臺灣文學虛擬博物館

Chen Ping: Before her San Mao nom de plume

Before achieving fame pseudonymously as San Mao, Chen Ping wrote works of less refined technique on subjects that centered heavily on personal pains interspersed by flights of fancy. Despite the rawness of her early writings, they reflected sincerity and heterogeneous aesthetics as well as an affinity that already hints at the up-and-coming literary legend.

Yearning for a Past Existence

San Mao’s vivid and heart-rending Stories of the Sahara pique reader curiosity while prompting compassion and sympathy. Wrapped in sorrow and separated from beauty and romance, her tale conceals substantive inner truths. Hers is a crude realism that is capable of making flowers bloom from the arid desert.

A Boy’s Love

More than a joining of two distinct cultures, San Mao’s relationship and marriage with Jose Ruiz was spiced with surprise, excitement and idiosyncrasy. Experiencing a path to love and romance significantly more tortured than the norm, San Mao used her corkscrew path to love and romance as fodder for an article she entitled, “Exotic Romance and Exceptional Fortune.” Readers today continue to be touched deeply by the indelible message of this piece.

Enveloped in Art

Solemn purpose was never part of this author’s literary style. San Mao’s intimate familiarity with her own creative works made writing an intellectual game. Her words were impassioned and charming as well as fresh and absorbing. Her works engage readers with prose that rolls off the tongue.