On a Chinese Screen

On a Chinese Screen by Somerset Maugham

On a Chinese Screen is a collection of fifty-eight sketches of people and places in China. William Somerset Maugham, one of the most famous writers of his time, takes us from the coastal treaty ports to the Great Wall and far up the Yangtze River. Urbane yet adventurous, one moment he is chatting with consuls and scholars, the next rubbing shoulders with Chinese coolies at a rustic roadside inn.

Originally published in 1922, the book beautifully evokes a lost age of travel and the final years of Old China. It is also often wickedly funny, particularly in Maugham’s caustic treatment of Western expatriates, whom he scorns for their pomposity, insularity and hypocrisy.

The original book lacked an introduction, a weakness ignored by subsequent reprints. John Ross has remedied this with a detailed introductory chapter providing essential background on Maugham, contemporary China, and the works inspired by his journey, such as the the novel The Painted Veil. The introduction also reveals aspects of Maugham’s secret life, including how, despite the impression he gave of traveling alone through China, he was actually with his lover.

On a Chinese Screen is a travel classic and a must-read for admirers of Maugham, students of China, and lovers of fine travel writing.