A new exhibition is being held at the old residence of Lao She
at the Fengfu Hutong of Dongcheng District in Beijing to mark the
108th birthday of the great writer who wrote extensively about
common Chinese people's lives in the first half of the 20th
century.
Lao She (1899-1966) is one of China's greatest contemporary
writers.??
Many new valuable items are on display, detailing Lao She's poor
childhood, his struggle to support his family, a journey to the
United States and his achievements.
Though Lao She's official birthday was February 3, 1899, the
writer himself preferred the date on the lunar calendar the 23rd
day of the last lunar month (Feb 10 this year), which marks the
Minor Spring Festival when people offer miniature pumpkin-shaped
malt sugar to the God of Stove.
Lao She gave some vivid descriptions about the Spring Festival
in many of his novels. To help people better understand the
traditional Chinese festival, the Lao She Memorial at his old
residence has been decorated as a siheyuan courtyard according to
his novels.
If a visitor gets the right answer to a puzzle written on a
lantern, he/she can get a small present, in the tradition of the
Lantern Festival, which is a part of the Spring Festival.
(China Daily February 6, 2007)