Mainland Chinese period drama, Marry in the Purple <嫁入豪门>, is Charmaine Sheh’s (佘詩曼) first mainland drama to broadcast on Chinese television after leaving TVB’s management in 2011. The 40-episode drama serial, which premiered on China’s Jiangxi Satellite Channel on February 10, roughly takes place during the warlord period of Republican China in the 1920’s. The ruthless warlord Cao Zhenfang destroys the Xu family’s soy sauce business, pushing the family into poverty. To fulfill a marriage promise, Shen Yingxiu takes her sister’s place to marry the Xu’s family only son, Jiajun, and helps the family from the attacks of the warlord’s influence. Charmaine stars as Yingxiu, the serial’s leading tragic character. Chiang Tsu Ping (江祖平) stars as Yingxiu’s older sister, Yingdi, who ends up marrying the warlord’s son, Cao Rui (Kelvin Lu 陆昱霖). Benny Qian (钱泳辰) stars as Xu Jiajun, and Kent Tong (湯鎮業) stars as the warlord, Cao Zhenfang. “This role is very challenging,” said Charmaine in an interview with Tencent QQ. “I will do my homework every single day to grasp the appropriate emotions of my character.” Yingxiu is by far one of Charmaine’s most tragic characters to portray. The TVB Award-winning actress revealed at an earlier interview that she would spend almost 40 out of the 50 filming days crying. Charmaine laughed, “I appear very quiet and wooden when I’m trying to cultivate these emotions. I would rarely interact with others, and outsiders would probably think I was being a diva! I never had to cry so much in my life before. I once had to cry in five scenes in a row. I cried so much that I felt like my body was getting dehydrated. My eyes were swollen after work that day.” Charmaine then added with a joke, “Women are made of water.” Money Is a Sense of Security Charmaine went through several rumored relationships since joining in the industry in 1997, but she has never directly admitted to a single one. Hinting that she is now single again, Charmaine stated, “If I am in a new relationship, I will definitely share it with everyone. I will not hide it.” Charmaine also revealed, “Ten years ago, I was willing to sacrifice everything for my career, including love. But now, I am different. When I meet my love, I will courageously love him with all my heart.” Would Charmaine also want to marry a wealthy heir like her character in Marry into the Purple? Charmaine shook her head, expressing that her views of her future are far from that of her character’s fate. “I never thought of marrying into a wealthy family, but I will definitely marry a person I love. Even if a woman marries into a wealthy family, the money may not necessarily be yours. It is probably your husband’s, or your mother-in-law’s. I believe that every woman should have her own money. That way, you will have a sense of security.” Creds: QQ
