Lao She

Lao She (1899–1966), born Shu Qingchun, was a Chinese novelist and playwright whose works include Rickshaw Boy and Teahouse.

Rickshaw Boy: A novel by Lao She about a Beijing rickshaw puller whose hopes of independence are repeatedly defeated. This novel is his best-known portrait of poverty and frustrated ambition in Republican-era Beijing.
Beijing dialect: A Mandarin variety spoken in Beijing and a major source of standard spoken Chinese pronunciation. Lao She drew on its rhythms and expressions to give dialogue a strong local voice.
Manchu people: An East Asian ethnic group whose members founded the Qing dynasty and remain one of China's officially recognized ethnic groups. Lao She was born into a Manchu family in Beijing.
Shu Qingchun: The birth name of the Chinese novelist and playwright known by the pen name Lao She. This is the personal name behind the literary name used throughout his career.
Cultural Revolution: A political movement in China from 1966 to 1976 that sought to reshape society and purge perceived enemies. Lao She died during its opening period after public humiliation and persecution.
Teahouse: A play by Lao She that follows patrons and staff of a Beijing teahouse across three periods of modern Chinese history. Its changing teahouse captures the social transformations that anchor his most acclaimed play.
Literary realism: A mode of writing that portrays recognizable social life and ordinary people in concrete detail. His fiction uses realistic settings and characters to expose social pressures.
Qing dynasty: China's last imperial dynasty, which ruled from 1644 until 1912. He was born during its final years, a transition reflected in his historical settings.
Ba Jin: A Chinese novelist and anarchist writer whose works include the novel cycle Family. Ba Jin was a fellow major modern novelist whose career overlapped with Lao She's.
Suicide: The act of intentionally causing one's own death. His death in 1966 is commonly described as suicide amid persecution, though details remain disputed.

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