Chiung Yao

Chiung Yao 瓊瑤
Born	Chen Che 陳喆 (1938-04-20) April 20, 1938 Chengdu, Sichuan Republic of China
Occupation	Novelist, screenwriter, lyricist and producer
Nationality	Republic of China
Citizenship	Republic of China
Education	Taipei Municipal Zhong Shan Girls High School
Spouse	Ping Xintao (1979–present)
Children	Chen Zhongwei (son; from previous marriage)

Chiung Yao
Traditional Chinese	瓊瑤
Simplified Chinese	琼瑶
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qióng Yáo Wade–Giles Chiung Yao

Chen Zhe
Traditional Chinese	陈喆
Simplified Chinese	陳喆
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Zhé

Chiung Yao (born Chen Zhe on April 20, 1938 in Chengdu, Sichuan) is the pen name of a popular Chinese romance novelist based in Taiwan. Many of her works have been made and remade into movies and TV series. Films based on her books have been made in the Republic of China (Taiwan) since the 1970s, and were very popular during their time. They often featured Brigitte Lin, Lin Feng-jiao, Charlie Chin and/or Chin Han, who were then collectively known as the "Two Lins and Two Chins".

In the 1990s, TV series adapted from her works continued to be watched in Taiwan and sometimes, in Mainland China. Huan Zhu Ge Ge, or My Fair Princess in English, is the best-known and popular of her recent novels, owing to the popularity of the 1998-1999 TV series.

Life

Both her father, Chen Zhiping (simplified Chinese: 陈致平; traditional Chinese: 陳致平), and mother, Yuan Hangshu, (Chinese: 袁行恕) received a good education. She was born in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province.

In 1949, along with her family, she moved to Taiwan, where she attended the Affiliated Experimental Elementary School of University of Taipei (台北师范附小|) and Taipei Municipal Zhong Shan Girls High School (s=台北市立中山女子高级中学). At the age of 16, she published her first novel. During high school she had published over 200 articles. After graduation from high school and failure to enter college, she got married and became a housewife, and at the same time started her writing career. Her first novel, still often read today, is Chuangwai ("Outside the Window").

Chiung Yao's romance novels were very well received in Taiwan when they were first published, and by the 1990s she was also one of the best-selling authors on the mainland. Her novels feature women who would go through years of intense psychological suffering for the sake of love, with male leads who are often weaker than the female protagonists.

However her romance novels and film adaptions have also been criticized for their melodramatic plotlines and extremely long-winded dialogues.

In December 2014, Yao sued the producers of the television series The Palace: The Lost Daughter, claiming that the show was plagiarized from her 1993 book Meihualao (Plum Blossom Scar).

Works

• 窗外 (1963)
• 幸運草 (1964)
• 六個夢 (1966)
• 煙雨濛濛 (Romance in the Rain) (1964)
• 菟絲花 (1964)
• 幾度夕陽紅 (1966)
• 潮聲 (1966)
• 船 (1966)
• 紫貝殼 (1966)
• 寒煙翠 (1966)
• 月滿西樓 (1967)
• 翦翦風 (1967)
• 彩雲飛 (1968) — adapted into the 1973 film The Young Ones
• 庭院深深 (1969)
• 星河 (1969)
• 水靈 (1971)
• 白狐 (1971)
• 海鷗飛處 (1972)
• 心有千千結 (1973)
• 一簾幽夢 (Dreams Link) (1974)
• 浪花 (1974)
• 碧雲天 (1974)
• 女朋友 (1975)
• 在水一方 (Zai shui yi fang) (1975) — adapted into the 1975 film, The Unforgettable Character
• 秋歌 (1976)
• 人在天涯 (1976)
• 我是一片雲 (1976)
• 月朦朧鳥矇矓 (1977)
• 雁兒在林梢 (1977) — adapted into the 1979 film, The Wild Goose on the Wing
• 一顆紅豆 (1978)
• 彩霞滿天 (1979)
• 金盞花 (1979)
• 夢的衣裳 (1980)
• 聚散兩依依 (1980)
• 卻上心頭 (1981)
• 問斜陽 (1981)
• 燃燒吧﹗ 火鳥 (1981)
• 昨夜之燈 (1982)
• 匆匆﹐ 太匆匆 (1982)
• 失火的天堂 (1984)
• 我的故事 (1989)
• 冰兒 (1968)
• 剪不斷的鄉愁 (1989)
• 雪珂 (1990)
• 望夫崖 (1991)
• 青青河邊草 (1992)
• 梅花烙 (1993)
• 鬼丈夫 (1993)
• 水雲間 (1993)
• 新月格格 (1994)
• 煙鎖重樓 (1994)
• 還珠格格 (My Fair Princess I) 《三之一》 陰錯陽差 (1997)
• 還珠格格 《三之二》 水深火熱 (1997)
• 還珠格格 《三之三》 真相大白 (1997)
• 蒼天有淚《三之一》 無語問蒼天 (1997)
• 蒼天有淚《三之二》 愛恨千千萬 (1997)
• 蒼天有淚《三之三》 人間有天堂 (1997)
• 還珠格格第二部《五之一》風雲再起 (1998)
• 還珠格格第二部《五之二》生死相許 (1998)
• 還珠格格第二部《五之三》悲喜重重 (1998)
• 還珠格格第二部《五之四》浪跡天涯 (1998)
• 還珠格格第二部《五之五》紅塵作伴 (1998)
• 還珠格格第三部《三之一》天上人間 (2002)
• 還珠格格第三部《三之二》天上人間 (2002)
• 還珠格格第三部《三之三》天上人間 (2002)

Lawsuit against Yu Zheng

On April 15, 2014, Chiung Yao released an open letter to China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television accusing television screenwriter and producer Yu Zheng of blatant plagiarism "unprecedented and beyond my endurance," seeking the immediate suspension of the broadcast of his TV series Palace 3: The Lost Daughter, which she alleged plagiarized from her 1992 novel Plum Blossom Scar (梅花烙). Yu denied the claim, saying he was a fan of Chiung Yao with no intention of angering her. On April 28, a team led by Wang Jun from Beijing-based Yingke Law Firm filed a plagiarism lawsuit against Yu.

On December 5, Beijing Third Intermediate People's Court convened the case. Wang Hailin (汪海林), executive director of Chinese Television Series Screenwriter Association, testified as expert witness for Chiung Yao's camp. On December 12, 109 Chinese screenwriters published a joint statement supporting Chiung Yao's lawsuit against Yu Zheng. A day later, an additional 30 Chinese screenwriters made their support of Chiung Yao known.

On December 25, the court ruled in Chiung Yao's favor, ordering 4 companies to stop distributing and broadcasting The Palace: The Lost Daughter, also demanding Yu Zheng to publicly apologize, and pay Chiung Yao ¥5 million (around $800,000). China Radio International called it a "landmark ruling".

External links

• Chiung Yao's official website
• 琼瑶作品集 (Chinese)
• Chiung Yao at the Internet Movie Database