Chiung Yao

Chiung Yao
瓊瑤
Born Chen Che
陳喆
April 20, 1938
Chengdu, Sichuan
Republic of China
Occupation Novelist, screenwriter, producer and lyricist
Nationality  Republic of China
Citizenship  Republic of China
Education Taipei Municipal Zhong Shan Girls High School
Spouse Ping Xintao (1979–present)
Children Son Chen Zhongwei (from a previous marriage)
Chiung Yao
Traditional Chinese 瓊瑤
Simplified Chinese 琼瑶
Chen Zhe
Traditional Chinese 陈喆
Simplified Chinese 陳喆

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.[1] 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. Often the novels are set in the early Republican era, when family dictums were feudalistic and chauvinistic. My Fair Princess is the first of her many novels which ended happily for her female protagonists.

However her romance novels and film adaptions have also been criticized for their melodramatic plotlines[2][3] and extremely long-winded dialogues.[4]

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).[5]

Works

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.[6]

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.[7] On December 12, 109 Chinese screenwriters published a joint statement supporting Chiung Yao's lawsuit against Yu Zheng.[8] A day later, an additional 30 Chinese screenwriters made their support of Chiung Yao known.[9]

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".[10]

References

  1. ↑ Kristof, Nicholas D. (February 19, 1991). "A Taiwan Pop Singer Sways the Mainland". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ Xiao, Zhiwei; Zhang, Yingjin (2002). Encyclopaedia of Chinese Film. Routledge. ISBN 9781134745531.
  3. ↑ Yeh, Emilie Yueh-yu; Davis, Darrell William (2013). Taiwan Film Directors: A Treasure Island. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231502993.
  4. ↑ Feng, Jin (2013). Romancing the Internet: Producing and Consuming Chinese Web Romance. Brill. ISBN 9789004259720.
  5. ↑ Chou, Chou I-ling; Chen, Ted (25 December 2014). "Taiwanese novelist wins 5 million yuan in Beijing court case". Central News Agency. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Chiung Yao Sues Yu Zheng for Plagiarism
  7. ↑ 琼瑶告于正案首现"专家辅助" 行业内先于法律管理
  8. ↑ 琼瑶诉于正抄袭 109名编剧联名支持
  9. ↑ 继续声援! 又有30余位编剧支持琼瑶诉于正
  10. ↑ "Court Supports Chiung Yao's Plagiarism Charges". 2014-12-25.

External links