My Fair Princess
1998-1999 Taiwanese-Chinese television series
My Fair Princess, also known as Return of the Pearl Princess or Princess Returning Pearl (Chinese: 還珠格格), is a Chinese-language period drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Co. (怡人傳播公司) of Taiwan and Hunan Economic Television (湖南經濟電視台) (now under Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS)) of China. Season 1 (1998) and Season 2 (1999) were first aired on China Television in Taiwan, followed by Hunan Economic Television in China. Season 3 (2003) was filmed with a largely different cast, receiving mixed reviews and less popularity.
Written by Chiung Yao, the story is set in 18th-century Qing dynasty during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. It follows tomboyish and innocent Xiaoyanzi, an orphaned and semi-literate vagrant in Beijing who, after befriending the emperor's illegitimate daughter Xia Ziwei, becomes a princess in place of her by accident. Although partially based on historical events and figures, the drama employs considerable artistic license.
Originally produced on a small budget with a cast of little-known young actors, My Fair Princess became one of the most successful Chinese shows of all time, launching the careers of Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin and Fan Bingbing. The frequently replayed show went off air in China from 2015 to 2017 after Chiung Yao severed ties with HBS and revoked its copyright due to her dispute with Yu Zheng over his plagiarism of her work in another HBS show. Chiung Yao reconciled with HBS and regranted the copyright in 2018.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “My Fair Princess” is 1998-1999 Taiwanese-Chinese television series. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Fair, Princess and 1998-1999, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1998-1999 Taiwanese-Chinese television series” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q715815. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2015.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “My Fair Princess”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow My Fair Princess primary sources, My Fair Princess archive and Fair research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “My Fair Princess”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “My Fair Princess” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.