About Meteor Garden



Producers: Chai Zhi Ping / Angie Chai , Jia-rui Feng, Xun-rong Mao, Min-hui Gong
Director: Yue-xun Cai
Broadcaster: CTS
Released: April 2001
Opening Theme: Qing Fei De Yi by Harlem Yu
Closing Theme: Ni Yao De Ai by Penny Dai
Original Language: Manderin

History:
Meteor Garden is a Taiwanese drama based on a Japanese manga called, "Hana Yori Dango", written and illustrated by Kamio Youko. The producer had fallen in love with this anime and wanted to make it into a television series so she bought the rights from Kamio Youko and the making of Meteor Garden began in February of 2001! She named the series, "Liu Xing Hua Yuan" (Meteor Garden), which follows Hana Yori Dango very closely. One minor change is that the main characters are in college and not in high school, so they do not wear uniforms.

Casting:
Angie's requirements for the guys that would play F4 were that they must be at least 180 centimeters in height and good looking. She hand-picked them, looking for the "perfect" men to play the roles of F4 everywhere. All four guys went through a three month period of screening and trial.

San Cai: Barbie Shu or Shan Cai got her role when she was finished with her t.v show.one of the meteor garden managers saw her and asked her to audition for the role of Shan Cai.
Special thanks to Balena for submitting this information!

Dao Ming Si: Jerry Yan won a model competition held by Man's Uno, a Taiwanese magazine in 1998 and appeared in MTVs as well as commercials before he was discovered. Angie Chai saw his picture in the newspaper and decided that his image was well suited for the role of "Dao Ming Si". She arranged to meet him and Jerry was quite interested in filming Meteor Garden.

Hua Ze Lei: Vic Zhou was discovered for this role by Angie Chai when he accompanied his friend to the audition for Meteor Garden. He was waiting for his friend and talking on his cell phone when Angie observed that he would make a perfect "Hua Ze Lei". Vic had no interest in filming and acting but he eventually accepted after much persuasion by the producer and agreed to attend acting classes. The director of Meteor Garden concurred with Angie's opinion that he was fit for the role. After several classes, Vic became interested in acting.

Mei Zuo: Vanness was spotted in a Taiwan television show, "Super Sunday's Search", a show in search of Taiwan's most handsome man, kinda like a pagaent and was asked to audition for a role Meteor Garden. However, I also heard that he was spotted by the director's friend, who personally recommended him at a gym.

Xi Men: Ken Zhu was discovered for the role of "Xi Men" while he was working as a captain in a Japanese barbeque restaurant. Angie Chai was dining there and noticed the good-looking employee and felt he might fit a role in her series. He, just like Jerry, expressed a lot of interest in the offer.

Cast List:
Main Characters
Barbie Hsu (Big S) as San Cai
Jerry Yan as Dao Ming Si
Vic Zhou as Hua Ze Lei
Vanness Wu as Mei Zuo
Ken Zhu as Xi Men

Supporting Characters:
Wang Yue as San Cai's Mother
Teng Chi Xing as San Cai's Father
JJ (Zhen Xiu Zhen) as Dao Ming Feng
Edward Ou as Qing He
Rainie Yang as Xiao You
Winnie Qian as Teng Tang Jing
Ye An Tin as Li Zhen
Ke Huan Ru as Xiao Zi
Mary Hsu as Dao Ming Zhuang
Zheng Mei Dai as Bai He
Zhang Ruo Zhen as Qian Hui

Short Synopsis:
San Cai, claiming to be the indomitable weed, attends a noble university, fulfulling her parent's dreams. Her parents are hoping she will meet a nice guy and marry rich so they will no longer have to worry about financial difficulties. However, San Cai just wants to study at the university peacefully and out of F4's way.

Despite her efforts to keep a low profile, she infuriates Dao Ming Si, the leader of F4, the gang of rich and famous bullies of the school, when she stands up for her friend. From then on, a series of events causes San Cai to hate Dao Ming Si even more and sparks Dao Ming Si's love for San Cai.All the girls but San Cai want to get close to him. However, San Cai develops feelings for Hua Ze Lei, Dao Ming Si's best friend and a F4 member, because she felt he was different from the other "pig heads". Hua Ze Lei is in love with Teng Tang Jing.

From then on, a series of events complicates the relationships between F4 and San Cai and San Cai slowly but unknowingly falls in love with Dao Ming Si, who abandons his agresssiveness. (Read the detailed summary for information about these "events" and more detail about San Cai and Dao Ming Si's relationship)

Detailed Summary:
San Cai is an "ordinary" girl who attends a rich university, Ying De where the children of families with a high social status study. San Cai feels that everyone is superficial and are not at the university for educational purposes, but for socializing and showing off their new, expensive possessions. Instead of the principal having the most power over the school, it is F4, four rich guys who attend the school, opened by their families. San Cai, who was a strong, generous, loyal, and has a sense of justice girl before she entered the university attempts to keep a low profile.

F4, Flower 4, are the four bullies of the Ying De. It consist of Dao Ming Si, the obnoxious leader of the group, Hua Ze Lei, who is nonchalant and quiet, Mei Zuo, the loyal and funny one of the group, and Xi Men, the flirt. They come from the riches and most well-known families, therefore, even the teachers fear them. F4 has the power to kick anyone, even teachers out of the school. Anyone who dares to stand up to them recieves red tags that read "You Will Be Dead" on them, which only means torture from the other students. Everyone who recieves this red tag rewithdraws from the school.

Despite San Cai's efforts to keep herself out of trouble, she stands up to Dao Ming Si for her only true friend at Ying De, Li Zhen. She recieves the red tag for this and is the victim of many pranks so Li Zhen, not wanting to be the next one to recieve the red tag, stays away from San Cai. Because of San Cai's courage to challenge Dao Ming Si, he develops feelings for her although he is not very good expressing them to San Cai. However, San Cai develops feeling for Hua Ze Lei, who has no interest in other people's business, because he saves her from being harassed and she felt he was different. This causes F4 to be split up for the very first time.

Lei, although he helps San Cai loves Jing, his first and only love, who leaves for France to pursue her career in law to help the poor. Lei goes after her and during this time, Dao Ming Si asks San Cai out. She agrees, despite the fact her mind is still on Lei, which misleads Dao Ming Si to believing they were a couple.

When Lei returns from France, he adds more complications to Dao Ming Si and San Cai's relationship. Dao Ming Si and Hua Ze Lei's friendship once again is torn because of San Cai. Lei is kicked out of F4 and Dao Ming Si is determined to have Lei and San Cai out of Ying De. However, his sister, Dao Ming Zhuang settles the problem with a simple basketball game.

Believing that San Cai was going out with Lei, Dao Ming Si makes up his mine to go to New York to study. San Cai gets very upset, although she can't figure out why (the first sign that she had unknowingly fallen in love with Ah Si). Lei tells Dao Ming Si that San Cai did not like him but instead Dao Ming Si, so he ends up returning to Taiwan the moment his plane landed.

Dao Ming Si's mother, Dao Ming Feng returns to Taiwan from New York and absolutely depises San Cai, an poor, ordinary girl of the lower social class. Dao Ming Feng, only seeking a higher social status and to expand her business, is determined to keep her son away from San Cai. However, Dao Ming Si refuses to leave his love so his mother arranges an engagement with He Yuan Zi, known as Xiao Zi. Xiao Zi develops feelings for Dao Ming Si, who dislikes her and becomes friends with San Cai, who decided to leave Dao Ming Si. Xiao Zi asks her parents to cancel the engagement because no matter how hard she tried, she could not replace San Cai's place in Dao Ming Si's heart.

Dao Ming Feng leaves for a business trip to London but she puts Yu Sao in charge of the house, hoping to keep San Cai away from her son. San Cai's parents have moved to a fishing village hoping they could earn a better living. Unfortunately, San Cai, living alone, is kicked out of the apartment by the landlord so Dao Ming Si takes her to his mansion where San Cai agrees to Yu Sao's offer, despite Dao Ming Si's disapproval. She would work as Dao Ming Si's servant as a way to pay for her stay.

When Dao Ming Feng returns to find Yu Sao approved of San Cai and actually liked her, Dao Ming Feng gets San Cai's two best friends, Xiao You's and Qing He's families into great financial difficulty. In order for Xiao You's dad to get his job back and Qing He's father's company from going bankrupt, San Cai agrees to leave Dao Ming Si. This breaks Dao Ming Si's heart and he returns to being the ill-tempered bully and his mother leaves Taiwan.

San Cai packs her things to find her parents at the fishing village. Later, Hua Ze Lei and Qing He finally finds her and drives to the village to fetch her. She agrees to return with them and secretly dates Dao Ming Si, in attempt to keep the news from Dao Ming Feng but she finds out and hires someone, posing as Dao Ming Si's cousin to try to steal San Cai away from Dao Ming Si and break them up. However, her plan fails. As a last resort, Dao Ming Si is kidnapped by his mother's bodyguards in front of San Cai's home that Lei found for her. Dao Ming Si is locked in his room and was to marry Xiao Zi in a week. Protesting this arrangement, Ah Si refuses to eat or drink. F3 attempts to rescue him with the help of Yu Sao to get around the many bodyguards but they fail so they call Dao Ming Si's sister, who returns again.

Dao Meng Feng does not allow San Cai to see her son but allowed her to talk to him outside his room after Xiao Zi persuaded her. San Cai suggests that they give up but Dao Ming Si tells her that they will be together. San Cai then decided to fight with him and stands outside his mansion in the driveway all night in the rain. After an arguement with her daughter, who expressed her deep resentment for following through with her mother's arrangements for her life and taking the happiness away from her life, Dao Ming Feng returns to New York the next day and all the bodyguards are removed from the mansion. Dao Ming Si and San Cai could finally be together.


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