The sudden death of Chinese author Chiung Yao

On 4 December 2024, BBC reports that Chiung Yao, one of the top romance novelists in the Chinese literary world, has passed. The news that she took her own life at the age of 86 adds to the tragedy of her death.

All images are from Chiung Yao / Facebook unless otherwise stated.

Chiung Yao was a Taiwanese novelist whose works are considered one of the most popular ever in the Chinese literary world.

Born on 20 April 1938 in the then Republic of China in Chengdu, Sichuan, as Chen Che, Chiung Yao had moved from China to Taiwan in 1949 after the Sino-Japanese war, according to a report from Hunan Normal University Press

Chiung Yao's family was also quite prominent one, as her cousins, Yuan Xiaoyuan, Yuan Jing, and Yuan Xingpei, were all established figures in China's literary, artistic, and political scene, along with Chiung Yao herself, reports Qianjiang Evening News.

According to her biography published by the Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, Chiung Yao had started her writing career in middle school and published her first novel in 1955 under the pen name 'Xinru'.

Chiung Yao had her first experience of widespread success with the release of her novel 'Outside the Window' in September 1963. According to Tencent, the novel was even placed in Tencent's list of the top 100 Chinese novels of the 20th century!

Chiung Yao was definitely not a one-hit wonder after publishing 'Outside the Window'. Some of her other bestselling works include 'On the Waterside' and 'A Few Sunsets'.

According to her biography published by the Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, Chiung Yao eventually had her works adapted for the big and small screen during her second marriage to Taiwanese publisher and producer Ping Hsin-tao. In her later professional years, she transitioned to become a producer and screenwriter.

Many of the film adaptations of Chiung Yao's works have featured 1970s superstars such as Bridgitte Lin and Charlie Chin, and her works on film were so popular that she even had a film genre named after her, reports the 'Historical Dictionary of Taiwan Cinema' published by Scarecrow Press.

Also, many Chinese TV drama fans would definitely know of the show 'My Fair Princess', which the South China Morning Post reports as the show that jumpedstarted the careers of some of China's top actresses, Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin, and Fan Bingbing. The BBC reports that the show, written by Chiung Yao, is considered one of the top Chinese-language dramas of all time!

Image: China Television

Despite her huge success in her personal career, Chiung Yao's personal life had been quite the tumultuous one, which could have reportedly contributed to her decision to end her life on December 4th. According to Guangming Daily, her first marriage failed because she was more accomplished than her then-husband, fellow novelist Ma Senqing.

Chiung Yao was also accused of breaking up her second husband's previous marriage before marrying him in 1979 by Lin Wan-zhen, his ex-wife, in 2018, reports The Straits Times.

The timing of Lin Wan-zhen's accusation against Chiung Yao came at an inopportune time, as during then, Chiung Yao's husband, Ping Hsin-tao, had been stricken with illness after suffering a stroke in 2016, reports The Straits Times. 

Chiung Yao was also having problems with her stepchildren from Ping Hsin-tao's previous marriage to Lin Wan-zhen. According to Yahoo, Chiung Yao and her children were at odds over the treatment options for Ping Hsin-tao's health, which resulted in a very public spat in 2017 over her support for euthanasia.

Since the last time she made headlines in 2017, Chiung Yao has returned to the news in 2024 for the tragic event of her death at 86, which was reported by the BBC to be caused by her own hand. HK01 reports that she had left a note on the scene, which she had also published on her Facebook page.

The report from HK01 continued stating that Chiung Yao had also included several other messages in her note, which ironically encouraged “young people” to “don't give up life easily” and that she had chosen to end her life to avoid the struggle of becoming ill and in pain in old age.