Talk:The Good Earth

Untitled

Nowhere in the book does it say that Wang Lung had died.

Attention!

The Good Earth artical needs serious expanding and cleanup, I have edited in some important details that have been missed in the original. Any help would be appreciated. AP Shinobi (talk) 01:46, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Why does this article say nothing with the exception of the statement that an Andrew and Daniel somebody are kings? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.159.67.66 (talk) 21:49, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

I wonder if the "pre-revolutionary novel" doesn't refer instead to the 1912 revolution by Sun Yat-Sen, which overthrew the emperor, rather than the Chinese Civil War from 1927 to 1949 between the nationalists and communists. Does anyone here know the date in which the novel was placed? Bdubay (talk) 23:05, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

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I've just read this book - and this article is more of a plot synopsis than anything. Shouldn't this article discuss instead the reasons behind it winning a Pulitzer? Perhaps the impact it had in culture? I'm not the best person to do that, but I suspect it would be a more useful article if this were included.

Good idea! Why aren't you the best person to do it?? Sign up for an account and start editing. Even if what you add is fragmented bits and pieces, someone else will come along and expand. Monkeyman 00:33, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

fuck it, particularly the role of women in that society. O-Lan dismisses the birth of her female children, saying they are nothing, just slaves, but it is in stark contrast to the huge role she had in the success of her husband. Contrast her with Lotus, the "ideal" chinese woman (bound feet, great beauty) whom Wang takes as a concubine. Reflections of the values of the culture are shown through the women. O-Lan states that she is not beautiful, but she has borne sons.

Please Refrain from such language, if you have a major problem feel free to report it or edit it yourself! AP Shinobi (talk) 01:44, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

You do realize that if the book engaged you to that extent, it's a success? Don't blame Pearl Buck for the nature of Chinese society... Although your point is, to say the least, non-controversial: O-lan gets the rawest deal of any major character I can think of, and that's a decent range of major characters... ExOttoyuhr (talk) 02:06, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

comment

wow! how could people forget THE major theme of the novel: man's relationship with the earth.--Vircabutar 03:04, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

hmm... thats how I feel.

"Land is the only thing that matters; it's the only thing that lasts." -- Gerald O'Hara, Gone With The Wind 66.108.106.230 17:20, 22 September 2006 (UTC) Allen Roth

Actually it isnt forgotten. Read the first sentence of the Plot Summary:

      fall of his fortunes and his connection with the land

AP Shinobi (talk) 01:45, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

character map

Should there be a character map here for the Good Earth like they have on Pride and Prejudice. -RussB

The characters are discussed in the article already, but that would be a nice addition. AP Shinobi (talk) 15:09, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:GoodEarth.jpg

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Folks, I think that the plot summary is somewhat misleading. It says that Wang was given some gold by a rich man during the mob riot in exchange for the latter's life. This is simply not true, it is O-Lan who finds gems and silver in a hidden place after the riot when the Great House is empty. The treasure had been hidden by some concubine if I remember correctly. Could please somebody correct the text? I am not a native speaker of English, I do not feel entitled to do it myself. I think, however, that the correction should be made, as the present version is much more - how should I put it - marxistic as the story that was written by Pearl Buck. Apcka 19:27, 23 October 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Apcka (talk • contribs)

Wang Lung was given gold in exchange for a man's life. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.35.190.78 (talk) 16:39, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Comment on previous

The summary did not get it wrong. Wang and O-Lan got separated and both stole valuables: Wang by frightening the rich man and O-Lan by finding the secret horde. As usual, O-Lan does everything better than her husband, even theft.

What is disconcerting about the novel is Pearl Buck's seeming refusal to pass moral judgement on his characters. In the latter half of the novel Wang Lung does a number of repulsive things: terrorizing a rich man for his money; ignoring O-Lan when her peasant shrewdness is no longer needed; deliberately encouraging his wicked uncle and aunt to over-indulge in opium until the re;atives are helpless addicts, yet she narrates all this with the same calm tone as she did his earlier suffering and genuine hard work. I don't know why she wrote that way, but a basic attitude is obvious: Wang gets corrupted once he is no longer bound to the land. wrong.

Big question: when is all this happening? We know the railway has just been introduced, and the total absense of Marxist ideas implies that it is before the Revolution, but there are no dates given anywhere in the book. CharlesTheBold (talk) 04:31, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

pass moral jodgement? are you telling us your are god?

Characters

I'm adding a shorter version of the "Characters" section which was cut October 2007. I looked but could not find why it was cut. Perhaps it was too detailed? My understanding is that Wikipedia does not provide a substitute for Cliff's Notes, so perhaps even the version I am adding is too much. ch (talk) 04:57, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

Translator

If the original language is English, why is a translator listed? Brutannica (talk) 01:16, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

So that it may be translated to other languages...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.222.137.196 (talk) 01:56, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Series Name

Unless I am mistaken, isn't the name of this series the House of the Earth Trilogy? Why is that not listed? Panther991 (talk) 14:02, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

temporary removal

I removed the following recent addition. Since its style & format but imho the content as well are somehat questionable. I'm not quite sure what the point of listing selected references to chinese culture in a book on chinese farmers is to begin with. Obviously does a book about a chinese family being set in China written by somebody with a first hand experience contain plenty aspect of chinese culture.

Aside from the question regarding appropriateness of the content, there si an issue with the references, because ideally we would need references talking about cultural descriptions in the book and not references on cultural things themselves that have no connection to the book. Note that such sources belong in articles on such cultural aspects themselves (such as foot binding) rather than here. This is not an article on chinese culture but on the book.

Finally the style should be encyclopädic (less adjectives) and not written as review or essay one the book. The references/sources are not supposed to appear in the middle of the text, but the should be in <ref> </ref> -tags or just listed at the end of the article. --Kmhkmh (talk) 22:41, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Culture References

This book has an amazing amount of historical and culture related references and here are some of them.

In chapter seven, after Wang Lung first bought land from the Great House of Hwang word spreads that he is wealthy. Seeking easy money, his uncle came to him asking for money and because he is Wang Lung’s family, Wang Lung felt obligated to share some of his wealth with his uncle. But he did not want to give his well-earned money to his uncle and his uncle’s family, whom he describes as “disgrace done to the family”, to spend with out care and to gamble with. If he did not give him money then his uncle would tell the village that Wang Lung would not help his father’s family, which would hurt his pride and make him unrespected in the community. One of the things that Wang Lung desires most in “The Good Earth” is being respected and thought highly of by others, so he reluctantly helps his uncle. When the uncle and nephew were talking his uncle asked him, “Have you not heard it said that in the Sacred Edicts?” The Sacred Edicts is a list of sixteen principles given to the common Chinese people by their sixteen years old emperor, K'ang Hsi in 1670. Brians, Paul . "K'ang Hsi: The Sacred Edicts (1670)". Department of English. August 20, 2010. <http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/kang_hsi.html>.

In chapter twenty, during a great flood, Wang Lung bought a concubine named Lotus Flower from a wealthy teashop. In China it was common for very successful and rich men to have a concubine, in fact the more you had, the wealthier you looked; the Chinese Emperors often kept thousands. It was thought that keeping a young, fashionable, spoilt young woman as a mistress could make one become even more powerful. Also the concubines were thought higher than the wife, and if had a child, the concubine and her child were inferior to the wife and her children. Concubines were buried alive with their masters in their tombs to keep them company in the afterlife. "Concubines of Ancient China". Beijing Made Easy. August 20, 2010 <http://www.beijingmadeeasy.com/beijing-history/concubines-of-ancient-china>.

Foot Binding

Legend has it that Li Yu, a leader of China from 961-975 A.D., fell in love with a dancer, Yao Niang, who bound her feet to “suggest the shape of a new moon.” (Holman) Girls had their feet bound between the ages of four and seven. A long bandage was wrapped tightly around their feet; the four smaller toes were broken and bent under the sole and the arch of the foot was bowed to make the foot shorter. A correctly bound foot was a mere three inches long! A woman with bound feet could not dance or run and could barely even walk. (Body Bytes) Foot binding wasn’t outlawed until 1912; by 1915, the government could fine those still binding their feet. (Lim) Foot binding was mentioned in Chapter 1 of The Good Earth on page 18. Wang Lung is disappointed that O-lan’s feet were not bound. He notices this upon their first meeting.

Body Bytes. “Chinese Foot Binding.” Body Bytes. Oracle ThinkQuest, 2001. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111742/footbinding.htm>.

Holman, Jeanine. “Bound Feet.” The Photography of Joseph Rupp. PhotoLinks, 2010. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://www.josephrupp.com/history.html>.

Lim, Louisa. “Painful Memories for China’s Footbinding Survivors.” National Public Radio. National Public Radio, 19 Mar. 2007. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8966942#8962920>.

The Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms were established at the end of the Han Dynasty. Ts’ao Ts’ao (155-220 A.D.) ruled the kingdom of Wei. He tried to unify China, but was defeated in the battle of the Red Cliff in 220 A.D. Thus, began the Three Kingdoms. The Kingdoms were Wei, Shu, and Wu. In 263 A.D., the Wei Kingdoms captured the Shu Kingdoms. After the Shu Kingdom was defeated, the Ssu-ma family rose to power. A member of the family, Ssu-ma Yen, began the Chin dynasty in 265 A.D., marking the end of the Three Kingdoms. The Good Earth mentions the Three Kingdoms in Chapter 18 on page 183. After being humiliated in the tea shop, Wang Lung passes by a storyteller and listens to his stories about the Three Kingdoms, “when warriors were brave and cunning.” (p. 183)

Minnesota State University. “The Three Kingdoms.” China. EMuseum, n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/threekingdoms.html>.

Taoist Temples

A temple is a building where worship to a god or a higher being takes place. A Taoist temple would be a place where a person can follow the Taoist religion through worship. Taoism, also known as Daoism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), is a religion with approximately 225 million followers. (Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance) It includes “regarding the body, diet, breathing and physical exercises, use of herbs, philosophical inquiry and…mediation.” These things bring a Taoist closer with the “natural order” of life, says Madelyn Hamilton in her article, “The Search for Tao”. (Barrett)Essentially, Taoism deals with the flow of the universe, or force behind the natural order that keeps everything running smoothly. (Got Questions Ministries) In The Good Earth, the Taoist temple is mentioned in Chapter 26, page 288. In this chapter, Wang Lung contacts priests from a Taoist temple, along with those from Buddhist temples, to pray for O-lan and Wang Lung’s father after their deaths.

Barrett, Daniel, and Kafkaesq Productions. “What is Taoism?” The Tao of Anime. N.p., 1998. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://users.ntplx.net/~bbarrett/intro-tao.html>.

Got Questions Ministries. “What is Taoism/Daoism?” Got Questions? Got Questions Ministries, 2010. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://www.gotquestions.org/taoism-daoism.html>.

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. “Taoism (a.k.a. Daoism).” Religious Tolerance. N.p., 30 June 2010. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm>.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. “Taoism.” Sanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 28 June 2007. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/taoism/>.

None of Wang Lung's daughters was sold

He considered selling his youngest daughter during the famine, but he didn't do it. She was eventually betrothed to a son of a decent family and left her father's house when she married him. Jeez. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.255.65.218 (talk) 23:33, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Agreed. None of the daughters were sold, they considered giving away the first daughter (youngest child at the time) so she would have a better life, but didn't, and later found out she was the "poor fool." The youngest daughter (the twin) was betrothed, I think to the same family as the second son's wife. They sent her to her betrothed's family to bring up, when Wang Lung discovered his Cousin making a pass at the daughter.

Criticism/Potlical Influence

I challenge the neutrality of this article. In the Political Influence section, the page mentions that the Good Earth may have created sympathy and that it may be more complex/challenge issues in contrast to criticism that it is a collection of racial stereotypes, but the actual criticism is not included on the page. To be a fairly balanced article, the criticism and controversy, the book raises should be included. As a Chinese American, I personally felt uncomfortable with the way characters were portrayed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.230.195.164 (talk) 02:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)