Walden Author: Henry David Thoreau Translator: Pan Qingchu Publisher: Shanghai Translation Publishing House

Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in a merchant family in Concord, Massachusetts, USA. Concord is picturesque all year round. Thoreau often liked to go to the wild, wandering alone among trees, flowers, birds, animals, fish and insects, and formed an indissoluble bond with nature. In 1833, he entered Harvard University, and was a top student in his class with his eagerness to learn. After graduating in 1837, he returned to his hometown to teach for two years (1838-1840), and also worked as a rural land surveyor. He loved walking, observing and thinking all his life, and wrote a lot of diaries, which accumulated rich materials for his future creation. He had a close relationship with the great writer Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). From 1841 to 1843, he lived in Emerson's house and became Emerson's student and assistant. Therefore, he gave up teaching and turned to literature. Encouraged by Emerson, he began to write poetry and essays. He initially contributed to the transcendentalist magazine "Dial" and later wrote articles for other newspapers and periodicals.

In 1845, he built a cabin by himself on the shore of Walden Pond, two miles away from Concord. During the more than two years he spent there, he completed two works, "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" and "Walden, or A Forest Retreat" (both published during his lifetime). In 1847, Thoreau returned to Concord to live. He then wrote, lectured, observed and studied local flora and fauna in his hometown. He occasionally went out for short trips to expand his knowledge and lay a solid foundation for his future creations. Sometimes, he had to work in his father's pencil factory to earn some money to support his life. On May 6, 1862, Thoreau died of tuberculosis at the age of 44.