Chiung Yao, a legendary figure in Chinese-language literature and television, died on December 4 at the age of 86 in her home in New Taipei City. Authorities suspect suicide after a farewell note was discovered at the scene, according to local media reports. The author's son, Chen Chung-wei, confirmed the news and shared that she had left a pre-recorded video and a poignant 950-word note posted to Facebook by her secretary.
"I am a 'spark,' and I did my best to burn brightly," she wrote in her final message, structured as a modern Chinese poem.
Chiung Yao, whose real name was Chen Zhe, was born in Chengdu, China, in 1938. Her family moved to Taiwan in 1949 amid political upheaval in China. Rising to fame in the 1960s, Chiung's romantic novels became an integral part of Taiwanese and Chinese popular culture. Her works, which often explored themes of forbidden love and emotional vulnerability, resonated deeply with female audiences and were adapted into more than 100 films and television series.
Chiung's most enduring creation may be the television drama My Fair Princess (1998-2003), which remains a cultural phenomenon. The Qing Dynasty-set drama launched the careers of stars such as Zhao Wei, Fan Bingbing, and Ruby Lin, with Lin paying tribute on Weibo, writing, "To have been your Ziwei (My Fair Princess), Ruping (Romance in the Rain), and Xuehua (Flowers in Fog) is an honor enough for this lifetime."
Zhao Wei also broke a three-year silence on the platform, posting a Ming Dynasty poem by Yang Shen to mourn Chiung's passing. Fellow actor Alec Su reflected on how Chiung's works left an "indelible mark" on his life and celebrated the "treasures for an era" she left behind.
Chiung's literary contributions were not confined to the page. Between 1965 and 1983, over 50 films were adapted from her novels. Screen legend Brigitte Lin, who starred in the 1973 film Outside the Window, based on Chiung's book, expressed regret for not visiting her old friend recently. Lin told Taiwanese media she was a strong woman, and she would forever remember her,.
In addition to her literary fame, Chiung's personal life drew public intrigue. She married her publisher Ping Hsin-tao in 1979 after a years-long affair that began during his previous marriage. Ping, who passed away in 2019 after battling dementia, was the subject of Chiung's 2017 book, Before the Snow Falls, which detailed her contentious relationship with his children over his medical care.
Her husband's death dealt a significant emotional blow to Chiung, as noted in a November 28 Facebook post where she mourned the "pain of living without him." Her final messages reflect a deeply personal struggle, with one post saying it was "better to return to eternal rest."
Despite critical dismissal of her works during her career, Chiung enjoyed immense popularity. By the 1990s, an estimated 7 million copies of her novels had been published on the Chinese mainland, and her films and dramas became fixtures in the Sinophone world. Hunan TV's reruns of My Fair Princess introduced her stories to new generations, cementing her legacy.
Chiung's death has sparked an outpouring of grief across social media. Related hashtags on Weibo amassed over 280 million views, as fans and cultural figures alike honored her influence on Chinese-language entertainment.
