Taiwanese romance novelist Chiung Yao has died at the age of 86.
She committed suicide in her home in Tamsui, New Taipei City, Taiwanese media reported.
In a suicide note, the writer behind My Fair Princess, which was adapted for television in 1998 and made leading actresses Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin, and Fan Bingbing into major stars, reportedly wrote that she wanted to control when and how she died instead of “leaving it to fate”.
“I am the ‘spark’ and I have burned with all my strength. Now, before the flames are extinguished, I choose this way to go home gracefully.”
Chiung Yao, whose real name was Chen Che, was born in Chengdu, Sichuan province, southwest China. Her family moved to Taiwan after the Communist Revolution in 1949, which was where she grew up.
She went on to become one of the bestselling Chinese-language authors in the world.
