Comparative Research On The Tragic Consciousness Of The Children's Literature Works Of Cao Wenxuan And Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen is known as the "King of World' s Fairytales".In 1913,Zhou Zuoren,a scholar,introduced Andersen's works to China the first time.Since then,Anderson and his works have received wide attention from both readers and children'writers in China.Cao Wenxuan is a professor of the Chinese Department of Peking University,and a famous Chinese children's writer.His children' s literary works,including Red Tiles and Thatched Cottage,won " Hans Christian Andersen Award".Apart from popularity among readers,he and his works have also become a general research interest.Cao Wenxuan highly advocates and admires the artistic qualities of Anderson.Because of such admiration,there are some similarities between children's literary works by Anderson and Cao Wenxuan.These similarities also make a comparative study of the two a possibility.However,impacted by differences of social backgrounds and traditional cultures,consciousness of tragedy reflected in their works has both similarities and differences in terms of forms of expression.In this paper,influence study and parallel study in comparative literature are adopted as research methodologies.Based on interpretation of Thatched Cottage,Red Tiles and Han Christian Anderson's Fairytales,the two writers are comparatively analyzed in terms of their life experiences,consciousness of tragedy in their works and artistic approaches adopted by them.Especially concerning similarities and differences of their consciousness of tragedy,causes behind are explored.This paper consists of four sections.Section 1 expounds on research status at home and abroad,research purpose,research significance and research methodology of this paper.Section 2 discusses influence of Anderson' s fairytales on Cao Wenxuan's creation of children' s literature.Similarities between the two writers are mainly discussed from the perspective of practical significance and artistic expression.Section 3 is a comparative analysis of consciousness of tragedy expressed in works of the two authors.Differences and similarities of their consciousness of tragedy are examined from the perspective of character images,poetic language and sense of humor.Section 4 analyzes causes of their different consciousness of tragedy in terms of the cultural and social background,group and individual consciousness,and aesthetic consciousness.Through comparative analysis,it is found out that aesthetics and creation style of classical tragedy in Cao Wenxuan's children's is a product out of integration between China' s traditional cultural and national psychology and Western classical tragedy aesthetics.In particular,the classical tragedy aesthetics of Anderson' s fairytale is fully expressed in children' s literary works of Cao Wenxuan.The consciousness of tragedy demonstrated in children' s literary works by both writers has both academic value and practical significance.Comparative analysis of children' s literature works by Anderson and Cao Wenxuan in this paper can provide further references for future research in the field.