Sanmao (author)
Encyclopedia
Sanmao (March 26, 1943 - January 4, 1991), literally "three hairs" though it is not considered to have a meaning, was the pseudonym of the popular Taiwan
ese author Chen Ping (陈平). She adopted her pseudonym from the acclaimed caricaturist Zhang Leping
's most famous work "Sanmao
", which tells the story of a Shanghai street child named "Sanmao". In English
she was also known as Echo, the first name she used in western European languages, or Echo Chan, based on the homonymous Greek nymph.
(重庆), China, and the whole family moved to Taiwan later. She is said to have read the Dream of the Red Chamber
, a famous Chinese
classic, at the age of five and a half years. In elementary school, she read a great deal of literature. Throughout her education she had conflicts with her teachers, including an incident in which she said she wanted to be a garbage collector when she grew up, which her teacher said was unacceptable. During her second year of high school, she shut herself up due to a traumatic incident, and refused to go to school. Her father bought many books for her to read at home, and allowed her to take piano lessons and practice painting.
From 1965 to 1969, she studied philosophy in Taiwan, and it was during this period that she experienced her first love. Things didn't work out, so she planned to go as far away as possible, and ended up in Spain.
Between 1967 and 1970 she studied in Spain
, and then in Germany
, and later found work in a law library
in the state of Illinois
in the US. Eventually, she returned to Taiwan and began working as a German teacher. Her fiance, a 45-year-old German man, died of a heart attack, and she again left Taiwan and returned to Spain.
In 1974 she went to the Colonial Spanish Sahara desert (in what is now Western Sahara
) and married a Spanish man named Jose Maria Quero Y Ruiz (荷西), whom she met in Madrid seven years before when she was a student. She writes that when she first met Jose in Spain she thought he was very handsome, but too young for her. Jose had been waiting for her since she had returned to Taiwan, although they had not been dating at the time.
In 1976 she published her first work, the fictionalized-autobiographical The Stories of the Sahara
(《撒哈拉的故事》). With its immense success, her early writings were collected in a second book, published under the title Gone With the Rainy Season
(《雨季不再来》). Her writings continued to be published from that point on, and her experiences in the Sahara and the Canary Islands
were published in several more books.
In 1979 her husband drowned while diving. In 1980 she returned to Taiwan, and in November of the same year, she traveled to Central and South America, on commission from Taiwanese publishers. These experiences were recorded in subsequent writings. From 1981 to 1984, she taught and lectured at a university in Taiwan. After this point, she decided to dedicate herself fully to writing.
Sanmao's books deal mainly with her own experiences studying and living abroad. They were extremely well received not only in Taiwan
but also in mainland China
, and they remain popular reads today. From 1976 to the time of her death in 1991, Sanmao published more than 20 books. She also translated the comic Mafalda
from Spanish
to Chinese
.
, having hanged herself
with a pair of silk stockings. This took place days after a cancer scare and losing the Hong Kong movie award for her script to the film Red Dust (滚滚红尘), a loss which she took poorly. Some fans, most notably Zhang Jingran, claimed her death was a murder. Her apparent suicide came as a shock to many of her readers and was accompanied by public expressions of grief throughout the Chinese-speaking world.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese author Chen Ping (陈平). She adopted her pseudonym from the acclaimed caricaturist Zhang Leping
Zhang Leping
Zhang Leping was a comic artist born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China. He played a key role in the development of modern manhua in China, and is mostly remembered for his work in Sanmao.-Early history:...
's most famous work "Sanmao
Sanmao (comic book character)
Sanmao is a manhua character created by Zhang Leping in 1935. He is one of the world's longest running cartoon characters and remains one of the most famous and beloved fictional characters in China today.The name Sanmao means "three hairs" in Chinese...
", which tells the story of a Shanghai street child named "Sanmao". In English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
she was also known as Echo, the first name she used in western European languages, or Echo Chan, based on the homonymous Greek nymph.
Biography
Sanmao was born in ChongqingChongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
(重庆), China, and the whole family moved to Taiwan later. She is said to have read the Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
, a famous Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
classic, at the age of five and a half years. In elementary school, she read a great deal of literature. Throughout her education she had conflicts with her teachers, including an incident in which she said she wanted to be a garbage collector when she grew up, which her teacher said was unacceptable. During her second year of high school, she shut herself up due to a traumatic incident, and refused to go to school. Her father bought many books for her to read at home, and allowed her to take piano lessons and practice painting.
From 1965 to 1969, she studied philosophy in Taiwan, and it was during this period that she experienced her first love. Things didn't work out, so she planned to go as far away as possible, and ended up in Spain.
Between 1967 and 1970 she studied in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and then in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and later found work in a law library
Law library
A law library is a library designed to assist law students, attorneys, judges, and their law clerks and anyone else who finds it necessary to correctly determine the state of the law....
in the state of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in the US. Eventually, she returned to Taiwan and began working as a German teacher. Her fiance, a 45-year-old German man, died of a heart attack, and she again left Taiwan and returned to Spain.
In 1974 she went to the Colonial Spanish Sahara desert (in what is now Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
) and married a Spanish man named Jose Maria Quero Y Ruiz (荷西), whom she met in Madrid seven years before when she was a student. She writes that when she first met Jose in Spain she thought he was very handsome, but too young for her. Jose had been waiting for her since she had returned to Taiwan, although they had not been dating at the time.
In 1976 she published her first work, the fictionalized-autobiographical The Stories of the Sahara
The Stories of the Sahara
The Stories of the Sahara is a semi- autobiographical account of the life of Sanmao while she was in the Sahara Desert. It was published in 1976, although some of the earlier stories were published in Taiwan's United Daily News as early as 1974. In the work, she describes her encounters with...
(《撒哈拉的故事》). With its immense success, her early writings were collected in a second book, published under the title Gone With the Rainy Season
Gone with the Rainy Season
Gone With the Rainy Season is a collection of early writings by Taiwanese author Sanmao , also known as Echo Chen in English.-Background:The stories were written in Echo's adolescence when she studied abroad...
(《雨季不再来》). Her writings continued to be published from that point on, and her experiences in the Sahara and the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
were published in several more books.
In 1979 her husband drowned while diving. In 1980 she returned to Taiwan, and in November of the same year, she traveled to Central and South America, on commission from Taiwanese publishers. These experiences were recorded in subsequent writings. From 1981 to 1984, she taught and lectured at a university in Taiwan. After this point, she decided to dedicate herself fully to writing.
Sanmao's books deal mainly with her own experiences studying and living abroad. They were extremely well received not only in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
but also in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, and they remain popular reads today. From 1976 to the time of her death in 1991, Sanmao published more than 20 books. She also translated the comic Mafalda
Mafalda
Mafalda is a comic strip written and drawn by Argentine cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado, better known by his pen name Quino. The strip features a 6-year-old girl named Mafalda, who is deeply concerned about humanity and world peace and rebels against the current state of the world...
from Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
to Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
.
Death
In 1991, at the age of 48, Sanmao died in a hospital in TaipeiTaipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, having hanged herself
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
with a pair of silk stockings. This took place days after a cancer scare and losing the Hong Kong movie award for her script to the film Red Dust (滚滚红尘), a loss which she took poorly. Some fans, most notably Zhang Jingran, claimed her death was a murder. Her apparent suicide came as a shock to many of her readers and was accompanied by public expressions of grief throughout the Chinese-speaking world.