Beloved Taiwanese Romance Novelist, 86, Dies in Apparent Suicide

Taiwanese romance novelist Chiung Yao has died in an apparent suicide, according to reports from BBC, The Straights Times and Taiwan News. She was 86.

The author was found in her home in New Taipei City, Taiwan on Dec. 4. Outlets report that Yao's 63-year-old son told authorities that Yao left a note, with instructions for her secretary to check on her at noon. Yao was pronounced dead by emergency responders at the scene.

Yao, prior to her death, told friends and family to post a suicide note to Facebook as well,Taiwan News reports.

Yao was born Chen Che in 1938 in Sichuan, China; her family moved to Taiwan in 1949 after the takeover of the Chinese Communist Party. She began writing at age 18, and adopted the pen name Chiung Yao.

Yao was the author of novels such as Outside the Window (1963), One Side of the Water (1975) and Green Green Grass by the River (1992). She published more than 60 novels throughout her career, and was best known for her work in the romance genre. Many of her books were adapted for film and television.

Yao was also the creator and screenwriter of the popular '90s Chinese TV drama My Fair Princess. The show, set in the Qing dynasty in the 18th century, launched the careers of stars like Ruby Lin, Zhao Wei and Fan Bingbing. 

Yao’s second husband was Ping Hsin-tao, who founded Crown Magazine and Crown Publishing, which published many of Yao’s novels, according to Agence France Press. Hsin-tao died in 2019 at age 92.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

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