小说的主人公彼得·基恩自幼生性怪僻,多年来一直离群索居,与世隔绝,潜心研究汉学,四十岁时成为当时最有名的汉学家之一。十几年来,他用父亲留下的遗产,悉心收集了大量书籍,建起了一个私人图书馆。这个图书馆不仅是他从事汉学研究的依据,而且成为他全部生活意义之所在,在他的心目中唯有他的图书。基恩厌恶人类,认为人类的本性就是爱慕虚荣,追逐金钱和贪图享乐。因此,他没有结婚,一直过着独身的生活。他从事汉学研究并不是为了能够对社会有所贡献,而仅仅是为了表达自己“纯洁的精神”,向世人证明他的 Peter Keane, the protagonist of the novel, has been a peculiarly eccentric man since childhood. He has been isolated from the world for many years and has devoted himself to studying Sinology. At the age of 40, he became one of the most famous sinologists of the time. For more than a decade, he used his legacy from his father to collect a great deal of books and set up a private library. This library is not only the basis for his study of Sinology, but also the place where all his life means, and only his book in his mind. Keane misogyny people, that human nature is to love vanity, chasing money and seeking pleasure. Therefore, he has not married, has been living a single life. He did not study Sinology in order to be able to make a contribution to society, but only to express his “pure spirit” and prove to the world his