An Interpretation Of The Painted Veil From The Perspective Of Taoism

William Somerset Maugham is a significant novelist and dramatist in the British history of literature in the twentieth century. He is a traveling writer and many of his works are created by his special overseas experiences. Therefore Maugham’s novels are full of exotic taste and very popular among the whole Britain. At the end of 1919 and in March of 1920, Maugham travels China for almost four months and creates the novel The Painted Veil which is on the background of Hong Kong. During the travel to China, Maugham does not only appreciate the beautiful sceneries, but also makes a lot of efforts to understand the profound culture in this ancient nation. Taoism and its classic Tao Te Ching have appeared so many times in The Painted Veil, so it is obvious that Maugham has been attracted and influenced by this Oriental philosophy profoundly. Maugham interprets the Taoist attitude towards life, the Taoist understanding to the whole universe and the Taoist unique way of thinking through his novel The Painted Veil.This Thesis analyzes the Taoism thoughts reflected in The Painted Veil from three aspects. The first chapter explains an important concept in Taoism: Wu Wei. It is an art of life for the Taoism believers, which teaches the people to go back to the origin of life to embrace simplicity and plainness, reduce the extra desires and selfishness from the deep mind. Through the depiction of the characters’ life philosophy, Maugham expresses the Taoist philosophy of life which leads people to be modest and soft as the water is in the daily life. The second chapter states the Yin Yang Theory in Taoism. Yin and Yang differ from each other, transform to the contrary aspect and co-exist at the same time. In this novel, Maugham uses three pairs of opposites: life and death, love and hatred, civilization and barbarism to manifest the complicated relations between Yin and Yang. In the third chapter, a unique way of thinking the Negative Thoughts in Taoism is analyzed. Instead of defining what the thing is, the negation of it becomes the key to understanding the essence of everything. Following this principle, Maugham explores the human nature, the beautiful love and the ideal family mode.Summarizing the above, Taoism as a profound and ancient philosophy guides people to a purified land where they recover themselves, re-find the meaning of life and learn to use the wise eyes to watch the world.