Shu Qingchun (Chinese: 舒慶春; February 3, 1899 – August 24, 1966), who wrote under the name Lao She, was a Chinese author of Manchu heritage. He is famous for writing about city life and using the Beijing dialect in his works, such as the novel Rickshaw Boy and the play Teahouse. During the Cultural Revolution, he faced harsh treatment and either took his own life or was killed.
Biography
Lao She was born Shu Qingchun on February 3, 1899, in Beijing. He was born into a poor Manchu family from the Šumuru clan, part of the Plain Red Banner. His father was a guard soldier who died in a street battle with the Eight-Nation Alliance Forces during the Boxer Rebellion in 1901. Lao She later said, "During my childhood, I didn’t need to hear stories about evil ogres eating children; the foreign devils my mother told me about were more cruel than any fairy tale monster. My mother’s stories were real and deeply affected our family." In 1913, he was admitted to the Beijing Normal Third High School (now Beijing Third High School), but had to leave after a few months because of financial problems. That same year, he was accepted to Beijing Normal University and graduated in 1918.
From 1918 to 1924, Lao She worked as an administrator and teacher at several primary and secondary schools in Beijing and Tianjin. He was greatly influenced by the May Fourth Movement (1919), which he said gave him "a new spirit and a new literary language." He thanked the movement for helping him become a writer.
In 1924, Lao She became a lecturer in the Chinese section of the School of Oriental Studies (now the School of Oriental and African Studies) at the University of London. He lived in Notting Hill during this time. While in London, he studied English literature, especially the works of Charles Dickens, whom he admired. He began writing during this period. His novel Mr. Ma and Son, which tells the story of a Chinese father and son in London, was inspired by his experiences there. Before 1924, he signed his works with his courtesy name, She Yu. He first used the pen name "Lao She" in his first novel, Old Zhang’s Philosophy, published in Fiction Monthly in 1924.
In the summer of 1929, Lao She left Britain for Singapore, where he taught at the Chinese High School. From 1930 to 1937, he taught at several universities in China, including Cheeloo University until 1934 and Shandong University in Qingdao.
Lao She was a well-known writer who popularized humor in China through his novels, short stories, and essays in journals like The Analects Fortnightly and his stage plays, including xiangsheng.
On March 27, 1938, Lao She helped found the All-China Resistance Association of Writers and Artists. This group aimed to unite cultural workers to fight against Japan. Lao She was respected as a novelist who had stayed neutral during earlier debates among literary groups.
In 1946, Lao She traveled to the United States on a two-year cultural grant from the State Department. While there, he lectured and oversaw the translation of his novels, including The Yellow Storm (1951) and The Drum Singers (1952). His wife, Pearl S. Buck, and her husband supported him during his time in the U.S. After the People’s Republic of China was established, Lao She returned to China despite Buck’s advice to stay in America. Rickshaw Boy, translated by Buck in the 1940s, became a popular book in the U.S.
In 1930, Hu Jieqing was studying at Beijing Normal University. Her mother worried that her studies might delay marriage and having children. Linguist Luo Changpei knew Hu’s brothers. When Lao She visited Hu’s home, Hu’s mother asked him to play hide and seek. At the time, Lao She had just returned from London and had written works. Luo Changpei introduced Lao She to Hu’s mother, who was impressed by his talent and character. She privately arranged for Lao She to be considered a son-in-law of Chenglong. Luo helped plan for Lao She and Hu Jieqing to meet. In the winter of 1930, Lao She returned to Peiping. Under Luo’s arrangement, friends invited Lao She to dinners where Hu Jieqing was always present. After many meetings, the two developed feelings for each other.
In the summer of 1931, Hu Jieqing graduated and married Lao She that same year. Two weeks later, Lao She brought his wife to Jinan, where he continued teaching at the university, while Hu Jieqing taught at a middle school.
The couple had four children: Shu Ji, Shu Yi, Shu Yu, and Shu Li. Their first child, a daughter named Shu Ji, was born in Jinan in 1933. Their son, Shu Yi, was born two years later. Their third child, Shu Yu, was born in Chongqing in 1937. Their youngest daughter, Shu Li, was born in 1945.
Like many intellectuals in China, Lao She suffered mistreatment during the Cultural Revolution, which began in 1966. He was accused of being a counterrevolutionary and was publicly humiliated by the Red Guards. He was beaten in front of the Temple of Confucius in Beijing. According to official records, he was deeply humiliated and committed suicide by drowning in Taiping Lake on August 24, 1966. Some sources, like Leo Ou-fan Lee, suggest he may have been murdered, but no proof has been found to confirm this. His family was accused of involvement in his "crimes" but protected his manuscripts after his death, hiding them in coal piles, chimneys, and moving them between homes.
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 took place among students in Beijing. His second novel, Zhao Ziyue (1927), also took place in Beijing and told the story of a 26-year-old college student seeking fame within a corrupt government system. Both The Philosophy of Lao Zhang and Zhao Ziyue reflected the lives and memories of people in Beijing. He also wrote Crescent Moon (Yuè Yár), created early in his writing career. This story showed the difficult lives of a mother and daughter who eventually turned to prostitution.
In 1938, Lao She rewrote Classics for Girls to replace old ideas about women's roles with messages encouraging women to help during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
In Mr. Ma and Son, Lao She described the lives of Mr. Ma and his son in London's Chinatown. This novel showed the hardships faced by Chinese people living in London. It was praised for reflecting the experiences of Chinese students abroad. Lao She used humor to reveal harsh truths about society. He hoped to challenge stereotypes about Chinese people and their appearances and attitudes.
Cat Country is a satirical story sometimes called a science fiction novel. It was published in 1932 and described a fictional planet with a civilization of cat-like people. The story was written from the perspective of a visitor to Mars and criticized China's slow progress. Lao She wrote it in response to Japan's invasion of China in 1931 and 1932. He later considered the book a failure.
Lao She's novel Rickshaw Boy (Camel Xiangzi or Rickshaw) was published in 1936. It told the sad story of a rickshaw puller in 1920s Beijing, showing the struggles of poor people during that time. The main character, Xiangzi, represented a common experience of peasants moving to cities and facing hardship. The novel's themes remain relevant today and are considered a classic in modern Chinese literature. It was translated into English and sold in the United States. In 1945, an unauthorized version of the book added a happy ending. In 1982, the original story was made into a film.
Teahouse is a three-act play set in a Beijing teahouse called "Yu Tai" from 1898 until the start of the 1949 revolution. First published in 1957, the play discussed social and cultural changes in China during the early 20th century. It has been translated into many languages.
Lao She promoted the use of Baihua, a plain style of written Chinese. This style developed during the May Fourth Movement as a simpler alternative to classical Chinese. As a leader of the All-China League of Resistance Writers, he chose to use modern language instead of classical Chinese to make writing more accessible. He was one of the first writers to use Baihua, and many others followed. Modern written Chinese is mostly written in this plain style.
In 1961, Lao She wrote Treasure Boat, the only children's opera he created.
Article style
Lao She's writing was known for its humor and irony, being simple but deep. He wrote humorous, satirical novels and short stories. After the start of the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), he also wrote patriotic and propagandistic plays and novels.
Legacy
After the Cultural Revolution ended, Lao She was officially cleared of wrongs after his death in 1978, and his works were published again. Several of his stories were turned into films, including This Life of Mine (1950, directed by Shi Hui), Dragon Beard Ditch (1952, directed by Xian Qun), Rickshaw Boy (1982, directed by Ling Zifeng), The Teahouse (1982, directed by Xie Tian), The Crescent Moon (1986, directed by Huo Zhuang), The Drum Singers (1987, directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang), and The Divorce (1992, directed by Wang Hao-wei). The film The Drum Singers, also called Street Players, was mostly filmed in Sichuan. Some of Lao She's plays have also been performed recently, such as Beneath the Red Banner in Shanghai in 2000 and Dragon's Beard Ditch in Beijing in 2009 as part of a celebration of the writer's 110th birthday.
Lao She's former home in Beijing is now a museum called the Lao She Memorial Hall, opened to the public in 1999. The house was originally bought in 1950 at 10 Fengsheng Lane, Naicifu, and its current address is 19 Fengfu Lane. It is near Wangfujing in Dongcheng District. Lao She lived there until his death 16 years later. The courtyard has persimmon trees planted by him. His wife called the house "Red Persimmon Courtyard."
The Lao She Literary Award has been given every two to three years since 2000. It is supported by the Lao She Literature Fund and can only be awarded to writers from Beijing.
The Laoshe Tea House, a tourist attraction in Beijing that opened in 1988, features regular performances of traditional music. It is named after Lao She but mainly offers attractions designed for visitors.
Three-self principles
The Three-Self principles continued to exist in China. In 1950, the People's Republic of China sent away all foreign missionaries. In 1954, Protestant churches were required to join together as one group called the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches in China. This group was told to stop receiving money, support, or leadership from foreign countries. Some people said the movement was created to teach religious leaders about loyalty to the government and to help the government communicate with the Christian community. In 1966, when the Cultural Revolution began, public Christian worship was not allowed, and the Three-Self Movement was dissolved. It was reorganized in 1980. Its main job is to explain new government rules about religion. It also helped show that the modern Chinese Protestant church is a local group, not connected to foreign organizations.
Lao She’s writing showed the language, happiness, and struggles of everyday people in China. He believed that China’s Christianity should be adapted to fit Chinese culture and should not rely on foreign countries for money or guidance.