1899年的今天，人民艺术家老舍（原名舒庆春）出生在北京西城小羊圈胡同一个满族家庭。“一个作家实在就是个全能的演员，能用一枝笔写出王二、张三与李四的语言，而且都写得恰如其人”，他是这么说的也是这么做的，他的作品大多取材于市民生活，描绘了各种风土人情。老舍著有长篇小说《骆驼祥子》、《四世同堂》、《猫城记》，话剧《茶馆》、《龙须沟》等。
你可能没有读过老舍的作品，但是你一定知道那段幽默风趣、语言风格鲜明的【老舍自传】：
舒舍予，字老舍，现年四十岁，面黄无须，生于北平，三岁失怙，可谓无父，志学之年，帝王不存，可谓无君，无父无君，特别孝爱老母。幼读三百篇，不求甚解。继学师范，遂奠教书匠之基，及壮，糊口四方，教书为业。甚难发财，每购奖券，以得末奖为荣，示甘为寒贱也。二十七岁，发愤著书，科学哲学无所终，故写小说，博大 一笑，没什么了不得。三十四岁结婚，今已有一男一女，均狡猾可喜。书无所不读，全无所获，并不着急，教书做事，均甚认真，往往吃亏，也不后悔。再活四十年，也许能有点出息。
老舍其人：
老舍的作品：
1. 关于《茶馆》Teahouse
2. 关于《骆驼祥子》Rickshaw Boy
骆驼祥子经典译段赏析：（Howard Goldblatt译）
Every cent he saved brought him that much closer to his goal of buying a new rickshaw. Not buying one was unthinkable, even if it was taken from him the day after he got it...He had no reason to live if he could not pull his own rickshaw. His talent was in pulling a rickshaw, and his unwavering hope was to buy one of his own; not to do so would have been a disgrace.
【沪江小编】这一段描述了主人公祥子省吃俭用，迫切地想要买一辆属于自己的人力车的愿望。
Vendors hugging the roadsides hawked piles of green apricots, eye-catching red cherries, rose-petal dates attended by swarms of honey bees; glass noodles in large porcelain bowls gave off a milky glare, while sellers of puddings and bean-starch noodles displayed their wares neatly on carrying poles, offering a range of condiments. People had changed into light, garish clothes, creating a colorful tableau on the streets, as if rainbows had fallen to earth.
【沪江小编】在这一段里，夏天的北京城的生活场景描写得细腻生动，跃然纸上。
3. 其他作品：
《四世同堂》Four Generations under One Roof （a novel describing the life of the Chinese people during the Japanese Occupation）
《猫城记》Cat Country （a satire and the first important Chinese science fiction novel）