A Study Of Lao She's (1899-1966) Short Stories And His Literary Theory

Lao She (1899-1966) was one of the famous Chinese writers in the ModernChinese literary world. The number of short stories Lao She had writtenclose to nearly 80 pieces. He also contributed many essays on literarytheory. However, studies that have been done on this genre of his writinghave usually only focused on certain pieces, leaving little attention tothe overall characteristics and the accomplishment he had achieved in bothshort stories writing and literary theory.In view of this, the objectives of this study is to provide a morein-depth analysis of Lao She's short stories and his literary theory. Thestudy will also focus on Lao She being a scholar had been actively providedhis view on literary writing and the techniques in short stories writing.Eventually, the study is to drawa conclusion on his achievement in thisdomain of literary writing.The thesis consists of 7 chapters. The first chapter is an introductorychapter, offering an exposition of the objectives and researchmethodology engaged in this study. The second chapter focuses on theanalysis of the different characters in his short stories which includedtradition old man, low social status workers, educated scholars, women,etc. In the third chapter, a comprehensive analysis of the influence ofeastern and western cultures/religion and thinking in the contents of hisworks. The fourth chapter provides a study of the artistic aspects of LaoShe's short stories. This includes an analysis of the eastern and westernstyles and techniques he used in the creation of his short stories, therebyoffering an affirmation to his distinctiveness in the writing of shortstories. The fifth chapter provides an in-depth study between his shortstories and his literary theory which gives an overview of the principalview points Lao She held pertaining to the creation of his short stories.The sixth chapter special mentions of Laoshe's relationship to Singapore and his short stories has been used as Chinese Literature text for schoolsin Singapore.Finally, the seventh chapter is a conclusion derived from the abovestudy. Last but the least, this chapter also attempt to make an objectiveevaluation of Lao She's short stories and his contribution in modernChinese literature world in general and literary theory in particular.Lao She was not only a great writer, but also an outstanding educator.Throughout his life, he made great contributions to educational practiceas a principal, adviser, teacher, lecturer and full professor. Also inhis literary works, he conveyed his unique and insightful educationalthought through lively imageries and clear theories. Examining his shortsstories as well as his literary theory is beneficial to raising ourunderstanding of the Modern Chinese Literature World.