Lao She
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Shu Qingchun (3 February 189924 August 1966), known by his
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
Lao She, was a Chinese novelist and dramatist. He was one of the most significant figures of 20th-century Chinese literature, and is best known for his novel ''
Rickshaw Boy ''Rickshaw Boy'' or ''Camel Xiangzi'' () is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature. History Lao She began the novel in spring, 1 ...
'' and the play ''
Teahouse A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...
'' (茶馆). He was of
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
ethnicity, and his works are known especially for their vivid use of the
Beijing dialect The Beijing dialect (), also known as Pekingese and Beijingese, is the prestige dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. It is the phonological basis of Standard Chinese, the official language in the People's Republic of ...
.


Biography


Early life

Lao She was born Shu Qingchun (舒慶春) on 3 February 1899 in Beijing, to a poor
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
family of the Šumuru clan belonging to the
Plain Red Banner The Plain Red Banner () was one of the Eight Banners (lower five Banners) of Manchu military and society organization during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. Famous members included: * Daišan * Wenxiang * Heshen, Clan Niohuru, considered ...
. His father, who was a guard soldier, died in a street battle with the
Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove fo ...
Forces in the course of the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
events in 1901. "During my childhood," Lao She later recalled, "I didn't need to hear stories about evil ogres eating children and so forth; the foreign devils my mother told me about were more barbaric and cruel than any fairy tale ogre with a huge mouth and great fangs. And fairy tales are only fairy tales, whereas my mother's stories were 100 percent factual, and they directly affected our whole family." In 1913, he was admitted to the Beijing Normal Third High School (now Beijing Third High School), but had to leave after several months because of financial difficulties. In the same year, he was accepted to
Beijing Normal University Beijing Normal University (BNU, ), colloquially known as Beishida (), is a public research university located in Beijing, China, with a strong emphasis on humanities and sciences. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China ...
, from which he graduated in 1918.


Career

Between 1918 and 1924, Lao She was involved as administrator and faculty member at a number of primary and secondary schools in Beijing and
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
. He was highly influenced by the
May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chinese ...
(1919). He stated, "The May Fourth Movement gave me a new spirit and a new
literary language A literary language is the form (register) of a language used in written literature, which can be either a nonstandard dialect or a standardized variety of the language. Literary language sometimes is noticeably different from the spoken langu ...
. I am grateful to the May Fourth Movement, as it allowed me to become a writer." He went on to serve as lecturer in the Chinese section of the
School of Oriental Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
(now the
School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
) at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
from 1924 to 1929, living in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
for most of that period. During his time in London, he absorbed a great deal of
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
(especially
Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
, whom he adored) and began his own writing. His later novel ''
Mr Ma and Son ''Mr Ma and Son'' (simplified Chinese: 二马; traditional Chinese: 二馬; pinyin: Ėrmǎ; literally: "The Two Mas" or "Ma and Son") is a satirical novel written by Chinese author Lao She, first serialized in 1929 in the journal ''Fiction Monthl ...
'', about a Chinese father and his son in London, drew on these experiences. Up until that time, he had signed his works with his
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
She Yu (舍予). In his first novel "Old Zhang's Philosophy" 老张的哲学 ''Lao Zhang de Zhexue''), first published on
Fiction Monthly The ''Fiction Monthly'' ( ''Xiaoshuo Yuebao''; Original English title: ''The Short Story Magazine'') was a Chinese literary journal published by the Commercial Press in Shanghai. First published in July 1910, its original editors were Yun Tieqiao ...
, he first adopted the pen name Lao She. In the summer of 1929, he left Britain for Singapore, teaching at the Chinese High School. Between his return to China in the spring of 1930 until 1937, he taught at several universities, including
Cheeloo University Cheeloo University (, alternatively known as ''Shantung Christian College'') was a university in China, established by Hunter Corbett American Presbyterian, and other English Baptist, Anglican, and Canadian Presbyterian mission agencies in early ...
until 1934, and
Shandong University Shandong University (, abbreviated as Shanda, , English abbreviation SDU) is a public research comprehensive university in Jinan, Shandong with one campus in Weihai, Shandong and one campus in Qingdao, Shandong and is supported directly by the ...
(
Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
). Lao She was a major popularizer of humor writing in China, especially through his novels, his short stories and essays for journals like
Lin Yutang Lin Yutang ( ; October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generati ...
's "The Analects Fortnightly" (論語半月刊, ''Lunyu Banyuekan'', est. 1932), and his stage plays and other performing arts, notably
xiangsheng Xiangsheng (), also known as crosstalk or comic dialogue, is a traditional performing art in Chinese comedy, and one of the most popular elements in Chinese culture. It is typically performed as a dialogue between two performers, or rarely as ...
. On 27 March 1938,
The All-China Resistance Association of Writers and Artists The National Resistance Association of Literary and Art Workers () was an organization founded on 27 March 1938 to unite cultural workers in China against the Japanese invaders during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was led by the politically neu ...
was established with Lao She as its leader. The purpose of this organization was to unite cultural workers against the Japanese, and Lao She was a respected novelist who had remained neutral during the ideological discussions between various literary groups in the preceding years. In March 1946, Lao She travelled to the United States on a two-year cultural grant sponsored by the State Department, lecturing and overseeing the translation of several of his novels, including The Yellow Storm (1951) and his last novel, '' The Drum Singers'' (1952; its Chinese version was not published until 1980). He stayed in the US from 1946 until December 1949. During Lao She's traveling, his friend,
Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...
, and her husband, had served as sponsors and they helped Lao She live in the U.S. After the People's Republic of China was established, Lao She rejected Buck's advice to stay in America and came back to China. ''
Rickshaw Boy ''Rickshaw Boy'' or ''Camel Xiangzi'' () is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature. History Lao She began the novel in spring, 1 ...
'' was translated by Buck in the early 1940s. This action helped Rickshaw Boy become a best seller book in America.


Marriage and Family

In 1930, Hu Jiqing was studying at Beijing Normal University. His mother was afraid that she would delay her lifelong events because of her studies. Linguist Mr. Luo Changpei is a friend of Hu Yiqing's brothers. Once, he went to Hu's house to play, and Hu Mu asked him to help him find out. At this time, Lao She happened to be returning from London, and he had written works, so Luo Changpei introduced Lao She to Hu Mu. After learning about Lao She's talent and character, Hu Mu was extremely happy, and privately appointed the son-in-law of Chenglong. Luo discussed together a detailed plan for Lao She and Hu Jiqing to meet. In the winter of 1930, Lao She returned to Peiping. Under Luo's arrangement, Lao She was dragged by friends everywhere to eat, and there was always Hu Yiqing on the dinner table. After frequent meetings, Hu and Shu developed affection. It was not until the summer of 1931 that Hu Yiqing graduated, and the two held a wedding. Half a month after the marriage, Lao She brought his wife to Jinan and continued to teach at the university, while Hu Jiqing taught in a middle school. The first child of the two was born in Jinan, a girl named Shuji. In 1935 the second child, son Shu Yi was born. In 1937, he gave birth to his third child in Chongqing, named Shu Yu. In 1945, the young girl Shu Li was born.


Death

Like numerous other intellectuals in China, Lao She experienced mistreatment when the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
began in 1966. Condemned as a counterrevolutionary, he was paraded and struggled by the
Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...
through the streets and beaten publicly at the door steps of the Temple of Confucius in Beijing. According to the official record, this abuse left Lao She greatly humiliated both mentally and physically, and he committed suicide by drowning himself in Beijing's Taiping Lake on 24 August 1966.
Leo Ou-fan Lee Leo Ou-fan Lee (; born 10 October 1942) is a Chinese commentator and author who was elected Fellow of Academia Sinica in 2002. Lee also was a professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong, Princeton University, Indiana University, University of Ch ...
mentioned the possibility that Lao She was murdered. However, no reliable information has emerged to verify definitively the actual circumstances of Lao's death. His relatives were accused of implication in his "crimes", but rescued his manuscripts after his death, hiding them in coal piles and a chimney and moving them from house to house.


Works

Lao She's first novel, ''
The Philosophy of Lao Zhang ''Lao Zhang's Philosophy'' is the 1926 debut novel of Chinese author Lao She Shu Qingchun (3 February 189924 August 1966), known by his pen name Lao She, was a Chinese novelist and dramatist. He was one of the most significant figures of 20th-c ...
'' (老张的哲学 ''Lao Zhang de Zhexue'') was written in London (1926) and modeled on Dickens' ''
Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'', but is set among students in Beijing. His second novel, ''
Zhao Ziyue ''Zhao Ziyue'' (, "Confucius-saith Zhao") is a 1927 Chinese-language novel by Lao She Shu Qingchun (3 February 189924 August 1966), known by his pen name Lao She, was a Chinese novelist and dramatist. He was one of the most significant figures ...
'' (赵子曰, 1927) is set in the same Beijing milieu, but tells the story of a 26-year-old college student's quest for the trappings of fame in a corrupt bureaucracy. Both "The Philosophy of Lao Zhang" and "Zhao Ziyue" were Lao She's novels which expressed the native Peking lives and memories. Among Lao She's most famous stories is '' Crescent Moon'' (月牙儿, ''Yuè Yár''), written in the early stage of his creative life. It depicts the miserable life of a mother and daughter and their deterioration into prostitution.


''Mr Ma and Son''

'' Mr. Ma and Son'' showed another writing style for Lao She. He described Mr. Ma and his son's life in London Chinatown, showing the poor situation of Chinese people in London. These were praised as reflecting Chinese students' experiences. Lao She used funny words to show cruel social truths. From "Mr. Ma and Son", Lao She pointed the stereotype included appearances and spirits and he hoped to get rid of these dirty impressions.


''Cat Country''

'' Cat Country'' is a satirical fable, sometimes seen as the first important Chinese science fiction novel, published in 1932 as a thinly veiled observation on China. Lao She wrote it from the perspective of a visitor to the planet Mars. The visitor encountered an ancient civilisation populated by cat-people. The civilisation had long passed its glorious peak and had undergone prolonged stagnation. The visitor observed the various responses of its citizens to the innovations by other cultures. Lao She wrote ''Cat Country'' in direct response to Japan's invasion of China (Manchuria in 1931, and Shanghai in 1932). Paradoxically, Cat Country has been considered as an artistic failure by the author himself.


''Rickshaw Boy''

His novel ''
Rickshaw Boy ''Rickshaw Boy'' or ''Camel Xiangzi'' () is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature. History Lao She began the novel in spring, 1 ...
'' (also known in the West as ''Camel Xiangzi'' or ''Rickshaw'') was published in 1936. It describes the tragic life of a
rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...
-puller in Beijing of the 1920s, and revealed the tragedy of lower classes at that time through the narration of the rickshaw boy's story. Xiangzi is a stereotype of a social phenomenon: a peasant coming to the city and then turning to an urban tramp, experiencing spiritual crises of all kinds. Not only a problem of particular historical period, it is an all-pervasive one that persists throughout Chinese history. Reading the novel today reveals more about the contemporary Chinese society than the text itself. It is considered to be a classic of modern Chinese literature and a contribution to the genre of world literature about laborers. The publishing of the English translation of Rickshaw Boy has been a milestone for Lao She' international prestige. The English version ''Rickshaw Boy'' became a US bestseller in 1945; it was an unauthorized translation that added a
bowdlerized Expurgation, also known as bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. The term ''bowdlerization'' is a pejorative term for the practi ...
happy ending A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated. In storylines where the protagon ...
to the story. In 1982, the original version was made into a film of the same title.


''

Teahouse A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...
''

is a play in three acts, set in a teahouse called "Yu Tai" in Beijing from 1898 until the eve of the 1949 revolution. First published in 1957, the play is a social and cultural commentary on the problems, culture, and changes within China during the early twentieth century. It has been translated into many different languages.


Promotion of Baihua (National Language)

Lao She advocated the use of Baihua, the use of plain language in written Chinese. Baihua evolved a new language from classic Chinese during the
May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chinese ...
.  As the All-China League of Resistance Writers leader, he found he needed to abandon the use of classical Chinese for a more accessible modern style. Lao She was an early user of Baihua and other writers and artists followed his lead. Modern written Chinese is largely in the plainer Baihua style.


Treasure Boat

“Treasure Boat” was written by Lao She in 1961. It was the only children's opera he wrote.


Article style

Lao She created a unique humorous and ironic writing style, his writing is simple but really deep. Chinese author of humorous, satiric novels and short stories and, after the onset of the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), of patriotic and propagandistic plays and novels.


Legacy

After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Lao She was posthumously "rehabilitated" in 1978 and his works were republished. Several of his stories have been made into films, including '' This Life of Mine'' (1950, dir. by Shi Hui), ''Dragon Beard Ditch'' (1952, dir. by
Xian Qun Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqin ...
), ''Rickshaw Boy'' (1982, dir. by
Ling Zifeng Ling Zifeng (Beijing, 10 March 1917 - 3 March 1999) was a Chinese film director. Ling was born in Beijing of a family from Hejiang, Luzhou, in Sichuan.Dorothy Perkins - ''Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture'' 1135935629 2013 LING ZIFENG ( ...
), ''The Teahouse'' (1982, dir. by
Xie Tian Xie or Hsieh may refer to: Xie People *Xie of Xia (), legendary king of the Xia Dynasty *Xie of Shang (契), legendary nobleman *Xie, Marquis of Jin (; th century BC), ruler of the State of Jin *King Xie of Zhou (; BC) *Alexandra Kitchin (1864 ...
), ''The Crescent Moon'' (1986, dir. by Huo Zhuang), ''The Drum Singers'' (1987, dir. by
Tian Zhuangzhuang Tian Zhuangzhuang (; born April 1952 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, producer and actor. Tian was born to an influential actor and actress in China. Following a short stint in the military, Tian began his artistic career first as an ama ...
), and ''The Divorce'' (1992, dir. by Wang Hao-wei). Tian Zhuangzhuang's adaptation of ''The Drum Singers'', also known as '' Street Players'', was mostly shot on location in Sichuan. Some of Lao She's plays have also been staged in the recent past, including ''Beneath the Red Banner'' in 2000 in Shanghai, and ''Dragon's Beard Ditch'' in 2009 in Beijing as part of the celebration of the writer's 110th birthday. Lao She's former home in Beijing is preserved as the
Lao She Memorial Hall __NOTOC__ Lao may refer to: Laos * Something of, from, or related to Laos, a country in Southeast Asia * Lao people (people from Laos, or of Lao descent) * The Lao language * Lao script, the writing system used to write the Lao language ** Lao (U ...
, opened to the public as a museum of the writer's work and life in 1999. Originally purchased in 1950, when it was 10 Fengsheng Lane, Naicifu, the address of the traditional courtyard house is now 19 Fengfu Lane. It is close to
Wangfujing Wangfujing () is a shopping street in Beijing, China, located in Dongcheng District, Beijing, Dongcheng District. The majority of the main area is pedestrianised. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty there have been commercial activities in ...
, in Dongcheng District. Lao She lived there until his death 16 years later. The courtyard contains persimmon trees planted by the writer. His wife called the house 'Red Persimmon Courtyard'. The Lao She Literary Award has been given every two to three years starting in the year 2000. It is sponsored by the Lao She Literature Fund and can only be bestowed on Beijing writers. The study of Lao She is regarded to be valuable on several counts, as a writer whose life span has covered all stages of modern China - the Ch’ing Dynasty, the
Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
and the
Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
. The Laoshe Tea House, a popular tourist attraction in Beijing that opened in 1988 and features regular performances of traditional music, is named after Lao She, but features primarily tourist-oriented attractions.


Three-self principles

As a philosophy, the three-self principles survived most visibly in China. The Communist government expelled all foreign missionaries in 1950, and in 1954 forced the Protestant churches to merge into a single body, the Three-self Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches in China. Ostensibly formed to break church reliance on foreign money, influence, and leadership, the movement was actually designed to train leaders in patriotism (support for the government) and to facilitate communication between the government and the Christian community. In 1966, as the Cultural Revolution began and the government attempted to destroy Christianity, the Three-self Movement was disbanded. It was reorganized in 1980. Its main role is to articulate new government policies regarding religion. On a more positive note, it has helped foster the sense that the contemporary Chinese Protestant church is an indigenous body and no longer a branch of a foreign institution. A pioneer in modem Chinese literature, his work revealed the language, the joys, and the hurts of the common people of China. He believed his country and its Christianity needed to be Chinese-led, and not dependent upon the foreigner for funds and direction.


Notes


Selected works in translation


Fiction

* ''The Two Mas''. Translated by Kenny K. Huang & David Finkelstein. Hong Kong: Joint Publ. Co., 1984. * ''
Mr Ma and Son ''Mr Ma and Son'' (simplified Chinese: 二马; traditional Chinese: 二馬; pinyin: Ėrmǎ; literally: "The Two Mas" or "Ma and Son") is a satirical novel written by Chinese author Lao She, first serialized in 1929 in the journal ''Fiction Monthl ...
: Two Chinese in London''. Translated by William Dolby. Edinburgh: W. Dolby, 1987. Republished – Melbourne: Penguin Group, 2013. * '' Cat Country, a Satirical Novel of China in the 1930s''.(貓城記 / Mao cheng ji) Translated by William A. Lyell. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1970. Reprinted – Melbourne: Penguin Group, 2013. * '' The Quest for Love of Lao Lee''. Translated by Helena Kuo. New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1948. * ''Heavensent''. Translated by Xiong Deni. London: 1951. Reprinted - Hong Kong: Joint Publ. Co., 1986. * ''
Rickshaw Boy ''Rickshaw Boy'' or ''Camel Xiangzi'' () is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature. History Lao She began the novel in spring, 1 ...
''. (駱駝祥子 /Luo tuo Xiangzi) Translated by Evan King and Illustrated by Cyrus Leroy Baldridge. New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1945. Unauthorized. * ''Rickshaw''. (駱駝祥子 /Luo tuo Xiangzi) Translated by Jean James. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1979. * ''Camel Xiangzi'' (駱駝祥子 /Luo tuo Xiangzi) Translated by Xiaoqing Shi. Bloomington; Beijing: Indiana University Press; Foreign Languages Press, 1981. * ''Rickshaw Boy: A Novel''. Translated by
Howard Goldblatt Howard Goldblatt (, born 1939) is a literary translator of numerous works of contemporary Chinese (mainland China & Taiwan) fiction, including '' The Taste of Apples'' by Huang Chunming and '' The Execution of Mayor Yin'' by Chen Ruoxi. Goldblatt ...
New York: Harper Perennial Modern Chinese Classics, 2010. . * * ''The Yellow Storm'' (also known as
Four Generations Under One Roof ''Four Generations Under One Roof'' (四世同堂 Si Shi Tong Tang) is a 1944 novel by Lao She describing the life of the Chinese people during the Japanese Occupation. The novel is divided into three parts:Part 1 - Bewilderment (惶惑) .P ...
). New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1951. Translated by
Ida Pruitt Ida C. Pruitt (1888–1985) was a China-born American social worker, author, speaker, interpreter and activist in Sino-American understanding. Her biographer called her "China's American Daughter." In the 1920s and 1930s she supervised social wor ...
. * ''The Drum Singers''. Translated by
Helena Kuo Kuo Ching-ch'iu (; 1911 – April 25, 1999), also known as Helena Kuo, was a Chinese-American writer and translator. She was born in Macao and was educated at Lingnan University and Shanghai University. She worked for the ''Shanghai Evening News ...
. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1952. Reprinted - Hong Kong: Joint Publ. Co., 1987. * ''Blades of Grass the Stories of Lao She''. Translated by William A. Lyell, Sarah Wei-ming Chen and Howard Goldblatt. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999. * ''Crescent Moon and Other Stories''. (月牙兒 Yue ya er) Beijing, China: Chinese Literature, 1985. * ''Beneath the Red Banner''. Translated by Don J. Cohn. Beijing: Chinese Literature, 1982.


Plays

* ''Dragon Beard Ditch: A Play in Three Acts''. Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1956. * ''Teahouse: A Play in Three Acts''. Translated by John Howard-Gibbon. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980; rpr Hong Kong, Chinese University Press. .


Further reading

* ''Chinese Writers on Writing'' featuring Lao She. Ed.
Arthur Sze Arthur Sze (; ; born December 1, 1950) is an American poet, translator, and professor. Since 1972, he has published ten collections of poetry. Sze's ninth collection ''Compass Rose'' (2014) was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Sz ...
. (
Trinity University Press Trinity University Press is a university press affiliated with Trinity University, which is located in San Antonio, Texas. Trinity University Press was officially founded in 1967 after the university acquired the Illinois-based Principia Press. T ...
, 2010). * Vohra, Ranbir. ''Lao She and the Chinese Revolution''.
Harvard University Asia Center The Harvard University Asia Center is an interdisciplinary research and education unit of Harvard University, established on July 1, 1997, with the goal of "driving varied programs focusing on international relations in Asia and comparative studi ...
, 1974. Volume 55 of Harvard East Asian Monographs. , 9780674510753. * Rea, Christopher. ''The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China''.
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
, 2015. * Anne Veronica Witchard, ''Lao She in London'' (Hong Kong China: Hong Kong University Press, HKU, 2012). . * Ch 4, "Melancholy Laughter: Farce and Melodrama in Lao She's Fiction," in Dewei Wang. ''Fictional Realism in Twentieth-Century China : Mao Dun, Lao She, Shen Congwen''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992. . Google Books

*Sascha Auerbach, "Margaret Tart, Lao She, and the Opium-Master's Wife: Race and Class among Chinese Commercial Immigrants in London and Australia, 1866–1929," ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 55, no. 1 (2013):35–64.


Portrait


Lao She. A Portrait by Kong Kai Ming
at Portrait Gallery of Chinese Writers (Hong Kong Baptist University Library).


External links



* * ttp://www.ivymedia.com/ps/p1/7259.html Synopsis of the play "Teahouse."
Drama "Teahouse" wows American audiences
''
China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
''. 16 November 2005.
Anne Witchard's article on the London Fictions website about 'Mr Ma and Son'

Lao She Papers
at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University, New York, NY {{DEFAULTSORT:Lao She 1899 births 1966 suicides 20th-century Chinese novelists 20th-century Chinese dramatists and playwrights Academics of SOAS University of London Chinese dramatists and playwrights Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Members of the 4th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Manchu people Manchu Plain Red Bannermen Republic of China novelists Shandong University faculty Suicides by drowning in China Suicides during the Cultural Revolution Writers from Beijing Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery Persecution of intellectuals 1966 deaths Dramatists of Chinese opera