Hans Christian Andersen's personal information and profile

Hans Christian Andersen. April 2, 1805 - August 4, 1875. 19th century Danish fairy tale writer, known as "the sun of world children's literature".

Andersen was born into a poor shoemaker's family in the city of Odense, and was baptized at St. Knud's Church, where he spent his childhood in poverty. His father was a shoemaker and his mother a servant. In his early years, he studied at a charity school and worked as an apprentice. Influenced by his father and oral literature, he grew up with a love of literature. 11 years old, his father died of illness and his mother remarried.

To pursue his art, he came to Copenhagen alone at the age of 14. At the age of 17, he published a poetic play, "Alfisol", which revealed his talent. As a result, he was sent by the Royal Art Theater to the Slagelse Grammar School and the Helsing?e School for free. In 1828, he entered the University of Copenhagen. After graduation, he was never employed and lived mainly on manuscript fees.

Andersen's literary career began in 1822 with the writing of a play. After entering the university, he became more and more mature. He published travelogues and comedies of song and dance, as well as collections of poems and poetic dramas. 1835 saw the publication of his novel The Improbable Poet, which won him international fame and is the masterpiece of his adult literature. His work, Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, has been translated into more than 150 languages, distributed and published around the globe.

Andersen's Literary Philosophy

Andersen was the first writer in the history of Western literature to create fairy tales as serious literature. With his deep understanding of the Western tradition, he skillfully utilized a large number of biblical archetypes and metaphors in his works, making them heavier than traditional fairy tales.

On the other hand, Hans Christian Andersen's creativity was so rich that he did not engage in rigid didacticism, nor did he copy the Bible's plots and logical relationships, so that his works did not become illustrations of doctrines, but rather works of art with independent value.

This makes Andersen's fairy tales reconcile the "either/or" contradiction between "aesthetics" and "morality" that may exist in literature. Andersen is tender and kind. He believed in an all-loving God.

References: Baidu Encyclopedia - Hans Christian Andersen