# LIV: The Question explained — On a Chinese Screen > Chapter companion for On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham. ## What happens The narrator is taken to a temple complex where locals point out the exquisite artistry and architectural harmony of the buildings, but when asked about the spiritual purpose behind the construction, they are unable to provide an answer. ## Themes in this chapter ### Cultural Clash and Misunderstanding The locals can explain the aesthetic details of the temple but cannot articulate the underlying spiritual beliefs, highlighting a gap in cultural understanding. ### Beauty and Art as Escape or Illusion The temple's beauty is meticulously described, yet the spiritual void beneath suggests art as a surface-level escape from deeper questions. ## Character check-ins ### The Stranger The narrator is taken to the temple by unnamed locals; the stranger figure is implied as the observer asking about spiritual meaning. ## Key lines > They took me to the temple. It stood on the side of a hill with a semicircle of tawny mountains behind it, staging it, as it were, with a formal grandeur; and they pointed out to me with what exquisite art the series of buildings climbed the hill till you reached the final edifice, a jewel of white marble encircled by the trees; for the Chinese architect sought to make his creation an ornament to nature and he used the accidents of the landscape to complete his decorative scheme. The narrator is brought to a temple set on a hillside, framed by mountains, where the buildings ascend gracefully to a white marble shrine; the architect designed it to enhance the natural setting. _Describes the temple's location and the architect's intent to harmonize with nature._ > They pointed out to me how cunningly the trees were planted to contrast with the marble of a gateway, to give an agreeable shadow here, or there to serve as a background; and they made me remark the admirable proportion of those great roofs, rising one beyond the other, in rich profusion, with the grace of flowers; and they showed me that the yellow tiles were of different hues so that the sensibility was not offended by an expanse of colour but amused and pleased by a subtle variety of tone. The locals highlight the deliberate placement of trees for contrast and shadow, the graceful proportions of the layered roofs, and the varied yellow tiles that create a pleasing tonal variety. _Details the aesthetic choices in the temple's design._ > They showed me how the elaborate carving of a gateway was contrasted with a surface without adornment so that the eye was not wearied. All this they showed me as we walked through elegant courtyards, over bridges which were a miracle of grace, through temples with strange gods, dark and gesticulating; but when I asked them what was the spiritual state which had caused all this mass of building to be made, they could not tell me. The guides explain the balance of ornate and plain surfaces to avoid visual fatigue, but when the narrator inquires about the spiritual motivation behind the temple's construction, they have no answer. _Highlights the contrast between detailed artistic explanation and the absence of spiritual understanding._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/liv-the-question - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters