Winter Begonia (Chinese: 鬓边不是海棠红; pinyin: Bìn Biān Bù Shì Hǎitáng Hóng) is a 2020 Chinese drama starring Huang Xiaoming, Yin Zheng and Charmaine Sheh, based on the danmei novel of the same name by Shui Ru Tian Er.
Set during the 1930s in Beiping (the republican era name for Beijing), the show focuses on the relationship between Cheng Fengtai, a shrewd, rich businessman, and Shang Xirui, an incredibly talented rising Peking opera actor and the leader of the Shui Yun Lou opera troupe. The two of them meet by chance one day when, invited to watch one of Shang Xirui's performances by a business associate, Cheng Fengtai gets into a fight with a couple hecklers (sent by one of Shui Yun Lou's competitors) trying to ruin the show. After a couple more coincidental meetings, Cheng Fengtai begins to take a serious interest in Peking opera and he and Shang Xirui come to realize that they connect with each other extremely well, very quickly becoming close friends.
Together, they dream of setting up their own Peking opera theatre where Shang Xirui and the Shui Yun Lou troupe can put on whatever types of Peking opera shows they wish, holding onto their friendship and mutual love for Peking opera even as the world changes around them and Beiping falls to Japanese occupation.
The show, with 49 episodes in total, can be found on Youtube
and Viki with English subtitles.
This show contains examples of:
- Act of True Love: Shang Xirui ruining his voice to stand on the roof and sing all night in order to wake Cheng Fengtai from his coma, thus effectively choosing Cheng Fengtai as more important to him than opera.
- Ambiguous Ending: Did Shang Xirui choose to give up performing to escape to Hong Kong with Cheng Fengtai and his family, or did he stay behind in Beiping?
- The final shot, with Cheng Fengtai and Fan Xianger standing alone on the train platform staring out at empty space seems to imply the latter, but given that the shots preceeding it have Shang Xirui sprinting out in the snow and with his stage makeup still on, having apparently missed curtain call, it's really up to interpretation...
- Ambiguously Gay: Or ambiguously asexual (in the show, at least, because the book is more unambiguously gay)—Shang Xirui, who shows absolutely no interest in women or getting married, and states that he only loves Peking opera and food. Cheng Fengtai is also a bit Ambiguously Bi due to his, ahem, very keen interest in Shang Xirui.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Happens a couple times, especially after Japanese forces occupy Beiping.
- The Japanese force Hou Yu Kui out of retirement to perform a show by holding his son hostage.
- Later, Cheng Fengtai is also forced to acquisce to Sakata's demands when, while the two of them are watching one of Shang Xirui's shows, Sakata orders his men to storm the theatre, effectively holding Shang Xirui hostage as leverage.
- Appeal to Tradition: Certain members of the Peking opera community (like Jiang Rongshou) are very big fans of this, and use it against Shang Xirui who wants to make his own edits to old plays.
- The Apprentice: Zhou Xiangyun to Shang Xirui.
- Arranged Marriage: Between Cheng Fengtai and his wife, Fan Xianger, which is part of the source of her insecurities regarding whether or not he actually likes her (despite him treating her very well).
- Berserk Button: Do not harm anyone that Cheng Fengtai or Shang Xirui cares about.
- Big Brother Instinct: Cheng Fengtai, being generally protective towards people close to him, is definitely this to Chacha'er, his one and only younger sister.
- Also, Shang Xirui towards Zeng Aiyu given that he beats up Fan Lian for getting her pregnant.
- Bittersweet Ending: Depending on how you interpret it, the show ends with Cheng Fengtai leaving with his family to Hong Kong (to escape the Japanese), while Shang Xirui chooses to stay behind and continue performing in Beiping, with whether or not they ever see each other again left ambiguous.
- Bookends: The question "Do you want your life, or do you want to do shows?", which is said to Shang Xirui early on in the show, is repeated in the last episode.
- Also, the shot with Cheng Fengtai staring from the audience at Shang Xirui on stage in full costume.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Shang Xirui, with his...eccentric personality, has a bit of this.
- Also, Du Qi, with his melodramatic personality and obsession with Peking opera and Shang Xirui (insisting on being given a column in the newspaper almost solely for singing Shang Xirui's praises), despite otherwise being an amazing writer and an invaluable asset to the Beiping Times, could count as this.
- But Not Too Gay: Chinese censorship adapted Cheng Fengtai and Shang Xirui's romance into a Heterosexual Life-Partners type of relationship...though that didn't stop them from adding in lots of meaningfully edited longing looks and other moments from the book.
- Celibate Eccentric Genius: Given the censorship laws, Shang Xirui with his zero interest in women has been adapted to pretty much be one of these.
- Chekhov's Gun: The necklace that Xiao Lai stops Shang Xirui from pawning off early in the show when Shui Yun Lou has fallen on hard times financially ends up being important later because it's actually half of a family heirloom that was split between him and his long-lost sister.
- Costume Porn: The Peking opera costumes are works of art on their own. And if you like suits, this show, being set in the 1930s, has also got plenty of that.
- Crosscast Role: In-universe, Shang Xirui is known for being a dan performer and thus mainly plays female roles onstage.
- Damsel out of Distress: Referenced by Shang Xirui in a conversation with Cheng Fengtai.Shang Xirui: You're a hero, you're used to playing hero to save beauties. But I'm not a beauty. I'm a hero too.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Right before Cheng Fengtai is about to go on a long and dangerous business trip which is actually part of an operation to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese official, Shang Xirui has the Shui Yun Lou troupe put on a special performance of their new opera about a general who falls in love with a prostitute/Peking opera singer (the latter of which is played by Shang Xirui) just for Cheng Fengtai. The performance is cut short midway through Xiao Fengxian (Shang Xirui's character) singing about seeing the general off to war, but the parallels being drawn between the characters in the play and Cheng Fengtai and Shang Xirui are still blatantly obvious.
- Doing It for the Art: An in-universe version—Shang Xirui's main motivation for the stuff he does—he doesn't care if it doesn't make money, or if it's not popular, he just wants to perform what he wants to perform to an audience.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Sort of played with given that Shang Xirui, as a mainly dan (female role) performer, spends most of his time onstage dressed as and playing the part of a female. At one point, Cheng Fengtai remarks on how amazing it is that Shang Xirui can be so feminine onstage when offstage, he isn't feminine at all.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Commissioner Zheng may be a traitorous embezzler willing to murder those who oppose him, but he still cares for his family members—like his grandson who Cheng Fengtai holds hostage to force him into turning himself in to the authorities.
- Fate Drives Us Together: Lampshaded by Cheng Fengtai in the beginning, when he starts seeming to run in Shang Xirui everywhere.
- Also, when Shang Xirui remarks that if it weren't for his performances, he and Cheng Fengtai wouldn't have met, Cheng Fengtai assures him that their meeting was fated, and even if Shang Xirui hadn't become a performer he's absolutely sure they still would have met and become friends.
- Heroic BSoD: Shang Xirui is prone to these when something bad happens to those he cares about, most notably after Xiao Lai's rape and murder at the hands of Japanese soldiers and when Cheng Meixin tricks him into believing that Cheng Fengtai has died, showing him a closed coffin and telling him that it was his fault.
- He's Back!: Shang Xirui after recovering from his temporary deafness (and subsequent depression) caused by a head injury from being attacked by a mob of angry audience members, intent on punishing him for having "turned traitor to the Japanese".
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Cheng Fengtai and Shang Xirui's relationship is this in the TV series (rather than being straight-up romantic like in the original book), with them calling each other "知音" or "知己" (i.e. people who truly understand each other, commonly translated as "soulmates" in English) and others also commenting on their relationship as such.
- Hidden Depths: People seem to get surprised by the fact that Shang Xirui, a lowly performer who does female roles, also has had extensive training in martial arts, usually leading to them getting an epic asskicking.
- I Gave My Word: Serious Business to Shang Xirui—a promise he gives is something he'll uphold no matter how much it costs him to the point of Honor Before Reason, and he holds the people around him to the same standard (despite others not taking it as seriously).
- Indentured Servitude: Basically all of the Beiping opera troupes use this on their members, until Shang Xirui switches all of the members of Shui Yun Lou to a contract system, to the scandal of many of the older troupe leaders.
- Insufferable Genius: Shang Xirui, to many of his peers, and just in general.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Shang Xirui is very much this, as he can be incredibly standoffish, arrogant, and rude, but definitely still cares deeply about his fellow performers (and Cheng Fengtai). Cheng Fengtai is also this, for pretty much the same reasons.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Any time Shang Xirui gets into a real fight while still in costume.
- Martial Arts Staff: Shang Xirui and later, Zhou Xiangyun, the inheritor of the Shang family stick technique, is skilled in using this to both perform and fight.
- Meaningful Echo: "Do you want your life, or do you want to do shows?"
- Said initially by Commander Cao to Shang Xirui, pointing a gun at his head with the intention of keeping him on his staff as a private singer despite Shang Xirui's wish to perform with his troupe on a real stage, and then repeated in the very last episode, said by Cheng Fengtai as he asks Shang Xirui to escape with him to Hong Kong instead of staying behind in Beiping to perform.
- Missing Mom: Chun Xiang, Cheng Fengtai's mother, who was a Peking opera singer before becoming a concubine to Cheng Fengtai's father and one day decided to walk out after being unable to bear being prohibited from singing Peking opera by her husband and in-laws even in her own home.
- Mistaken for Betrayal: Almost everyone in Cheng Fengtai's family starts to suspect him for being a traitor to the country and willingly helping the Japanese, despite the multiple times he tells them to trust him and that it's not what it looks like.
- Also happens to Shang Xirui, first when photos of him dressed in a kimono get circulated to the news, and second when he uses his connection with Xue Zhicheng to help communist forces smuggle much-needed drugs out of Beiping.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Fan Xianger starts suspecting that Cheng Fengtai has a mistress outside when he starts staying out very late every night, sometimes even not coming home until morning. (He's at the theatre hanging out with Shang Xirui.)
- The situation gets even worse when Jiang Mengping spots Cheng Fengtai accompanying Zeng Aiyu and her baby (born from an extramarital affair with Fan Lian) at the hospital, and makes a call to Fan Xianger, effectively "confirming" her suspicions, leading her to cut Cheng Fengtai off financially and throw him out of the house.
- Money Dumb: For all that Shang Xirui is good at performing, he is absolute trash at managing the account books of the troupe and likes to just spend money on food and even more elaborate stage costumes/set pieces without any regards to budgeting, something that causes Cheng Fengtai much consternation. (It doesn't help that he can't actually read the account books either).
- The Muse: Shang Xirui is this to Du Qi, who will proudly proclaim to anyone that will listen that he will write plays for Shang Xirui and Shang Xirui only.
- Nerves of Steel: Shang Xirui once had a gun held up against his head and was asked if he wanted to perform or if he wanted his life, and without even a second of hestitation, he answered that he wanted to perform. Cheng Fengtai also is a bit of this, as he also has had guns held right up against his temple without blinking an eye, though it's possible most of his calm comes from his trust in his own Batman Gambits to get him out of sticky situations.
- Never Learned to Read: Shang Xirui, and he doesn't care about learning either, because he has such a good memory that he can pretty much instantly memorize a script once after someone reads it out to him. That doesn't stop people from trying to teach him, but it just ends in failure.
- Parental Abandonment: As a child, Shang Xirui was picked up off the street and adopted by Shang Juzheng, the previous leader of the Shui Yun Lou troupe, his biological parents having apparently abandoned him. It turns out his parents had sent him and his younger sister to visit relatives in an unfamiliar city, and he'd gotten distracted by Peking opera street performers and wandered off.
- Passing the Torch: The seal of the Shui Yun Lou troupe is passed from Shang Xirui to Zhou Xiangyun during Shang Xirui's vigil, symbolizing him passing leadership of the troupe to Zhou Xiangyun.
- Peking Opera: What the show is about.
- Pen Name: Or pen names, rather—Du Qi has so many of these that practically half of the Beiping Times' columns are written by him all under different pseudonyms, a fact he shamelessly uses to coerce the Beiping Times into stopping its publishing of gossip about Shang Xirui and giving him back his column about Peking opera (which he pretty much uses to just sing Shang Xirui's praises).
- Comes back to bite him later though, when the Japanese give Xue Qianshan a list of Chinese writers they want to participate in a "Japan-China literary cultural exchange" and all of them are Du Qi.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Yes, Shang Xirui wears dresses and generally plays female roles while onstage. No, that does not mean he can't completely curbstomp anyone badmouthing him or the people he cares about with his extensive kungfu skills/skill with a staff.
- Renowned Selective Mentor: Ning Jiulang is kind of this to Shang Xirui, despite suddenly cutting contact with him when Shang Xirui begs him to formerly take him as an apprentice because he had nothing more to teach him, and also because he wished to regard Shang Xirui as a friend, not as an apprentice.
- Even so, many people remark on the similarities of their performances and view Shang Xirui as Ning Jiulang's successor.
- Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: Chacha'er, who falls in with a more radical crowd at school, and eventually attempts to shoot Cheng Fengtai for suspicion of having turned traitor to China and then runs away from home to join the front line of the Communist Party forces fighting against the Japanese.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Cheng Fengtai, most notably. And most of the other rich, upperclass male characters as well, like Fan Lian and Du Qi.
- Skilled, but Naive: Shang Xirui is this, given that he's considered the best Peking opera performer of his generation, but despite being standoffish towards many, he's still incredibly trusting of people and willing to give his money and help to anyone he cares about without consideration of himself or wondering why. This leads to the more unscrupulous members of Shui Yun Lou robbing the troupe's emergency money stores blind.
- Suicide Attack: Used by Cao Guixiu's men on the Japanese convoy transporting bioweapons through Liuxing Pass in order to cause the tunnel to cave in and kill everyone inside.
- Training from Hell: All of the performers have gone through this in some form or another, many, if not all of Shui Yun Lou (including Shang Xirui himself) having been sold to the troupe for life (until Shang Xirui burns the contracts) and having their skills beat into them as children.
- Trapped in Villainy: Poor
Xue Zhicheng (aka Kujo Kazuma), one of Shang Xirui's most ardent fans and the younger brother of a high-ranking Japanese military official, who is later forced into the Japanese military by his family and is horrified by what he sees happening. - Undying Loyalty: Cheng Fengtai and Shang Xirui have this for each other, something acknowledged various times by several other characters.
- Writer's Block Montage: Courtesy of Du Qi, the resident genius playwrite and journalist.
