Tian Di Qing Yuan 天地情缘

Description:

The twenty-episode TV drama "Love of Heaven and Earth" is set in Hong Kong on the eve of the handover and tells the story of three young women from the mainland — Meng Jing-Jing, Qiu Chun-Hui and Li Mei — after they arrive in Hong Kong. Through their own arduous, twisting, even legendary experiences, it paints a picture of life charged with intense dramatic conflict, vividly portraying the social contradictions, cultural differences and clashes of human nature that arose between Hong Kong and the motherland after a century of separation. Through the tangled feelings between the three mainland girls and the wealthy Hong Kong young man Li Shao-Xiong, the Beijing youth Tian Bing, and the ordinary Hong Kong men Huang De-An and Xu Shi-Fa, the drama also shows that the blood bond of the descendants of Yan and Huang is like the union of heaven and earth — it can never be severed.
"Love of Heaven and Earth" is the work of independent producer Zhou Yan, once an actress on the mainland who later moved to Hong Kong; the plot is based on the many facets of Hong Kong society she witnessed with her own eyes. The famous Hong Kong ATV director Wang Wei-Ren directed the drama. The renowned Hong Kong actor Deric Wan plays the male lead Li Shao-Xiong. The three female leads are Wu Yue, fresh from her outstanding performance in "The Peaceful Era," as Meng Jing-Jing; Taiwanese actress Wang Min as Qiu Chun-Hui; and Wang Na, a former rhythmic gymnast, as Li Mei. Also starring are the famous Hong Kong actor Bao Fang, former Hong Kong Miss Asia Poon Sin-Yee, and Hong Kong actors Chow Sau-Laan, Guo Feng, Lai Kim-Sing and Chung Yeung, while the famous mainland actor Shan Zeng-Hong and rising star Liu Hong-Yu join the cast as well. Most of the drama was shot on location in Hong Kong.
Plot: Although Meng Jing-Jing was born in Hong Kong, she grew up alone in Beijing. As an adult she returns to her mother in Hong Kong, but she finds it very hard to adapt to the Hong Kong environment, misses her childhood sweetheart Tian Bing day and night, and constantly clashes with her mother. When she accidentally discovers the lowly "profession" her mother engages in, her hatred for her mother deepens. She runs away from home, determined to carve out a world of her own.
Li Jia-Ding, president of the Li Group, insists that his son Li Shao-Xiong learn Mandarin in order to expand into the mainland. Meng Jing-Jing applies for a tutoring job and comes to the Li household. Although Li Shao-Xiong feels some affection for her, Meng Jing-Jing angrily resigns because of his contemptuous remarks about mainlanders.
Shanghai girl Qiu Chun-Hui obtains Hong Kong residency through a sham marriage. On the way to Hong Kong she meets Li Mei, a country girl married to an old Hong Kong man. Newly arrived in Hong Kong, both are full of fantasies and hopes for the future.
The three girls meet at the registration office of the Lin Modeling Agency. Because they all come from the mainland, they feel as if they have met old friends in a foreign land. The agency's boss, Lin Ya-Zhi, also came to Hong Kong from the mainland years earlier, so she takes special care of them and encourages them to compete for the title of "Charity Miss" so they can gain a foothold in Hong Kong.
But as time passes, the differences in the three women's characters and aspirations gradually emerge.
Meng Jing-Jing's coldness toward Li Shao-Xiong stands in sharp contrast to Li Mei's and Qiu Chun-Hui's eagerness for quick success, which only makes Li Shao-Xiong love Meng Jing-Jing all the more.
To see Meng Jing-Jing, Tian Bing leaves the Academy of Fine Arts and takes a job at an advertising company in Shenzhen. Meng Jing-Jing secretly travels back and forth between Shenzhen and Hong Kong every day. But Tian Bing cannot adapt to Shenzhen's thoroughly commercial environment, and Meng Jing-Jing cannot return to Beijing; both are utterly lost about their future. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Tian Bing leaves Shenzhen and heads north, and Meng Jing-Jing is heartbroken. Meng Jing-Jing's mysterious comings and goings, along with Qiu Chun-Hui's evasive words, cause Li Shao-Xiong to misunderstand and begin doubting Meng Jing-Jing's character. Although Qiu Chun-Hui fails to attract Li Shao-Xiong's attention, she meets the triad boss A Qiang at a nightclub, and the two immediately hit it off.
To infiltrate the Li Group, A Qiang has someone invite Li Shao-Xiong to a banquet on a luxury cruise ship, and under the pretext of shooting scenery has Qiu Chun-Hui lure Meng Jing-Jing and Li Mei onto the ship to "liven things up." By the time Meng Jing-Jing realizes something is wrong, escape is impossible. Fortunately, the late-arriving Li Shao-Xiong shows up; once he understands what is going on, he resolutely takes Meng Jing-Jing off the ship. From this, the two reach a new understanding. Meanwhile Li Mei meets a wealthy "boyfriend" on the ship, moves into a luxury apartment and drives a sports car. What makes Qiu Chun-Hui especially jealous is that Li Mei is also highly favored at the company and is widely tipped to win the "Charity Miss" crown. Meng Jing-Jing therefore worries about her own future, and the crisis in her relationship with Tian Bing makes her lose confidence in herself. When Li Shao-Xiong learns of her relationship with Tian Bing, he falls into anguish.
After the preliminary round of the "Charity Miss" pageant, all three mainland girls make the list. Qiu Chun-Hui's fake husband sees the news and comes to threaten her: either she becomes his real wife, or he will expose her identity. With no way out, Qiu Chun-Hui turns to A Qiang for help. A Qiang devises an elaborate chain of schemes, but it backfires and instead brings Li Mei great fame. Under pressure from Xu Shi-Fa, Qiu Chun-Hui has no choice but to withdraw from the final, but she claims she did so to help Lin Ya-Zhi handle the company's business and secure a clean sweep for the Lin company in the competition. Lin Ya-Zhi, short-handed and under family pressure, is deeply grateful to Qiu Chun-Hui.
In the final, Li Mei suddenly hears that her boyfriend has gone bankrupt, becomes distraught and makes a public fool of herself. Meng Jing-Jing, answering a question about "mother," invents an idealized image of her mother and thereby wins over the judges and the audience, taking the crown.
Meng Jing-Jing instantly becomes a public figure in Hong Kong. Even Father Li, who has always been prejudiced against models, develops a liking for her. Persuaded by Li Shao-Xiong, Meng Jing-Jing prepares to reconcile with her mother, but just then the media suddenly exposes that Meng's mother was once a prostitute. Meng's mother commits suicide. After a series of upheavals, Meng Jing-Jing recognizes the greatness of a mother's love, leaves an open letter and disappears.
Meng Jing-Jing's departure makes the signed contract impossible to fulfill, and the penalty for breach is enormous; the Lin company faces bankruptcy. At this moment Qiu Chun-Hui, relying on A Qiang's help, sets up her own business, the Qiu Company, and takes away the original company's key staff and clients. Li Mei loses faith in her career but still longs for a "beautiful life," taking one boyfriend after another, until her aged husband can bear it no longer and they divorce.
The tranquility of a Beijing courtyard house and Tian Bing's comfort restore Meng Jing-Jing's happiness. While in Beijing to investigate investment opportunities, Li Shao-Xiong searches for Meng Jing-Jing by every means. When Meng Jing-Jing learns of the Lin company's situation, she feels deeply uneasy.
Lin Ya-Zhi's husband Fang Ying-Hua rushes back to Hong Kong to comfort his wife. Lin Ya-Zhi decides to give up her career in Hong Kong and settle with her husband in Canada. Her mother-in-law forgives her daughter-in-law and hopes to hold a grandchild soon. Meng Jing-Jing's return rekindles Lin Ya-Zhi's hopes. Fang Ying-Hua understands his wife's choice and tells his mother that the reason they have had no children all these years is not Lin Ya-Zhi's fault but his own: he has never been able to forget the lover who killed herself twenty years ago. And whenever he looks at Meng Jing-Jing, he always has a strange feeling.
Tian Bing comes to Hong Kong for a solo exhibition. Meng Jing-Jing unexpectedly learns that Li Shao-Xiong was secretly funding it. Tian Bing also guesses the truth, and while expressing his thanks to Li Shao-Xiong, he frankly confesses his deep love for Meng Jing-Jing. Li Shao-Xiong cannot hide his own feelings either. Faced with two men who love her deeply, Meng Jing-Jing finds it hard to choose.
The Lin company's grand fashion show is a huge success. But Qiu Chun-Hui is made a scapegoat by A Qiang and arrested by the police. Lin Ya-Zhi, Meng Jing-Jing and Li Mei, setting aside past grievances, bail her out, and the police finally catch the real culprit.
After extensive inquiries, Fang Ying-Hua finally confirms that the lover from twenty years ago was Meng Jing-Jing's mother, and that Meng Jing-Jing is his own daughter. On the anniversary of Meng's mother's death, accompanied by Father Li and Li Shao-Xiong, Meng Jing-Jing comes to her mother's grave. Lin Ya-Zhi also accompanies Fang Ying-Hua to pay respects at Meng's mother's grave. Father and daughter meet…
Pointing to the rows of tombstones on Bao Fu Shan, Father Li tells Qiu Chun-Hui and Li Mei: "These are all remains waiting to be transported back to the mainland. Even though they are dead, they still long to go home."