Lao She
Shu Qingchun (3 February 1899 – 24 August 1966), known by his pen name Lao She, was a Chinese novelist and dramatist. He was a writer of 20th-century Chinese literature, known for his novel Rickshaw Boy and the play Teahouse (茶馆). He was of Manchu ethnicity, and his works are known for their vivid use of the Beijing dialect.
Lao She | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Shu Qingchun 3 February 1899 Beijing, Qing Empire | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 24 August 1966 (aged 67) Beijing | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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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Lao She was a writer whose life span covered all stages of modern China: the Qing dynasty, the Republic and the Communists.
Lao She was greatly influenced by the writer Charles Dickens. Born during the end of the Qing dynasty, Lao She was from the Manchu Sumuru clan and experienced the Boxer Rebellion first hand as well as the atrocities committed by the Eight-Nation Alliance, a scarring experience for him. During the Cultural Revolution, Shu was tortured by the Red Guards, causing him to become insane. Shu either died by drowning himself or was murdered.