What is it about?
This article discloses how Oscar Wilde’s idea of “self-development” in The Picture of Dorian Gray contrasts with the Taoist philosophy in Chuang Tzŭ. Wilde’s 1890 review of Taoism highlights a paradox: detachment, not desire, leads to growth. It critiques English interference in Ireland and connects Taoism with aestheticism.
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Why is it important?
This article is important because it offers a fresh contextualization of The Picture of Dorian Gray, revealing Oscar Wilde’s complex relationship with China and Taoism. It provides significant insight into how Taoist ideas shaped Wilde’s aesthetics and critiques of empire.
Perspectives
This article was important to me because it illuminated the complex ways a fin-de-siècle writer like Wilde engaged with China and Taoist ideas—even if those ideas were filtered through translation.
Charles Lowe
United International College
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A Translation of a ‘Taoist Aesthete’: A Source for Lord Wotton’s Theory of “Self-Development” in Oscar Wilde’s
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ANQ A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles Notes and Reviews, April 2025, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/0895769x.2025.2491458.
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