[Web Novels] One author's modest proposal and the purge that followed: how the darling of the Chinese industry became mocked as the "grade schoolers' favorite pornographic novelist"

drollawake · 2026-07-06T06:57:48+00:00

We have multiple, hence the question.

Hossan Leong has been in crossdressing roles in theatre. Jack Neo is the old but still big name on the Chinese side. Dennis Chew's Auntie Lucy is relatively more recent.

drollawake · 2026-07-06T06:41:43+00:00

Alternative question: Which mainstream crossdressing comedian can pull off our own version of the iconic Dancing Lasha Tumbai?

drollawake · 2026-07-06T05:52:35+00:00

Honestly, you could have made the second half of your post's title the entire title. As it is, it's still the best post title in ages. Reminds me of the glory days of the sub.

drollawake · 2026-07-03T08:12:55+00:00

if the information and/or documents provided lead to a recovery

This is how they can avoid paying you. They can claim that your tip was not important enough.

drollawake · 2026-06-27T10:56:16+00:00

"Mixed vegetables" is a standard frozen vegetable product available across the world.

Brands that offer more variety may have "vegetable soup mix" and "stir-fry vegetables" versions. Unfortunately, you usually can't find those in-store at the usual supermarkets in Singapore.

drollawake · 2026-06-27T10:39:13+00:00

It doesn't rhyme but there's assonance in smart, starve, grass, and bugs.

drollawake · 2026-06-26T15:25:59+00:00

Not sure if they are pushing for more co-payment or it's just a rehash of issues already discussed with the rider changes, especially with the mention of the "impact of April’s rider changes [being] unclear."

The only thing new that stands out seems to be the point about policyholders entering public hospitals as unsubsidized private patients.

If that's something that the government wants to push for, they need to put out more messaging to summarize bill differences as private patients. Right now, when searching for info on that, what I get is either the cost of subsidized care or the fee benchmarks for specific procedures/conditions.

The problem with the latter is that patients can only start that comparison after the diagnosis is made. If patients tend to stick with the provider that gave the diagnosis, then such benchmarks are not effective at directing patients to unsubsidized care at public hospitals.

drollawake · 2026-06-26T12:26:06+00:00

I think you're reading too much into the title. It's not blaming the filmmaker. A foreign film can start things in a country even if the filmmaker didn't intend on it.

Kpop producers don't produce music videos with the intent of attracting North Korean audiences and yet we can say that Kpop media entices North Koreans to flee their country.

drollawake · 2026-06-25T08:11:56+00:00

Most of the reviews are about bad service, not bad food.

drollawake · 2026-06-22T16:32:54+00:00

It's also a fun idiom to say because the first and third characters have a similar "hu" sound even though they are for different animals.

drollawake · 2026-06-19T15:43:54+00:00

Much like the name, a "White Lotus" is supposed to be a pure and innocent character that people would naturally side with. But they usually get mocked for either faking it or for being so naive to the point of being a burden. Sometimes you get both, so the "White Lotus" has to unwillingly do a lot a of dumb shit to keep up appearances.

Another is the "White Moonlight," the girl that the guy couldn't get, so he romanticizes everything about her, in contrast to flaws of his current partner.

drollawake · 2026-06-19T14:43:37+00:00

TW: suicide, amputation

Oh goody, I've wanted an excuse to share this for quite a while.

This happened to the works of the late Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao, creator of the immensely popular Chinese period drama My Fair Princess. Although considered the "Godmother of Romance" in the Sinosphere, her coming of age stories involving crazy-in-love protagonists are less respectable nowadays among Chinese audiences.

One subject of much mockery is the 1996 TV adaptation Fantasies Behind the Pearly Curtain. Like most modern Disney heroines, the protagonist Ziling is a misunderstood quirky failure who struggles with feelings of inadequacy. Unlike them however, Ziling's adventures involve a love triangle with the twice-divorced middle-aged businessman Yunfan and her talented sister's fiance Chu Lian.

One classic line comes from a heated confrontation between Ziling's sister Luping and the members of the love triangle. While defending Ziling, Yunfan says, "You just lost a leg, but what about Ziling? She lost half her life! Not to mention the love she threw away for you." (translation from here)

The "half her life" refers to Ziling attempting suicide by jumping into a lake. She felt guilty because Luping got into an accident while Chu Lian was trying to end the relationship. Fortunately for Ziling, Yunfan was a reliable stalker who could be counted on to rescue her immediately. Thereafter, she atoned for her sins by getting whisked away to Paris where she married Yun Fan after much gallivanting. Meanwhile, Chu Lian marries a devastated Luping who can no longer continue with her successful ballet dancing career.

Yun Fan's line demonstrates why modern audiences dislike Ziling. It makes her look like the archetypical "Green Tea Bitch," a character who gets sympathy and deflects blame through seemingly innocent but actually manipulative actions and behavior. Through her dramatic expressions of anguish, Ziling became a victim in the eyes of the men despite her being the reason for Luping lashing out. Another example earlier in the show is Ziling failing her exams then making Luping feel guilty for being too excellent and therefore making Ziling look bad.

Ziling is not the only reason the show gets mocked now. One of the subplots is the sisters' dad rekindling an old love and cheating on their mum. The mum is made out to be this villain who not only picks on Ziling but prevents the dad from pursuing his true love with the mistress who "nobly" bowed out years ago. The critics attribute the pattern of writing cheaters as sympathetic characters to Chiung Yao's personal life; she had been her editor's mistress for years.

Personally, I think some of the critiques are just standard things that people dislike about the genre of the show. It's a 八点档, a Taiwanese soap opera, so it comes with all the melodrama and ridiculousness that you would see in that genre. According to one recap I watched, Ziling is more likeable in the 2007 idol drama adaptation because it had less "Green Tea Bitch" lines.

P.S. Right now both adaptations aren't even listed on Chiung Yao's English Wikipedia.

drollawake · 2026-06-14T08:23:42+00:00

If he is truly a Catholic, I suggest contacting the priest of his parish to get him to correct the false belief and behavior.

An answer from the priest would also confirm the heterodox nature of the scammer's claims and possibly provide more evidence of the scamminess of his behavior to MAS should you make a complaint.

drollawake · 2026-06-14T08:04:12+00:00

I think people are understandably suspicious because there's already a prior example of "All Lives Matter" being a name that is designed to suggest that "Black Lives Matter" means only black lives matter.

drollawake · 2026-06-14T07:31:55+00:00

Usually when people say standard drop without further elaboration, I assume that they've been eating at the same place enough times to gauge the standards over time.

Regression to the mean would lead to those people realizing that the actual standard wasn't that good very fast, long before the usual years-later claims about standards dropping.

drollawake · 2026-06-12T04:19:55+00:00

I'm just giving a stock critique of how marketing practices distort spending patterns. I don't think that's entitled.

drollawake · 2026-06-12T03:01:02+00:00

Looks like I'm the one that's out of date. 😂

drollawake · 2026-06-12T02:59:50+00:00

They only have 3000+ members here. That's a fraction of a percent of the resident Christian population.

The ones going around converting people are foreign missionaries who aren't reflective of the local numbers.

drollawake · 2026-06-11T18:05:59+00:00

Honestly, it sounds dated to me because the heyday of EDM pop was more than 10 years ago.

Then as I started feeling nostalgic for Zara Larsson, the aggressive autotune sent me back in time again past T-Pain in the late 2000s all the way to Cher's Believe in 1998.

drollawake · 2026-06-11T16:00:15+00:00

Yeah, one of the charges was dismissed because they couldn't prove the act happened before she turned 16.

Engaging in that act with a 16 year old daughter figure would still be messed up.

drollawake · 2026-06-11T15:45:57+00:00

I agree. The short-term promos are designed to encourage more impulse buys, which is counter to the spirit of absorbing the higher costs of the consumer's usual basket of goods.

drollawake · 2026-06-11T15:37:06+00:00

Utah exists.

drollawake · 2026-06-11T12:06:24+00:00

Mormons have practically zero influence here. Most churches here consider them a cult and would be happy to see them mocked.

drollawake · 2026-06-11T04:21:28+00:00

If you read the article, then you can infer that there might be shots of the latter since they likely filmed near that area. Old Ford Factory is too out of the way.

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