Lao She facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lao She
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| Born | Shu Qingchun 3 February 1899 Beijing, Qing Empire |
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| Died | 24 August 1966 (aged 67) Beijing |
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| Resting place | Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, Beijing | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pen name | Lao She | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Novelist, dramatist | ||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Chinese | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Beijing Normal University | ||||||||||||||||||
| Notable works | Rickshaw Boy Teahouse |
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| Spouse | Hu Jieqing | ||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 老舍 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Shu Qingchun | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 舒慶春 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 舒庆春 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Shu Sheyu | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 舒舍予 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Shu Qingchun (born 3 February 1899 – died 24 August 1966), known by his pen name Lao She, was a famous Chinese novelist and writer. He was a key figure in 20th-century Chinese literature. He is especially known for his novel Rickshaw Boy and the play Teahouse.
Lao She was from the Manchu ethnic group. His writings are famous for using the lively Beijing dialect. His life covered important times in modern China, including the end of the Qing dynasty, the Republic, and the start of Communist rule.
Lao She was greatly inspired by the English writer Charles Dickens. He experienced difficult times, including the Boxer Rebellion when he was a child. Later in life, during the Cultural Revolution, he faced harsh treatment.
Biography
Early Life and Education
Lao She was born Shu Qingchun on 3 February 1899 in Beijing. He came from a poor Manchu family. His father was a guard soldier who died in a battle during the Boxer Rebellion in 1901.
Lao She later remembered how his mother told him about the "foreign devils" who were very cruel. These were real stories that affected his family deeply. In 1913, he started at Beijing Normal Third High School. However, he had to leave after a few months because his family didn't have enough money. Later that year, he was accepted into Beijing Normal University, where he studied and graduated in 1918.
Starting a Career in Writing
From 1918 to 1924, Lao She worked as an administrator and teacher. He taught at several primary and secondary schools in Beijing and Tianjin. He was strongly influenced by the May Fourth Movement in 1919. This movement brought new ideas and a new way of writing in Chinese. Lao She said that the movement helped him become a writer.
In 1924, he moved to London, England. He worked as a lecturer in the Chinese section of the School of Oriental Studies (now School of Oriental and African Studies) at the University of London. He lived there until 1929. While in London, he read a lot of English literature, especially books by Charles Dickens. This is when he started writing his own stories. His novel Mr Ma and Son was inspired by his experiences living in London.
Before this time, he used his courtesy name She Yu (舍予) for his writings. But in his first novel, "Old Zhang's Philosophy," he started using the pen name Lao She.
Returning to China and Teaching
In the summer of 1929, Lao She left Britain and went to Singapore. He taught at the Chinese High School there. From 1930 to 1937, after returning to China, he taught at several universities. These included Cheeloo University and Shandong University in Qingdao.
Lao She became very popular for his humor in China. He used humor in his novels, short stories, and essays. He also wrote plays and other performing arts, like xiangsheng (a type of Chinese comedy).
In 1938, The All-China Resistance Association of Writers and Artists was formed. Lao She became its leader. This group aimed to unite cultural workers against the Japanese invasion. Lao She was chosen because he was a respected writer who had stayed neutral in past literary debates.
Time in the United States
In March 1946, Lao She traveled to the United States. He received a cultural grant from the State Department. He gave lectures and helped with the translation of his novels into English. These included The Yellow Storm (1951) and his last novel, The Drum Singers (1952). The Chinese version of The Drum Singers was not published until 1980.
He stayed in the U.S. from 1946 until December 1949. His friend, the famous writer Pearl S. Buck, and her husband, helped him live in America. After the People's Republic of China was founded, Lao She decided to return to China, even though Buck advised him to stay. Pearl S. Buck had translated Rickshaw Boy in the early 1940s. This translation helped the book become a bestseller in America.
Marriage and Family Life
In 1930, Hu Jieqing was studying at Beijing Normal University. Lao She met Hu Jieqing through a mutual friend. They started spending time together at dinners and developed feelings for each other.
In the summer of 1931, after Hu Jieqing graduated, they got married. Lao She and his wife moved to Jinan, where he continued to teach at the university. Hu Jieqing also taught at a middle school. They had their first child, a daughter named Shu Ji, in Jinan. In 1935, their second child, a son named Shu Yi, was born. Their third child, Shu Yu, was born in Chongqing in 1937. Their youngest daughter, Shu Li, was born in 1945.
Later Life and Death
In 1966, the Cultural Revolution began in China. Many intellectuals, including Lao She, faced harsh treatment. He was accused of being against the revolution. He was publicly shamed and beaten in Beijing.
The exact details of Lao She's death are not fully known. Some believe he was murdered. His family was also accused of being involved in his "crimes." However, they managed to save his important writings. They hid his manuscripts in places like coal piles and chimneys to protect them.
Important Works
Lao She's first novel, The Philosophy of Lao Zhang, was written in London in 1926. It was inspired by Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby but was set among students in Beijing. His second novel, Zhao Ziyue (1927), also took place in Beijing. It told the story of a college student trying to find fame in a corrupt system. Both novels showed everyday life in Beijing. He also wrote Crescent Moon early in his career.
Mr Ma and Son
Mr. Ma and Son showed a different side of Lao She's writing. It described the lives of a Chinese father and son in London's Chinatown. The book highlighted the difficulties Chinese people faced in London. It used humor to show serious social truths. Lao She hoped to challenge stereotypes about Chinese people through this book.
Cat Country
Cat Country is a satirical story, sometimes called a Chinese science fiction novel. It was published in 1932. The story is about a visitor to the planet Mars who finds a civilization of cat-people. This civilization was once great but had become stagnant. The visitor observes how the cat-people react to new ideas from other cultures. Lao She wrote Cat Country as a response to Japan's invasion of China in the early 1930s.
Rickshaw Boy
His famous novel Rickshaw Boy (also known as Camel Xiangzi) was published in 1936. It tells the sad story of a rickshaw-puller named Xiangzi in Beijing in the 1920s. The book shows the difficult lives of poor people at that time. Xiangzi's story reflects how peasants moved to cities and faced many challenges.
Rickshaw Boy is considered a classic of modern Chinese literature. It is also an important work about laborers in world literature. The book was translated into English and became a bestseller in the USA. In 1945, an unauthorized translation was published that changed the ending to a happy one. In 1982, the original story was made into a film.
Teahouse
Teahouse is a play with three acts. It is set in a teahouse in Beijing called "Yu Tai." The story takes place from 1898 until just before the 1949 revolution. First published in 1957, the play comments on the social and cultural issues and changes in China during the early 20th century. It has been translated into many languages.
Promoting Modern Chinese Language
Lao She strongly supported using Baihua, or plain language, in written Chinese. Baihua was a new style of writing that developed from classical Chinese during the May Fourth Movement. As a leader of the All-China League of Resistance Writers, he realized he needed to use a more accessible, modern style instead of classical Chinese. Lao She was one of the first writers to use Baihua. Today, most modern written Chinese is in the plain Baihua style.
Treasure Boat
"Treasure Boat" was written by Lao She in 1961. It was the only children's opera he ever wrote.
Writing Style
Lao She's writing was known for being humorous and ironic. His style was simple yet deep. He wrote funny, satirical novels and short stories. After the start of the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), he also wrote plays and novels that were patriotic and aimed at supporting the war effort.
Legacy and Recognition
After the Cultural Revolution ended, Lao She was officially recognized again in 1978. His works were republished. Many of his stories have been made into films, including This Life of Mine (1950), Dragon Beard Ditch (1952), Rickshaw Boy (1982), The Teahouse (1982), The Crescent Moon (1986), The Drum Singers (1987), and The Divorce (1992). Some of his plays have also been performed recently, such as Beneath the Red Banner in 2000 and Dragon's Beard Ditch in 2009. The 2009 performance was part of the celebration of his 110th birthday.
Lao She's former home in Beijing is now the Lao She Memorial Hall. It opened in 1999 as a museum about his life and work. He bought the traditional courtyard house in 1950 and lived there for 16 years until his death. The courtyard has persimmon trees that he planted. His wife called their home "Red Persimmon Courtyard."
The Lao She Literary Award started in 2000. It is given every two to three years and is sponsored by the Lao She Literature Fund. This award can only be given to writers from Beijing.
The Laoshe Tea House in Beijing, which opened in 1988, is named after Lao She. It is a tourist attraction that features traditional music performances.
See also
In Spanish: Lao She para niños
