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"The Moon and Sixpence" is one of the three masterpieces of the British novelist William Somerset Maugham, written in 1919. The novel uses a first-person narrative technique to narrate the entire story. The plot is based on the life of French post-Impressionist painter Gauguin. The middle-aged protagonist, who was originally a securities broker, gave up everything and went to Tahiti in the South Pacific to live with the indigenous people, where he gained inspiration and created many artistic masterpieces. The theme of escapism revealed in the novel became a popular novel in the 20th century.

Philip's parents died when he was young and he was adopted by relatives. What's more unfortunate is that he was born with a lameness. When he was a student, Philip was ridiculed and bullied by his classmates. He swallowed his anger and could only get spiritual comfort through reading. As an adult, he was overwhelmed by the many shackles in life that he could not break away from, escape from, or avoid: physically, he had difficulty moving; mentally, his faith collapsed; emotionally, he was repeatedly frustrated; at work, he fell into confusion... After a series of changes, Philip, who was in his thirties, finally accepted the imperfections of life and learned to move forward calmly while wearing the "shackles of human nature."