Zhang Leping

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Lore & Background

Zhang Leping was born on November 10, 1910, in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province. In 1924 he lived in extreme poverty and was unable to continue his primary school education. In the fall of 1927 his area was attacked by the Northern Expedition army. By 1928, at age 18, with the support of relatives, he was recommended by teachers to re-enter school for a period of formal art education. In 1932 the January 28 Incident occurred, and his artistic skills became in high demand; China used comics in anti-Japanese advertising. His comic career officially began in 1934, and within a year he joined the anti-Japanese comic propaganda team. He initially created Sanmao in 1935 to convey the hardship of Japanese aggression in China through the eyes of children, especially orphans, and the character became a symbol for those children. In the 1950s he worked for the Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, the Liberation Daily, and the Shanghai Youth and Children's Publishing House. During the Cultural Revolution he faced persecution and was forced to stop writing. After the Cultural Revolution he transferred from Liberation Daily to the Children's Publishing House. On June 1, 1977, after ten years of absence, he returned to his Sanmao comic. In 1983 he received the 'National Advanced Children and Young Workers' award and contracted severe Parkinson's disease, but continued his cartooning career. In 1985 he received the 'Yushu Award' and became editor-in-chief of Shanghai's Manga World magazine. He produced his final comic strip in 1986, titled 'People to Old Age'. In 1989, Taiwanese female writer Sanmao came to Shanghai to find him, and he hailed her as a literary genius. In 1991 he won a special prize for his essay 'People's Cross-Strait Love' from the Central People's Broadcasting Station. On April 4, 1991, his last comic book, 'Cat Feeding Rats', was published in the Liberation Daily. In the winter of 1991 he donated the manuscript of Sanmao to the Shanghai Art Museum. He died on September 27, 1992, in Shanghai Huadong Hospital at age 81.

Reader's Guide

Zhang Leping's significance lies in his foundational role in modern Chinese manhua and his enduring creation, Sanmao. The Sanmao comics were translated throughout his career and introduced to other countries, and the character has been the main attraction in movies, cartoons, and theatricals. After his death, a 1997 public trial in the First Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai settled ownership of the Sanmao rights mostly in favor of his widow and children. In 2007, Sanmao was used as the mascot of the Special Olympics in Shanghai in his honor. The Zhang Leping Picture Book Award was founded in his honor in 2016, and a memorial hall dedicated to him exists in Jiaxing, his birthplace. His work, particularly Sanmao, remains a symbol of children affected by war and a lasting contribution to Chinese comics.

Did You Know?

• Zhang Leping was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province on November 10, 1910.
• He created the manhua Sanmao in 1935 to convey the hardship of Japanese aggression through the eyes of orphans.
• During the Cultural Revolution, he faced persecution and was forced to stop writing.
• In 1991, he donated the manuscript of Sanmao to the Shanghai Art Museum.