On April 3rd, a big title, “ 1.3 billion Chinese people celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of Andersen’s birth”, was printed in our local daily. And since then the reviews have appeared in the newspaper one after another. Besides
the respect shown to this great Danish author, some poignant questions were put
forward to the readers.
Question 1: Why isn’t there a great author like Hans Christian Andersen in China whose enchanting fairy tales have strong force to people’s soul?
Question 2: In China, a lot of people grow up with Andersen’s fabulous fairy tales. But nowadays some teenagers are not fond of these stories. They think the clues are too simple and the characters are not clever enough. What they are interested in is the cartoons about a little violence or campus love, etc. How to instruct them to understand more inner beauty and humanism in Andersen’s stories?
In my memory Mr. Sun Jinxiu and Mr. Zhengyuanjie are two excellent Chinese authors in writing stories for children. Mr. Sun was good at telling ancient fables of China. And Mr Zheng are writing stories happened to a pupil named Pi Pilu and
his younger sister named Lu Xixi. His good fancy makes him a very popular author
in many children’s heart.
I don’t know how to explain the ins and outs of social influence on the teenagers. And I don’t understand why they like some strange things, such as mottled hair and rough-and-tumble warm description appeared in picture books. But I do know more and more of their parents and teachers realize the importance of give them good instruction to understand more about the admiring applause to the virtuous side of human nature and the commiserative attitude to the evil side of it. And all these can be found in Andersen’s fairy tales. Last year I was pregnant.
And one day I had to go somewhere by bus. As soon as I got in the bus, a schoolboy nearby stood up from his seat. He said nothing to me. But I knew he was letting me sit down. I said thanks in a low voice. Although he was trying to keep a cool look in the face, the perky expression of his eyes exchanged to his companions in the bus unveiled his happiness in his heart. To them, I never lose any confidence.
