Li Yin'sYun Shui Yao did not work for me as a love story. It was obvious that the author of the original story was a man. Qiushui, the male protagonist of the story, is portrayed in a heroic fashion and is an obvious stand in for the Taiwanese author, who also crossed over to the mainland.

The female protagonist, Biyun, is such a thin, single note character: completely devoted to her man, apolitical, kind, considerate... in short, virtuous beyond reproach. In the end, Qiushui marries another, then dies, while Biyun mourns his death into old age. What an ideal woman.