Ode to Chiung Yao

Ink-splashed heart awakes dreams' tide,
Chiung Yao's works set passions ablaze.
Lovesick lads and grieving maidens meet,
In humble huts and grand porticoes weep.
With brush, she paints the world's winds of love and hate,
In books, she passes on the insights of day and night.
Now, having seen life's glories turn to dust,
Her tales still flow, their charm undimmed by time's gust.


Background music: “梅花三弄”, which includes the guzheng (a plucked string musical instrument in China) and the erhu (a traditional bowed string musical instrument in China). Composer: Tao Peili, a contemporary Chinese artist.

Analysis: The first couplet describes Chiung Yao's talent and how her works ignited the public's emotions as soon as they were published, highlighting her influence; the second couplet uses the plots of infatuated men and resentful women in her works to express countless joys and sorrows, making readers from all walks of life cry; the third couplet praises her for using her pen to write about the world and interpret love, helping readers to comprehend the years and changes of the times; the last couplet expresses emotion that she has experienced prosperity, but the charm of her works remains enduring, becoming a classic in the long-lasting cultural flow of the times.

Chiung Yao, whose real name is Chen Zhe. Chiung Yao is her pen name, which comes from the Book of Songs “投我以木桃，报之以琼瑶（Throw me a wooden peach, and I will repay you with beautiful jade）. She is a Taiwanese writer with far-reaching influence in contemporary Chinese literary circles. Her works have been widely read by generations and are an iconic cultural symbol of contemporary Chinese literature. The popular TV series based on Chiung Yao's works are well-known at home and abroad. The vivid characters, twists and turns of the plot, and the poignant and sincere love stories often make people burst into tears and feel heartbroken. Like "The Deep Garden and Courtyard ", "Princess Huanzhu", "Fantasies Behind the Pearly Curtain", "A Thousand Knots in the Heart", "Plum Blossom Branding"... all are excellent works, so they have also created a group of film and television stars.

On December 4, 2024, Chiung Yao died at the age of 86. This poem was written to commemorate Ms. Chiung Yao.

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