讀書筆記
讀書心得
I read the last five chapters of the book "The Good Earth", from Chapter 30 to Chapter 34. "The Good Earth" is the first part of the "The Good Earth Trilogy"
1）(A) Cp. 30. Now to Wang Lung it seemed there was nothing left to be desired in his condition.
The eldest son came to his father saying, “We should have the outer courts also and we should have what befits a family with so much money.” Then the son bought tables and chairs. When the feast came when rents are decided upon these common people found that the rent where they lived had been great raised, and they had to move away。Then they knew it was Wang Lung’s eldest son who had done this. They were away swelling with anger.
Wang Lung’s second son come into his court one morning and he said, “My father, is there to be no end to all this pouring out of money?” Wang Lung spoke that same evening to his eldest son. This son was willing to obey his father now for he was satisfied, but he began another, “It is for my youngest brother. He should be taught something.”
Wang Lung said, “Send him here to me.” After a while the third son came, Wang Lung said ，“Is it true you do not want to be on the land?” The boy answered “Aye.” Wang Lung called his eldest son and said, “Engage a tutor for the third one.” And he called his second son and said, “ You shall be my steward.”
The second son was pleased. He gave to the slaves and servants the least that could be given them. The eldest son was angry with his second brother.
It seemed there was none wholly at peace and comfortable except the small grandson. And from this one did Wang Lung secure pease. And he was pleased when his second son’s wife bore in her season. In the space of five years had four grandsons and three granddaughters.
On the winter of the fifth year it was very cold. His uncle died and Wang Lung buried him. Then Wang Lung moved his uncle’s wife into the town.
(B) Cp.31. One day Wang Lung’s second son said to his father, “The price of grain has been risen suddenly, for the war is nearer every day.”
Then sweeping out of the northwest there came one day a horde of men. When Wang Lung saw their faces and he muttered, “Let us lock the gate.”
But suddenly one shouted at him, “ Ho there, my father’s nephew.” Wang Lung saw the son of his uncle. And he called his fellows, “Here we may stop.” The horde was pouring into gates. They laid themselves down on the floors.
For the cousin run in and out and he cast eyes at the slaves. Then Cuckoo saw it and she said, “He must be given a slave for his pleasure.” And Wang Lung bade Cuckoo ask the cousin what slave he would have. So Cuckoo did, and she said, “ He says he will have the little one who sleeps on the bed of the mistress.”
This slave was called Pear Blossom. Then the young maid cried as though she would die. She held Wang Lung’s feet with her hands. Wang Lung said to Cuckoo, “It is ill to force the young maid like this.” “Go, and tell my cousin the girl has a vile and incurable disease. We have another and sound one.”
And he cast his eyes over the slaves who stood about, one stout wench, “I have a mind to try it, if he will have me.”
The cousin lived there for a moon and a half and he had the wench. And she conceived by him.
Then suddenly the war called and the horde went away quickly.
(C) Cp.32 The slave who had conceived by the son of Wang Lung’s uncle he commanded to wait upon his uncle’s wife. This slave gave birth only a girl. And he gave the slave a little silver, and this she told to Wang Lung, “Hold this silver as dowry for me, wed me for a farmer.” Then Wang Lung promised easily, and when he promised he was struck with a thought. Once he had been a poor man come into these courts for his woman. And he thought of O-lan with sadness. And he said, “ When the old opium dreamer died.” The woman came to Wang Lung one morning and said, “ The old one died.” And Wang Lung remembered the blubbering lad who had cause Ching’s death. He sent for the lad.
It seemed to Wang Lung that now his life was round of, for he was close to sixty-five years of his age. But there was no peace. The wife of the eldest son and the wife of the second son now had learned to hate each other, the two women were hostile.
The two brothers did not love each other well. Although Wang Lung received and dispensed all the moneys from his lands, still the second brother knew what it was and the elder not.
And Lotus was jealous of the maid, she accused Wang Lung that he looked at the maid. And he saw it was true that the girl was very pretty.
Wang Lung’s youngest son had lived among the soldiers when they were there and he had listened to the tales of war, and his head was full of dreams. So now he went to his father and he said, “I will be a soldier.” And Wang Lung said, “Tell your old father why you want to be a soldier?” The lad said, “ There is to be a revolution.” Wang Lung said, “All our good land is free, and you eat with it, I do not know what freedom you desire.” “We will wed you soon, my son.” “If there is a slave you desire。” And the boy answered, “l have my dreams. I wish for glory.” “There is not a beauty in the courts, except perhaps the little pale maid.”
Then Wang Lung knew he spoke of Pear Blossom and he was smitten with a strange jealousy.
(D) Cp.33. Wang Lung watched Pear Blossom incessantly as she came and went by and he doted on her. But he said nothing to anyone.
When night came he sat there in the darkness under the tree one passed, and he looked and it was Pear Blossom. “Pear Blossom!” he called, “Come here to me!” She crept fearfully and stood before him, and he fingered her little coat. And he said slowly, “Child— I am an old man.” And she said, “I like old men—”. He said again, “You should have a tall straight youth.” But she said, “Young men are not kind— they are only fierce.” And he took her and then led her into his own courts.
When it was done he was satisfied to feel her light youth, which is so fond. As for her, she clung to him as to a father.
Cuckoo saw the maid slipping at dawn out of Wang Lung’s court. “Well!” she said, “And so it is the Old Lord over again!” “Well, the mistress must be told.” “She was angry. She will have a ruby ring for her hand and a slave to take Pear Blossom’s place.” And Wang Lung promised.
There were left yet his three sons, he was shamed. They came one by one, separated, and the second one came first. he came talked of the land and of the harvest, and as he talked he looked here and there about the rooms. Then the eldest son came in, the son said, “I did not believe it was so.” “You are rich and you may do as you like.” The youngest son came in. He stood and at last he said in a low voice, “Now I will go for a soldier.” When the morning came of the next day Wang Lung’s youngest son was gone and where he was gone no one knew.
(E) Cp.34 With the passion of the flame out of Wang Lung he was suddenly cold with an age. Nevertheless, he was fond of her. And more and more his love for her was the love of father for daughter. He asked her, “What was it that made you thus fearful of men?” She whispered, “Every man I hate except you—my father who sold me.”
And for his sake she was even kind to his poor fool. He called her to him one day and he said, “Here is a gate of safety for the poor fool in this pocket, and after I am died, you are to mix it in her rice and let her eat it, that she may follow me where I am.”
He would sit a little while and look at the children gathering around him to stare. And he asked them, “Do you study the Four Books?” And they said, “No one studies the Four Books since the Revolution.”
He asked Cuckoo, “ Are my two daughters-in-law at peace?” And Cuckoo said, “Those? They are at peace like two cats eyeing each other.”
And he said to Cuckoo, “Does any ever hear from that youngest son of mine?” And Cuckoo said, “It is said he is a military official.”
But still one thing reminded to him it was his love for his land. His roots were in his land, when spring came each year he must go out on to the land, and he went. Sometimes he took a servant and he slept again in the old earthen house. When he woke in the dawn he went out.
One day he came to the place where he had buried his dead. He remembered them every one. And he muttered, “I must see to the coffin.” He went back to the town and he sent for his eldest son, and he said, “My son, I have chosen my place in the earth.” Then his son bought a carved coffin. And he looked at it every day.
Then he thought of something and he said, “I would have it moved out to the earthen house and there I will die.” He went back to his land, he and Pear Blossom and the fool, and Wang Lung took up his abode again on his land.
His sons were proper enough to him. Sometimes he complained a little of his sons if they came not every day. Pear Blossom said, “They have many affaires. Your eldest son has been made an office, and he has a new wife. Your second son is setting up a great grain market for himself.”
One day he heard his second son say, “This field we will sell.” He cried out with his anger, “No—we will never sell the land—”
2) I think: (A) It is written in Chapter 32: “ The wife of eldest son said the wife of the second son “ bold and ill-bred”. And the second son’s wife called her “snakes.” The two brothers did not love each other well, the elder always being fearful his birth lowly in the eyes of his wife who was town bred, and the younger fearful his brother’s desire for expenditure. Moreover it was a shame to the elder brother the the second brother knew all the money.”
In today's China, influenced by the propaganda of Marxism and Mao Zedong Thought, those from poor families hate those from wealthy families. Those who support the Communist Party hate those who criticize the Communist Party and attack them. This is current Chinese culture.
(B) Pearl S. Buck vividly depicted the society, customs and culture of China in the late Qing Dynasty by depicting Wang Long's life. She wrote it in English, through which people from the United States and other Western countries introduced China. They are more interested in this work than the Chinese people.
3) I visited Pearl S. Buck's former residence and cemetery and took some photos:
In reading and discussing Pearl Buck’s novel The Good Earth, we encounter the deaths of three important characters—O-lan, Wang Lung’s father, and Wang Lung’s uncle, and we find ourselves present at their funeral services. O-lan’s death is followed closely by that of her husband’s father. The date set by the geomancer for O-Lan’s burial a few months after her death allows the Wang family to honor and venerate O-lan and their revered father and grandfather on the same day. The uncle’s death occurs a bit later in the novel, and Wang Lung takes charge of the funeral arrangements because “…it is fitting to do so in a great family when a relative dies” (Washington Square Press edition, 321). The author provides considerable information regarding these funerals that introduces us to long-observed traditions in Chinese culture. You will recall the following:
? Following O-lan’s death, the uncle’s wife begins the preparations by washing O-lan’s body for burial.
? The uncle’s wife, the eldest son, and his wife then lift the body from the bed and set it in the coffin.
? Wang Lung then calls men to seal the coffin and contacts a geomancer who will identify a lucky day for the burial. Since the date chosen is three months away, Wang Lung arranges with a local temple to store O-lan’s body until then. In the meantime, he orders that white mourning garments be made for the family.
? The death of Wang Lung’s father follows soon after. This time, Wang Lung washes the body, lays it in the coffin and has it sealed. He declares that his father’s burial will take place on the same day as O-lan’s.
? When the day for the funeral arrives, Wang Lung arranges for priests from the Taoist and Buddhist temples to play drums and chant all night for the two who are dead. The next morning, the mourners, weeping loudly, process to the hill where the graves had been dug. Wang Lung’s father is buried first.
? Wang Lung, having anticipated that his uncle will not live much longer because of his heavy opium use, buys two coffins—one for the uncle and the other for his uncle’s wife-- and has them placed in his uncle’s room, “…that the old man might see them and die in comfort, knowing there was a place for his bones” (Washington Square Press edition, 320). The uncle is very grateful and praises him, calling his nephew: “…a son to him …more than that wandering one of my own” (320). Wang Lung also takes charge of the funeral arrangements for his uncle, buying mourning garments for the whole family and burying his uncle in the family enclosure beside his father.
Checking into a few sources describing funeral and burial customs in Chinese culture, one discovers that several of the customs described in Buck’s novel are still observed by Chinese families today, especially those living in rural areas of China. These customs show strong belief in the afterlife and the need for ancestor veneration among the living, drawing on Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and folk religion.
? The body of the deceased is carefully bathed and dressed and placed in the coffin, after which the coffin is sealed. The sealing of the coffin is a practice meant to represent the separation of the dead from the living. In modern times, this sealing takes place after prayer ceremonies and visitation have concluded.
? The wake/vigil is a gathering of friends and family of the deceased that can last from 3-7 days, during which family members take turns keeping watch by the coffin and burning spirit money (joss paper) to support the deceased in the afterlife. Mourners, particularly family members, wear white, although in modern times some choose black. Red, however, is never correct.
? Family and friends process to the burial site, often accompanied by hired mourners.
? Traditionally, the burial site is located on a hillside to achieve good feng shui (an ancient Chinese art of arranging space to achieve harmony and balance and an uninterrupted flow of positive energy, which is believed to provide a sense of well-being.)
? Many mourners observe a post-funeral period of 49 days during which prayers for the deceased are said weekly.
Additional Interesting Facts About Funerals in Chinese Culture
Pertinent to The Good Earth
? It was traditional for many Chinese families, especially those in rural areas, to prepare a coffin for an elderly relative and keep it in the house while he/she was still alive. This was not considered morbid. A high-quality, custom-made coffin was a major expression of respect for parents and elders, the last duty of a child to ensure his/her parents had a grand “final residence.” The coffin was often likened to a carefully packed bag, ready for the trip to the next world.
? Elders over 70 were often seen as having celebratory funerals, acknowledging the many years of life they had been given and reflecting a peaceful, accepting attitude towards death as a natural part of life. You will remember that Wang Lung “…grieved for his father, but not unto death, because his father was very old and full of years, and for any years had been but half alive” (270).
Chapter 30
1. What are the major issues that Wang Lang must contend with in this chapter? What is the only thing that provides relief from these tensions?
2. Were you surprised that Wang Lung has the coffins constructed and put in his uncle’s room even before the uncle has died?
Chapter 31
3. How do Wang Lung and his second son react when they hear the rumors of war? What causes them to change their minds?
4. Who is most troublesome of all among the invaders? Does this surprise you? What about the cousin’s behavior is especially troubling to Wang Lung and his sons? Who comes up with a possible solution for this problem?
5. Does Wang Lung’s compassion here surprise you?
Chapter 32
6. The grandchild of Wang Lung’s uncle is born at the beginning of this chapter. Why is Wang Lung so pleased that the child is a girl? He doesn’t totally abandon the child and her mother. What does he offer her? What does she request in addition?
7. Whom does Wang Lung select as groom for his slave? What do we learn about Wang Lung here?
8. How does Wang Lung feel as he sits on the same dais upon which Old Mistress Hwang sat when she brought him and O-Lan together? Do his feelings prove to be correct? What problems arise? Of these problems, which one seems to be the most complex? How so?
Chapter 33
9. You might be tempted to call this chapter “My Three Sons,” as I was tempted to do, but before we look into that, we should address Lotus’ reaction to the news that Pear Blossom is now in Wang Lung’s court. What brought Pear Blossom to Wang Lung’s court?
10. How does Lotus hear about this move? How does she react to the news? What is Cuckoo’s role in attempting to restore relative peace between Wang Lung and Lotus? Does Cuckoo succeed in doing so?
11. The rest of the chapter is devoted to the visits of Wang Lung’s three sons. Which of the three visits is the least uncomfortable for Wang Lung? Why? How does the eldest son behave on his visit? The third son’s visit occurs at night, after dark, in contrast to the first two in the morning and afternoon, suggesting that this may be the most difficult and trying for both father and son. Is it? How does the author characterize the son’s visit in his father’s court? (Note how she uses a very powerful image and little dialogue.) How does Wang Lung respond to his appearance? How does Pear Blossom respond, especially when the son’s eyes meet hers?
Chapter 34
12. As the novel draws to a close, we follow Wang Lung as he moves further into old age. He begins to do what people do when they recognize that time is growing short for them. What are some of the things he does?
13. What does the last line of the novel suggest about the future of the Wang family?
Miscellaneous
14. Do the ending chapters of the novel seem appropriate, satisfying? How so?
15. What are some of the novel’s outstanding achievements? One reader says the interest level drops a bit after O-lan’s death. Do you agree?
16. If you’ve had the chance to take a look at the critical excerpts that appear in the Washington Square Press edition, did you find any that surprised you? Disappointed you? Helped you to understand the novel better?