About Mr. Lao She

A brief introduction to Lao She’s life

Published on: 2005-10-11 16:03:53 Reading: 1580

Lao She (1899——1966)

Born in 1899 and died in 1966. Manchu, original name Shu Qingchun, courtesy name Sheyu. Pekingese. He once served as a member of the Cultural and Educational Committee of the Government Affairs Council, a representative of the National People's Congress, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman and secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Writers Association, member of the Beijing Municipal People's Committee, and chairman of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

He was admitted to the Normal School in 1913. After graduation, he served as the principal of Beijing No. 17 Primary School and a Chinese teacher at Nankai Middle School in Tianjin. In 1924, he went to the UK and served as a Chinese lecturer at the Oriental University, University of London. At the same time, he also engaged in literary creation, including the satirical novels "Lao Zhang's Philosophy", "Zhao Zi Yue" and "Er Ma". After returning to China in 1930, he served as professor at Qilu University in Jinan and Shandong University in Qingdao. He has written short story collections "Going to the Market", "Sakura Sea Collection", "Clam Algae Collection", and novels "Cat City", "Divorce", and "Niu Tianci Biography". He also published "Collection of Lao She's Humorous Poems" and a collection of essays "Lao Niu Broken Car". In 1937, his masterpiece "Camel Xiangzi" was published. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Lao She began to write scripts. His major works include "Country First" (cooperated with Song Zhi), "The Problem of Face", "Spring Breeze" (cooperated with Zhao Qingge), "Zhang Zizhong", "Earth Dragon Snake", " "Who Arrives in Chongqing First" and "Going Back to Come" etc. He also wrote the novel "Cremation" and published short story collections "Train Collection", "Anemia Collection", "East China Sea Bashan Collection" and popular literature collection "Three Four Ones". In 1944, Lao She began to write his masterpiece "Four Generations Under One Roof", which took the fall of Peiping as its theme. In 1951, the Beijing Municipal Government awarded him the title of "People's Artist". During this period, he created the plays "Fangzhenzhu", "Longxugou", "Teahouse", "Spring and Autumn Fruits", "Looking West to Chang'an", "Shopgirl", "Red Courtyard", "Family Portrait", "Fist of God", wait. The novel "Under the Red Flag" is his unfinished work.

Lao She’s literary creation lasted for 40 years. Most of his works are based on the life of urban people, with clear love and hate, and a strong sense of justice. The characters are distinct and the details are realistic. He is able to control language skillfully and is good at accurately using Beijing dialect to express characters and describe events, so that his works have strong local color and strong flavor of life. Lao She won the love of the people with his sarcastic humor and humorous and relaxed style.

Many of Lao She's works have been selected into primary school Chinese textbooks, such as "Baotu Spring", "Our Cat", "Labor Is the Most Tasteful", "Prairie", etc.