Abstract：Among all the biographies of Erasmus, two works written respectively by Johan Huizinga and Stefan Zweig have the greatest influence and popularity. Different methods were applied when different biographers handled the same character and the same historical literature, reflecting their different points of view about history and biography, which is attributable to the distinct perspectives from a historian and a novelist as well as their different cultural contexts.         However, both the biographers expressed sympathy for the biographee and shared the similar praises and reflections. From the perspective of readers’ reception, both the biographical works  not only feature the spiritual dialogues between the biographer and the biographee, but also share the coincidence of their ideals.

Key words：Humanism; Erasmus; biography

LiuYunfei ,Ph. D. Candidate from Zhejiang University, has his academic interest in Art Theory and the Study of Iconography. He recently published “A New Insight into the Form-Content Relationship in the Painting Theory in the Six Dynasties in China” (2015) and “Manifesting the Uniqueness: the Textual and Graphic Narrative Principles in A Study of Zhuangyuan: Stories and Illustrations.” (2016)