Woman farmer turns her own story into TV drama

Poverty made her drop out of school and accept an arranged marriage. But she never stopped pursuing her dream. Eventually she changed her life and now is trying to tell her story to all.

The 36-year-old farmer, who lives in Zhuanglang County, northwest China's Gansu Province, is now busy shooting the TV drama "Yezi's arranged marriage" based on her own real-life story. But more than one decade ago, Liu Yunxia's life could only be described as marked by resentment.

Her fate mirrors the hardship faced by the villagers in "Sanxi." The place name refers to Ningxia's Xihaigu area, as well as Gansu's Dingxi and Hexi areas -- "san" means "three" and "xi" is "west" in Chinese.

The "Sanxi" areas are among China's driest, and least-developed regions.

At the beginning, Liu resented her husband and her arranged marriage.

She was engaged at the age of nine. Her fiance was four years older than her and illiterate. In the 10 years following the engagement, they spoke to each other no more than 10 sentences.

Liu loved studying. She was a top student and particularly good at writing at primary school.

But when she entered junior middle school, her would-be mother-in-law came to Liu's family and repeatedly opposed her attending school. She feared that if Liu entered university one day, the arranged marriage would not be honored.

Liu's family lived in poverty. Her parents often borrowed money for her schooling. When she was grade two in junior middle school, her father broke his ribs when repairing a terrace field. Her mother was also in poor health and so couldn't provide all the support he needed.

Liu had to drop out of school to take care of the family. At 16, she went to work for one year. She was once a family assistant in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, and then a worker in an clothing factory in Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia.

When she came back to her hometown, she became more resentful of her arranged marriage.

But her family had used up the 800-yuan betrothal gifts given by her fiance's family. Her father said to her, "your elder brother has not married. If you broke your engagement, our reputation will be ruined and then who will dare to marry him."

Liu's elder brother is nine years older than her and has worked in a brick factory since 14 years old to support the family.

Liu could not hold back her tears when she remembered her elder brother buying fruit sugars for her and younger brother, while he only ate cold potatoes.

For the sake of her elder brother, Liu agreed to marry.

At the day of wedding ceremony, she refused to wear red attire and did not wear flowers in her hair. She felt depressed, thinking her whole life would be colorless and hopeless.

The newly-wed couple suffered poverty as well. They even borrowed oil for cooking. One year later, Liu gave birth. To support family, she opened a tailor shop but it failed. Then she pulled boiled corns to county seat to sell.

The corns were too heavy. Sometimes she tumbled and injured herself. During those years, the couple ignored each other. Her husband always turned a blind eye to her injuries or illness and always went out to gamble. Domestic abuse occurred as well.

But as time went by, Liu's life started to change.

The Chinese government launched poverty relief program in the "Sanxi" areas as early as in 1982. Government advocated to help locals shake off poverty by improving farmer's self-development abilities. With years of unremitting efforts, the effects had shown.

Benefited from government's favorable industrial policies, Liu tried to plant scallions and alfalfa, raised rabbits, sheep and cattle. Experienced both failures and successes, her family eventually became better-off.

The couple's relations got better as well after they had been married for five years. The turning point occurred in 2000 when Liu got meningitis.

She lost consciousness for one day. When she woke up, she saw her husband's tearful eyes. She had never seen him crying before. At this time, her husband realized the importance of her wife to his life. Since then, her husband has offered her much care and support.

Since her childhood, Liu dreamed of writing and being an actress. In2008, she watched a TV documentary about migrant worker's children directed by a woman farmer whose only eduction was two years at primary school.

Liu was inspired. She asked herself "Why don't I write and shoot a TV drama?"

She then started writing a script. Her husband bought a computer for her. At the beginning, she even did not know how to power off the computer. But later, she learnt how to type.

During the daytime, she planted crops. After her child was put to sleep at night, she wrote. In 2010, she almost finished her 100,000-word first draft, titled "Yezi's arranged marriage." Eighty percent of the story was based on Liu's own life.

Then harvest season came, she, together with her family, reaped wheat for two months and didn't touch the computer during the time.

Two months later, she couldn't access her script on the computer as its hard drive had been wrecked by the dampness in the house. She had to rewrite the script based on memory.

While rewriting, she started to select actors and actresses in the village for her TV drama.

Her husband spent about 100,000 yuan buying equipment, such as video camera and mobile hard drives for her.

The camera man is a farmer in his fifties.

Liu also has two deputy directors. One is head of the village's local opera troupe, the other is a taxi driver. Actors and actress are fellow villagers.

She is not able to pay her team, but only give them free meals. A young woman in the village agreed to act the heroine, but gave up half way through due to strong opposition from her family. Since then, Liu started to act the heroine by herself.

The homemade drama moved her fellow villagers. They thought the drama reflected the real life very well and suggested Liu give the drama a happy ending.

Hoping the drama could be broadcast on TV someday, she also sent the script to Gansu provincial radio, film and TV bureau, asking experts to review and adapt it.

She said she would not be the heroine again. "I am getting old and not pretty enough to act the heroine."

She did not mind someday if professional crews came to perform her story.