Somerset Maugham, the novelist, published his travel book On a Chinese Screen following his China trip in 1919. The book is something between prose and short stories, with the purpose to collect “characters and backgrounds in preparation for future novel writings” according to Maugham.
Finally, here came that future novel: The Painted Veil was recently translated into Chinese and quickly became a hit, with the help of the recent release of a major motion picture based on the novel. It tells a love story of a young English couple who got married and moved to China in the 1920s. Walter Fane, a middle class doctor, and Kitty, an upper-class woman, lost their passion in the vanity lives of Hong Kong, yet rediscovered it in a poor and cholera-ravaged inland village.
Using China as a back-ground, Somerset Maugham brilliantly depicts the spiritual growth of a young western woman, who finally lifted the illusive veil and found the true meanings of life. The book describes many typical Chinese country scenes, in extended rice fields, bricked walls, wooden temples, and stoned gates. There are also strong Chinese characters of that time, e.g. a local military officer who was friends with the western doctor, and a run-away aristocratic princess who had given the heroine the necessary inspiration and courage to stay.
The book is not a romantic novel, though. On the contrary, it’s full of mocking barbs and cold observations that Somerset Maugham is famous for. Readers may often feel sympathetic for the struggling young couple, or even wish to put some artificial warmth to their estranged love relationships. Yet the author constantly discloses the cold truth of life, to actually make the whole reading process a lifting of sentimental but false veils for readers.
Based on this classic novel, now came the major Hollywood motion picture of the same name, starring Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Anthony Wong. The movie was partly filmed in Guangxi Autonomous Region in China. It is already a hot nominee for several Oscar Award categories in 2007.
