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The Analysis of Confucius Influence on Walden from the Perspective of Human Cultivation

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DOI: 10.23977/langl.2025.080101 | Downloads: 20 | Views: 271

Author(s)

Zhuoxin Li 1

Affiliation(s)

1 Inner Mongolia University, Zhaojun Street, Hohhot, China

Corresponding Author

Zhuoxin Li

ABSTRACT

Henry David Thoreau is a great American writer of romanticism and an important representative figure of transcendentalism, Walden is one of his masterpieces. Thoreau had lived by the side of Walden Lake for over two years, the book Walden records his daily life beside the lake and his introspection on life, society and human being. In Walden, Thoreau quoted Confucianism for 10 times, although there are some misunderstandings and misquotations, the quotations definitely show that Confucius impacts Thoreau a lot. This paper focus on Thoreau's opinions about self-cultivation in Walden to discuss Confucius's impact on Thoreau, and analyze why Confucius has made such an influence based on the social background and historical origin.

KEYWORDS

Walden, Henry David Thoreau, Confucianism, human cultivation

CITE THIS PAPER

Zhuoxin Li, The Analysis of Confucius Influence on Walden from the Perspective of Human Cultivation. Lecture Notes on Language and Literature (2025) Vol. 8: 1-7. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/langl.2025.080101.

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