Memory of Encaustic Tile is a series that makes you think back on the past. Gen Z babies in particular get to relive and remember parts of their childhood.
Not only does the series bring back memories from a time that changed a lot about how we live now, but it also reminds us that 2002 is already 20 years ago.
Before, babies born in the 2000s were used to watching things that took place in the late 1990s or early 2000s. But now, a coming-of-age movie is based on something that happened 20 years ago.
This 34-episode series was a great adaptation of “Glazed Tiles of the Past” by Bei Feng San Bai Li. It was directed by Tian Yu.
Memory of Encaustic Tile Story Recap
Liuli Hutong is where the story takes place. A hutong is a short street or alley that is common in Beijing and other cities in northern China. Shao Xue, Zheng Su Nian, Zhang Qi, Lin Shi Yin, and Wu Huan grew up in Liuli Hutong.
Also, all of their parents work in the antiques and museum business and spend their days trying to keep rare cultural treasures safe. As their parents got to know each other outside of work and became close, these five kids became the best of friends.
Memory of Encaustic Tile: A Quick Sketch of the Main Character
Shao Xue (Chen Yu Qi) is a high school student who is full of life. She is strong and says what she thinks. She is also the person who causes the most trouble in their group. She is also either Zhang Qi’s partner in crime or Zhang Qi’s best friend.
She is also often bad at home, which makes it hard for her to get along with her mother. Shao Xue is mostly an average student. Still, she is very good at learning languages. In fact, she learned to speak English well because she liked Harry Potter so much.
Also, Su Nian, Zhang Qi, and Shi Yin are her closest friends among their group of five friends. Besides, Su Nian was her first love.
The rest of the group is two years younger than Zheng Su Nian (Lin Yi). He also works hard to take care of Shao Xue and their friends all the time. Su Nian is also one of the smartest students in school, and a lot of girls love him.
But he doesn’t care about any of them and doesn’t care about anyone outside of their group of friends. He is not only interested in Shao Xue, but he is also busy taking care of all the problems that their young group causes.
More importantly, he is a responsible son who works hard and doesn’t give his parents any trouble.
LiuLi Hu Tong’s Teens
On the other hand, Zhang Qi (Yan Zi Dong) is just as wild and rebellious as Shao Xue, which is why they often work together to do bad things. He is also a close friend and classmate of Shao Xue. His father died when he was a child, so he grew up in a family with only one parent.
Zhang Qi also fights a lot with his mother, who doesn’t have time for him because of her job. He is great at math, but he is a very lazy student.
Lin Shi Yin is Shao Xue’s best friend and classmate (Zhang Tian Ai). She is a young woman who likes to take care of herself.
She can be proud, though, and she doesn’t like being linked to Wu Huan, who she thinks is below her. Still, her character will change, and she will stay Shao Xue’s reliable friend until the end.
Last but not least, Wu Huan (Sun Kai) is a responsible and nice guy. He was raised by just his mother, just like Zhang Qi. His mother can’t get out of bed, so she has to work around his school schedule. Not only that, but he works part-time after school to help take care of his and her mother.
Adulting is Afoot
The show will take viewers on a wild ride through friendships, love, work, and family issues. But as they get older, their lives start to go in different directions, and their feelings for each other change.
Shao Xue is going to go abroad to work as an interpreter and see the world, and Zhang Qi is going to find and use his math skills and apply for a doctorate after college.
Lin Shi Yin is trying to get into broadcasting at the same time. Zheng Su Nian stayed in the Hu Tong and all of a suddenly changed careers to honor her mother. Wu Huan, on the other hand, worked hard to become a manager at a company that does logistics.
Memory of Encaustic Tile Highlights
Representation of How a Family Works
Family is one of the most important things that can make a relationship safe, stressful, or both. Since people in a family depend on each other for emotional, physical, and financial support, this small group of people has a big impact on how a person turns out.
This is true in the sense that the series is about how a family works. In each episode, viewers will learn more about the five main characters’ lives and how their parents are doing.
Shao Xue’s parents, Shao Hua and Dong Ge, are especially known for being loud and outspoken. Shao Hua, Shao Xue’s father, loves her very much and often spoils her. On the other hand, Shao Xue’s mother, Dong He, is shown to be a much stricter parent who often nags and scolds her son.
In contrast, Su Nian’s family, the Zhengs, who live next door, are very prim and proper. People like them because they are smart and kind at the same time. Also, there are also people who are single mothers.
Splendid Group and Cast
Memory of Encaustic Tile takes people back to a happy time of friendship and becoming an adult. Not only do the kids and their parents get along well, but some of the events and situations in the story will almost certainly make viewers feel like they know what’s going on.
As the characters go through life, the audience will see their successes, failures, and bad decisions. Having said that, the cast as a whole was great and perfect for the roles they played.
Memory of Encaustic Tile Series Insights
Good Changes in the Characters
From my point of view, I’m glad Wu Huan didn’t end up with Lin Shi Yin. Plus points to the show for not making a bad relationship seem romantic.
In the same way, it is great to see how his character is like those who found their place in their career even though they had trouble with money and school. It was great to see how hard work paid off for his character and how he ended up with their former classmate Tang Ya, who really sees his worth.
Aside from that, it was great that Wu Huan finally learned to value himself and have a more stable sense of self-worth.
Not only that, but the way the characters changed really added to the direction of the story. (Well, even though there were a few annoyingly long plot lines and some rushed ones.) To name a few, Lin Shi Yin, Wu Huan’s mother, and Zhang Qi all get character development awards.
How Lin Yi Got Better as an Actor
Lin Yi has played typical boyfriend roles for his fans. In fact, he can’t seem to avoid being cast as the smart boyfriend.
But in his role as Zheng Su Nian, which is different from his roles in Put Your Head On My Shoulder and Love Scenery, he has to show more emotion than in his usual roles as a cold, smart person. In this series, he showed more emotions and facial expressions than fans usually see him do.
It’s nice to see him laugh and cry more and play a more vulnerable character. For example, in his previous roles, he was usually the new person in the group or the nerd who was just starting to make friends. In this series, he is the leader of the group and looks out for them.
Most importantly, Lin Yi seems more natural and convincing. So, both fans and people who don’t like him can really see how good an actor he is in Memory of Encaustic Tile.
Final Words
Memory of Encaustic Tile is based on a true story from 2002. The main characters grew up in Liuli Hutong, a hutong is a short street or alley that is common in Beijing and other cities in northern China. 34-episode series was a great adaptation of “Glazed Tiles of the Past”. Lin Shi Yin is Shao Xue’s best friend and classmate (Zhang Tian Ai). Zhang Qi (Yan Zi Dong) is just as wild and rebellious as her friend.
Wu Huan (Sun Kai) was raised by just his mother and works part-time after school to take care of his and her mother. Splendid Group and Cast. Memory of Encaustic Tile takes people back to a happy time of friendship and becoming an adult. Some of the events and situations in the story will almost certainly make viewers feel like they know what’s going on. The cast as a whole was great and perfect for the roles they played.
Lin Shi Yin, Wu Huan’s mother, and Zhang Qi all get character development awards. Most importantly, Lin Yi seems more natural and convincing. In his previous roles, he was usually the new person in the group or the nerd who was just starting to make friends.
