Will You Marry Me and My Family

Last updated
Will You Marry Me and My Family
Willyoumarrymeandmyfamily.jpg
Also known asMy Eldest Girl Should Get Married
Traditional Chinese 大女當嫁
Simplified Chinese 大女当嫁
Hanyu Pinyin Dà Nǚ dāng jià
Genre Romantic comedy, urban drama
Written byRao Hui, Liu Shen, Li Xiao
Directed by Sun Hao
Starring Song Jia
Yu Xiaowei
Guo Tao
Zhang Haotian
Liu Dekai
Zhou Jie
Sun Yifei
Opening theme“Don’t want to get old alone” 《不想一个人老去》sung by Liu Xin (刘沁)
Ending theme”Finding someone to love me”《找个人来爱我》sung by Xiao Ling (萧翎)
ComposerLiu Yue
Country of originChina
Original languageMandarin
No. of episodes25
Production
ProducersWang Li
He Jichang
Chen Wei
Liu Yinghua
Hu Huimin
Huang Songbao
Cui Qing
Production location Beijing
CinematographyJiang Xiaobo
EditorZhang Wenjun
Running time45 minutes per episode
Release
Original network CCTV
Picture format16:9
Original releaseApril 3, 2010 (2010-04-03)
Related
The Bachelor (2012)

Will You Marry Me and My Family is a 2010 Chinese urban comedy/drama television series directed by Sun Hao, starring Song Jia. It premiered on CCTV-8 on April 3, 2010 [1] and comprises 25 episodes.

Contents

The series concerns a career woman (Song) in her thirties whose family is frantically searching for a prospective spouse for her. The series portrays the phenomenon of sheng nu (剩女, lit. “leftover women”), which refers to a phenomenon in East Asian societies where urban women are getting married at a much older age, some of whom continue into singlehood throughout their lives. [2]

Plot

Eldest child Jiang Dayan (Song Jia), 33, is a schoolteacher living in a middle-income family with her doting 80-year-old grandmother, her father – a retired school principal – and forensic pathologist mother. Ever since her younger sister and brother marry, she is pressured to get herself married since, at 33, is now considered a sheng nu (剩女) by Chinese standards. Immediately after her sister's wedding, the Jiang family makes getting their eldest girl hitched their No. 1 priority and pulls out all the stops to match Dayan with any eligible bachelor in town. Despite having a group of spinster schoolmates who face similar problems, Dayan gives in to her parents’ wishes and go for countless (unsuccessful) matchmaking sessions, even appearing on a TV matchmaking program. Her grandmother gives her a one-year ultimatum to get married, even though Dayan feels personally it is impossible to rush romance or marriage.

After encountering many unsuitable guys and a “contract marriage” proposal, Dayan settles on her first serious relationship in years. Banking manager Peng Tan (Zhou Jie) is polite, well-spoken and good-looking, a doctorate from a US university who is three years Dayan's senior, a colleague of Dayan's sister-in-law. Although Dayan is attracted to him at first she realizes as their relationship progresses that she has difficulty coping with his extremely fastidious and demanding mum, and that the ultra-rational Peng Tan is really after a marriage, not love. The two break up after Dayan discover Peng had hired a hooligan to beat up a fellow suitor of hers.

A problem student's father, popular on-air host Su Rushi (Liu Dekai), ushers in her second romance. The charismatic, mature radio presenter is well known in the city, but is almost 60. While Dayan's family objects to this May–December romance, Dayan and Su are ready to disregard family dissent and pursue love. But the appearance of Su's former wife and the emigration of his daughter to Canada cause the two to break up.

As Dayan nurses heartbreak, a third man appears in her life. Energetic young teacher Zhang Yaoyang (Zhang Haotian) is twelve years Dayan's junior and was a former trainee teacher. Dayan is attracted to his youthfulness but finds it difficult to keep up with his verve or his at times not-so-mature ways. After a protracted break-up, where Zhang ends up causing the injury of another teacher, new Vice-Principal Cheng Chuang (Yu Xiaowei), Zhang whites out from her life.

Cheng Chuang, the responsible, independent vice-principal from Dayan's school, a former soldier, is four years Dayan's senior and is a perfect candidate from the Jiang's family's point of view. Dayan finds herself with increasing feeling for Cheng, especially after her grandmother's unexpected death, until a coquettish best friend (Fan Jinlin) professes her interest in the man. Add to the fact that she is unsure how Cheng feels about herself, the romance stalls. A false diagnosis of cervical cancer convinces Dayan Cheng is the right one for her. But will he be the man who will end her singlehood?

Main cast (simplified Chinese)

Reception

The series was marketed as a TV series with similar themes to Feng Xiaogang’s 2008 film If You Are the One . [3] The debut on CCTV-8 was a successful one – Will You Marry Me and My Family was one of the most popular Chinese series in 2010. [4] [5] [6] The series provoked a debate on the phenomenon of sheng nu on the Internet. [7] Liu Xin and Xiao Ling’s songs for the series also became popular hits online. [8] [9] Lead actress Song Jia has professed her dislike for the phrase sheng nu, which she considers derogatory, preferring the newly coined and more neutral dǎnǚ. [10] [11]

Notes

  1. 《大女当嫁》今晚央八开播 上演剩女相亲记(图)_影音娱乐_新浪网. Ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  2. 大女当看《大女当嫁》 “大女”称谓取代剩女_娱乐_腾讯网. Ent.qq.com (2011年09月05日). Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  3. 小宋佳《大女当嫁》上演女版“非诚勿扰”-文娱-中国网滨海高新. Culture.022china.com (2010年04月03日). Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  4. TV Drama 'Big Girl Should Get Married' Is Hot Now. English.cri.cn (2010年04月07日). Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  5. 《大女当嫁》反响热烈 樊锦霖表现抢眼受认可(图)_娱乐频道_凤凰网. Ent.ifeng.com. Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  6. 《大女当嫁》将上演大结局 网络视频点播过千万_娱乐_腾讯网. Ent.qq.com (2011年09月05日). Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  7. 关注都市大龄剩女 《大女当嫁》引共鸣-电视剧-文化娱乐. Hljnews.cn (2010年04月10日). Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  8. 《大女当嫁》主题歌网络热搜 樊锦霖遗憾弃唱 北京广播网. Ent.rbc.cn. Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2010-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. 小宋佳不愿被称为剩女 - 京华时报·京华网. Epaper.jinghua.cn (2010年04月02日). Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.
  11. 大女当看《大女当嫁》 “大女”称谓取代剩女_娱乐_腾讯网. Ent.qq.com (2011年09月05日). Retrieved on 2011年10月25日.

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