With no preaching or moralization, the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) have consistently influenced Chinese literary circles with the unique and profound power of compassion found in stories like The Little Match Girl, Cao Wenxuan said. A prolific fairy tale writer and professor of Chinese language and literature at Peking University, Cao made the remark when commemorating the 220th anniversary of Andersen’s birth in April. Much indebted to his groundbreaking style in which fairy tales are told in beautifully melancholic tones, Chinese authors have learned children’s stories are not only supposed to promote happiness. Andersen’s tales are still considered a source of warmth and comfort to everyone, including Chinese people who are submerged in loneliness in contemporary society.
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