Pearl S Buck’s The Good Earth is a very deep insight into life of Chinese people (in the early 20th century), especially of the almost impenetrable North China. This is my first exposition on China, although I have earlier read articles and stories, especially of Confucius and Buddhist parables, this novel gave me the glimpse of Chinese life, which at times is horrendous, almost unbearable, and at other times extreme stoicism, an attitude of forebearence towards life. The book shows China drifting towards communism, increasingly becoming modern - the cities being largely preferred, also a change in attitude. The author herself having lived in this part of the world succeeds in giving the novel life like image.
As far as the story is concerned, it is completley mundane. It is the story of the farmer Wang Lung who struggles hard and finally is in possession of most of the lands of neigbourhood, meaning becomes prosperous, sending his sons to schools and gradually he becomes so rich that he overthrows The House of Hwang, which becomes his - intially a place from where he brings his bride O-Lan, a slave. Wang Lung worships and takes care of the land which made him rich, but his sons do not and decide to sell it. I have given here the outline. What we need to look at are certain events which throws light on China of that time.
Events- a graphic socio-political image :
The novel begins with Wang Lung’s marriage day. When he decides to get married, hi father asks him And what will we do with a pretty woman ? We must have a woman who will tend the house and bear children as she works in the fields...who has heard of a pretty slave who was virgin in a wealthy house... This was the status of Women. Wang Lung marries O-lan , a slave but not pretty and she precisely does what she ought to have done , bearing him three sons and three daughters (one of them die).
The quite, though poor life of Wang Lung is disrupted by Famine. Famine lasts for many years and people starve and even eat their own young, if they don’t have food. Wang Lung is forced to go to South. In the South he learns so many things, living in a slum, of the war, of its riches. When the war is declared (communist war against Qing Dynasty), people loot the rich houses and Wang Lung has his share.
Wang Lung after his rich fortune in the south becomes wealthy and it is lawful for the wealthy to have concubines - and he has one. O-lan accepts silently and even at the old age he has another concubine who is almost as young as his daughter.
The change in political situation brings in a change attitude of people. The long braids which we often see in some chinese films - a traditional symbol is shorn off - even Wang Lung cuts his braid.(The Long Braid is supposed to give Long Life). One of his sons go to South having no interest in farming. The Land (The Good Earth) loses its importance, with Republic of China’s establishment and Western influence.
These were some of the events in the novel which were very interesting to me - what happens in the rest of the novel is how Wang Lung becomes prosperous and how his family grows into a big one- his sons having got married and it is supposed that Chinese in olden days lived for more than 100 years (I mean age ). It was natural sometimes to have a progeny through concubines (Imagine, hence the population). Every time while reading, I had to refer notes, some of the curious facts I place here
Noodles : The long noodles symbolize long life (So feast of noodles marking birth of child)
Red Paper : brings luck (used in all important chinese ceremonies)
Peaches : supposed to give immortality
Foot-binding : binding the foot together is supposed to make them beautiful
Earth gods : protect the place where they are (every chinese town has got one it seems).
Do add more to if you know them friends.