Editor's note: This is a nostalgic theater.
As the representative work of TVB costume tragedy, "Luo Shen" is far less influential than the later "Golden Branch Desire". The important reason is probably that "Luo Shen" is not as grounded as "Golden Branch Desire". After all, "Golden Branch Desire" passes through The group portraits of women in the harem can reflect the plight of women in the current society, both in the workplace and in love.
As for "Luo Shen", the part that the audience cares most about in the play may be Zhen's enduring humiliation after marrying Cao Pi and taking care of the overall situation, which can be called a costume version of "The Good Wife". The title of the play is quoted from Cao Zhi's famous poem "Luo Shen Fu". The two heroines in the play, Zhen Mi (played by Cai Shaofen) and Guo Huan (played by Guo Xianni), are prototypes of the two wives of Emperor Wei Wendi Cao Pi, Empress Wen Zhaozhen and Empress Wende Guo.

"Luo Shen" poster

The name of Empress Zhen is not recorded in the history books, but there is a saying in "Luo Shen Fu": "The god of water is named Mi Fei." So the heroine was named "Zhen Mi". The whole play takes the talented and beautiful woman Zhen Mi as a clue to connect the family and country feud of Cao's father and son. Zhen's role in the play is more like a catalyst for infighting in the Cao family and the catalyst for the historical process of Cao Daihan. Although she has an independent personality, she cannot control her own destiny.
The narrative method of "Luo Shen" is worth pondering. It is not only a play on history, but also an interpretation of mythology. The promotion of the story did not rely on strange powers, but allusions and allusions, like legends and fables, are metaphors for irresistible tragic fate.
The whole play begins with a dream that Zhen Mi often has. The source of the dream is "Huainanzi".
In Zhen's dream, she incarnated Luoshen and married He Bo as his wife, but fell in love with Houyi. Although Luoshen and Houyi only had a relationship with Houyi, they were not stubborn, but they made He Bo feel jealous of the derailed He Bo, triggering the immortal world. strife. This dream hints at the four-cornered love of Zhen Mi, Guo Huan, Cao Pi, and Cao Zhi, and lays the groundwork for the tragic fate of the characters.

Cai Shaofen as Zhen Mi

Zhen Mi was originally the fiancée of Yuan Shao's son Yuan Xi. When the wedding was approaching, Cao's army attacked Yecheng, Yuan's army abandoned the defense and absconded, and the Zhen family was forced to take the road of escape.
On the way, Zhen's family was intercepted by Cao's general Xiahou Yuan, and Zhen Mi lied about having a relationship with Cao Cao and escaped. When Xiahou Yuan reported the affair with Zhen Mi to Cao Cao, Cao Cao found out that Zhen Mi had a relationship with him and was the daughter of his old friend, so he took the Zhen family into the Cao mansion as a guest, and opened the Cao family from then on. A chapter of strife.
In addition to Cao Cao (played by Liu Dan), Cao Cao's sons Cao Pi (played by Chen Hao) and Cao Zhi (played by Ma Junwei) also have heartfelt thoughts for Zhen Mi. Zhen Mi was involved in the emotional dispute between the father and son. She first rejected Cao Cao, and finally, among the two brothers, she chose the talented Cao Zhi who was more in tune with her, but was arranged to marry Cao Pi, because in Cao Cao's eyes, Zhen Mi Shi is the best choice in the world, and she must marry the crown prince.

Zhen Mi and Cao Pi

Zhen Mi took in the beggar Guo Huan on the way to escape, and later became sisters with her. Guo Huan was originally from an aristocratic family. Guo Huan is the only woman in the play who has emotional entanglements with the three brothers of the Cao family. Her different attitudes towards the three brothers show the different aspects of her character vividly.
For Cao Zhi, she was the one who revealed her true feelings at the beginning of her love affair. She took the initiative to present Cao Zhi with a bowl of wine balls cooked by herself, expressing her willingness to follow the example of Ehuang and Nuying and serve a husband together with Zhen Mi and the two women. Cao Zhi's rejection was the beginning of her blackening. She forced a smile and said that she was just joking with Cao Zhi, and while saving face, she also fully reflected his character of bearing humiliation and general knowledge.
Cao Zhang (played by Mai Changqing) originally fell in love with Guo Huan, but Guo Huan disliked him for being sloppy and incomprehensible. After all, Cao Zhang Yao's wife is Hua Mulan on the battlefield and Xue Baochai in the hall. , Archery, so that if Cao Zhang is killed in the future, his wife will be able to protect the family.
The delicate-minded Guo Huan was naturally dissatisfied with Cao Zhang's wishful projection, so even though she could endure hardship, she deliberately dressed herself as a pampered and vain person to avoid Cao Zhang's pursuit. When she was rejected by Cao Zhi and wanted to accept Cao Zhang again, Cao Zhang had already empathized with Zhen Mi's widowed sister-in-law. In order to cater to Cao Zhang, Guo Huan worked hard to portray herself as sloppy, but Cao Zhang still chose his widowed sister-in-law as his wife. Guo Huan, who was rejected again, further accelerated the process of blackening.

Cao Zhang, Guo Huan

Guo Huan's fortress is getting deeper and deeper, coupled with emotional disputes, the relationship between her and Zhen Mi has become subtle, and the two have a tendency to drift apart.
Cao Cao's main wife, Mrs. Bian and his concubine, Mrs. Ru, also staged palace scheming under Cao Cao's eyes. In order to win Cao Cao's attention to Madam Ru, Madam Bian spent a lot of money to buy singer Liu Xixi (played by Gu Jiyun) to please Cao Cao. Liu Ji has an aloof nature and disdains intrigues with others. All her thoughts are devoted to music creation. Over time, Zhen Mi became her only confidant in Cao Mansion.
Because Zhen Mi's "derailment" of sisterhood made Guo Huan resentful. She wooed Mrs. Ru and encouraged Mrs. Ru's maid, Du Juan, to steal Liu Ji's singing skills. After Du Juan took Liu Ji's place, Liu Ji committed suicide. Zhen Mi, who lost her confidant bitterly, learned that Guo Huan's death was a hindrance in Liu Ji's death, and decided to cut her off with Guo Huan'en. And Guo Huan even seduced Cao Pi after Zhen Shi and Cao Pi got married and married into the Cao family as a concubine.
At the same time, due to the disagreement of political ideas between the Cao brothers, their infighting gradually intensified.
Cao Pi followed his father Cao Cao in an attempt to replace Han with Cao. Zhen Mi and Guo Huan were the supporters of Cao Zhi and Cao Pi respectively, and after Zhen Mi and Cao Pi got married, Guo Huan seduced Cao Pi and forged with him, making the contradiction between Zhen Mi and Guo Huan to the point of tension, and Zhen Mi was in Guo Huan's place. Under the estrangement again and again, it gradually leads to the tragedy of demise.
Audiences who are familiar with "The Legend of Zhen Huan" probably know one thing - the author Liu Lianzi is a fan of "Luo Shen", and the name of the protagonist Zhen Huan is to take the names of the two heroines in "Luo Shen". Character. In addition to being ruthless and having no shame and compassion, Guo Huan is actually more in line with the audience's expectations for a "big heroine" than Zhen Mi - equal emphasis on beauty and wisdom, family and career, emotional intelligence and intelligence. They are all high, and they can enter the kitchen and exit the hall. They can not only assist her husband's career, but also win people's hearts and eradicate dissidents.

Zhen Mi, Cao Zhi

Audiences who have watched "Luo Shen" must have found that some of the palace fighting plots in "The Legend of Zhen Huan" borrowed from "Luo Shen", and Zhen Huan can also be regarded as an "improved" version of Guo Huan, that is, Zhen Huan's ruthlessness and evil have been rationalized Now, this is where "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is brilliant - accepting the flaws of human nature, and letting the characters' desires and survival instincts drive the development of the plot.
But is Zhen Mi the "Virgin Mary White Lotus" that netizens are keen to complain about? Apparently neither. Zhen Mi is not Liu Sanhao, she is closer to the Oedipus king in the ancient Greek tragedy, or the hero Qiao Feng written by Jin Yong.
Zhen Mi is brave and resourceful, guarding her family and protecting the country. She has always been aware of Cao Pi and Guo Huan's wolf ambitions. Even after the death of Yang Xiu, who had allied with Cao Zhi, Cao Zhi, with the help of Xun Yu, found Ding Yi as his advisor. She also saw that the simple Cao Zhi had turned against Cao Pi. She still doesn't break her heart, she is a calm bystander.
After Cao Pi ascended the throne and became emperor, Zhen Migui became the empress, aware of Sima Yi's intention to usurp the throne, and always forgiving and benevolent. And when Guo Huan's attempt to replace her as the queen became obvious, Zhen Mi refused immediately, but still couldn't escape Cao Pi, who had listened to the slander and murdered her.
Later, palace fighting dramas became popular, and the palace fighting sections in "Luo Shen" appeared in the later "Zhen Huan Biography", "Beauty's Stratagem", "Palace Strategies" and a large number of palace fighting dramas whose names could not be remembered. "The intrigue part in "The most superficial imitation," Gong Xin Ji can be regarded as an imitation of "Luo Shen". It's just that Liu Sanhao has endlessly overdrawn himself but ends well. I wonder if such an anti-intellectual setting is to make up for the post-traumatic sequelae caused by the tragic ending of "Luo Shen" to the audience?
Fortunately, after "Luo Shen", in addition to Liu Sanhao, who is anti-intelligence, there is also Zhen Huan who has an online IQ.