San Francisco Frontiers - Taiwan romance novelist Chiung Yao dies at 86

The body of Chiung Yao, which was the pen name used by Chen Che, was found at her home in New Taipei City, the local fire department told AFP.

She appeared to have taken her own life, the department said.

Chiung Yao was a prolific writer, publishing over 60 books in a career spanning more than five decades.

"In the drawers of every literary young girl in 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, there were a few Chiung Yao novels tucked away, hidden from the fear of being confiscated by teachers," said Tsai Mei-tzu, a professor of Chinese literature at the National Cheng Kung University.

"Even after the 1990s, Chiung Yao's old-fashioned romances did not fade away. The classical undertones and dramatic tension continued to sustain her empire of love stories," she told AFP.

Chiung Yao was born in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on April 20, 1938, Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency reported.

She fled to Taiwan with her family in 1949 after Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist forces lost a civil war to Mao Zedong's fighters.

She began writing as a child and her first novel was published when she was 25, local media reported.

A number of her novels were turned into television series, which were a huge hit in both Taiwan and China, especially the 18th century period drama "My Fair Princess".

Set in the Qing dynasty, it tells the story of a destitute girl who becomes a princess.

Chiung Yao's late second husband Ping Hsin-tao was the founder of Crown Publishing, the printer of most of her books. He died in 2019 aged 92.

The publisher declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Chiung Yao's final five novels were published in 2020, according to a Taiwanese book-selling website.

"Rationally I can accept her decision on how to end her life but emotionally I cannot process what I've heard," Tsai Shih-ping, a Taiwanese writer of short stories and radio broadcaster, wrote on Facebook.

N.Flores--SFF