Editor's note: This is a nostalgic theater.

If you look at TVB's fashion business and TV series "Golden Years" 20 years ago with today's eyes, the glory of it can be said to be dazzling:

With this drama, Luo Jialiang won the third time as the Emperor, becoming the first artist to receive this honor in the TVB Wanqianxinghui Awards Ceremony;

Myolie Wu won the Leaping Progress Female Artist Award for this play;

Although Xuan Xuan was not able to get the TV queen, she was considered to be "my favorite TV character of the year" in the bag.

In addition, Wen Zhaolun, Lin Feng, Michelle Ye, Xiang Hailan, and Yang Yi have all contributed to this drama. Many actors help out. As for the production team, Liang Jiashu is in charge of supervising the production. The TVB gold medal screenwriter Liu Caiyun and others who have participated in "The Sword of Heaven and the Dragon Saber" and "Looking for Qin Ji", of course, will not disappoint.

And "Golden Years" is indeed worthy of such a lineup.

"Golden Years" poster

old order

"Golden Years" describes the somewhat cramped appearance of Hong Kong back then.

Hong Kong has returned, and the businessmen who are staying in Hong Kong are no longer shivering because of "Shenzhou Lu Shen", but instead recognize the reality and return to normal life.

A large number of clans who started their lives on pornography, gambling and drugs, and were entangled with the prefixes of the community, their first task was to wash their hands and go ashore, escaping the inevitable picketing and liquidation. Ding Rongbang, played by Qin Pei, is a representative of this kind of businessman. He is the patriarch, the pillar, and the man who once held power and money in Hong Kong.

Ding Rongbang has two sworn brothers, one drug dealer and the other stealing. Although Ding Rongbang admits that he only makes money and does not break the law, he really made his fortune by helping the two brothers to launder money and sell stolen goods. When there is nothing to do, he is one of the top gold businessmen in Hong Kong, but once his family is involved, he will quickly become the "big guy" who made his fortune 35 years ago. In his heart, whether he wanted to or not, the solution to the problem by the society was his last trump card.

When his son is threatened, Ding Rongbang (played by Qin Pei) chooses the ancient "killing people" to solve the problem.

But even Ding Rongbang knew very well that the rules of the rivers and lakes in the past could no longer restrain everyone. Perhaps there was a moment when the name of the former club was "worse than his wife and children", but Ding Rongbang's wife, parents and children were hacked to death by others. He wanted to quit the money laundering business, but those uncles who had relied on him to make a lot of money turned their backs and asked him to make up all the losses and investment capital flows. At this moment, Ding Rongbang, like an old lion, can only scold everyone for not talking about loyalty. But everyone at the table, including Ding Rongbang himself, knew in their hearts that those ridiculous morals of the rivers and lakes had already dissipated over the years, and now only solid real money is left.

Qin Pei as Ding Rongbang

Such a twilight lion must of course fall under the "will of God" that makes him powerless. The old order has collapsed, but how can we step into the orbit of the new era, and how can we keep everything we gained through the old order from being lost in the torrent of the new era? Ding Rongbang, who was struggling to maintain everything, was already unable to do what he could and was seriously ill. He had to hand over the burden to his adopted son, Ding Shanben (played by Luo Jialiang).

Ding Shanben, who has taken over the burden, is not only responsible for the entrustment of the adoptive father, the life of the adoptive mother and her children, and the family's property, but the most crucial question: how should the entire clan prune itself to conform to the new order, In line with the requirements of the times, the Ding family can withdraw from the vortex of old and new.

Ding Rongbang looked at the setting sun, and the order that once made him feel like a duck to water was gradually sinking like the setting sun in front of him, regardless of his or even the will of countless "big men" who had similar experiences with him. He knew that the new order was the answer to the problem, and he also made it his last wish to "only do serious business with gold, and future generations must never take the wrong road". However, the limitations of the individual and the process of history are all coldly announcing: he—with The death penalty of his time.

new order

Ding Shanben, the hero of "Golden Years", happened to be stuck in the awkward period of the alternation of old and new order.

In real life, most of Ding Shanben's peers have completely accepted the baptism of the new order. Cheng Tianlan, his lover who has been entangled with him for a long time, is a very good lawyer. At the same time, he respects his profession very much. Even if he confronts Ding Shanben in court, his personal feelings will not affect his work.

Ding Shanben and Cheng Tianlan (played by Xuan Xuan) meet in court.

When Cheng Tianlan heard of a vicious incident, of course, his first reaction was to call the police, file a lawsuit, let the law judge right and wrong, and punish the perpetrator accordingly. Cheng Tianlan's sister, as a criminal police officer, has never thought about dealing with it other than the law.

However, the old order represented by the means of the rivers and lakes is the convention left over from the time of Ding Rongbang. Even though his sister was kidnapped by the people with the prefix, Ding Shanben still couldn't believe the law, and couldn't bet the fate of himself and his family on the police and other public officials, so he had to try to solve the problem by means of rivers and lakes.

Ding Shanben knew more about the limitations of Jianghu's methods than his father, so Ding Shanben was even more embarrassed. He neither trusted the new order of the police and legal representatives, nor could he rely on the old order of the prefix society. Violating the law and racking their brains not to contaminate public officials.

Cheng Tianlan (right) and his sister Cheng Xiaoyu (Michelle Ye) discuss the experience of Ding Shanben.

It is a pity that there is no such thing as a two-way road between the old and the new order, and when the wave of the new era hits, it does not care about the gaps between the lines in the history books. Ding Shanben is about to become such a blank, disappearing into the torrent of history. Fortunately, his fate just stopped on this side of the safety line.

Ding Shanben is a very idealized patriarchal patriarch. In his vision, even though he is only Ding Rongbang's adopted son, Ding Rongbang treats him more than a parent and he needs to repay this father-son kindness with all his affection. He carries all the responsibilities in the family and never shirks. He is the executor of the father's last wish, the caregiver of the stepmother's mood, the protector of the younger sister's growth, and the guide of the younger brother's right path.

However, it is precisely because of this too typical big parent status that he can hardly discuss any problems in the company or family with his family. Whether it is company affairs or family affairs, he takes himself as the sole responsible person, whether it is his stepmother, his younger sister, or his younger brother who should shoulder family responsibilities. , and should not share any "trouble" or "pain" with him.

Ding Shanben chats with his old friend and lawyer Zhao Wenji (played by Ai Wei).

As the ideal parent and perfect tool man of the standard patriarchy, self-sacrifice and self-dedication seem to be the propositions of Ding Shan's life. He devoted himself to the family, even if he was misunderstood by his stepmother, scolded or even framed by his younger brother, and discussed as a dictatorship, he would not change his original intention at all. Ding Shanben would rather be pointed by thousands of people, but also fulfill his responsibilities as a parent, and then give all the fruits of his harvest to his younger brother to complete his mission.

However, this patriarchal system was also part of the old order. But the old order has collapsed, and the way to make society run well has been replaced by the new legal order. Ding Shanben is caught in the old and new order, and it is almost unpleasant for both parties: his younger brother Ding Shanxing escaped after hitting someone to death, and Ding Shanben tried to He used the new order to persuade his younger brother to surrender himself, but the younger brother fled back to the old order. With the help of his second uncle, Ding Shanben had to cover up for his younger brother's behavior, bear the charge of being an accomplice, and return to the old one again. ruled by order.

Victims only have their own tram problems

What makes Ding Shanben even more painful is that Ding Shanben's biological younger brother, Zhong Shoukang, is a Hong Kong policeman who has made many contributions and has a bright future. Zhong Shoukang witnessed almost every dangerous behavior of Ding Shanben who stepped on the line. Ding Shanben knew that sooner or later, he would return all the belongings of the Ding family to the original owner and hand it over to Ding Shanxing, and leave the Ding family. Therefore, how to get the recognition of Zhong Shoukang and recognize Zhong Shoukang brothers is also an important part of Ding Shan's life.

Ding Shanben must help the Ding family to complete the transformation from the old order to the new order under the premise that the Ding family no longer trusts them, and act as a dictator's parent, so that all the Ding family's business becomes a legal and compliant business; at the same time, Ding Shanben Those left over from the old order must be cleaned up, such as the uncle who is always opportunistic and even intensified to the point of becoming mad, for which he must put himself on the other side of the scale as an important bet, hoping that God will be on his side; In the end, Ding Shanben must not be discovered by his own younger brother Zhong Shoukang when he wanders on the edge of the law - this is almost impossible. If Ding Shanben wants to achieve his goal in the Ding family, he must actively choose or be forced to choose with the rule of law. The society runs in the opposite direction, and if Ding Shan wanted to be affirmed by his biological younger brother, he had to abandon all the old order and walk into the embrace of the new order in a state of unconcerned newborns.

Ding Rongbang's old friend Jin Yunheng (played by Xu Shaoxiong) was the only friend who knew about Ding Shanben's situation in the early days.

Ding Shanben's biological younger brother, Zhong Shoukang (Wen Zhaolun), is a black and white police officer.

Trusting the new order, Ding Shanben would hurt the Ding family who had nurtured him, and his younger brother Ding Shanxing, who grew up with him; using the old order, Ding Shanben would hurt the Zhong family who finally admitted himself, and hurt the Zhong family who had been separated from him for many years. The younger brother Zhong Shoukang. What is more imminent is that Ding Shanben has further lost himself in such mediation. How can he maintain the balance of the dilemma with all his emotional investment? Completely alienated into a tool man, as if he didn't know he needed to think about himself.

Ding Shanben is still struggling to maintain his relationship with the old order, but with the help of new technologies such as surveillance, the room for the old order has almost disappeared. He can only try to find the loopholes in the new order, but is increasingly powerless, and has to pay the price of contempt of court and imprisonment for his search for loopholes.

Ding Shan wanted to replace Gui Lifu for murder, but the surveillance video became irrefutable evidence.

As a tool man or even a saint, Ding Shanben does not need the understanding and sympathy of others, but as a human Ding Shanben will really feel pain. When he gave everything for the Ding family but was misunderstood, when he sacrificed his love for love, when he was clearly framed but could not gain the trust of his biological brother. He also burst into tears in court for hurting the girlfriend he really liked and giving up his happiness. It's a pity that the beliefs of the big parents that wrapped him in love made him smashed to pieces in the vortex of the alternation of old and new order time and time again.

"Saint" Ding Shanben

Breaking

The way to break the game is simpler than Ding Shanben imagined.

In fact, a branch line in the play already hinted at what Ding Shanben should do: Ding Shanben's younger sister, Ding Shanyin, had poor brain development due to a fever when she was young, and grew up to nineteen years old in the state of an imbecile. Ding Shanben's stepmother was extremely distressed for her young daughter and raised Yin Yin completely under her own eyes. The stepmother was worried that Yinyin would be discriminated against by others. Before the age of nineteen, Yinyin had no friends and no life of her own. The stepmother required her to master the skill of the piano, and the rest of the means of making a living were not given to her at all— Because the Miss Ding family doesn't need to do such a thing.

However, under such overprotection, Yin Yin first felt lonely and miserable, begging her two brothers to bring her to know more good friends, and then she felt empty and lonely, because everyone was working, contributing to the family and society His own strength, and he seems to be unable to do anything but waste time.

Thanks to Yin Yin's self-effort and the tolerance of her family, she gradually made new friends, and also tried to learn how to take care of herself, how to take care of herself, and even tried to find a job to prove that she is also a "useful person". When Ding Shanben was framed, Yinyin was willing to stand up and testify for her eldest brother. Although it is still indisputable because of the question of incompetence, the lawyer for the prosecution has done the best he can. In the several risks Yin Yin encountered, the stepmother almost tried to stop Yin Yin with a strong attitude, but in the end she still chose to believe in her daughter and hugged her tightly as a backing when her daughter was hurt.

Ding Shanyin (Myolie Wu), accompanied by her boyfriend Situ Jia (Chen Guobang), asks to testify in court.

In court, mother Ding Shen Rubao (played by Huang Shuyi) hugged her daughter who was being questioned.

In the end, Yin Yin not only has friends who can accommodate her, but also has a lover who can guide her. Although the matter of low energy is past history and cannot be changed, life has slowly returned to Yin Yin's control.

Yinyin's state is actually in the same line as the Ding family. The original state of the Ding family was not strong enough, and as a parent, Ding Shanben tried to take care of it in an overprotective way. The younger brother Ding Shanxing felt even more useless and looked down upon, which almost led to the death of the Ding family. Originally, Ding Shanxing only needed to rely on his younger brother Ding Shanxing when he ran into a wall, and he did not need to make himself the first carrier. The giant baby of home and society. In fact, if he let go of his hands earlier, whether Ding family or Ding Shanxing would suffer some hardships from the beatings of society, they would also grow rapidly amid setbacks and quickly transition to a state of being able to control themselves. Maybe Ding Shan didn't have to pay so much, and maybe the misunderstanding wouldn't hurt the Ding family, and wouldn't go to the point of confronting the court and imprisoning casualties.

Ding Shanben talks with Cheng Tianlan

In the end, in extreme events, Ding Shanxing finally woke up at the last moment and paid the price for his actions. As a policeman, Zhong Shoukang did not hesitate in the face of his misjudgment, and frankly admitted his mistake in court. At the cost of almost his life, Ding Shanben was finally able to escape from the vortex of the old and new order, and settled overseas with his girlfriend, away from all disputes.

At this point, all remnants of the old order have been crushed by the new order.

Yu Tan

In addition to the collision of the old and new order, which is concentrated on Ding Shan himself, this Hong Kong drama 20 years ago has many scenes that make people feel "relaxed".

When she learned that her boyfriend was gay and had lost love, Cheng Tianlan chose to face it in a relaxed way after suffering ↓↓

"It's okay to be sisters"

Gui Lifu once chose to be Xiong Baitao's mistress in order to save her vegetative younger brother. Later, she was mentally controlled, abused and humiliated, and became an undignified tool to vent her desires. When she chose to face it bravely, from her friends, to her crush, her rival in love, and even the person who was about to become her mother-in-law, they never criticized her, and thought she was brave and worthy of respect. Even the main creative team used the male protagonist's mouth to firmly believe that the whole of Hong Kong will only denounce those who hurt Gui Lifu, and not slut humiliation to Gui Lifu.

Gui Lifu (Xiang Hailan) is self-deprecating, and her close friend Tian Jiarui (Liu Chuoqi) encourages her without hesitation.

Everyone was on Gui Lifu's side.

Although Cheng Tianlan and Gui Lifu formed a rival relationship because they also liked Ding Shanben, there was no tit-for-tat or female rivalry between them.

Treat emotional "competition" rationally.

Cheng Xiaoyu was tested from a traffic policeman to a criminal policeman. Her parents and sisters at home were all happy for her. No family member poured cold water on her at such a time. She questioned that the work was too dangerous and did not allow Xiaoyu to change jobs.

Cheng Xiaoyu's parents were happy for her to be a criminal police officer.

Cheng Zaishan, who has long believed that his wife should be a housewife at home, also used his wife to prove himself with a jewelry design award and clarified that the husband and wife should be equal.

The family enjoyed their father's cooking.

It is these details that give "Golden Years" a lot of warmth in addition to the cold story of business wars and family struggles for production. In the Hong Kong it depicts, all fathers who shout that they have "power but no justice" will eventually forgive their children, good people will have a happy ending, bad people will be punished by the law, the old order will be gradually replaced by the new order, and all people will embrace the new order. Under the protection of the new order, all people who are in need will remember this "golden faith" and will never forget it for the rest of their lives.