(Cover of “Wanderings of Sanmao”)

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of “Wanderings of Sanmao”. Sanmao the titular orphan created by acclaimed artist Zhang Leping in 1947 is one of the world’s longest-running cartoon characters.

Just as Tintin has entertained young Western comic strip fans for decades, Sanmao - a happy-go-lucky resourceful boy with only three locks of hair - has been entertaining youthful Chinese readers from the day he was “born”.

(A citizen holds a copy of artist Zhang Leping’s comic illustration. Photo/Ai Si)

Back in 1959, Shanghai’s Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House released the first edition of the comic strip. Since then, the story has been adapted for the screen many times.

“Wanderings of Sanmao” is a wordless picture book, which is very demanding on the artist’s narrative ability, said cartoonist Zheng Xinyao. “You have to tell the story through drawing, which is more difficult than using words.” He believes that the work’s wide influence can be attributed to its wordlessness. In addition, Chinese people at that time were not literate enough, so Zhang’s comic strip was widely accessible.

(The Italian version of “Wanderings of Sanmao”)

Sanmao has also been published overseas, winning popularity among foreign readers. Comic books about his story have been translated into French and Italian. In 2015, “San Mao: Le Petit Vagabond”, beat 10 other contenders to win the Heritage Award at the 42nd Angouleme International Comics Festival in France.

In March 2018, at Italy’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the World Wordless Picture Books Award presented a “Special Honor Award” for Zhang Leping’s Sanmao cartoon series, the first time for a Chinese artist to receive an award in the professional competition.

Additionally, last month, “Wanderings of Sanmao” was selected on a reading list of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Book Club, meaning Sanmao will be introduced to even more children aged 6-12 across the world.