Iconic and Seminal Chinese Romance Writer Qiong Yao with Countless Drama Adaptations Passes Away at 86 Years Old
It’s with a bittersweet heart that the world learned today Chinese born writer Qiong Yao, who grew up and lived her adult life in Taiwan, passed away at 86 years old. Her sixty-some years of writing dozens of books are so famous not just in readership, but also in even broader reach adapted into countless dramas over multiple decades. Probably the most well known is My Fair Princess (or Princess Returning Pearl), but in the 70’s her drama adaptations produced superstars Brigitte Lin and Chin Han, in the 80’s it was Leanne Liu (Liu Xue Hua), in the 90’s it was Vivian Chen (Chen De Rong), Ma Jing Tao, Ruby Lin, Zhao Wei, Alec Su, and Fan Bing Bing. Qiong Yao, who took her own life, left a very long farewell letter detailing how she lived a full and colorful life and wanted to choose her own ending, telling fans and family not to be sad she’s gone but to embrace and live their own lives to the fullest. All of Chinese speaking news is covering her passing and all the famous stars who rocketed to stardom in dramas adapted from her novels are posting their condolences and remembrance of her, including Zhao Wei who has not made a public statement or appearance in three years since she was cancelled by C-gov for her tax scandal.
RIP dear writing sister. Your words live on as beloved legacy.
May she rest in peace.
Canât believe she took her life.
She went as she wanted, on her own terms.
Yea I cant agree with her logic especially since I read that she was in very good health but well….
Rest in peace to her đ
Rest in Peace… I watched so many dramas of her novels in my younger years. Often sad but it was a eye opener for me. Chiung Yao is a woman I really have huge respect for. She fought for what she believed in.
RIP. End of a wonderful era that was part of my growing up memories.Along with Gu Long martial arts movies.
Coincidentally, also death of Taiwanese composer Liu Jia Chang (ĺ厜ć), who wrote so much beautiful music to Qiong Yao’s movies.
Both have lead long lives, with mmmorable classics left behind.
(to quote:” n a poignant coincidence, Liu and Chiung Yao died days apart, with the novelist found dead in her home at the age of 86 on Dec 4″)
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On another note:
RIP – gone too soon
Also Korean actor Park Min-jae (I think he’s the nice nurse dude in Dr Romantic). He passed at only 32, after a heart attack in China
Credit – Global Times. Extracted the note she read behind. It is a celebration she was fans and followers of her works to remember, Cekebration of Life, rather tha mourn a passing.
Along with her prolific music peer and partner Li Jia-chang … may they be writing and composing beautiful works in a place of peace and no pain (as aging sometimes deals out).
” Dear friends and beloved ones,
Do not cry, do not be sad, do not feel sorry for me. I have already “flitted away”ďź
“Flit away” is my favorite phrase, as it represents an independent, relaxed and freeflight â gracefully and lightly. I have shed the body that is increasingly torturing me, and with elegance, I have turned into a snowflake and flitted away.
This is my wish. “Death” is a journey everyone has to go through, and it is one’s last “great step.” I don’t want to leave it to fate. I don’t want to slowly wither and fade away. I want to take control of this final step.
Heaven has not designed the process of life very well. As people age, they must suffer from a painful period of “weakness, degeneration, illness, hospital visits, treatments, and failure to heal.” This period can be long or short, but for those who will inevitably grow old and die, it is a great torment. If one is unlucky, they may become an “elderly bedridden” person dependent on life-support systems. I have witnessed that kind of tragedy. I don’t want that kind of “death.”
I am a “spark,” and I have burned brightly while I could. Now, as the flame is about to extinguish, I choose to leave in this way â flitting away. Everything I wanted to say has been recorded in my video “When Snowflakes Fall.” I hope my friends will watch it a few more times to understand everything I want to express.
“Dear friends, do not be sad about my “death,” but be glad for me! The beauty of life lies in the ability to “love, hate, laugh, cry, sing, speak, run, move, walk through the world with companions, live freely and gracefully, hate evil with a passion, and live boldly and passionately.” I have had all of these things in my life. I have ”lived” and have not failed this life.
What I am most reluctant to part with are my family and all of you. “Love” tightly binds my heart to yours, and I will miss you the most. To allow my soul (I don’t know whether humans have a soul or not) to also “flit away,” please laugh for me, sing for me, dance for me! In spirit, I will “dance with you!”
Farewell, my dearest ones! I am grateful for this life and for having met and known all of you.
Please note that the way I chose to “die” was carried out at the final stage of my life. Young friends, please never give up your life so easily. Temporary setbacks and struggles may be “trials” in the beautiful journey of life. I hope you can withstand all these trials and live as I have, to the age of 86 or 87, and when your strength fades, then you can choose how to face death. I hope that by then, humanity will have found more humane ways to help “aged” people leave this world joyfully.
My dear ones, be brave, live as your true selves, and don’t fail your journey in this world! Although life is not perfect, and there are various unexpected joys, sorrows, and emotions, don’t miss the wonderful moments that belong to you.
So many words cannot fully express my feelings, but finally, I wish you all be healthy and happy, to live freely and gracefully! “
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Thank you @jusash for your comment.
Thank you for sharing this. Beautiful words.