Sanmao

Sanmao was the pen name of Echo Chen Ping (born Chen Mao-ping; 26 March 1943 – 4 January 1991), a Taiwanese writer and translator. Her works range from autobiographical writing, travel writing and reflective novels, to translations of Spanish-language comic strips. She studied philosophy and taught German before becoming a career writer. Her pen name was adopted from the main character of Zhang Leping's most famous work, Sanmao. In English, she was also known as Echo or Echo Chan, the first name she used in Latin script, after the eponymous Greek nymph. Since childhood, she was said to have avoided writing the character "Mao" (懋) as it was too complex; later in life, she legally changed her name to Chen Ping.

Early life She was born Chen Mao-ping in Chongqing to Chen Siqing, a lawyer, and Miao Jinlan. She had an older sister, Chen Tianxin. Her parents were devout Christians.

Career Sanmao studied philosophy at the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, with the goal of "[finding] the solution to problems in life."

Sanmao later moved to Germany, where she intensively studied German, sometimes up to 16 hours per day. Jose drowned in a diving accident. She was buried at the Chin Pao San Cemetery.

On 26 March 2019, Google commemorated Sanmao with a Doodle on her 76th birth anniversary.

In 2019, Sanmao was acknowledged in the New York Times Overlooked posthumous obituary feature for her book The Stories of the Sahara. Her work is lauded for its endurance through generations, inspiring young Taiwanese and Chinese women yearning for independence from conservative cultural norms.

Filmography Film YearEnglish titleOriginal titleNon Acting RoleRemarkRef.1990Red Dust滾滾紅塵Screenwriter with Yim Ho