# The Consul — On a Chinese Screen character guide > The Consul in On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** consul **First appearance:** 0033-xxx-the-consul ## Snapshot One of the evening-clothed dignitaries at a treaty port dinner, bored to death with the same faces and topics he has endured for intolerable years. ## Who they are The Consul belongs to the closed circle of number ones and managers — Jardine's, the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank, the A.P.C., the B.A.T. — who dine together in evening clothes worn more from duty to country than comfort. They talk of racing, golf, and shooting; they distrust any man who studies Chinese, hire interpreters for twenty-five dollars a month, and suspect that those who go in for the language grow queer in the head. China bores them, and they bore each other, and their stifled, silent dinners are the treaty port's true portrait. ## Relationships ### [Miss Lambert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/miss_lambert) _romantic_ Miss Lambert and the Consul share a flirtatious and emotionally charged relationship, marked by frequent social interactions and underlying romantic tension. ### [The Judge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/the_judge) _professional_ The Consul and the Judge interact regularly as senior colonial officials, collaborating on administrative and legal matters in the foreign settlement. ### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/the_officer) _professional_ The Consul and the Officer coordinate on matters of colonial security and protocol, maintaining a formal but cooperative relationship. ### [Robert Webb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/robert_webb) _social_ Robert Webb is a fellow expatriate who socializes with the Consul at club events and diplomatic gatherings. ### [Mr. Wingrove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/mr_wingrove) _social_ Mr. Wingrove is a fellow colonial resident who interacts with the Consul in social and ceremonial contexts. ### [Fanning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/fanning) _professional_ Fanning and the Consul interact in official capacities, likely regarding trade permits or diplomatic matters. ### [Miss Lambert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/miss_lambert) _romantic_ Miss Lambert and the Consul share a flirtatious and emotionally charged relationship, marked by frequent social interactions and underlying romantic tension. ### [Miss Lambert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/miss_lambert) _romantic_ Miss Lambert and the Consul share a flirtatious and emotionally charged relationship, marked by frequent social interactions and underlying romantic tension. ## In the story ### [On a Chinese Screen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/on-a-chinese-screen) A diplomatic figure representing Western interests, often caught between duty and personal disillusionment. ### [V: The Cabinet Minister](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/v-the-cabinet-minister) The narrator, who visits the Cabinet Minister and engages in a conversation about culture and art. ### [VI: Dinner Parties](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/vi-dinner-parties) Implied through the diplomatic setting; the first secretary of the British Legation is a central figure. ### [I: Legation Quarter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/i-legation-quarter) The first secretary of the British Legation is described as impeccably dressed, possessing faultless taste, and writing vers libre; his entrance is treated as an event, and he embodies the self-contained, superior attitude of the diplomatic corps. ### [XIII: Her Britannic Majesty’s Representative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xiii-her-britannic-majesty-s-representative) Described as vain, irritable, bumptious, and tiresome, yet courageous; he confronts a Chinese firing squad to save three prisoners. ### [XXVIII: The Dining-Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxviii-the-dining-room) Mentioned as having once required two vice-consuls but now managing alone, emblematic of the port's decline. ### [XXXVIII: The Philosopher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxviii-the-philosopher) Mentioned as the one who provided information about the philosopher's reputation and habits. ### [The Old Timer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlv-the-old-timer) Not directly present; the old timer's story stands alone. ### [XLIX: The Taipan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlix-the-taipan) Mentioned as someone who takes care to keep on the right side of the Taipan; the Taipan recalls a past conflict with a consul that he won. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/the_consul - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters