安徒生：妙筆生花，童話人生

Hans Christian Andersen’s own life had some of the aspects of a fairy tale: he was born the son of a poor cobbler[補鞋匠]， and he died rich and famous man， celebrated around the world， the intimate[密友] of kings and queens. Although today Andersen is primarily known as a writer of stories for children， during his lifetime he was also famous for his other literary works， including six novels， five travel journals， three autobiographies[自傳]， and numerous[眾多的] poems and plays. Likewise， Andersen’s fairy tales， when read in the original Danish， are far more sophisticated[深奧的] and multi-layered than the simple children’s fables they’ve become in all too many translated editions， retellings， and media adaptations. The writer was no innocent man recounting[敘述] fancies whispered by the fairies; he was a serious artist， a skillful literary craftsman， a shrewd[精明的] observer of human nature and of the social scene of 19th century Denmark.

Like the Ugly Duckling， born in a humble[粗陋的]duck-yard yet destined to become a swan， Andersen was born in the city of Odense， where the family shared a single room. There was always food， but never quite enough; there were books on the shelf， but no money for grammar school.

Tall and gawky[笨拙的]， ill at ease with other children， Andersen spent his time reading， dreaming， sewing costumes out of scraps[廢料] for his puppet[木偶] theater， and haunting the doorway of the city’s theater whenever traveling players came to town. He began writing at an early age， but his true ambition was to perform on stage as an actor， dancer， or singer. In 1819， at the age of 14， he traveled alone to Copenhagen in search of his fame and fortune.

Despite the hardships he endured and the humiliations he suffered through， the young Andersen was thrilled to be on his way to a theatrical career…or， so he thought. He practiced scenes from famous plays， tried his hand at writing a tragedy， and began to study dance at the Royal Theater’s Ballet School. But， by the age of 17 his voice had changed; his gawky physique[體形] had proven unsuitable for ballet. He was dismissed from school， informed that he had no future on the stage.

Another youth than Andersen might have crumbled[崩潰] under this blow， but throughout his life he possessed a remarkable degree of confidence， and never lost faith in his worth， no matter how often he faced rejection.

With the help of Jonas Collin， a powerful court official and the financial director of the Royal Theater， Andersen was sent away to grammar school in the town of Slagelse for four years. After his return to Copenhagen， Andersen sat down in his little attic[閣樓] room and wrote his first book， A Walking Tour from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern Point of Anger. This clever and fantastical[幻想的] work， written when he was just 22， follows a young poet through the streets of Copenhagen， over the course of a single night. The book was a hit， quickly selling out its entire print run.

He began to write fairy tales at the age of 29， with great excitement. A volume containing his first four tales was published in May， 1835. Andersen wrote altogether 210 fairy tales during the course of his life. The tales were translated across Europe， then made their way around the world， making him the best-known Scandinavian writer of his age.

It could be quite impossible today to fully understand the sensation these little stories caused， for nothing quite like them had ever been seen in Danish literature. Across Europe the field of children’s fiction was still in its very early days， still dominated by dull stories， intended to teach and inculcate[勸導] moral values. Andersen’s magical tales were rich as chocolate cake after a diet of gruel[稀粥]， and the narrative voice spoke familiarly and warmly to children， rather than preaching[布道] to them from on high. They are comical and cynical[諷刺的]， rather than morally[道德上] instructive. And unlike the folk tales collected by the Grimms， set in distant lands once upon a time —Andersen set his tales in Copenhagen and other familiar， contemporary[當代的] settings， mixed fantastical descriptions with common ordinary ones， and invested everyday household objects with personalities and magic.

Even when you grow up， reading Andersen’s stories with abridged[刪節的] and altered versions can be a surprising experience. He wrote children’s stories into which they carefully， skillfully embedded[內含的] comedy， social critique[批評]， satire[諷刺文學]， and philosophy aimed at adult readers. He created tales that are read and loved and told anew by each new generation. His style still inspires writers， artists， and dramatists to this day.

In 1867， when he was 62 years old， Andersen returned to Odense. A choir[唱詩班] sang， and the entire city was illuminated[用彩燈裝飾] in his honor. “Astar of fortune hangs above me， Andersen once wrote. “Thousands have deserved it more than I; often I cannot understand why this good should have been vouchsafed to me， among so many thousands. But if the star should set， even while I am penning these lines. Be it so； still I can say it has shone， and I have received a rich portion[部分].” Andersen died in 1875. His stories live on.

漢斯·克里斯琴·安徒生的人生在某些方面就如同一個童話：他是一個窮鞋匠的兒子，去世時則是一位富足名流，在全球聲名遠播，是國王與女王們的密友。盡管現在安徒生一般被視為兒童文學作家，但在他的時代，他也因別的文學作品聞名遐邇，其中包括6部小說、5部游記、3部自傳以及眾多詩歌與戲劇。同樣，在閱讀丹麥文原作時，人們會發現它更加深奧，更有內涵，遠遠不是各種翻譯、復述和媒體改編作品中的簡易兒童故事可比。作者并非敘述仙人秘語的天真之士；他是一位嚴肅的藝術家，一位筆法高超的文學巨匠，一位精明細致、善于研究人性與19世紀丹麥社會狀況的觀察家。

就像出生于粗陋的鴨圈但注定要成為天鵝的“丑小鴨”一樣，安徒生出生于丹麥的歐登塞市，一家人擠在一個單間里生活。家中雖然不曾斷糧，但總不怎么夠吃；書架上總有書看，但家里沒錢供他上語法學校。

安徒生個子高高，舉止笨拙，與其他小孩呆在一起時老不自在，所以他將時間花在讀書、做夢，和用碎布為他的木偶劇娃娃縫制衣服等事情上；每當流浪藝人來到他所住的城鎮時，他還會在市劇院的走廊上流連。他年紀輕輕就開始寫作，但他真正的夢想是成為演員、舞蹈家或者歌唱家登臺獻藝。1819年，14歲的他獨自前往哥本哈根尋求功名。

雖然歷經多番磨難，遭受眾多羞辱，少年安徒生卻為自己踏上了演藝之路而興奮莫名……或者說他以為會如此。他排練名劇中的場景，練習寫悲劇，而且在丹麥皇家劇院的芭蕾舞學校學習舞蹈。但到17歲時，他變聲了，不靈活的體形也不適合芭蕾舞表演。最后他被勒令退學，理由是他毫無表演前途。

換作是別的年輕人，受此打擊可能會從此一蹶不振；但終其一生，安徒生一直擁有強烈的自信，無論面對多少否定，也從未對自己的價值失去信心。

在喬納森·柯林（他是一個位高權重的法院官員和皇家劇院的財務主管）的幫助下，安徒生被送到斯萊格思鎮的一所語法學校，并在那兒呆了4年。回到哥本哈根后，他躲進自己的閣樓小室，開始撰寫他的第一部作品—《1828和1829年從霍爾門運河至阿邁厄島東角步行記》。年僅22歲的安徒生完成了這部睿智且富含想象力的小說。故事講述了一位年輕詩人在一個夜里穿行于哥本哈根的大街小巷的經歷。該書風靡一時，一面世便旋即售磬。

29歲時，他滿懷激情地開始童話創作。1835年5月，收集了他最早4個故事的童話集面世。安徒生一生共寫了210個童話。這些故事被歐洲各國競相翻譯，而后又被流傳至世界各地，使他成為當時最有名的斯堪的納維亞作家。

我們現在也許很難理解這些童話何以產生如此大的轟動，因為丹麥文學中從未出現過這類作品。縱觀（當時）整個歐洲，兒童小說領域尚處于早期發展階段，旨在教育和灌輸道德觀的枯燥故事仍然占據著主導地位。而安徒生奇妙的故事如同在一頓稀粥之后的巧克力蛋糕一樣豐富多彩。他對孩子的敘事口吻平易溫和，而非高高在上地向他們說教。這些故事滑稽諷刺，而非教條式的啟蒙。不同于格林兄弟收集的那些發生在很久以前某個遙遠之地的故事，安徒生把故事的背景設在哥本哈根和其它為人熟知的地方，將充滿想象力的描述與日常故事結合起來，為日常家庭用品賦予了個性與魔力。

即使當你長大成人，閱讀經過刪節與改編的安徒生童話依然會有不少驚喜。他在撰寫兒童故事時，小心翼翼又充滿技巧地融合了一些為成年讀者而設的喜劇、社會評論、諷刺文學和哲學內容。他創作的故事被一代代人不斷閱讀，備受喜愛，廣為流傳。他的寫作風格至今依然能為眾多作家、藝術家和戲劇家帶來靈感。

1867年，62歲的安徒生回到歐登塞市。唱詩班歡歌迎接，整個城市為他張燈結彩。“一顆幸運星照耀著我，”安徒生曾經這樣寫道，“有成千上萬的人比我更值得獲此殊榮；我總是無法明白為什么這么幸運的事情沒有選擇那成千上萬的人而降臨到我身上。但如果這顆星星即將墜落，即便是在我寫下這些句子的時候，那也由它去吧；我依然可以說它曾經照耀過我，而我已經獲得充分眷顧了。”安徒生于1875年逝世，但他的故事仍將流芳萬世。