 |
| 'The Snow Queen' :
The boy Kay is carried to the Snow Queen as in the fairy story
'The Snow Queen' during celebrations of the 200th anniversary
of the Danish fairy story teller Hans Christian Andersen in
the show 'Once Upon a Time' at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
(AFP/Scanpix/Keld
Navntoft) | |
Denmark marked Hans Christian Andersen's 200th birthday with a
celebration that may have pleased and slightly frightened the author of
fairy tales such as "The Little Mermaid."
Andersen's writing style often disguised the sometimes gruesome moral lessons in stories like "The
Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Ugly Duckling," but he remains a global
icon whose work has been translated into almost 150 languages.
His fame has been partly aided by film giant Disney, which turned "The
Little Mermaid" into a 1989 animated hit film.
No surprise then, that Denmark is marking the bicentenary of its most famous son in grand
style with the government and private firms footing a $40 million bill for a
year-long event.
A concert extravaganza was broadcast worldwide on Saturday night,
featuring American rock star Tina Turner and British-born singer-actress
Olivia Newton-John.
Andersen biographer Jens Andersen said that although the fairy tale
author would have loved the attention, a fear of crowds would have
prevented him from wading through the sea of people and trinkets in Copenhagen bearing the Andersen
logotype to attend a big event like Saturday's concert.
"But he would have been pleased and flattered, happy at the global
attention," said Andersen, whose acclaimed biography was published last
year.
Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, 93 miles west of capital
Copenhagen, in 1805, the son of a poor shoemaker and his nearly illiterate
wife.
He left home in his early teens to seek his fortune at the theater in
Copenhagen, struggling for years as a ballet dancer, actor and singer
before being sent to grammar school by one of the directors of the Royal
Theatre.
To sell his first novel the 17-year-old Andersen mass-produced a sales
letter offering presumptive buyers his own services as a reader and
performer if they would order the book.
Hans Christian Andersen wrote six novels, more than 80 dramas, travelogues and collections of
poems. But the handful of the 212 fairy tales he wrote are his most
enduring legacy.
Many of Hans Christian Andersen's stories were original and drawn from
his extensive travels and his life, something which distinguishes him from
rivals like the Brothers Grimm.
By the time he died in 1875, his writing had lifted him from poverty to
world recognition in a social journey reminiscent of the duck who became a
swan in "The Ugly Duckling."
（Agencies) |
为纪念童话大师汉斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生诞辰200周年，丹麦举行了盛大的庆祝活动。其规模之宏大，可能连这位曾经创作出《海的女儿》等经典童话作品的大作家本人在欣喜之余也会有些害怕。
安徒生在创作中经常将枯燥的道德说教融入新奇的故事当中，如《皇帝的新衣》和《丑小鸭》。他一直是全世界的偶像，其作品已被译成近150种语言。
安徒生的成名一部分要归功于电影巨头迪斯尼。1989年，迪斯尼公司将安徒生的童话《海的女儿》拍成了动画片，一时引起了轰动。
作为丹麦最著名的人物，难怪安徒生200周年诞辰排场会如此巨大：政府和私营公司出资四千万美元，整个庆典活动将持续一年。
上周六晚举行了一场盛大的音乐会，并对全球转播。美国摇滚名星蒂娜·特纳和英国出生的歌手兼演员奥莉维亚·纽顿·约翰也登台演出。
安徒生传记的作者简斯·安徒生说，尽管安徒生本人可能会喜欢受到如此关注，但他害怕人群，所以即使安徒生仍然在世，他也可能不愿意穿过人山人海和挂满安徒生标识的哥本哈根去参加像星期六音乐会那样的活动。
“但对于全世界的关注，他一定会很高兴，甚至有点受宠若惊，”简斯·安徒生说。去年，他出版了安徒生的传记，并广受好评。
汉斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生1805年出生于丹麦首都哥本哈根以西93英里的欧登塞。他的父亲是一个穷鞋匠，他的母亲几乎不识字。
为了能成就一番事业，安徒生十几岁时便离开了家，来到哥本哈根的一家剧院。他在那儿当了几年芭蕾舞演员、歌手和演员，之后被皇家剧院的导演送入语法学校学习。
为了推销自己的第一部小说，年仅十七岁的安徒生写了许多推销信给可能的买主，表示只要他们愿意订购他的小说，他就会提供阅读和表演服务。
安徒生一生著有6部小说，80多部戏剧，大量游记和诗集。但流传最广的是他创作的212个童话故事。
安徒生的许多童话故事都具有独创性，或是取材于他丰富的生活和旅行经历，这是他与格林兄弟的不同之处。
到他1875年去世时，安徒生早已摆脱了当年的穷困，他的作品享誉全球。这不禁让人想起他的童话故事《丑小鸭》，丑小鸭历尽磨难终于变成了美丽的天鹅。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-04-06 11:24
