ABSTRACT:Over one hundred years ago, on the Independence Day, an American named Thoreau settled down beside Walden. After graduating from Harford, Thoreau could have entered the business community and made great fortune since the USA at that time witnessed a boom in capitalism, yet he chose to go back to nature. Only a man like him can return to an entirely natural way of living. And only those with devout religious beliefs can feel the fleeting of life and time, meditating how human beings live in industrial times.  

  Through the analysis of Walden, this thesis tries to elaborate Thoreau’s conception of living and his political perception of purity, harmony and peace. Thoreau kept an affectionate record of every single detail of what life was at lakefront, in the forest and in the cabin. His work exerted great impacts on people’s attitude of the US and even the world at large towards nature and to a great extent,  reshaped human’s comprehension of the relationship between human and nature.

Key word： Thoreau   Walden   spiritual  shelter  real life

中文摘要:一百多年前的美国独立日，梭罗住进了一个叫瓦尔登湖的地方。当时的美国在处于资本主义迅速发展时期，哈佛大学毕业的他本可以像其他人那样经商发财，将追求利润作为生活目的，然而他却选择回归自然。也许只有像他那样的人才能做到真正的全身心地回归自然，也许只有那些有着深厚宗教情结的人才能体验到生命与时光之间的变奏，思索起工业时代人们的生存方式问题。

　　　本文尝试通过对《瓦尔登湖》的解读，阐释分析梭罗的生活观，为当代人展现他的“人类与自然和谐相处”的思想。他的作品《瓦尔登湖》，以一种极简的方式的生活态度，表达了其在政治上纯净的，和谐，和平无斗争的思想。梭罗以深情的笔触详细描绘了他自己在湖畔，在森林里，在小木屋中的点点滴滴，深刻地影响着美国、乃至世界对自然的看法，引导人们对人与自然的关系重新进行思索和定位。

关键词  梭罗 《瓦尔登湖》 精神家园 真正的生活

　　　Through a detailed analysis of Thoreau’s Walden, we can better understand his life philosophy. Thoreau’s idea of a real life is to live a simple life with principles and live in harmony with the nature. When living at Walden lake , he puts his idea into practice and proves this kind of life style. To him ,“to be a philosophy is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates , a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust ”(Thoreau 11). Through a detailed description of life at Walden lake, Thoreau aims to shift both people’s  physical and spiritual life.

　　　Thoreau thinks the nineteenth America develops too rapidly and this brings people into degeneration. People live a life without principle , only gaining material wealth. Rebelling against the commercial and industrial society, he calls for the simplicity of the life. Greatly inspired by the nature , he decides to go back to the nature .