Maugham And China

William Somerset Maugham is a British writer in the 20th century who has world-famous reputation and influence. He traveled around the world in all his life. Wherever he arrived, literary works could be acomplished which is well-known for strong exoticism. Maugham loved Chinese culture, and had been in China,wrote a series of works with Chinese background. This thesis focuses on the relationship between Maugham and China with the background of Maugham's literatural thought and the whole works,investigating the difference between the works of Alien's and Maugham's, also including his works of Chinese subject matter. Except preface and concluding remarks, the body thesis is made up of four chapters.Besides explaining the reason why chose the topic, the reseaching goal and method, the thesis combed the reseaching status about Maugham in British and America emphatically, which is the learning source abroad about Maugham reseach.The first chapter is about " Maugham matter", which is the strong contrast between his inferior position and worth and Maugham's widespread reputation and influence in readers. This is the common phenomenon in Maugham's research at abroad and home, also the matter that cannot be avoided all the time by anybody who researches Maugham and his works. The first section trace back to the process of "Maugham matter", indicating the obvious contrast between his reputation and worth before or after death to one degree or another, which is existed generally.The second section explains the reason why "Maugham matter" forms from internal reason that is the dual complication of Maugham and his works, also external reason that is literatural criticism and historian of literature. The third section is modern-day notice of "Maugham matter". As an example who is much more popular with readers than critics'acception, Literatural creation and art criticism reflect Maugham's notice to the present literary circles.The second chapter tells about image of China in Maugham's works. Generally the image in means of comparative literature imagologie includes three meanings:Firstly, it is foreign image; Secondly, it comes from the image of one nation (society and culture); Finally, it is the image created by writer's special feelings. On this basis, the first section investigates image of China in view of British culture briefly, as the basic and background of the specific discussion about image of China in Maugham's works. The second puts emphasis on travel notes including "On the Chinese Screen" and "The Painted Veil", specifically analysizing Chinese appearances and image of China in Maugham's works. The third section investigates image of China in Maugham's works in Maugham' s whole works and the feature British culture, indicating the form of Utopia and ideology in Maugham's works which is not controversial. Besides, whatever is beautiful, bright Utopia or ugly, dark ideology, image of China of the other is described in Maugham's description, reflecting his psychology of desire, ideal, fear and hostility which embody Maugham' s introspection or defend to western culture he belongs to.The third chapter is the reseaching summarization about Maugham in Chinese scholars, investigating the translation and reseach of Maugham' s works in China from two stage, that is before 1949 and from 1978 to now. At this foundation, the thesis summarize the whole reseaching status about Maugham in China from the aspect of thinking, artist and literal positon of Maugham's works. To sum up, the research on Maugham in China is not sufficient, and is affected by both the history of literature and criticians in western countries. Therefore, in a global view, the evaluation about Maugham and his works is not enough high and is not pinpointed. Based on these analysis, the author wishes to encourage Chinese researchers to be devoted to the research on Maugham, only by this way, the research on Maugham in China can be renewed and developed.The fourth chapter compares the difference between the works of Alien' s and Maugham's. Alien is a Chinese writer who is mostly influenced by Maugham.The chapter belongs to case study. The first section compares the two writers'analyzation of humanity. They are both good at digging out the humanity of the character in their works from the view of marriage and love, put special emphasis on disribing evil, abnormal and deformity in humanity that is used to narrate with objective and calm manner, also they focus on the reality of writing. The second section analysizes the difference between their narrative structure in novels. They both love to form the structure of novels with telling story, being good at using disclimax in order to achieve the effect of a complicated plot with a quirky twist. But Alien is not only content with drawing lessons from Maugham simply, but create by herself. In the third section, they both display the art character of combination of tradition and modern. As realistic writer with trend of naturalism, they not only inherit tradition but positively attempt to the skill of modernism. To a certain, they also display their hunting for modernism in thinking.madding their novels tainted with spirit of modernism.In final part, the theme concludes the whole content, and also makes a comment out of personal feeling to the speculatation in writing.