ABSTRACT:William Somerset Maugham (1847-1965), a British playwright, novelist, and short story writer, was one of the most popular authors of his era. The Painted Veil is a novel of W. S. Maugham, which is based on Chinese background. Because of the exotic image, it attracts considerable attention in China. Chinese image in the novel is wandering between ideology and Utopia. On the one hand, it is ugly and inferior, on the other hand, it is mysterious and idealized. The “Chinese image” is the imaginary “Other” which is far from the real China. It is Maugham’ s literary imagination and cultural utilization of China. It conveys British’ s cultural psychology and deep needs. This thesis analyzes the image of China in The Painted Veil.

It analyzes two aspects of the novel: the image of China under ideology and Utopia. Then it explores the reasons of these two phenomena, mainly focusing on social background. Studying this topic requires understanding the content of “Other” theory, understand the historical background and culture of East and West in the 20th century. And clarify the relationship between ideology and Utopia. Ultimately, this thesis points out neither positive image nor negative image is real China. This is the swinging “Other” that westerners have interpreted in their culture.

Keywords: Chinese image; ideology; Utopia; the Other

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

1.1 An Introduction to William Somerset Maugham-1

1.2 An Introduction to The Painted Veil-2

2 Literature Review-2

3 Ideological China-4

3.1 Silent Character Image-5

3.2 Poor and Backward Material Culture-6

3.3 Foolish and Feudal Social Customs-7

4 Utopian China-8

4.1 The Original Mystery-8

4.2 Beautiful Countryside Landscape-10

4.3 Chinese Women’ s Firmness-10

5 Conclusion-12

References-14