149 years ago today, January 12, 1876 (December 16, 1875 in the lunar calendar), American writer Jack London was born. London, like Jack London, is a famous American realist writer. His works are not only widely circulated in the United States, but are also popular among people around the world. When Lenin, the great revolutionary mentor, was on his sickbed, he specially asked someone to read novels aloud, including Jack London's short story "Love Life". Lenin spoke highly of this novel. Jack London was born on January 12, 1876, into a bankrupt farmer's family in California. As a child, he experienced poverty and hardship. At the age of eight, he had to work as a shepherd boy on a livestock farm in order to earn a living. After the age of 10, he began working as a newspaper boy, dockhand, sailboat sailor, linen mill worker, etc. in Oakland, near San Francisco. During this period, Jack London began reading a large number of novels and other reading materials. At the age of 16, he lost his job and had to wander around the eastern United States and Canada, living in slums in large cities. He was arrested and imprisoned for "unemployed loitering" before regaining his freedom a few months later. Jack London did not have the opportunity to study systematically. In order to master cultural knowledge and practice writing, he raced against time to study diligently. He wrote new words on sheets of paper and inserted them in the mirror of the dresser to recite them in the morning when he had his face repaired and dressed; he hung strings of words on a clothesline with a button pin so that he could see the new words when he looked up or walked through the room; In each pocket he contained lines of paper written on it, which he read aloud when he went to the library or visited, and even recited silently while eating or sleeping. He carried a notebook with him and wrote down what he saw and heard while working: descriptions of scenery, sketches of characters, wonderful language, fragments of conversations, touching stories... He also made a card index of everything he read. Over time, he not only learned culture, but also accumulated a large number of vocabulary and established a "reference reading room" to store writing materials that were not used up until his death. The work that symbolizes Jack London's tendency towards realism is his reportage "People in the Abyss". This work was written by him after visiting London, the capital of the United Kingdom, as a newspaper reporter. In 1905, Jack London participated in the workers 'movement as a member of the Socialist Party. During this period, his creation reached its peak, and a large number of works and political papers with the theme of the social struggle against capitalism and imperialism appeared. In addition to short stories, there are also the novels "Iron Hoof" and "Martin Eden", a collection of essays "War and Revolution between Classes", etc. Jack London began writing at the age of 24 and died at the age of 40. In 16 years, he wrote 19 novels, more than 150 short stories, 3 plays and quite a few essays and papers. These works have had a profound impact in the United States and other countries around the world. Jack London's creative career was short, but he gained time and life by studying tenaciously and writing hard. He presented outstanding works to the people, and his life's contribution is beyond measure in years.