The scenes for Jiang Ling, though brief, were truly well-acted. Her turn and gaze during the performance have already dominated hot searches. Are the judges blind to this?
I've always believed the Golden Plum Blossom Awards were the fairest and most impartial among the three major awards, but I'm truly disappointed this time!
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Facing widespread online doubt, the Golden Plum Blossom Awards jury found themselves in a difficult position.
They hadn't deliberately withheld the award from Jiang Ling.
On the contrary, when the film "Phantom Void" was submitted for review, all the judges were captivated by Jiang Ling's turn and gaze. They unanimously agreed that the Best Actress award should go to her; it would be outrageous otherwise.
However, in the end, the judges still cast their votes for the lead actress of another film.
Much like how perfect scores are rarely achieved in the college entrance examination for Chinese literature, even an excellent film with outstanding performances cannot simultaneously win the Golden Plum Blossom, Golden Peony, and Golden Magnolia awards.
The reason this is impossible is that the Plum Blossom and the Peony are in opposition.
In traditional culture, the plum blossom blooms defiantly in the cold, preceding all other flowers, ushering in spring. It embodies nobility and unyielding strength.
Ancient scholars and literati believed the plum blossom possessed integrity, and people should be like plum blossoms.
Whether in ancient times or the present, people have a special sentiment for the plum blossom; it is the embodiment of elegance.
In contrast, the peony, though the king of flowers and the crown of blossoms, is a symbol of wealth and nobility.
However, this nobility can easily be misinterpreted as mere wealth, with "blooming in wealth" implying inexhaustible riches.
Consequently, in the eyes of pretentious, self-proclaimed high-minded literati who viewed money as dirt, the peony, representing wealth, was considered vulgar, steeped in the odor of copper, and utterly incomparable to the plum blossom.
The peony is vulgarity, while the plum blossom is elegance; like water and fire, they are incompatible.
This cultural influence permeates nearly every aspect of life.
Take, for instance, our national flower. Dragon Country, based on the beautiful vision of economic prosperity and the people's peaceful livelihood, proposed the peony as the national flower.
The king of flowers, with its captivating beauty and the auspicious meaning of wealth and good fortune, enjoyed broad popular support and seemed like a fitting choice.
However, just as the peony was about to be confirmed as the national flower, a group of scholars vociferously objected, arguing that the plum blossom was superior to the peony and more suitable as the national flower due to its integrity.
The power of words is formidable; verbal attacks can sometimes be more potent than swords and spears.
This strong opposition from these scholars has prevented the peony from being definitively selected as the national flower.
In 2019, the government organized a national flower poll, and the peony was overwhelmingly elected with 79.71% of the votes.
Nevertheless, many people still do not acknowledge the peony, believing the plum blossom to be the true national flower.
Furthermore, the controversy between the plum blossom and the peony also exists in "The Legend of Pure Yuan and Musk."
The plum blossom represents Pure Yuan, and the peony represents Yi Xiu. Although Yi Xiu was the first to arrive, Pure Yuan later surpassed her, seizing the position of the primary consort.
After Pure Yuan's death, Yi Xiu was successfully promoted. She was dignified and noble like the peony, diligently maintaining her empress persona. Yet, in the emperor's heart, this peony of hers could never compare to the red plum blossom that was Pure Yuan.
It wasn't just the emperor; all those who knew Pure Yuan felt that Yi Xiu was not as benevolent as Pure Yuan, just as in the minds of scholars, the peony would always be inferior to the plum blossom.
This is the tragedy of the peony. Even as the king of flowers, representing the wealth cherished by the vast majority of people, it is still constrained by the plum blossom.
It is precisely for this reason that the judges of the Golden Plum Blossom Awards, upon learning that Jiang Ling had won the Golden Peony Award by a wide margin, felt compelled to abandon her.