Taoism In Thoreau’s Walden

Henry David Thoreau is an American transcendentalist philosopher andlitterateur in the19thcentury. Thoreau did not gain much recognition in his lifetime.With the rise of global environment movement in the second half of the20thcentury,Thoreau is discovered, with his works becoming a hot topic for literary critics. Hismasterpiece Walden attracts more and more readers because of the graceful charactersand profound ideological implications.This thesis tries to study Taoism reflected in Thoreau’s Walden by analyzing thetext of Walden, and attempts to prove that Taoism has a subtle transforming influenceon Thoreau’s ideas. Besides, it analyzes the similarities and differences between them.This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter One is the literature review aboutTaoism, Transcendentalism, and the relationship between Thoreau and Taoism.Taoism is broad and profound, and it has been widely studied both at home andabroad. Transcendentalism is referred to as American Renaissance in Americanliterature history, and it has an important impact on American literature and culture.Chapter Two mainly talks about Taoism, Transcendentalism and their relationship.Taoism and Transcendentalism are in great unity while keeping their individualityrespectively. This results from the interaction between the two civilizations, and isregarded as one of the legacies of global culture. Chapter Three is the core of thethesis. It discusses Taoism reflected in Walden by analyzing the text. Chinese culturaland artistic concepts are pervasive in Thoreau’s Walden. Despite the prodigiousconsistency of Thoreau’s ideas with Confucianism on the surface, Walden’s inherentqualities are almost the same as those of Taoism.