Hesse was born into a priest family in Kalw, a small town in southwestern Germany. He grew up in a strong religious atmosphere. In 1891, he passed the "state examination" and was admitted to the Maulbronn Theological School. Unable to bear the torture of scholastic education, he fled the school after half a year. During this period, he traveled to many cities and worked in various professions.
After being more widely influenced by Eastern and Western cultures, Hesse published the novel "Peter Kamenzin" in 1904, which made him famous in one fell swoop and he became a professional writer ever since. This year he married Mary, moved to Lake Baden, and devoted himself to writing. In 1906, he published the novel "Under the Wheel". The creations of this period were mainly romantic poetry, pastoral-style lyrical novels and picaresque novels. The works are filled with longing for childhood and the countryside, full of love for nature and human beings, and also express the youth's emotions. Mental anguish and pursuit.
After World War I, Hesse's creations underwent significant changes. He was obsessed with Nietzsche's philosophy, turned to Indian Buddhism and Chinese Lao-Zhuang philosophy, and developed an interest in Jung's psychoanalysis. Deep interest. He tried to explore the path to human spiritual liberation from the aspects of religion, philosophy and psychology. The novels of this period include "Knulp" (1916), "Demian" (1919), "Sithart" (1922), "Steppenwolf" (1927) and "Narcissus and the Goldmund" (1930) and so on. These books are deeply loved by Western readers and have received high praise. Among them, "Steppenwolf" has caused a sensation in Europe and the United States, and was hailed as Germany's "Ulysses" by Thomas Mann.
After the 1930s, fascism was rampant in Germany. Hesse fell into deep doubt and despair about the future of society. However, he still tirelessly sought an ideal world from Eastern and Western religions and philosophies. "The East" "Journey" (1932) and "Glass Bead Game" (1943) are the fruits of pursuit and exploration during this period.
Hesse was called the last knight of German Romanticism by Hugo Barr, which shows that he was deeply influenced by Romantic poetry in art. He loves nature and is tired of urban civilization. His works mostly use symbolic techniques and his writing is beautiful and delicate. Due to the influence of psychoanalysis, his works focus on exploring and exploring the spiritual field, fearlessly and honestly analyzing the heart, so his novels have a psychological depth. In 1946, Hesse won the Nobel Prize for Literature because his inspired works were powerful and insightful, and also provided an example of lofty humanitarian ideals and noble style.