Taiwanese Drama Speculation: Why Were Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu Chosen To Be Daoming Si and Shantsai?

After watching a few Qiong Yao series that starred Qin Han and Liu Xuehua (the ONLY two old timers that I got to be familiar against their colleagues), I cannot really deny I want to speculate on why Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu were chosen for their roles in Meteor Garden.  The more I rewatch Meteor Garden I and II, the more I think Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu should have been Shuhuan and Yiping in Romance in the Rain.

I guess when Jerry Yan was spotted, they all thought he really had Qin Han's debonair charisma and physical resemblance.  Barbie Xu's auditions were probably giving everyone the impression that she is definitely a suitable replacement for Liu Xuehua or Brigitte Lin.  Maybe they felt like Jerry Yan was going to be someone who can fill in Qin Han's spot and Barbie Xu can be someone to fill Liu Xuehua's spot after they became senior celebrities.

Another possibility behind why they were paired in Meteor Garden II was also, in a way Barbie Xu has Brigitte Lin's appeal.  Now she's not as pretty but she can act well.  After watching Red Dust, I think Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu would have pulled off a remake version just as good if not better than the original.  Although I doubt it that Brigitte Lin was in mind when they cast the two to play Daoming Si and Shantsai.  They were probably thinking of Barbie Xu as a Liu Xuehua to be instead.