Featured Author: Gu Man (顾漫)

April 17, 2013 by peanuts 61 Comments

For those who are following Shan Shan’s story, I am sure you know who is Gu Man:) Yes, she is the author who brightens up our life with the cute and adorable Shan Shan. Since she is one of Lidge and my favourite writers, I am going to do a feature on her. This is also a chance for you to get to know the sweet mother who gave birth to our Shan Shan better:)

Silent Separation will be filmed into a movie as well as a drama in 2014. Gu Man is taking an active role in writing the script for the drama so hopefully it will turn out even better than the book as the roles will be more flesh out.  Just One Smile is Very Alluring will be made into a movie. Whereas Come and Eat, Shan Shan will be adapted into a drama as well as comic book. Zhao Li Ying and Zhang Han are the leads and filming for the drama Come on Eat has started in December 2013. Eventhough I love her books, I don’t think the storylines are suitable to be adapted into a drama. They are more suitable to be published as comic/manga or filmed as animated series. I have also included a few fan-made MVs for you to enjoy:)

Gu Man is a very popular internet novelist in China. Two of her books are ranked first (Silent Separation) and second (Just One Smile is Alluring) on the old online top 100 Chinese romance novel poll. Her third book Shan Shan Comes to Eat which is her latest book is ranked second behind Hua Xu Yin on the new online top 100 Chinese romance novel poll. Although her books are well-liked by many, she is rather slow in her writing with just only three books published and a few incomplete works:( Hence, her nickname is ‘turtle’. Anyway her name ‘Man’ also means ‘slow’ in Mandarin. Revision: (Book 1 of Blazing Sunlight has been published on 20 August 2013).

She used to work as an editor for a magazine called Cinderella. Thus, this explains why all her works have a ‘Cinderella’ feel:) What is surprising is that she has an undergraduate degree in accounting:P Who say accountants are boring? Heehee, Lidge & I are accountants:P I notice that the internet plays quite a significant role in all of her three published books. In Silent Separation, the second male lead is a successful internet entrepreneur. Many think he is based on the boss of Baidu? The male lead of Just One Smile is Alluring is an online game entreprenuer and he met the female lead while playing online game. Lastly, Shan Shan loves to play online game, probably just like Gu Man:)

According to her profile in baidu, Gu Man is basically a lazy and slack girl who likes to hide in her shell to listen to music, sleep, write novel and play online game. The only exercise she does daily is to accompany her mother to go to the supermarket and stare at all the yummy and delicious food with her pair of shinning bright eyes.  She is not ambitious, just content with a turtle roof/shell over her head, sheltering her from the wind and rain, worry-free. Her writing style is warm and light, full of youthful feel.

Silent Separation (何以笙箫默 – He Yi Sheng Xiao Mo)
http://www.books.shushengbar.com/?p=396

This is an urban romance novel with about 11 million words. Gu Man started writing it online in 2003 and took 2 years to complete it. The 2nd edition is published in 2007. To commemorate the seventh anniversary of the book, the 3rd revised edition is a collector’s edition which is published in 2011. A new epilogue on the leads’ son He Zhao, “You are my sunshine”, the sun which shines on my life is included. Zhao means shine in Mandarin.

The title of the book is a play on the names of the two main characters He Yi Chen and Zhao Mo Sheng. This book tells about a young love leading to a lifetime love. Sunny and outgoing Zhao Mo Sheng fell in love at first sight with He Yi Chen who was a star pupil in the Faculty of Law in college. She made every effort to chase after him, and eventually she won his heart. The novel narrates the unforgettable love story from their encounter seven years later. This book has moved millions of readers.

Some fan-made MVs on the book:
Wallace Chung: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/9k4LtQvdatQ

Hu Ge & Tang Yan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0xYiRNwbPU

Hu Ge & Liu Shi Shi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFkO354lOaA

Hu Ge & Liu Yi Fei: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSHowVfSPw

Wallace Huo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaKtTRv1ips

Atsu & Lidge love this book with nearly every female who have read this book in China as it always come up top in all sort of online polls. Also, the male lead He Yi Chen is loved by probably most girls who read romance novels in China and aboard. Lidge likes this story so much because the main couple separates and is given a second chance.  When they meet again, the love still lingers, but each person has become more mature.  It’s the maturity that helps them recognize and accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which in turn helps them to resolve the misunderstandings/ bitterness.  In essense, they’re able to appreciate each other more the second time around. Also, the male lead continues to love the female lead dearly eventhough her dad indirectly caused the death of his parents.

Well, Hui3r & I are not ET but we don’t find the book or the guy that great. It is a nice and warm short book but I won’t rate is as number one because it is too short so some storylines are not well-developed or resolved. Also, I find He Yi Chen snobbish and bland with no sense of humour:( I can easily list 5 weaknesses in the plot but I won’t do it because this is my first Gu Man’s book & I like her style. Anyway, I find it sweet and touching for them to wait such a long time for each other & can remain true to each other. Also, the second male and female leads are not annoying at all but in fact quite lovely.

Just One Smile is Very Alluring (微微一笑很倾城 – Wei Wei Yi Xiao Hen Qing Cheng)
http://www.books.shushengbar.com/?p=354

This is a contemporary romance novel which uses the online wuxia game world as its major setting. The leads met each other in the game world then met in real life and fell in love. It is first published in 2009. Gu Man won the best writer award in the 3rd China Internet Literature Festival with this book. There is also a similar short story called Mei Ren Yi Xiao Ye Qing Cheng and an epilogue called Ni Ni Ma (Mud Mother?)

If you are abandoned tragically, how will you respond when suddenly there is a very mighty and extremely arrogant man proposes to you? What makes a man fall in love with a woman at their first sight? Appearance? Temperament? Family wealth? NO, as the campus prince and game master, what makes Xiao Nai fall in love with Wei Wei at first sight is the scene of her pressing her fingers on the keyboard and her momentum as cool as a cucumber. In this way, a love begins in the short period of flower blooming.

Some fan-made MVs on the book:
Hu Ge, Liu Shi Shi & Tang Yan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q09GM6T-FI

Wallace Chung & Liu Shi Shi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-lvl8lleAQ

Lidge & Xinn Xinn didn’t enjoy this book as much as the other two books because the “online game” parts are a bit confusing as they don’t play games online. Whereas Chancy and I like this book much more because we listened to the radio drama so it is easier to understand the game nature of this book. The wuxia feel when they are playing the online game is very enchanting and mesmerizing. Chancy becomes addicted to online game & neglects the book bar all because of this book, lol. For your information, the computer game that Shan Shan plays is invented by the male lead of this book.

The male lead Xiao Nai’s online name is ‘Big God’ (大神-Da Shen).  It sounds very cute when Wei Wei keeps on calling him that. He is very swoon-worthy, cool and has a dry sense of humour. There is one task in the computer game which makes reference to Louis Cha’s Return of the Condor Heroes. The book is interesting because of the blending of the wuxia & modern world. However, I sort of lost interest in the later part of the book, after they met each other in real life:( It becomes a typical love story. Nonetheless this is a very warm and nice novel.

Shan Shan Comes To Eat (杉杉来吃 – Shan Shan Lai Chi)
http://www.books.shushengbar.com/?p=1765

This is an urban Cinderella love story where familiarity breeds fondness. The book is first published in 2011. It also includes a comic booklet called Gui Man Jiong Ji. Gui means turtle. Jiong – 囧 originally means bright. But now, it is the coolest word on the web. Many young people like to use it in online chat). Ji means to record / to note / to remember / mark / sign. The bonus is that the leads in her other two books also made cameo appearance:) Gu Man also wrote an incomplete spin-off story on Shan Shan’s good friend Shuang Yi in Silly and Elite

It is a great joy to fight against the heaven and the earth. However, it is such a fool to fight against the boss. This book tells that Shan Shan, an office worker, under the management of her boss Feng Teng, repeatedly continues with the fighting, but finally yields to him obediently. This is also a happy and relaxing office love story between the boss and a staff.

A fan-made MV on the book:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS5mUVo7S_g

This is Lidge & my favourite Gu Man’s book because it is very funny and cute. In addition, Shan Shan, Lidge and I also love to eat, lol. It is about food but mostly in the beginning. Although the plot is rather thin as there is no hidden secret, illness, evil supporting character etc, it is still a very sweet and hilarious story of a confused girl with a clever boss:)  Shan Shan is a dummie but kind-hearted. The story is typical blackhearted boss and innocent staff relationship.  What we adore about Shan Shan is she’s such a pathetic brown-nose. On one hand, she wants to tell Feng Teng off but she’s afraid of losing her cushy job so she ends up kissing up to him, but she does it so reluctantly, hence the humor. Reading this book make us feel very happy and warm, haha….

Blazing Sunlight (骄阳似我 – Jiao Yang Si Wo)
http://www.books.shushengbar.com/?p=3253

This novel has been released on 20 August but there are 2 books where book 1 is published first. It is hard to know who’s the male lead, whether it is the female lead, Nie Xi Guang’s college crush called Zhuang Xu or her boss called Lin Yu Sen. Both guys are awesome though. Zhuang Xu works hard to improve himself so he can be a match for Xi Guang, except they don’t communicate with each other so they mistakenly thinks the other person is in love with someone else ……..ahhhh the angst is just so heavy. Lin Yu Sen is like Dong Hua in the Pillow Book, it’s just plain awesome. His interactions with Xi Guang are hilarious and off-the-wall adorable!!!! (According to the fans in Baidu after reading the preface to the book, it is highly likely that Lin Yu Sen is the male lead. Yahoo, because peanuts is on camp LYS:P)

The beginning chapters detail Xī Guāng whose nickname is watermelon’s last days in college where she’s in love with Zhuang Xu, someone like the male lead in Silent Separation.  He is handsome and smart, one of the most sought after guy at university by the girls.  Xi Guang shamelessly chases after him until she finds out he is childhood friends with one of her roommates and they have some kind of “dubious” relationship.  Xi Guang is broken-hearted so when college ends, she purposely goes to another city and works in a company as a lowly staff.  Her boss is Lin Yu Sen who is like Feng Teng because he is very “fu-hei”. Their interactions are so funny and cute in that in their first meeting he caught her downloading a drama episode at work and she hid under her desk when she heard someone coming.  He walked up and saw her like that, oh how embarrassing to be caught?