Top Taiwan novelist Chiung Yao has agreed with Hunan Satellite TV Station (HNTV) to remake her classic TV love series Fantasies Behind the Pearly Curtain, which was originally produced in Taiwan in the 1990s.

Li Jingping, Chiung's mainland agent, said many mainland TV studios and production houses were interested since the series adapted from her novels were so poplar here, but the long-term relationship between HNTV and the author convinced Chiung to go with HNTV again. Now Chiung is working on the scripts and has finished six episodes.

Pearly Curtain tells a love story between two sisters and their tutor. Both sisters are in love with the young tutor, and the eldest is encouraged to marry him. The younger sister Ziling marries another man, and during her travels around the world, she tries to forget her sister's husband.

Ping Xintao, Chiung's husband and producer of most of Chiung's TV dramas, said in the remake, Chiung will add modern elements to the romance, such as mobile messaging and Web chats.

Chiung told Taiwan media that she would like to cast actress Ariel Lin as the younger sister. Chiung said: "She is lovely. I saw her performance in It Started with a Kiss, and I think she is the perfect girl for the role of Ziling."

Since Chiung's book-turned-TV serial-hit Princess Pearl III was finished, she seemingly disappeared from the entertainment business and it was rumored that she has stopped writing. Agent Li said: "It's ridiculous. She never thinks of stopping writing novels. Her husband has not been feeling well in recent years, and she spent most of her time taking care of him."

With word out that Pearl Curtain is going to be remade, many actors and actresses, including Ma Ching-tao and Jin Ming, have expressed interest in joining the production. Chiung said she would think about casting after half the scripts are done.

(Shenzhen Daily March 23, 2006)