| Native Name: | 花是愛 |
| Genre: | Romance Comedy |
| Director: | Huang Tian Ren |
| Starring: | Wu Kang-jen Jade Chou |
| Opentheme: | "單身美好" (Shining Single Life) by Claire Kuo |
| Endtheme: | "再痛也沒關係" (It Can Hurt More) by Andrew Tan |
| Country: | Taiwan |
| Language: | Mandarin |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 16 |
| Producer: | Huang Wan Bo |
| Location: | Taiwan |
| Runtime: | 90 minutes |
| Company: | Bethel Production Company |
| Channel: | TTV |
What Is Love is a 2012 Taiwanese romantic-comedy television series. The television drama was produced by Bethel Video Productions Ltd, starring Wu Kang-jen and Jade Chou. The shooting began on April 9, 2012, and first aired on July 20, 2012 on TTV.[1] [2]
Thirty-two-year-old Li Yi Hua (Jade Chou) is longing for a romantic relationship and wants to marry a good man. Along comes Bai Zong You (Chris Wu), who breaks women's hearts with one-night stands. Bai Zong You sets his sights on wooing Li Yi Hua next. What she doesn't know is that she might have true feels for him.[3]
The following are the cast of What Is Love series:[4]
| Network | Country/Location | Airing Date | Timeslot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Television[5] | Taiwan | July 20, 2012 | Fridays, 10pm | |
| TVB[6] | Hong Kong | October 19, 2013 | Saturdays, 8pm |
| Network | Country/Location | Airing Date | Timeslot (GMT+8) |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTV | Taiwan | July 21, 2012 | Saturdays, 12:30pm |
| July 22, 2012 | Sundays, 11:45pm | ||
| July 26, 2012 | Thursdays, 10pm | ||
| STAR Chinese Channel | March 25, 2013 | Fridays, 9pm |
Kenting Beach was used as a background scene for the opening theme of the program as well as the location of the montages used during the last episodes of the series. Various areas around Miramar Entertainment Park were used when the characters walk to and from their workplaces. Other filming locations include: Taipei City Hall, 三星張 Bed and BreakfastMeihua Lake, Cingjing Farm, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Diamond Tony's Italian Bistro, The Villa Herbs Restaurant, Cingjing National Hotel, and Yue Ying Landscape Holiday Villas.[7]
The director once had Chris Wu do a scene, in which he carries Jade Chou to the hospital, fifteen times.[8] [9] As a result, Wu's arms eventually got sore and his legs became so weak that Chou was accidentally hit by a wheelchair. Chou did not sustain serious injuries.[10] During the shooting of the last scene of the last episode, Wu accidentally pulled Chou's miniskirt upwards while kissing her, causing her underwear to show up in the midst of the city.[11] [12]
The plush sheep doll seen in the later episodes was made specially by the production team, as it was inconvenient for them to shoot the real sheep, seen during the first episodes, on set.[13]
In an interview, Jade Chou was asked about her comparison with the character that she was playing. Then around thirty and still single, her similarity with character Li Yi Hua, who is longing for love and wanting to get married, was noted.[14] She answered, "I am also at the stage where people would often ask me about marriage. However, I want to enjoy my life, every single bit of it, no matter if I'm already 35 years old already. Since I was too busy during my twenties, I think that I'm still missing a lot of things. I want to learn even more".[15] [16]
| What Is Love | |
| Type: | soundtrack |
| Artist: | Various Artists |
| Released: | August 14, 2012 |
| Genre: | Mandopop |
| Language: | Mandarin |
| Label: | Linfair Records |
The What Is Love Original Soundtrack (花是愛 電視原聲帶) was released digitally on August 3, 2012, and the CD was released on August 14, 2012 by various artists under Linfair Records. It contains twelve songs; six original songs and six instrumental versions of those songs. The opening theme song is "單身美好" or "Shining Single Life" by Claire Kuo, while the ending theme song, "再痛也沒關係" or "It Can Hurt More", is by co-actor Andrew Tan.[17]
What Is Love ranked fourth in its pilot episode and stayed at the same spot, with the exception of its third episode, until it reached the third spot on its last episode, with a total average of 0.54. Its drama competitors were CTV's Confucius, FTV's Independent Heroes, and SETTV's Rainy Night Flower and Father's Wish. The viewers' survey was conducted by AGB Nielsen.
| Air Date | Episode | Episode Title | Average Ratings | Rank | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 20, 2012 | 01 | Only Love That Comes Naturally Is True Love | 0.52 | 4 | ||
| July 27, 2012 | 02 | Let's Talk About A Low-Calorie, Burden-Free Love | 0.61 | 4 | ||
| August 3, 2014 | Taiwan Television broadcast the 2012 Summer Olympic special program | |||||
| August 10, 2012 | 03 | Love Is A War; The First To Fall In Love, Loses | 0.62 | 3 | ||
| August 17, 2012 | 04 | Love, Sometimes Makes Your Heart Ache | 0.54 | 4 | ||
| August 24, 2012 | 05 | If You Don't Intend To Love Me For A Long Time, Then Don't Say 'I Love You' | 0.58 | 4 | ||
| August 31, 2012 | 06 | Give Us A Chance To Fall In Love With Each Other | 0.47 | 4 | ||
| September 7, 2012 | 07 | What To Do... I Think I've Fallen In Love With You | 0.62 | 4 | ||
| September 14, 2012 | 08 | This Time, Let's Love Each Other With Forever As A Premise | 0.57 | 4 | ||
| September 21, 2012 | 09 | Wanting To Become A Better Person For Him, Maybe That's What Love Is | 0.50 | 4 | ||
| September 28, 2012 | 10 | Is There Really No Chance For Us? | 0.63 | 4 | ||
| October 5, 2012 | 11 | I Just Want To Be By Your Side, Even If Only As A Friend | 0.55 | 4 | ||
| October 12, 2012 | 12 | Do You Really Not Know That The Person He Wants To Spend His Life With Is You? | 0.53 | 4 | ||
| October 19, 2012 | 13 | I'll Give Him The Happiness He Deserves | 0.49 | 4 | ||
| October 26, 2012 | 14 | Sometimes Love Can Be Very Simple | 0.33 | 4 | ||
| November 2, 2012 | 15 | No Matter What Happens Later, I Won't Regret Having Loved This Much | 0.53 | 4 | ||
| November 9, 2012 | 16 | Will You Still Want To Spend The Rest Of Your Life With Me? | 0.61 | 3 | Last episode | |
| Average rating | 0.54 | |||||