The course of Thoreau’s absorption of Confucius’s philosophy was never smooth。 From the first volume of his theses, book reviews and journals in Harvard College , Thoreau got in touch with Confucian classics back in college and mentioned about Confucius in his journal when in 1838。 In 1849, Thoreau finished the very first version of Walden and after seven revisions, and it was finally published in 1854。 “Not until the second version of Walden did Thoreau start quoting Confucian classics。” (quoted in Shanley 26) When Thoreau lived in the woods, he frequently got inspiration from the Confucius’s philosophy and also used direct Chinese references in his journals。 It proved that Thoreau has been impressed by the ideas of Confucius。 

     Besides, Lao Tzu’s Taoist philosophy reached America from Europe during that period。 “It is recorded that English, German and French translations of Lao Tzu’s TaoDeJing are popular from 1860s to 1900s in Europe。” (quoted in Ren 177) It is mentioned in the introduction that in 1972, David Chen wrote Thoreau and Taoism。 Thoreau’s worship for nature and his view of living a quiet and simple life were quite in coherence with the doctrine of the union of nature and human beings in Taoism。 Lin Yutang once wrote in his The Importance of Living:

Thoreau is the most Chinese of all American authors in his entire vies of life, and being a Chinese, I feel much akin to him in spirit。 I discovered him only a few months ago, and the delight of the discovery is still fresh in my mind。 I could translate passages of Thoreau into my own language and pass them off as original writing by a Chinese poet, without raising any suspicion。 (Lin 125)。

     Primarily embodying Thoreavian life philosophy, Walden also corresponds to Chinese ancient human affinity with nature and the universe。 Therefore, a further in-depth study on Thoreavian life philosophy, which stems from the previous studies on Thoreau’s views on life and nature, is not only meaningful but also practical in terms of its universal values。 The following part of this thesis, based on Thoreau’s view on nature, will hence examine Thoreavian life philosophy in the contemporary era from three aspects: First, it will explore the literary significance of his life philosophy from the rise of environmental protection and eco-criticism。 Then it will analyze the cultural connotation of Thoreavian life philosophy which is made up of two core parts, namely, life of simplicity and persity。 In the end, it will discuss the spiritual implication of Thoreau’s life philosophy by explaining the positive influence of an “Inwardness” life to comfort and cultivate inpidual spirit。文献综述

3。 The Literary Significance of Thoreavian Life Philosophy

     To live a simple a life, as Thoreau appreciated throughout Walden, is an ideal way of living and serves as one of the main purposes for him to enter the woods。 The special view on life, together with Thoreau’s opinion about living a persified life, urges people to get rid of their greedy pursuit of materials and instead encourages them to pursue spiritual enjoyment。 Constructing by those two pillars, Thoreavian life philosophy spread far and wide and became more and more celebrated regardless of the vicissitudes of history。 Innumerable writers and critics have come to appreciate his thoughts。 And with the rise of environmental protection, Thoreau’s life philosophy was expanded to the area of ecological criticism and hence became the root of modern eco-criticism。