The Story of Ming Lan is a real find for me. This drama is a joy, medicine and peace for the soul. I have long wanted to watch something so pleasing to the eyes and the heart. I have stumbled upon this treasure while looking through the filmography of actress Zhang Jia Ning (Karlina Zhang). She's also worthy of being on my list of Chinese actresses of the younger generation whose looks, acting talent and works are worthy of note. After I liked her acting in Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy, I was looking for something else with her participation to watch and chose the historical drama The Story of Ming Lan, in which she acted one of the main female roles.

At first I have had doubts about watching this series, given the large number of episodes. But after looking at its rating and reading the viewers' reviews, I risked, started watching... and didn't regret it. From the very first frames, I have realised that this drama deserves to be watched. The plot of the drama is interesting, the acting is strong, the costumes are beautiful and elegant, the music is gentle and melodic, it corresponds to the content and mood of the drama.

The atmosphere in this series is so realistic that while watching it, the viewer seems to be transported to the epoch and time in which the events take place. I also like very much the fact that in the series it is repeatedly emphasised that a husband and wife are one body. It's mentioned in the Bible, and Jesus Christ has focused His attention on it.

The cast of the drama is gorgeous. Moreover, half of the actors are familiar to me from other films and TV series. For example, I immediately recognised Zhu Yi Long. In Legend of Mi Yue, he performed the son of the main heroine. It's hard not to remember him. He has a very handsome, eye-catching appearance. Also, I've already lost count of how many cinema products I've watched with Wang Ren Jun in them. He just “won't let me go”. :) However, he shouldn't have been acting in 1921, because it's not a movie, but propaganda nonsense. There's no point in continuing the list, because if I keep listing all the actors I know, it will take me an hour.

I liked the main heroine of the drama, Sheng Ming Lan. She and I are different in some ways, but similar in many ways. Of course, it is difficult to compare us visually. I am a beauty with big dark hazel eyes, long, below the waist, light brown hair, the hourglass figure and the third size of the breasts. Zhao Li Ying is not as beautiful, but she has a sweet, pleasant appearance. In my opinion, that's how Sheng Ming Lan was supposed to look like.

In what we are most similar to each other is that we are both genius. So it was painful for me to watch how, being the smartest and the best in her family, she had to hide it to just survive. We are also similar in our love and respect for our mothers. My mum told me that in my childhood I was a very obedient child and she had no problems with me. I almost never asked her for anything, because I thought she would give me everything I needed anyway. And she did. She gifted me a happy childhood, gave me a decent upbringing and a decent education.

Compared to me, Huang Xuan and Sun Jian are two tramps from a big road, especially Huang Xuan. He has got out of poverty, but he pretends to be a crown prince. I am from an intelligent family, and he is an arsehole with huge ambitions and a lot of money that he doesn't even know how to spend wisely. And he had the insolence to criticise me! Laugh and sin! The only Chinese actor who can roughly reach my level is Hu Ge. He and I are both excellent but in different fields. Although I'm still better than him, because I'm an excellent in any field and any thing I do. That's what it means to be genius!

By the way, speaking about Hu Ge. After the horrible car accident in which he barely survived, he racked his brains for years, wondering why he survived, for what purpose, what was his destination in life. During that time, he acted in many films and TV series, collected a bunch of awards and even tried his hand at screenwriting, but he never did the most important thing, the thing for which God had saved his life.

He survived so that he could believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and become a Christian. He has all the qualities and capabilities to do so. He has a Christian soul, it is evident even in his acting works. This applies not only to Hu Ge. Or am I preaching to you in vain here?!

Returning to the protagonist of the series, Ming Lan, we are very similar in another way, namely our temperaments. Inside us there are much more emotions than it seems at first glance. So, given the many similarities between us, I sympathised with her throughout the series and worried about her. And I was pleased to see how cleverly, calmly and elegantly she dealt with her enemies one by one.

I also liked the main hero of the drama, Gu Ting Ye. Although he is an ambiguous personality with his own flaws, he can be called a real man. He destroys all obstacles on the way to what he needs. He is like a battering ram that can break even through an iron wall. He developed such a great scheme to marry the woman he wanted that even Si Ma Yi from The Advisors Alliance and Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon would have been jealous of such a scheme. Gu Ting Ye is also a good husband. A woman can really feel like she's behind a stone wall with him.

Apart from the main heroine and the main hero, I also liked the other characters. I'm not going to list them all, because there are so many of them, I'll just mention the ones that have impressed me the most. Firstly, this is Sheng Ming Lan's older sister, Sheng Ru Lan, well performed by Zhang Jia Ning. This heroine is similar to me in her directness and straightforwardness. Jesus loves direct and straightforward people because He is like that. There is no lie or hypocrisy in Him.

The next heroine is a minor one, appearing in only a few episodes. But that was enough for me to remember her. This is Momo Kong. What an intelligent, wise and just woman! I would like to learn from her myself. I also liked Nanny Chang. She gave one “madam” such a good lesson in the series that it was impossible not to laugh at that scene.

And finally, the last character is old Mrs. Sheng, Ming Lan's grandmother. She is a wise woman who sees through people. One of the characters should have listened to her advices, but I won't tell you who, so as not to spoil too much.

The drama The Story of Ming Lan deserves its high rating and good reviews. For me, the episodes flew by unnoticed. At the end, I even wanted there to be more of them. I didn't want to say goodbye to the drama. I even burst into tears in the last shots. I definitely advise everyone to watch this Chinese series. Maybe one day I will rewatch it because it deserves it.

You know, to me and the main heroine Sheng Ming Lan suits the music track River flower from the South Korean historical drama My Country: The New Age. We both are just like it: calm, silent, and at the same time stormy, kind, gentle, but also strong and smart... smarter than everyone else. To the main hero, Gu Ting Ye, I dedicate the music track Battlefield from the same South Korean drama. This melody is like his whole life — a struggle for survival.

I like that Korean series, for many reasons, but most of all, perhaps, because Yang Se Jong wonderfully acted Seo Hwi, and Jang Hyuk fantastically portrayed Yi Bang Won. I'd like to particularly mention the acting of the last one. Huang Xuan and Sun Jian will never be able to perform like Jang Hyuk. To act like that, you not only need to have acting talent, but also to be real men like him, not stinking goats who use women for their own mercantile interests. I think every woman has her own anti-rating of men-goats. I have it too. Guess who take the first two places in it.

To the “sweet couple” Huang Xuan and Sun Jian, I would like to say the following. You should be ashamed to look at yourselves in the mirror. You used me, taking advantage of the kindness of my heart, and even in the most difficult period of my life, when there was a war in my country, I lost my job, and my heart was broken because of an unhappy love. But don’t worry, God will repay you in due time. You will see, your career will soon come to an end. And for me, neither you nor your work exists anymore.

In conclusion, I officially inform everyone that my heart is finally free and now I am in search of real, true love and my soul mate. Life is an interesting thing. The longer I live, the better I realise it. And I have understood something: no matter how difficult life circumstances are, there is always a reason to be happy.

Ming Lan said a very wise phrase in the drama that you should never look back. What golden words! It is written in the Bible that Lot's wife has looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. You should never do this. And I will no longer look back.

Huang Xuan and Sun Jian can only sing me in a duet a song by the group Double You called Please Don't Go, but that won't help them anymore. And the song is beautiful...