Taiwan
- "Keep your money and get out! Do you know how a mother feels when her child is humiliated? Do you think a poor woman doesn't make a good mother?"
- —Yue to Dao Ming Feng[src]
Ah Yue (Chinese: 阿月; pinyin: Āyuè) was the mother of Dong Shan Cai and wife of her husband. She had been married to her husband for over twenty years. Ah Yue was ambitious and had her daughter enroll at Ying De Academy in order for her daughter to marry rich. She particularly encouraged her daughter's relationship with Dao Ming Si.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Like her husband, Ah Yue had grown up up poor and had to sell her blood to make money occasionally.[2] In her youth, Ah Yue was crowned "Miss Meatball" (貢丸小姐) of Hsinchu.[3]
Adult life[]
Ah Yue married her husband around 1981. They had one daughter together, Shan Cai.[4]
Shan Cai at Ying De[]
- Shan Cai: "Mom, shall I change schools? You'll save a lot on the fees."
- Ah Yue: "What! I'm doing all this to get you into the upper-class! With your transformation, we'll join the ranks of celebrities. I spent a big fortune and pulled strings to get you into Ying De. How can you say you want to quit?"
- — Ah Yue nearly hyperventilates when Shan Cai wants to quit Ying De[src]
Ah Yue "pulled strings" and paid a lot in tuition in order to enroll Shan Cai into the prestigious, Ying De Academy. Her hopes were that she would meet a rich man and therefore uplift the family to the upper-class. When Shan Cai suggested leaving the school, Ah Yue started to hyperventilate and had to take medicine to calm down. She then began arguing with her husband and only stopped when Shan Cai said "I'm not quitting school."[4] A few days later, Ah Yue asked Shan Cai why she was not eating. Her husband then snatched Shan Cai's fish. Ah Yue was annoyed but then shared it with him. Sometime later, Shan Cai developed a fever. Ah Yue became annoyed when her husband began eating Shan Cai's porridge. After kicking him out, she advised Shan Cai to "stick with" Chen Qing He.[2]
The same day, Dao Ming Si came to their home. After learning his father's name, Ah Yue and her husband changed into their best clothes and invited him to stay for dinner. Afterwards, she forced Shan Cai to walk Si outside. A couple days after spring break, Ah Yue found Shan Cai's invitation to Teng Tang Jing's party. Xiao You let slip that Shan Cai was worried about what to wear. Ah Yue quickly rectified this problem by giving them two of her old "Miss Meatball" outfits.[5] The next morning, Ah Yue woke up Shan Cai and scolded her for getting drunk. She, however, was happy that Si had dropped her home. A few days later, she and Shan Cai went grocery shopping. She suddenly left, taking their umbrella with her. Shan Cai did not come home until morning. Ah Yue scolded her, but was assured that nothing had happened.[3]
Family troubles[]
Loan sharks ransack the Dongs' home
Si later informed Ah Ye that Shan Cai was spending the night. The next day, she decorated the house for a party and greeted Shan Cai, saying they were celebrating her wedding. She then informed her mother that nothing happened, disappointing her somewhat. Si later had appliances delivered to the house, which excited Ah Yue but Shan Cai had him take it all back.[6] A few days later, Ah Yue greeted Shan Cai when she returned from her trip. She started asking about Si. Shan Cai interrupted to apologize and say "What you said will never happen."[7] A couple days later, her husband was laid off from his job. They informed Shan Cai that they were unable to afford the rent on their house. The family then moved into a small apartment. Ah Yue later reluctantly started working as a babysitter at her husband's urging.[1]
A couple days later, Ah Yue met Shan Cai with Si outside their apartment. She invited him to spend the night. The following day, she learned that her husband had borrowed one million from a loan shark and lost it all on the lottery. She threatened divorce, saying "I can't take it anymore." When he apologized, Ah Yue forgave him. Shan Cai later borrowed the money from Si.[8] Some days later, Shan Cai and Si were found unconscious and brought to the hospital. Ah Yue waited by her daughter's bedside until she woke up.[9] A week or so later, Si's mother, Dao Ming Feng, and her secretary visited. She offered the family ten million dollars if Shan Cai "gave up" Si. Ah Yue dumped a pot of flour on Feng's head and told her to "get out," which she did. She then told Shan Cai to marry Si so they could obtain all of the Dao Mings' money.[10]
Fishing village[]
Sometime later, Ah Yue's friend invited her to come work and live at a fishing village. She and her husband thought it over for a week, before deciding to go. They chose to leave Shan Cai in Taipei so she could continue her studies. Ah Yue assured her that her father would work hard to pay for her tuition and rent.[11] Some days later, Ah Yue wrote to Shan Cai to say that she missed her. She was unable to send her money since her father was unable to work as a fisherman due to his seasickness.[12]
Ah Yue and her husband rented a room and accumulated a large amount of debt in the village. They often bragged about their "rich son-in-law", meaning Si. Shan Cai visited them, after breaking up with Si.[13] However, she did not tell her parents about that until the villagers confronted them about their debts. Hua Ze Lei later arrived and paid their debts. Ah Yue and her husband remained in the village and said goodbye to Shan Cai, who returned to Taipei.[14] She later visited Shan Cai in Taipei.[15]
Physical appearance[]
She wore her hair in a short bob cut, which she dyed brown. Shan Cai commented that her hair made her look like a "foreigner" after the dyed it. During her time in the fishing village, Ah Yue appeared to be wearing a darker brown wig which was amount the same length of her normal hair. Like her husband, she was slightly on the heavier side and was most likely in her mid-thirties to early forties.
Personality and traits[]
Ah Yue was highly ambitious and lived well above her means. Despite struggling to pay Shan Cai's tuition, she insisted they Shan Cai continue in order for her to find a rich husband. She also often bickered with husband, whom had had the same job for twenty years without a promotion, much to her disappointment. Ah Yue cared deeply for her daughter and husband anyway, only wishing for a better life for the family as a whole.
Etymology[]
Ah (阿) is a prefix added to someone's surname, monosyllabic names, or the last character of a given name typically to indicate familiarity.[16][17] Yue (月),[13] which means "moon,"[18] comes from the actress who plays her. Additionally, it is possible that she, like Feng, took her husband's surname after marriage, though women in Taiwan typically keep their names.
Behind the scenes[]
Portrayal
- See also: Category:Chieko Makino portrayals
- Wang Yue plays Ah Yue in Meteor Garden (2001)[19] and Meteor Garden II (2002).[20]
Character notes
- She is credited as "Shan Cai's Mother" (杉菜媽).
Appearances[]
| Meteor Garden (2001) | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| (Debut) | |||||||||
| 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 | |||||
| (Voice only) | |||||||||
| Meteor Garden II (2002) | ||||||||||
| 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 11 | ||||||
| 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 21 | |||||
| 25 | 30 | |||||||||
| (Mentioned) | ||||||||||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Episode 7, Meteor Garden
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 2, Meteor Garden
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 4, Meteor Garden
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Episode 1, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 3, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 5, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 6, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 8, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 9, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 10, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 11, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 12, Meteor Garden
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Episode 14, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 15, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 17, Meteor Garden
- ↑ https://www.linguee.com/chinese-english/translation/阿.html
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/阿
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/月
- ↑ http://www.cts.com.tw:80/prog/drama/meteorgarden/fp02.htm (Chinese)
- ↑ http://f4.tv/mg/mg2/cast.html (Japanese)
See also[]