Taiwan
- "I had served the company for over twenty years, but my boss just told me to go. I'm at a loss now! A middle-aged man without a job. I'm useless! I'm a good-for-nothing!"
- —Shan Cai's father after losing his job[src]
Dong (Chinese: 董; pinyin: Dǒng) was the father of Shan Cai and the husband of his wife, Yue. The pair had been married for over twenty years. Dong was a junior officer at a company since around the time he married. He was later fired and moved away from Taipei to become a fisherman.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Dong grew up poor and often had to sell his own blood for money. At one point, he was hospitalized for anemia after selling too much blood.[2] Dong, at one point, dreamed of becoming a compère.[1]
Adult life[]
Dong married his wife, Yue, around the same time he began working as a junior officer at a company around 1981. The two had one daughter together named Shan Cai.[1]
Shan Cai at Ying De[]
Twenty years later, Dong had not received a promotion in all that time. Per Yue's wishes, Shan Cai enrolled at Ying De Academy, which cost the family a considerable amount in tuition. One day, she suggested leaving the school which distressed Yue. She then argued with Dong for several minutes until Shan Cai agreed to continue at Ying De. A few days later, Dong watched his daughter eat four bowls of rice. He asked if something was wrong, to which she said "I have to eat more to replenish my energy." She then departed and Dong complained to his wife about her eating all of the rice.[1] Some days later, Shan Cai was not eating so Dong took her fish against the advice of his wife. Shan Cai later developed a fever and had to stay home. Dong began eating the porridge his wife had given her. Yue yelled at him.[2]
The same day, the family was visited by Dao Ming Si. When Shan Cai said that he had bullied her, Dong began shouting at him and calling him names. However, after learning his father's name, he and his wife quickly became flattering towards him and invited him to stay for dinner.[3] Several days later, Shan Cai stayed out all night and came home in the morning. She assured her mother that nothing had happened. Dong and his wife rejoiced, hoping that this would be the "foundation" for a "stable relationship" in the future.[4] Some days later, Si called the house to inform them about taking Shan Cai on a trip. Dong answered the phone and joked that it would be best if she did not come home.[5]
Several days later, he was laid off from his job. He took the news badly. They were unable to afford the rent on their home subsequently moved into a small one-room apartment. Dong promised to find a new job quickly. However, he received no replies after sending out several applications. Dong then encouraged his wife to start working as a babysitter to help pay their bills.[6] A couple days later, he and his wife invited Si to spend the night. They slept on the balcony and secretly listened to them fighting in the morning. That day, they were visited by the loan sharks, whom Dong had borrowed one million dollars from. He lost all of it playing the lottery. His wife declared that she wanted a divorce. Dong apologized and agreed, leading to his wife forgiving him. Shan Cai later borrowed the money from Si, settling their debts.[7]
After some time, Dong was unable to find a job in Taipei. Him and his wife decided to move to a fishing village, and left Shan Cai behind so she could continue her studies.[8] However, Dong was prone to seasickness and was mostly unsuccessful at fishing.[9]
Him and his wife rented a small room in the village. They worked as much as they could, but still accumulated a large amount of debt with their other villagers. The two of them would also brag about having a "rich son-in-law", meaning Si.[10] When Shan Cai visited them, the villagers confronted them about their debts. At that point, Shan Cai informed that she and Si had broken up. They realized they would have to face the music, but were rescued by Hua Ze Lei, who paid off their debts. Shan Cai returned to Taipei with Lei and her parents said goodbye.[11]
Physical appearance[]
Dong was a slightly overweight, middle-aged father. He had jet black hair, a similar color to his daughter's. His hair was cut close to the scalp on the sides and just a little longer on top.
Personality and traits[]
Dong was shown to be very loud and often told jokes that no one understood or laughed at. He was not very ambitious, which disappointed his wife, who wished for him to be promoted. Despite this and almost constant bickering, they had a good relationship and were very affectionate toward each other. His dream was to be rich through his daughter marrying into a wealthy family.
Etymology[]
His surname, Dong (董),[12] is a common surname originating from China.[13] The character means "to direct" or "supervise."[14] Additionally, the surname comes from the actor who plays him.
Behind the scenes[]
Portrayal
- See also: Category:Haruo Makino portrayals
- He is portrayed by Taiwanese actor and television host, Dong Zhi Cheng in Meteor Garden (2001)[15] and Meteor Garden II (2002).[16]
Character notes
- Dong is credited as "Shan Cai's Father" (杉菜爸).
Appearances[]
| Meteor Garden (2001) | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| (Debut) | (Mentioned) | (Mentioned) | (Mentioned) | ||||||
| 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 | |||||
| (Mentioned) | (Mentioned) | ||||||||
| Meteor Garden II (2002) | ||||||||||
| 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 11 | ||||||
| 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 21 | |||||
| 30 | ||||||||||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Episode 1, Meteor Garden
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 2, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 3, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 4, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 5, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 7, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 8, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 11, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 12, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 14, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 15, Meteor Garden
- ↑ Episode 14, Meteor Garden II
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dǒng
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/董
- ↑ http://www.cts.com.tw:80/prog/drama/meteorgarden/fp02.htm (Chinese)
- ↑ http://f4.tv/mg/mg2/cast.html (Japanese)
See also[]
| Meteor Garden (2001-02) characters | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|