly Invincible Girl"). The day after the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, about one month before "Chou Nu Wu Di" premiered, the concepts of beauty and ugliness were a hot topic in China and around the world. At the ceremony, seven year-old Yang Peiyi was deemed "too plain" to appear, so another girl lip-synched to Yang Peiyi's singing voice. HunanTV was one of the first broadcast companies to give the state-run broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), any serious competition. HunanTV's parent company, Hunan Television, started as a local broadcaster in Changsha in 1970, but later expanded its network through satellite television at the beginning of 1997. Not long after HunanTV launched its immensely popular "Super Girl" program (a competition show similar to "American Idol") in 2005, there was talk that an official crackdown could shut the show down, or at least limit the company's programming, but HunanTV survived and became a pioneer of internal television station reforms in China, as well as an unapologetic provider of purely entertainment fare. Before "Chou Nu Wu Di" even premiered, HunanTV found itself at the center of a national debate over media reform and commercialization. HunanTV's parent company also owns the Hunan Broadcast Television Center, the Hunan International Convention & Exhibition Center, and Golden Eagle Television Arts City. It is believed that the company intends to make Changsha a "Hollywood of the East". On the same day that "Chou Nu Wu Di" premiered (September 28, 2008, at 10:00 PM), three Chinese astronauts returned safely in the Shenzhou VII space capsule after spending nearly three days in low orbit and completing the nation's first spacewalk, making China the third country—after Russia and the United States—to send humans into space with its own spaceship. The mission was China's third manned space launch. The receptionist's desk looks very much like the circular desk that Amanda Tanen was stationed at on "Ugly Betty". The workplace on "Gogona Gareubnidan", the Georgian adaptation of "Ugly Betty", also featured a similar reception area. Before being voted into the presidency of IDEA, Fei Denan was a flamboyant, womanizing, long-haired cosmetologist in the company's make-up department. After the board elected Denan, his buddy Wu Yong came to notify him of his new position, so Denan got a new professional look by getting his hair cut and putting on a suit. The series was dubbed (from the original Mandarin to Cantonese) for broadcast in Guangdong Province, but many viewers there resented the flagrant product placement, because they were watching the program on a public television station that was supposed to be free of commercial advertisements. This mirrored the complaints from viewers in the Mandarin-speaking provinces, who were upset because they expected that the cable fees they paid should make them exempt from having to see corporate advertising. In one of the early episodes from the first season, Tang Yajun tells Wudi, "Don't feel bad about embarassing your boss. The trendiest Korean dramas nowadays always have the hero falling in love with the girl who embarrasses him."  This was a sort of self-deprecating inside joke about criticisms that compared CNWD with Korean dramas because of its use of inorganic plot devices and clunky dialogue. Li Xinru (born July 20, 1989) was only 19 years old when "Chou Nu Wu Di" began, making her the youngest of all the international Bettys. She appeared on American television in an episode of "America's Next Top Model" in which Tyra Banks brought the wannabe models to China and gave them a challenge in which they had to dress as the four great beauties of Chinese history: Xi Shi, Wang ZhaoJun, Diaochan, Yang Guifei. Li Xinru personified Diaochan for the purpose of demonstration. According to polls, after Lin Wudi the most popular character on the series was Sulei, the sharp-tongued, well-dressed, wealthy woman who worked as a secretary just because she was bored by being one of the idle rich. This character didn't exist in any of the other international Betty adaptations, but in some ways she seemed to be similar to Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace". The original opening theme song was called "Da Duo Shu" ("Most"), and the closing theme was called "Wu Di Di Yi" ("Wudi is Number One" or "Wudi First"). Both songs were performed by series star Li Xinru (Wudi). The third season opening theme was called "Fang Qing Song" ("Relax"). The fourth season closing theme was called "Da Nu Ren" ("Superwoman" or "Big Girl"). Not long after this collaboration between HunanTV and Televisa hit the airwaves in China, Televisa also struck a similar deal with Brazil's Record network to co-produce "Bela, a Feia", which would also be set at an advertising agency, in order to attract sponsors who might be interested in taking advantage of the built-in opportunities for product placement. The P.R. company that Ye Rong works for is called Tian Shi Gong Gòng Guan Xì, which means "Angel Public Relations" in English. The counterpart to Ye Rong's character in some of the other international adaptations had a name that included a variation of the word "angel", which is appropriate because she is somewhat of a guardian angel, helping to facilitate the lead "ugly" character's personal growth and physical transformation. "Yo soy Betty, la fea" (Colombia) - Catalina Ángel "La fea más bella" (Mexico) - Carolina Ángeles "Ošklivka Katka" (Czech Republic) - Ester Andĕlová Scenes that took place in Li Anrui's office were obviously filmed in a building that is in, or near, Changsha's ColorfulWorld theme park. The replicas of Venice's San Marco campanile and the fairytale castle of Bavaria's "mad" King Ludwig II, Neuschwanstein, can clearly be seen in the sweeping view outside Li Anrui's window. In the first episode, Pei Na made purchases with a Citi Visa credit card. Among the other advertisers who sponsored the show, and whose products could be seen on the show, were Bimbo bread (from Mexico's Grupo Bimbo), Coca Cola, Mentos candy, Chcédo, Staples, French fashion magazine L'Officiel, Skype, Zhong Hua toothpaste (Zhonghua refers to the concept of "China" and is the term used in the formal names for both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China), Italian designer Paola Frani, Acer computers, Kranky by Ricolino (corn flakes with chocolate coating), and fashion label Me&City (which has featured Wentworth Miller and Orlando Bloom in separate ad campaigns). The break room at IDEA, besides having a yellow water cooler that had the Lipton logo on it, also had a Good Humor ice cream freezer. Bailey's Original and Glenfidditch were prominently featured at Gou Lei Ba during the third season. Bausch & Lomb print ads and TV commercials that featured Chinese-American singer/songwriter/actor Leehom Wang could be seen in the IDEA offices in many episodes. In the 34th episode of the second season, the employees of IDEA were shown decorating the office for the Christmas season. Even though only one percent of Chinese citizens consider themselves to be Christian, western Christmas traditions have become very common, particularly in big cities. The traditional Christmas tree is called "tree of light", and children hang muslin stockings so Dun Che Lao Ren ("Christmas Old Man", the Chinese Santa Claus) can fill them with gifts. What started out, within the past couple decades, as a gesture of goodwill for tourists who visit China in December has taken hold throughout the country's major urban centers and has become an important commercial event. In China, as in many other Asian countries, a person's family name comes first, followed by the given name. Full names often consist of three Chinese characters. The family name is one character, and the given name is often two characters. When two-character given names are romanized, sometimes they are hyphenated, sometimes they are combined into one word, and sometimes they are presented as two separate words. For example, the name of our lead character can be transliterated as Lin Wudi, Lin Wu-Di, or Lin Wu Di (I have chosen the first method for this site). In 2010, fan sites started using portmanteau supercouple uni-names (similar to those used for famous celebrities: Bennifer=Ben Affleck + Jennifer Lopez; Brangelina=Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie; TomKat=Tom Cruise + Katie Holmes) for various character pairings during the final season. The Fei Denan/Lin Wudi "shippers" (a shipper is a fan who roots for a specific relationship) called the pair FeiLin (or "Flynn"), while the Léi Jiong/Lin Wudi pairing was called LéiDi (sounds like "lady"). In the U.S., "Ugly Betty" had its own "shippers," who identified themselves by uni-names like Detty (Daniel + Betty), Hetty (Henry + Betty), Getty (Gio + Betty), and Metty (Matt + Betty). During the final season, the Fei Denan-Lin Wudi-Léi Jiong triangle was compared by some fans and media outlets to that of Edward, Bella, and Jacob, the protagonists of the second Twilight Saga movie, New Moon. Wudi's "ugly" look supposedly inspired a fashion trend among fans: big glasses, braids, floral patterns, and plaid skirts. Many of the characters on "Chou Nu Wu Di" peppered their speech with English words and expressions. Here are a few examples from the second half of the 4th season: In the 16th episode of the season, Pei Na does "he loves me, he loves me not" with a rose. Her words are in Chinese (Ta Ai Wo... Ta Bu Ai Wo), and this tradition has French origins, but it should be very obvious to any English-speaking viewers what she is doing. Also in the 16th episode, Wu Yong crosses himself like a Catholic. In the 18th episode, Zhang Ling says "OK" and makes the OK hand gesture, with forefinger and thumb forming the 'O' and the other fingers representing the 'K'. Also in the 18th episode, Fei Denan gives the female employees flowers and Zhang Ling says, "For me?"  Denan replies, "Yes." Also in the 18th episode, Fan Chunhua says "cup of tea" to Chen Jiaming. In the 19th episode, Wudi's family, Léi Jiong, Denan, and Pei Na all say "Happy Birthday" in English to Tang Yajun to celebrate his 28th birthday, then they all sing the "Happy Birthday" song, but with Chinese lyrics. In the 20th episode, the secretaries say "Sorry" to Tang Yajun because they had made fun of him for trying to look like Léi Jiong. Also in the 20th episode, Lin Wuxin points out to Pei Na that she is wearing two different color stockings, so Pei Na says that she is like Lady Gaga and she dubs herself "Lady Nana". In the 21st episode, Chen Jiaming says "S.O.S." Chen Jiaming's assistant, Xiao Yi, is rarely ever shown walking more than a few steps; instead, she floats slightly above the floor's surface. I know that the character has mystical abilities, such as being able to glimpse the future, but I don't understand the concept behind this magical gliding. Although Chen Jiaming was one of the most effeminate male characters in ANY of the "Betty" adaptations, it was made clear to anyone who visited the show's official website that he was not gay, he was simply a "sissy". The character's heterosexuality is confirmed in the final episode after his assistant Xiao Yi peers into her crystal ball to see who Chen Jiaming is destined to be with and, apparently, the two have a romantic awakening and realize that they are in love with each other. Georgia's "Gogona Gareubnidan" was another "Betty" adaptation that pointedly de-gayed all of its characters. Many scenes from the fourth season were filmed at Changsha's ColorfulWorld theme park (Cháng Sha Shì Jiè Zhi Chuang; aka Changsha Window, or Window of the World), which is owned by the same powerful entertainment media group that owns HunanTV.  This park is different from the Window of the World park in Shenzhen. One month after the March 5, 2010 series finale, a public event on April 8 commemorated the two years that "Chou Nu Wu Di" captivated viewers. Fans were asked to write compositions in which they conveyed what "Chou Nu Wu Di" meant to them. Series star Liu Xiaohu (Fei Denan) was on hand to serve as one of the competition's judges and to declare the winner. In 2010, Liu Xiaohu (Fei Denan) and Li Xinyi (Li Anxi) went on to star in the espionage series, "Di Si Pian Jia Gu". It is common for websites that provide information about Chinese celebrities to include the person's English name, which is often a phonetic approximation. For example, the English name for actress/singer Zhang Yafei (Zhang Ling) is Effie, the English name for Li Xinru (Lin Wudi) is Shera, and the English name for Lu Nuo (Xiao Wu) is Lenox. It is also common for these sites to provide the person's blood type. One site that provides a career résumé for Deng Anqi (Léi Jiong) lists the following information: Birthday: March 30, 1984; Constellation: Aries; Height: 181cm; Weight: 66kg; Blood Type: A; Birthplace: Changsha, Hunan; Present place of residence: Beijing, Chaoyang; Musical Language: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan; Specialty: singing, dancing, performances, hosting, basketball, football, swimming   Cast Actor/Actress Character Persona Li Xinru Lin Wudi Our heroine Liu Xiaohu Fei Denan President of IDEA Li Xinyi Li Anxi Denan's fiancée Wang Ce (Seasons 1-3) Li Anrui Anxi's brother; Denan's nemesis Mao Junjie Péi Na Anxi's friend; Wudi's nemesis Wu Qijiang Wu Yong Denan's best friend Han Li Tang Yajun Wudi's childhood friend Wang Ming Lin Wuqing Wudi's father Wu Zongyou Qiu Sukying Wudi's mother Chan Ru (Seasons 1-2) Fei Bocheng Denan's father Zhang Yue Zhou Yuanyuan Denan's mother Chen Yang Li Anna Anxi and Anrui's eccentric sister; company shareholder Wang Kai Chen Jiaming IDEA's temperamental director Zhang Shu Fan Chunhua One of Wudi's friends at IDEA; cleaning woman Liu Xin Ma Shasha One of Wudi's friends at IDEA; Wu Yong's secretary Liu Xiaoye Sulei One of Wudi's friends at IDEA; wealthy woman who works as a secretary because she's bored; starts out as the secretary of the company's Finance Director, Chu Guoliang, but she eventually becomes Lin Wudi's secretary; Sulei's husband is not seen until the fourth season Wen Mengyang Xiao Yi * * Xiao Yi is often translated as "looks pretty" One of Wudi's friends at IDEA; Chen Jiaming's assistant; has mystical powers and is a fortune teller Bai Yujuan (Seasons 1-3) Luo Lan One of Wudi's friends at IDEA; Li Anxi's secretary; mother of two small children; her husband, Fu Xin, has an affair with Xue Feifei, an aspiring model Zhang Yafei Zhang Ling One of Wudi's friends at IDEA; starts out as the receptionist, but eventually becomes Wudi's assistant Lu Nuo Xiao Wu Courier at IDEA; is romantically interested in Zhang Ling; had a flirtation with Li Anna in Season 2 Chu Yingying (Seasons 1-3) Ye Rong Does Public Relations work for IDEA; friend and former classmate of Sulei; Meng Xianguo's love interest; Wudi's new employer, after she leaves IDEA ??? ???? (Season 1) Wang Zhimin (Season 2) Fu Xin Luo Lan's filandering husband; Having an affair with Xue Feifei Li Bing (Season 1) Chen Yuqiu (Season 2) Xue Feifei Wannabe model who is having an affair with Luo Lan's husband, Fu Xin Fu Tianjiao (Seasons 1-3) Huang Yiming Li Anxi's unrequited love Qi Ji (Seasons 2-3) Du Weidong Chinese-American mutual friend of Li Anxi and Fei Denan; new love interest for Li Anxi Deng Anqi (Seasons 3-4) Léi Jiong* Denan's rival for Wudi's heart; inherited Gou Léi Ba after his father's death; deeply in debt, because his father owed a fortune to Adaier's father Zhang Keyi (Season 3) Meng Xianguo Bartender at Gou Léi Ba Gu Xuan (Season 3) Zhou Fang (Season 4) Adaier Wudi's mysterious new friend; got amnesia in an accident, so she doesn't remember that her former self was an unpleasant person; she knows that she has some kind of connection to Léi Jiong [Note: This plot seems similar to that of the ABC sitcom "Samantha Who?", which starred Christina Applegate.] Song Jialing (Season 3) Xiao Longnu* * means "tiny dragon woman" Tough bouncer at Gou Léi Ba Xu Songzi (Season 3) Bao Zu Po* * means "landlady" Léi Jiong's landlady; seems to be afraid of Adaier Xie Huiqing (Season 4) Lin Wuxin* * means "without heart," "mood," or "inadvertent" Lin Wudi's little cousin; fills in at the reception desk at IDEA after Zhang Ling is promoted to be Wudi's assistant Li Xintong (Season 4) Gu Xiaoyin Léi Jiong's stepmother; new major shareholder at IDEA; became the show's chief villainess, to fill the nemesis void that was created after Li Anrui departed Wan Xin (Season 4) Leng Weisu Sulei's husband Liu Nanxi (Seasons 2-4) Xia Zhenni "Jenny" Li Anrui's faithful assistant, who later works for Gu Xiaoyin Lu Peizhong Sun Pei Head of Personnel at IDEA Wang Feng Chu Guoliang Finance Director at IDEA; helps Li Anrui with his schemes, and later becomes Gu Xiaoyin's ally Wang Xiwei (Season 4) Ai Lisi Woman whom Denan meets in a taxi cab, after he thinks that he has lost Wudi to Léi Jiong, then discovers that she is a new business associate working on a project with IDEA     Security Guard at IDEA Li Xiang (Seasons 1-2) Zhang Qiáng Neighborhood bully who has teased Wudi and Yajun since childhood * The Chinese character for jiong () is rarely used anymore, except on the internet as an emoticon to express annoyance, awkwardness, or scorn. The character actually means "patterned window," "light shining through a window," or "brightness."  It can also be used to create an ideogram that depicts despair or failure by placing "orz" or "OTZ" in front of it, to represent an exasperated person on his hands and knees: orz   OTZ © Tony Lagarto   top ^   Send me e-mail