Almost every Chinese reference to
瓦尔登湖 is to Henry David Thoreau's 1854 book Walden, not the actual pond in Concord, Massachusetts. The book has a near-cult status among Chinese readers as a manifesto for simple living and was widely re-translated after a 1949 Xu Chi (
徐迟) translation. Pair it with
梭罗 (Suōluó, Thoreau) and
简朴生活 'simple living'.
