Lao She

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. 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, from which he graduated in 1918. 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. He was highly influenced by the May Fourth Movement (1919). He stated, "The May Fourth Movement gave me a new spirit and a new literary language. I am grateful to the May Fourth Movement, as it allowed me to become a writer."