People in China usually think any man who has power, big house, luxurious car, servants and all kinds of designed goods is a noble. Actually they are wrong. British noble is far from what we think and it has a deep historical accumulation. The nobility of a society are all the people who have titles and belong to a high social class (Collins, 2011: 583). In Britain, noble spirit is the qualities of high moral character, such as honor, generosity, or courage, processed by the nobility after several centuries’ development. Understanding the real meaning of noble spirit will help build genuine noble in humanity. This thesis will conduct a case study based on the series Downton Abbey to give a brief introduction to the English nobility and then explore the connotations and limitations of noble spirit in British society. 

2. Literature Review

As a well-received series, many critics and scholars have made comments and researches on Downton Abbey from different perspectives. Jeremy Musson wrote in his essay “Downton Abbey as History”, “Such simplifications aside, the press’ main criticism of the accuracy of Downton Abbey was that the show presented the two classes of people --- the servants and the served --- as too interconnected and friendly.” (Musson) His article targets at the comparison between the fact and the artificial creation, which helps the readers distinguish the series from history.