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The Little Nyonya
Genre	Peranakan-themed Drama
Written by	Hong Rongdi
Starring	Jeanette Aw Qi Yuwu Pierre Png Joanne Peh Xiang Yun Yao Wenlong
Opening theme	如燕 by Olivia Ong
Ending theme	保温 by 邱意淋 需要 by JS
Country of origin	Singapore
Original languages	Mandarin Chinese, some dialogues in English, Bahasa Melayu, Japanese and Hokkien
No. of episodes	34
Production
Producer	Xie Minyang
Running time	approx. 45 minutes
Original release
Network	MediaCorp TV Channel 8
Release	25 November 2008 – 5 January 2009 (Final Chapter on 11 January 2009)

The Little Nyonya (Chinese: 小娘惹) is a 34-episode drama serial which debuted on 25 November 2008 in Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8. The storyline is set in the 1930s and spans 70 years. The series is partly sponsored by the Media Development Authority of Singapore. The drama ended its run on 5 January 2009.

This drama was produced by MediaCorp in celebration of the channel's 45 years anniversary (45载光芒·8方贺台庆). This drama required 2 years of scripting and more than 150 staff (backstage crew, cast etc) were involved in the production of this drama. The cast also went to Penang and Malacca to film part of the series. The serie's production cost was also the highest ever for MediaCorp, with a pair of beaded shoes costing S$1,200, while a dining table costs S$15,000.

The series was extended from the initial 30 episodes to 34 episodes due to over-runs in filming. Two episodes were aired on Mondays, starting from 15 December 2008.

The viewership figures released showed that the drama serial was the highest rated Channel 8 drama for 15 years with an average viewership of 993,000 as of December 31 2008. During the two-hour finale telecast on January 5 2009, the viewership reached 1,672,000 viewers, or 33.8 rating points.

Cast

Huang Family

Elders

• Huang Yuan (黄元, also known as Tow Kay, meaning "Head of Household", portrayed by Yan Bing Liang (严炳量))- Head of the Huang family.
• Guihua (桂花, also known as Tua Ji, or "Head Sister", portrayed by Lin Meijiao (林梅娇))- The matriarch of the Huang family. She is very protective of her daughters, and hates Tian Lan's side of the family with a passion, treating them in a subservient manner. She later suffers a stroke during her attempt to burn Yueniang, whom she blames for all the misfortunes happening in the family.
• Tian Lan (天兰, portrayed by Xiang Yun (向云)) - Mother of Juxiang. She was a maid of the Huang family. Was raped by Huang Yuan and taken in as second mistress of the house. However, her status in the family is essentially a maid. She was accidentally killed by Jincheng after stumbling upon his affair with Xiujuan.
• Ah Tao (阿桃, portrayed by Ng Hui (黄慧), elder version portrayed by Zhu Xiufeng (朱秀凤))- An amah or ma-jie for the Huang family. Originally owned by Huang Yuan's elder sister, she was taken in to help the Huang's kitchen. She is loyal to Juxiang and Yueniang, and served Yueniang all the way to the present day. Her right leg was broken by Guihua sometime at the beginning of the show.

First Generation

• Huang Jincheng 黄金成, portrayed by Darren Lim (林明伦)) - Son of Huang Yuan and Gui Hua. Originally, he likes Xiu Juan but is arranged to marry her sister, Xiu Feng instead. He died of heart attck upon learning that Tianbao had been sentenced to death for murdering the Zhangs.
• Xiufeng (秀凤, portrayed by Pan Lingling (潘玲玲)) - daughter in law of Guihua. Married to Jincheng.
• Xiujuan (秀娟, portrayed by Cynthia Koh (许美珍)) - Younger sister of Xiufeng. Fancies Jincheng. She was the one who caused the Huangs to lose their household by running off with a huge sum of money.
• Juxiang (菊香, portrayed by Jeanette Aw (欧萱))- Although born into a wealthy Peranakan family, she is treated with scorn and insult because of her mother's humble origins. She is deaf and mute from nine years old when she fell sick, as a result, she cannot stand up for herself in many cases. She died of iternal injuries soon after her husband, Yamamoto Yousuke, was killed by Japanese soldiers.
• Meiyu (美玉, portrayed by Apple Hong (洪乙心)) - Eldest daughter of the Huang family, and sister of Jincheng. Wife of Chen Sheng. However, Chen Sheng does not treat her as his wife. As a result, she shows a great sense of hatred towards Juxiang and Yueniang.

Second Generation

• Huang Tianbao (黄天宝, infrequently called Alexandre Huang, portrayed by Andie Chen (陈邦鋆)) - The only son of Huang Jincheng and Xiufeng. He sent someone to kill Chen Sheng with hopes that Robert would reinstate him as deputy GM, but was laughed at instead. He was sentenced to death for instigating the murder of Chen Sheng as well for the murder of Charlie and Robert Zhang.
• Huang Zhenzhu (黄珍珠, portrayed by Eelyn Kok (郭蕙雯)) - first daughter of Xiufeng and Jincheng. A wilful girl who fancies Chen Xi. She witnessed Yuzhu being raped by Robert, but did nothing.
• Huang Yuzhu (黄玉珠, portrayed by Joanne Peh (白薇秀)) - Second daughter of Xiufeng and Jincheng. A demure girl who fancies Chen Xi, but eventually suffers an ill fate after being forced to marry Robert Zhang who raped her. She was committed to a mental institution for the rest of her life, after giving birth to Zuye, the father of Angela. It is not known what happened to her after that.
• Yamamoto Yueniang (山本月娘, portrayed by Jeanette Aw (欧萱), elder version portrayed by Xiang Yun (向云))- The daughter of Juxiang. She looks exactly like her mother, it was due to her parents' deaths that she became a rather strong-willed and feisty woman, and she is still forgiving towards Guihua and her other relatives in spite of how much they had mistreated her and her family.

Third Generation

• Zuye (祖业, young version portrayed by Lim Yongxun (林泳勳), elder version portrayed by Zzen Zhang (章缜翔))- Son of Yuzhu, but due to Yuzhu's mental condition, he was adopted and raised by Yueniang. He has two sons and a daughter, who is none other than Angela.

Fourth Generation

• Angela (安淇, portrayed by Felicia Chin (陈靓萱)) - A university student in Canada. Originally considered to be the biological granddaughter of Yueniang, it was revealed in the end that she is the biological granddaughter of Robert Zhang and Yuzhu, as her father (Zuye) was adopted by Yueniang due to Yuzhu's mental illness. During a time before the series, she had an unlucky run in romance, and decided to briefly return to Malacca. It was in Malacca that she learnt about her adoptive grandmother's bitter past.

Chen Family

Elders

• Madame Chen (陈老太, portrayed by Li Yinzhu (李茵珠)) - Chen Xi's great-grandmother(Chor Chor), Chen Sheng's grandmother(Ma Ma). Likes to eat rembah udang very much. She places great emphasis on women's ability to cook Peranakan dishes and sewing beaded shoes.

First Generation

• Chen Gong (陈功, portrayed by Chen Xiang (陈翔)) - The eldest son of Madame Chen, frequently comes into conflict with the Zhang family.
• Chen Sheng (陈盛, portrayed by Pierre Png (方展发)) - Married to Meiyu, but harbours love for Juxiang. He spent his free time drinking away merrily as well as singing and dancing pantun with young women. Sheng was murdered on the orders of Huang Tianbao, who believed that it was what Robert Zhang wanted.

Second Generation

• Chen Xi (陈锡, portrayed by Qi Yuwu (戚玉武))- So named because on the day of his birth, his family signed a lucrative Tin contract, he is the only child in his family. Having been educated in the UK, he has always been more liberal than his conservative family. Although he wanted to marry Yueniang, his family forced him to marry Huang Zhenzhu instead.

Zhang Family

• Charlie Zhang (查里张, portrayed by Desmond Sim (沈金兴))- A baba who returned from the United Kingdom, he is generally disapproving of the Peranakan culture, earning him scorn from the older generation of high Peranakan society. He also loves to have affairs with many women, and makes use of his wealth to collaborate with the Japanese. It is heavily implied that he had something to do with the deaths of Yousuke and Juxiang. He was accidentally killed during a scuffle between Robert Zhang and Huang Tianbao, when a pistol was accidentally fired, hitting Charlie in the head.
• Robert Zhang (罗伯张, portrayed by Zzen Zhang (章缜翔)) - Son of Charlie Zhang. A cunning one like his father, he raped Yuzhu and tortured her endlessly after marrying her, even allowing her to sleep with other men. Killed by Tianbao despite his best efforts to return back the money and distributorship to Tianbao and his family.

Other Characters

• Yamamoto Yousuke (山本洋介, portrayed by Dai Yangtian (戴阳天))- An ethnic Japanese, he was very interested in Peranakan culture. In order to protect Juxiang from the philandering Charlie Zhang, he married her. Yousuke was murdered by invading Japanese when Singapore fell to Japanese forces. It is implied that Charlie Zhang had a role in his murder.
• Liu Yidao (刘一刀, portrayed by San Yow (姚玟隆)) - A butcher who had an arranged marriage with Yueniang, but later accepted her as his sworn sister. He and his brotherhood later assisted Yueniang with her business.
• Libby (丽贝儿, portrayed by Pamelyn Chee (齐騛))- A woman who is more liberal than social norms at the time, she eventually married Chen Xi, and had six children with him.
• Jonathan Li (李修文, portrayed by Nat Ho (鹤天赐))- A native of Hong Kong who grew up in Canada. He fell in love with his university schoolmate Angela, and followed her from Canada to Malacca.
• Da Sha (大傻) - A simple-minded lunatic who saved Yueniang's life when she was in a coma after being rescued from a well. Pioneer of bird's nest dish and helped her with her business.
• Paul (portrayed by Bobby Tonelli)- A British lawyer who was originally retained by Robert Zhang, but eventually helped the Chens in a lawsuit. Later married Yueniang.

Roles

The role of Xiufeng was rumoured to be offered to May Phua originally, but she was not able to accept the role, due to her pregnancy. The role of Tian Lan and an elderly Yamamoto Yueniang was originally offered to Huang Biren, but was offered to Xiang Yun instead, as Huang chose not to renew her contract with MediaCorp. It was also rumoured that Zoe Tay wanted a role in this series, but there was no suitable roles for her.

Synopsis

The story spans over 70 years, from the 1930s till the present day.

Huang Juxiang is born into a large Peranakan family where her mother is a mistress. She is gentle, beautiful and a fantastic cook. Due to a serious illness when she was 9 years old, Juxiang becomes a deaf-mute. Because of her handicap, she is ostracized by people. Right before the Japanese Occupation in Singapore, she is forced to marry Charlie Zhang, a rich Peranakan, and become his mistress. Juxiang resists the marriage and runs away from home. She then meets Yamamoto Yousuke, a young Japanese photographer, and after overcoming many obstacles, they finally get married and Juxiang gives birth to a daughter Yueniang. During the World War, Juxiang is tortured and both she and her husband die, leaving behind their 8-year-old daughter.

The orphaned Yueniang eventually walks to her grandfather's house on her own. Under the supervision of her grandmother, she learns to cook Peranakan dishes and sewing. She grows up looking exactly like her mother and is exceptionally beautiful. After the war, her maternal relatives who ran away to England to seek refuge return home. Yueniang ends up leading the life of her mother – always discriminated against, beaten up and tortured. She puts up with all these in order to protect her grandmother.

Yueniang's pretty looks incurs jealousy from her cousin and attracts the attention of many rich Peranakans. However, she only has eyes for penniless driver Chen Xi. Chen Xi actually comes from an educated and wealthy family. Yueniang's kindness, purity and persistence move Chen Xi and he falls deeply in love with her, and hides his identity to be with Yueniang. Unfortunately, their relationship is filled with many obstacles and difficulties. Under pressure from his family, Chen Xi is forced to marry Yueniang's cousin instead. Yueniang is then sold to a butcher, Liu Yidao.

Yueniang is unwilling to accept the fact that her life is always manipulated by others and decides to end her own life. Yueniang's strong personality impresses Liu Yidao and they become sworn siblings instead. Yueniang decides to choose her own path in life. She begins learning how to run a business and in the process, she is framed and ousted from her business. Despite the odds, she manages save her declining family business. Sadly, her love life has yet to begin a new chapter with no news about her love interest, Chen Xi.

Reception

"The Little Nyonya" achieved extremely high ratings, with an average of 934,000 viewers during its 34-episode run, and peaking at 1.67 million viewers (33.8%) on the last episode. This series has recorded the highest viewership rating ever since 1994.

Major records

• Episode 1: 20.3% (1,098,000 viewers)
• Episode 11: 23.6%
  (Juxiang and Yueniang (as a kid) were thrown down the ship by Guihua and Meiyu. Chen Sheng becomes depressed because of this.)
• Episode 15 and 16 (2 hours on Monday): 24.1%
  Yueniang and Chen Xi get kidnapped. Yueniang falls in love with Chen Xi during the ordeal when he ensures she doesn't get harmed.
• Episode 21 and 22 (2 hours on Monday): 26.3%
• Episode 27 and 28 (2 hours on Monday): 27.8%
• Episode 33 and 34 (2 hours on Monday; FINALE): 33.8%

Awards

This drama is seen as an extremely strong contender in the Star Awards 2008, which would be held in April 2009.

Channel 8 Countdown Party

• Dai Yang Tian as Yamamoto Yousuke - Top 8 Most Likeable Male Characters
• Jeanette Aw as Huang Ju Xiang - Top 8 Most Likeable Female Characters
• Jeanette Aw as Yamamoto Yueniang - Top 8 Most Likeable Male Characters

Criticisms

Despite being lauded as a drama that provides an insight into the unique Peranakan culture, the show has received criticism in local press over casting, excessive promotion, and illogical storyline.

Casting

Viewers have criticized the casting of Pan Lingling and Cynthia Koh, both of whom are in their 30s, as 18-year-old teenage nyonyas, arguing that both actresses are too old. Some viewers have also criticized the portrayal of Xiufeng, saying that Pan Lingling has misportrayed a nyonya teenager, who, being raised in a wealthy family, is supposed to be more restrained in their daily demeanors. However, others retort that this criticism is tantamount to ageism, and is absolutely unfair to both actresses, and that the criticisms were leveled way too early (after the 3rd episode was aired).

Criticisms were also leveled MediaCorp's bias towards Jeanette Aw. Many viewers see The Little Nyonya as a drama series that was conceived as a launching vehicle for Aw's career in television (she had failed to receive the 'Top 10 Most Popular Artistes Award' at the previous Star Awards ceremony), and that her role in the series was purpose-built for winning awards at the Star Awards ceremony. In addition, audience believe that that producers purposefully wrote Aw's first role as a mute, in order to conceal her flawed and unnatural pronunciation. In response, producers have lauded Aw's work, saying that she performed in a professional manner. Despite the controversy, Aw's performance has been praised by members of the audience.

Others have criticized the selection of actresses for the roles of the young Yueniang, the older Yueniang and the elderly Yueniang.

Overpromotion

The mass publicity for Little Nyonya two months before the show premiered also received criticism from the public. Within MediaCorp, there are also some misgivings in regards to the overpromotion this show has received. The cast of the long-running drama Love Blossoms have privately lamented that the show, which used to receive tremendous amounts of advertising support from MediaCorp, is being neglected in favour of The Little Nyonya.

Stereotyping of Peranakan Culture

As many of the Peranakan characters in the series (such as most of the Huang family, as well as Charlie Zhang) are antagonists, many viewers think that the series will negatively stereotype Peranakans as being ruthless. In response, the show's writer, Hong Rongdi, said that ruthlessness and petty politicking, which are basic human interactions, appears within any culture, and is not an exclusive trait of the Peranakans.

Loopholes

Several loopholes within the show have been criticized by viewers continuously.

• Huang Juxiang, who is mute and deaf, appeared to be able to understand and respond to people around her, even when she was not facing them.

• When the Huang family was escaping to the United Kingdom by ship, Guihua (also known as Tua Ji) commented that the ship was being escorted by the Royal Escort which only the Queen enjoys. However, the last Queen to have ruled the United Kingdom during that time was Queen Victoria, who died in 1901. A female would not become the monarch of the UK until 1952, when Elizabeth II succeeded her father, King George VI, who ruled through the time the series is set in.

• When a young Yueniang arrived at the Huang's residence in Malacca from Singapore, Ah Tao commented she had to starve for two days to reach here. However, the distance between Singapore and Malacca is 260 kilometres, and train services were suspended. It would have taken significantly longer than 2 days for young Yueniang to reach Malacca. Also, it was not clear how Yueniang knew the address of the Huangs, given that Juxiang was illiterate, deaf, and mute.

• In one episode, Ah Tao's leg was broken by Guihua (also known as Tua Ji), resulting in her having to bandage her leg. However, in another episode set 8 years later, the blood-stained bandages were still there. The producers have said that this is due to Ah Tao not taking good care of her injury and the red stains were due to medicine. The maid had to work all day and had no time to recuperate completely, so her injury never fully healed.

• Yueniang's age was also subjected to some inconsistencies. When Juxiang sought an old man's help in writing her daughter's time of birth, the man wrote "甲子年八月十五出生” (born 15 August, 1924). Yueniang was said to be 70 years old in present day, but she would be 84 years old if she was born in 1924

• Although it was stated that the photograph of Juxiang which was coloured by Yousuke in Japan was given to Yueniang when Yousuke's sister visited Singapore, it was not clear how the sister managed to find Yueniang after all this years. Yueniang had previously stated that her father left nothing behind and Yueniang had left for Malacca after her parents' deaths in Singapore.

Alternate Ending

Due to the response Channel 8 received over the ending, it decided to make an alternate ending, which would be aired on 11 January, 2009. The ending, titled "The Little Nyonya: The Final Chapter" (小娘惹之月娘与陈锡重逢篇, literally: "The Little Nyonya: The Chapter of Yueniang and Chen Xi Reuniting), would last for three minutes, and would reunite Chen Xi and Yamamoto Yueniang.

According to producers, the script for the alternate ending was finalised on 8 January, and filming was completed on the following day.

This is the first time a Singaporean television station have to film an alternate ending, due to response for viewers.

Public Event

The one and only "The Little Nyonya Public Event" 小娘惹户外影迷会 was held at Compass Point on 27 December 2008 at 3pm. More than 5,000 members of the public, including fanclubs went to the shopping centre to see the cast in person.

A limited amount of only 100 posters (which comes in 4 different types) were given out to those who came early to queue for it. The queue for these posters were so long that it even stretched to the MRT station. An autograph session was also held at the same place.

Due to the overwhelming response of more than 5,000 people attending, Compass Point was extremely crowded at that point of time till escalators had to stop moving so that audience could look on, and the tiles of the floor even cracked due to the high pressure exerted by people on the ground.

DVD release

Notes and References

1. ^ "Catch The Little Nyonya again on DVD". MediaCorp TV. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
2. Shown in subtitles on the first episode as "Eguchi Yosuke", which changes the name to "江口洋介".
3. "潘玲玲《小娘惹》演少女 观众嫌老 (Translation: Audience found Pan Lingling to be too old to play a teenager in The Little Nyonya)" (in Simplified Chinese). Lianhe Wanbao (carried on omy.sg). Retrieved 2008-11-29.
4. "安排欧萱演哑巴 《小娘惹》剧组刻意'藏拙' (Translation: Deliberate move in arranging a mute role for Jeanette Aw in The Little Nyonya)" (in Simplified Chinese). Lianhe Wanbao (carried on omy.sg). Retrieved 2008-11-28.
5. ^ "《小娘惹》收视报捷 不合理内容惹观众批评 (Translation: "The Little Nyonya" enjoys ratings success, but attracts criticism from viewers over unreasonable storyline)" (in Simplified Chinese). Lianhe Wanbao (carried on omy.sg). 18 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
6. "长寿剧vs台庆剧: 《小娘惹》宣传过猛　《心花朵朵2》被冷落 (Translation: Long-Running Drama vs. Channel Anniversary Drama: "The Little Nyonya" is being overpromoted while "Love Blossoms 2" is being neglected)" (in Simplified Chinese). Shin Min Daily News (carried on omy.sg). 3 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
7. ^ Lim, Cheryl (10 January 2009). ""The Little Nyonya: The Final Chapter" to air on Channel 8 this Sunday". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2009-01-10.

See also

• List of programmes broadcast by MediaCorp Channel 8

External Links

• Official website

• Singapore Chinese dramas
• 2008 television series debuts
• 2009 television series endings