The fairy 'Godmother' of romantic fiction

Online romantic novelists are trying to be innovative, but they still see Chiung Yao as the "Godmother" of romantic writing. Chiung's works have been well received in Taiwan since her first novel Outside of the Window (窗外) in 1963.

Chiung is a prolific writer, with 88 romantic novels, mostly about chaste love. Twenty-two of her works have been adapted into TV series and movies, making famous Taiwan actresses like Brigitte Lin, Stephanie Siao Ciang and mainlanders like Zhao Wei and Fan Bingbing.

Chiung's best-known recent work is the series Princess Returning Pearl (还珠格格), written in 1997. The story is set in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and features an orphan who is mistaken for a princess.