His mother Fan Nianhua (范念华) and father both are originally from Jiashan County, Zhejiang.

One of his earliest roles was in director Zheng Junli’s Crows and Sparrows, a polemic on the corruption of the Nationalist Government just prior to their defeat in the Chinese Civil War.

After 1949, Sun continued to act, notably as the eldest brother in an adaptation of Ba Jin’s novel, Family.

In 1983, he wrote, directed and starred in the well-received Thunderstorm, based on the play by Cao Yu.

He is survived by his wife Wang Wenjuan, a Yue opera actress and a daughter Sun Qingyuan (孫慶原), one grand child.