# On a Chinese Screen — Chapters explained

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

- [On a Chinese Screen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/on-a-chinese-screen.md): 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. Thr
- [The Rising of the Curtain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/i-the-rising-of-the-curtain.md): 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 obs
- [II: My Lady's Parlour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/ii-my-lady-s-parlour.md): 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.
- [III: The Mongol Chief](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/iii-the-mongol-chief.md): 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,
- [IV: The Rolling Stone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/iv-the-rolling-stone.md): The narrator recounts meeting a man whose extraordinary travels and experiences across the world, including a four-year journey through China disguised as a poor Chinese man, are belied by his unremarkable appearance and

> 56 more chapter companions — [open a free preview](https://www.betterreads.dev/reader?bookId=on_a_chinese_screen_se_382kb&preview=1) to unlock the rest.

- [V: The Cabinet Minister](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/v-the-cabinet-minister.md)
- [VI: Dinner Parties](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/vi-dinner-parties.md)
- [I: Legation Quarter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/i-legation-quarter.md)
- [II: At a Treaty Port](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/ii-at-a-treaty-port.md)
- [VII: The Altar of Heaven](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/vii-the-altar-of-heaven.md)
- [VIII: The Servants of God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/viii-the-servants-of-god.md)
- [IX: The Inn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/ix-the-inn.md)
- [X: The Glory Hole](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/x-the-glory-hole.md)
- [XI: Fear](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xi-fear.md)
- [XII: The Picture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xii-the-picture.md)
- [XIII: Her Britannic Majesty’s Representative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xiii-her-britannic-majesty-s-representative.md)
- [XIV: The Opium Den](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xiv-the-opium-den.md)
- [XV: The Last Chance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xv-the-last-chance.md)
- [XVI: The Nun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xvi-the-nun.md)
- [XVII: Henderson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xvii-henderson.md)
- [Dawn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xviii-dawn.md)
- [XIX: The Point of Honour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xix-the-point-of-honour.md)
- [XX: The Beast of Burden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xx-the-beast-of-burden.md)
- [XXI: Dr. Macalister](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxi-dr-macalister.md)
- [XXII: The Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxii-the-road.md)
- [XXIII: God's Truth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxiii-god-s-truth.md)
- [XXIV: Romance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxiv-romance.md)
- [XXV: The Grand Style](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxv-the-grand-style.md)
- [XXVI: Rain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxvi-rain.md)
- [XXVII: Sullivan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxvii-sullivan.md)
- [XXVIII: The Dining-Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxviii-the-dining-room.md)
- [XXIX: Arabesque](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxix-arabesque.md)
- [XXX: The Consul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxx-the-consul.md)
- [XXXI: The Stripling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxi-the-stripling.md)
- [XXXII: The Fannings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxii-the-fannings.md)
- [XXXIII: The Song of the River](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxiii-the-song-of-the-river.md)
- [XXXIV: Mirage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxiv-mirage.md)
- [The Stranger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxv-the-stranger.md)
- [XXXVI: Democracy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxvi-democracy.md)
- [XXXVII: The Seventh Day Adventist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxvii-the-seventh-day-adventist.md)
- [XXXVIII: The Philosopher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxviii-the-philosopher.md)
- [XXXIX: The Missionary Lady](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxix-the-missionary-lady.md)
- [A Game of Billiards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xl-a-game-of-billiards.md)
- [The Skipper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xli-the-skipper.md)
- [XLII: The Sights of Town](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlii-the-sights-of-town.md)
- [Nightfall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xliii-nightfall.md)
- [XLIV: The Normal Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xliv-the-normal-man.md)
- [The Old Timer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlv-the-old-timer.md)
- [XLVI: The Plain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlvi-the-plain.md)
- [XLVII: Failure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlvii-failure.md)
- [XLVIII: A Student of the Drama](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlviii-a-student-of-the-drama.md)
- [XLIX: The Taipan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlix-the-taipan.md)
- [L: Metempsychosis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/l-metempsychosis.md)
- [LI: The Fragment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/li-the-fragment.md)
- [One of the Best](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/lii-one-of-the-best.md)
- [LIII: The Sea-Dog](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/liii-the-sea-dog.md)
- [LIV: The Question](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/liv-the-question.md)
- [LV: The Sinologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/lv-the-sinologue.md)
- [The Vice-Consul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/lvi-the-vice-consul.md)
- [LVII: A City Built on a Rock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/lvii-a-city-built-on-a-rock.md)
- [LVIII: A Libation to the Gods](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/lviii-a-libation-to-the-gods.md)

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters