Adapted from popular Hong Kong writer Isabel Nee Yeh-su’s novel The First Half of My Life, the 42-episode TV drama of the same title stands as a dark horse amid fierce TV competition during the summer holiday.
据香港著名作家倪亦舒的小说《我的前半生》改编的42集的电视剧，在这个暑假成为电视剧类竞争中的一匹黑马。
Gathering a cast full of veteran and renowned actors including Chen Daoming, Mei Ting, Ma Yili and Yuan Quan, the drama mainly tells the inspirational story of a housewife-turned-career woman.
此剧拥有强大的演员阵容，包括陈道明，梅婷，马伊琍，袁泉等，该剧主要讲述了一个家庭妇女转变成职业女性的励志故事。
In the drama, lead actress Ma Yili stars as Luo Zijun, a simple-minded and dubious housewife.
剧中，由马伊琍扮演的女一号罗子君是一位头脑简单但性格多疑的家庭主妇。
However, her carefree life encounters misfortune after an unexpected divorce.
然而在意外离婚后，她无忧无虑的生活陷入了危机。
Luckily, with the help of her best friend Tang Jing, she makes changes and creates a new life for herself.
幸运的是，在好友唐晶的帮助下，她做出了改变，同时也为自己创造了崭新的生活。
By emphasizing the importance of female independence, the series has caused heated discussions online and obtained high ratings since it began to air on July 4.
由于该剧主张女性独立的重要性，因此自7月4日播放开始，就在网上掀起了热烈的讨论，并获得了高收视率。
According to the scriptwriter Qin Wen, she is not surprised that the drama could stir up such a wave of popularity.
据编剧秦雯说，她对这部剧如此受欢迎的盛况一点也不惊讶。
I believe the secrets of its success lie in capturing modern life in China through several ordinary people’s lives on one hand, and the great influence of book writer Isabel Nee Yeh-su on the other, she said.
她说：我认为成功的秘诀在于一方面这部剧通过描述部分人生活的描述而抓住了当前国人的现代生活方式，另一方面在于原著作者亦舒的巨大影响力。
Substantial changes from original work
剧作对原文进行了大量的改编。
Although the drama has won the favor of many females, quite a few book fans sharply criticized the TV version for veering too far from the book’s plot.
尽管该剧获得了很多女性的喜欢和支持，还是有很大一部分原著迷对电视剧改编情节与原著相差过大有着尖锐的批评。
The book writer Isabel Nee Yeh-su, or Yi Shu in Chinese, has written over 300 books and is renowned for her female portrayals.
我的前半生作者亦舒已经写书超过300本，并因她对女性出色的刻画而享有极大声誉。
Most females in her books typically have different family and educational backgrounds, yet their personalities all have something in common.
她书中的大多数女性尽管有不同的家庭教育背景，但在性格上有共同点。
Those females have a meta-character of a "Yi-Shu Lady", who are rich, fashionable and are particular about their life.
这些女性角色都被称为“亦舒女”，她们有钱，很时尚，对生活也极为考究。
Luxury cars, brand clothes, shiny diamond rings and champagne are their requisite tags.
豪车，名牌衣服，闪耀的钻戒，香槟，这些都是她们的标配。
Also, they are independent both financially and in spirit, and do not think marriage is the be all end all.
同样地，她们在经济以及思想上独立，并认为婚姻不是他们的终极目标。
In the drama, Luo Zijun is a typical petty-bourgeois individual. In her world, her husband means everything to her.
在剧中，罗子君是个典型的小资产阶级。在她的世界里，老公就是一切。
Luo also has poor taste in clothing and is bad at dealing with relationships.
她在着衣方面品味很差，并且在人际关系上处理的也不是很好。
All elements of the character Luo are contrary to the ideal "Yi-Shu Lady", which is unacceptable to many of the book lovers.
剧中所有罗子君的人物特征都与亦舒女郎的含义相违背，这点让大多数的原著粉都感到不满。
Meanwhile, improper ethical values have been criticized by some viewers for degrading social conduct.
同时，其不当的伦理价值标准也遭到了一些观众的批评。
For instance, Luo fell in love with her best friend Tang Jing’s ex-boyfriend He Han at the end of the story.
比如说，罗子君在剧末爱上了她好朋友唐晶的前男友贺涵。
Although Luo is not the direct cause of Tang and He’s break-up, many viewers complain that the love relationship between Luo and He is unreasonable and divorced from reality.
虽然说并不是罗子君导致了两人的分手，但很多观众认为罗和贺之间的情侣关系很不合理，且脱离现实。
New type of mistress causes controversy
新式情妇引发了巨大的争议。
In the drama, the mistress Ling Ling, played by Wu Yue, has given another definition of "home wrecker" for viewers.
剧中，由吴越扮演的凌玲，也被观众冠之以家庭破坏者称号。
The first time I saw her, I did not think she would be a threat to my family as she is so common in daily life, Luo said during a monologue in the drama.
我第一次看到她时，我并不认为这个女人会对我的家庭产生威胁，因为她如此普通,罗子君在剧中的一段独白说道。
Indeed, Ling Ling does not seem like a typical mistress. She is not young, beautiful or rich.
事实上，凌玲并不符合一个普通小三的形象，因为她既不年轻，也不美貌或者富有。
To support her son and herself, she has to budget carefully and seems to be the last person to be "the other woman".
为了养活她和她的儿子，她不得不精打细算，看起来最不像世俗眼中的第三者。
Her poor family background and seemingly kind personality makes men easily feel a tender pity for her, said Huang Lan, producer of the drama.
该剧制作者黄兰说：“她不幸的家庭状况和表面随和的个性很容易让男人对她产生同情心。”
In such a fast-paced society, men are faced with huge pressures every day. The truth is that many cheating men are not obsessed with young pretty ladies, rather a female who knows what he wants, Huang said.
“生活在一个如此快节奏的社会，男人们每天都面临巨大压力。事实是很多出轨的男人并不是对美貌的女人，而是为知他所想的女人着迷。”黄说。
Therefore, the mistress image I have shaped is easy to sympathize with for some targeted groups.
因此，一些我所塑造的主妇形象很容易被一些目标人群所同情。
It is worthwhile to note that the mistress played by Wu Yue is deeply rooted in some viewers’ hearts," said him.
值得一提的是，由吴越饰演的小三儿深入人心。
Some crazy viewers have posted on her official weibo platform and questioned her reason for stepping into another person’s family, proving her amazing acting skills.
一些疯狂的观众去她的官方微博上留言并质问她为何介入别人的家庭，这也证明了吴越的演技优秀。
TV plot integrates with lead actress’s real life
电视剧的情节部分映射了女演员的真实生活。
Some plot lines in the drama may have aroused controversy among viewers, but most people speak highly of cast members’ professional performance, and Ma Yili is no exception.
剧中的一些情节可能在观众中引起争议，但是大多数观众对演员们的专业表演给予高度评价，马伊俐也不例外。
Ma’s acting in the drama, to some degree, causes most viewers to link the TV plot with her "marriage crisis" in 2014.
马伊琍在剧中的扮演，一定程度上让大部分观众联想到了她2014年的婚姻危机。
Her husband Wen Zhang, a major film and TV star in China, was captured by the paparazzi dating another woman.
她的丈夫文章是一位中国影视明星，被狗仔拍到和另一位女性约会。
Instead of dealing with the problem behind closed doors, Wen took advantage of Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, to apologize to Ma in public.
她们没有关起门来私下解决这件事情，文利用新浪微博公开向马伊琍道歉。
The open nature of his response resonated with online users, provoking a wave of anger on weibo.
文章的公开回应，引起了网友们的共鸣，也激起了又一波微博上的愤怒情绪。
But Ma finally chose to forgive Wen and posted: "Being in love is easy, but being married is not. It is to be cherished."
但是马伊琍及她家人选择了原谅文章，并发微博道：“恋爱虽易，婚姻不易，且行且珍惜”。
Those words have become buzzwords this year and are regarded as a golden principle in safeguarding marriage.
那句话后来变成了年度流行语，也被认为是守护婚姻的黄金法则。
Admittedly or not, the sensational "public apology" issue has prompted more viewers to tune in to the drama.
不可否认的是，那次敏感的公开道歉事件也激起了更多观众看这部剧的好奇心。
No matter in the virtual TV drama or real life, Ma sets an example by showing me the significance of being an independent woman, said online user Zhang Xiaoping on weibo.
张小平在微博里写，不管是在虚拟的电视剧里还是在现实生活里，马伊琍均向我们展示了作为一名独立女性的意义，是我学习的榜样。
The producer also says that the series is a gift for the modern woman.
制片人还说这部电视剧是送给那些现代女性的礼物。
Woman should not be tied with marriage and men. As an independent group, women should seek their own happiness and life goals.
女性，不应该被婚姻和男人所束缚。作为一个独立的群体，女性应该找寻她们自己的幸福和生活目标。
