On a Chinese Screen · Chapters

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Chapter companions for On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham.

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Chapter 1
Dedication
A brief dedication of the book to Syrie.
Chapter 2
On a Chinese Screen
The chapter presents a series of vignettes and observations from the author's travels in China, capturing the cultural clashes, colonial ennui, and the search for meaning among Western expatriates and Chinese locals. Through encounters with various characters, the narrative explores the futility of Western superiority and the loss of tradition amidst modernity.
Chapter 3
The Rising of the Curtain
The chapter opens with a vivid description of the approach to a Chinese city, detailing the dilapidated mud hovels, a string of disdainful camels, and a crowd gathered at the gate. Inside the city walls, the narrator observes a bustling street of shops with ruined magnificence, a Peking cart, and the mysterious figures it might carry, evoking the exotic and enigmatic atmosphere of the East.
Chapter 4
II: My Lady's Parlour
A woman transforms an old Chinese temple into a Western-style living space, decorating it with imported furniture, wallpaper, and photographs to recreate the feel of an English home in Cheltenham or Tunbridge Wells.
Chapter 5
III: The Mongol Chief
A mysterious Mongol chief descends from the high Mongolian plateau through a mountain pass into China, accompanied by his henchmen. He rides proudly ahead, seemingly indifferent to the bustling traffic of camels, wagons, and livestock that fills the ancient trade route. The narrative suggests a historical echo of his ancestors who once rode down this same pass to loot the rich cities of China.

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Dedication

On a Chinese Screen

The Rising of the Curtain

II: My Lady's Parlour

III: The Mongol Chief