An Admirer's Progress

William Somerset Maugham?1874-1965?is one of the most popular 20^thcentury British writers.During his life,he created numerous works,including novels,short stories,essays as well as plays.Exotic atmosphere is one of the most distinct features of his writings.With special affection for the East,Maugham created a series of short stories of which the backgrounds are set in the South Pacific.Therefore the islands in South Pacific are also called“the countries of Maugham”;he visited China in 1919and created On a Chinese Screen,The Painted Veil and East of Suez on the basis of his own experiences in China.Western academic circle tends to use“the East”to describe those Asian countries in Maugham's works,while Chinese critics pay more attention to his Chinese stories and regard them as the direct demonstration of Maugham's view on China.Critics come to a conclusion that there is much misunderstanding in Maugham's description of China and he holds a paradox view on China.On one hand,there is appreciation in his writings;on the other hand,his pride and prejudice is obvious.The thesis also focuses on Maugham's series works of China but tries to view them from a different aspect.The thesis divides the concept of“China”into an ancient one and one with modernized tendency,deeming that Maugham is purely an admirer of ancient China.The indifferent and even unfriendly attitude towards China of the20^thcentury results from Maugham's objection to the modernization process of China.The first part of the thesis sorts out the evolution of the image of China in British literature from the 14^thh century to Maugham's time;the second part of the thesis analyzes Chinese figures in Maugham's works;the third part extracts abstract Chinese elements,including idyllic scenery,works of art and philosophy of Taoism,to prove Maugham's obsession with China.The conclusion is that Maugham considers ancient China as the final resort of the West that suffer from the aftermath of the First World War.The temperament and the core spirit of ancient China make it become the Utopia in his mind.