Abstract Henry David Thoreau is one of the important figures in American transcendentalism。 Walden is one of his most famous works。 In the recent years, Thoreau’s research has been flowering in China。 The scholars make a meticulous study of Thoreau and Walden from the perspective of the Chinese classical culture, ecological criticism and so on。 The present paper roundly deals with the critical reception of Thoreau and Walden in China。 Firstly, the paper  explores the introduction and translation of the American writer and his works in China。 Secondly, the paper examines the reception of Walden in China from 1949 to 2000, in which the research on Walden experienced ups and downs。 Finally, the paper probes into the reception of Walden in China in the new century, in which the research on Walden is more and more heated in the new stage in China。85477

Keywords: Walden; Thoreau; reception; reasons; studies

摘要 亨利·大卫·梭罗(Henry David Thoreau)是19世纪早期美国超验主义文学运动中的重要人物之一。《瓦尔登湖》是其最著名的作品之一。近年来，梭罗研究在国内有了长足的发展，学界从梭罗与中国古典文化、生态批评等角度对梭罗及其作品进行了深入研究。本文拟将对梭罗和《瓦尔登湖》在中国的接受进行历史的回顾，全面的梳理，以期更好地推动国内的梭罗研究。本文首先回顾了建国之前这位美国作家及其作品在国内的简单译介情况。其次，研究了梭罗和《瓦尔登湖》在建国之后到2000年之间在中国的接受起伏。最后，探究了新世纪以来《瓦尔登湖》在国内的接受情况。在新的历史阶段，随着国内文化思潮的变化，梭罗研究也呈现出多样发展的态势，并取得了不俗的研究成果。来自优W尔Y论W文C网WWw.YoueRw.com 加QQ7520,18766

毕业论文关键词：《瓦尔登湖》；梭罗；接受；原因；研究

Contents

1。Introduction。1

2。Literature Review1

3。Seminal Period: before 1949。。。3

4。 Developing Period: 1949-2000。。。6

5。 Flowering Period: 2000- the present。9

6。 Conclusion。12

Works Cited。。。14

1。 Introduction 

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), the well known transcendentalist philosopher, is considered to be the greatest naturalist in American literature in the 19th century。 As philosophical anarchism, he devoted his entire life to being an exponent of the simple life style。 His abundant ecological ideas implied in his most famous book Walden。论文网

Walden is composed of 18 chapters。 Each of its chapter has a dependent title。 In this book Thoreau has to condense the stories happened during the twenty -six month life in the woods。 Pondering what he has learned from his sojourn in the woods, Thoreau recorded the events took place between him and nature in details。 Finally, the book closes with parables and exhortations to persuade and encourage readers to explore a new way of life---“to be a part of the nature and co-exist with the nature harmoniously。” In this way, his ecological thoughts eventually became mature enough to provide some practical meanings for the coming era when the ecological situation grew worse and worse。

2。 Literature Review

If the “Thoreau theory” published in the Atlantic journal by Emerson in 1862, as the starting point of the study on Thoreau in the United States of America, then the world’s Thoreau research has a long history of 145 years。 In the history of more than 100 years, the understanding and reception of Thoreau also experienced some twists and turns。 But today, Thoreau has been recognized as one of the classic writers in the United States。 The famous American novelist John Updike ever said, “To the American literary classic writers in the nineteenth Century ------ Hawthorne, Whitman, Emerson and Melville, Thoreau makes the largest contribution to the thought and influence of America。” (Updike 2) Besides, in the United States, a variety of research institutions and academic journals with Thoreau as the main object have appeared, such as some famous academic groups like Thoreau Society (founded in 1941), Thoreau Institute (founded in 1975), and some authoritative academic journals like Concord Saunter, Thoreau Journal Quarterly, Thoreau Society Bulletin and so on。 In the history of American literature, Thoreau is a very complicated character, which has caused various criticisms of different views。 At first, the American writer J。 R。 Lowell and the British writer A。 E。 Stevenson and so on, put forward a severe criticism of Thoreau。 They thought “he was nothing more than a parody of Emerson, just an amateur naturalist, a wild, lazy man。” (qtd in Wang “Study” 99)。 Although Mark Van Doren and other early scholars affirm Thoreau's artistic achievements, they also think that “from either intelligence or the moral, aesthetic point of view, Thoreau's ideas and experiences do not produce the best effect, because he was just involved in himself, not in the universe。” (Doren 115) In the 1941, the biggest change in the study of Thoreau was caused by the paper, “American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman”, delivered by Matthiessen, a famous scholar of Harvard University。 In the article, he put Thoreau’s Walden as a whole to interpret and his interpretation was demonstrated in details by the new American criticism in 1950s-1960s。 (qtd in Wang “Study” 99) At present, the study of Thoreau in the United States is mainly from the following aspects, namely biography research, literature research, philosophy research and ecology research。