Sanmao (Chinese: 三毛; pinyin: Sānmáo) is a manhua character created by Zhang Leping in 1935.
While the character has undergone a number of transitions over time, he has always been drawn with the trademark three strands of hair, which implies malnutrition as a result of poverty.
When Zhang Leping created the manhua comic series, his main goal was to dramatize the confusion brought about to society by the Second Sino-Japanese War.
[citation needed] Sanmao's image has evolved throughout time and in some modern continuation of the comics, he is depicted as a healthy, normal student.
[1] The character has also been portrayed as living through some of the most important periods in Chinese history and during futuristic space explorations.