读书笔记
读书心得
I read the opening chapter of “The Good Earth”, written by Pearl.S.Buck. This book won the Nobel Prize in Literature。
A)It was Wang Lung’s marriage day. This morning, he sprang up. “ It is spring,” he muttered. A small soft wind blew gently from the east and full of rain. It was a good omen. The fields needed rain for fruition.
He went into the shed which was the kitchen, leaning against the house, and an ox next the door lowed at him deeply. The kitchen was made of earthen bricks as the house was. Out of their own earth had his grandfather in the youth fashioned also the oven. On top of this oven stooped a deep, round, iron cauldron. The cauldron he filled partly full water, for water was precious. He selecting a handful of the dry grass and stalks. Then from a old flint and iron he caught a flame. He had lit it every morning since his mother died six years before. His father waiting for his son to bring hot water to ease him of his morning coughing. Now there was a woman coming to the house . Never again would Wang Lung have to at dawn to light the fire.
Wang Lung dipped some hot water into a bowl, and then, he opened a glazed jar, and took from it a dozen of the curled dried leaves and sprinkled them upon the surface of the water. The old man began to complain. “ Why are you wasteful? Tea is like eating silver.” “It is the day,” replied Wang Lung with a short laugh. “Eat and be comforted.”
Wang Lung went into his own room then, he took from a small pouch and counted the money in it. There were six silver dollars and a double handful of copper coins. He had asked his male cousin, and his uncle, and three neighboring farmers to sup that night. He had planned to bring back from the town that morning pork, a small pond fish.
He went out into the early morning. He would buy a stick of incense and place it in the temple to the Earth God. The woman had been a slave girl since her childhood. His father had gone to the House of Hwang and asked if there were a slave to share. He and his father had bought two silver rings and earrings, and these his father had taken to the women’s owner in acknowledgement of betrothal. Beyond this, he knew nothing of this woman.
He walked into the cool darkness of the city gate, and after a moment was the Street of Barbers.Wang Lung sat down upon the stool. The barber came at once, “ The new fashion is to take off the braid.” the barber commented.
“ I cannot cut it off without asking my father!” Wang Lung cried out.
He went to the market, then, and bought a pounds of pork, six ounces of beef. Then he turned his steps towards the House of Hwang. He stood at the gate for a long time, looking at it. Two lions made of stone on guard. There was no one else. He turned away. He felt suddenly faint. He would buy a little food. He had eaten nothing. He went into a small restaurant. He sat down. A beggar whined at him, “ Have a good heart, teacher, and gave me a small cash— I starve!” He threw into the beggar’s bowl two small cash.
He turned his way to the great gates. This time, since it was after high noon, the gates were ajar and the keeper of the gate idled upon the threshold. When Wang Lung appeared he shouted roughly, “ Now then, what?” “ I am Wang Lung, I am come—” Wang Lung replied. “There is a woman,” said Wang Lung.
“So you are he” the gateman gave a great laugh. But the gateman did not move, he said: “A little silver is a good key.”
“ I am a poor man,” Wang Lung said pleadingly. “ Let me see what you have in your girdle,” said the gateman. And when Wang Lung shook into his hand what money was left. There was one silver piece and fourteen copper pence. “ I will take the silver,” said the gateman coolly.
Wang Lung could do nothing but follow, he walked through court after court .Down a long narrow veranda they went, and into a hall, so wide were the spaces, so high the roofs. Upon a dais in the corner of the room he saw a very old lady, and upon the low bench beside her a pipe of opium stood. Wang Lung fell to his knees and knocked his head on the floor. “I am waiting for the woman, Great Lady,” said Wang Lung. The old lady: “ Ah, yes, you have come for the slave called O-lan”. “ Call O-lan quickly,”said the old lady to her slave. And in an instant the slave appeared. The woman went before the lady and stood with bowed head.
Wang Lung looked at her back as she stood before him. The woman’s hair was neat and smooth and her coat clean. He saw with a instant’s disappointment that her feet were not bound. The lady called Wang Lung and said: “ This woman came into our house when she was a child of ten and here she has lived until now, when she is twenty years old. I bought her in a year of famine when her parents came south because they had nothing to eat. They were from the north in Shantung and they returned .You see she has the strong body. She will work well for you in the field. She is not beautiful but that you do not need. So far as I know she is virgin. She has not beautiful enough to tempt my sons and grandsons. Had I not wished to acquire merit at the temple for my future existence by bringing more life into the world I should kept her, for she is good enough for the kitchen.”
And to the woman she said, “ Obey him and bear him sons. Bring the first child to me to see.” “Well, go, will you!” said the old lady in irritation, and Wang Lung, bowing hastily, turned and went out, the woman after him.
Then she led the way and into the street. Once or twice he looked back at her.her wide face expressionless. He bought six small green peaches. “Take these and eat them for yourself,” he said gruffly. She clutched them greedily. When next he looked at her she was nibbling one cautiously.
And they reached the temple of the earth. Wang Lung’s grandfather had build it. Within the temple sat two solemn figures. These were the god himself and his lady. Wang Lung took the sticks of incense he had bought, he stuck them before the gods. Together this man and this woman stood before the gods of their fields. It was a moment of marriage.While the incense smoldered into ashes, they went home.
At the door of the house the old man stood, as he saw Wang Lung take the basket he cried, “ Have you spent money?” “ There will be guests tonight,”Wang Lung said briefly . Wang Lung went into the kitchen and the woman followed him there, he took the food from the basket and said to her, “ Can you prepare food?” The guests came crowding in, after they had been seated, Wang Lung went into to the kitchen, he took the bowls from her hands and set them upon the table. He was proud of the dishes .
The woman still lingered behind the stove, and when Wang Lung had seen the last guest away he went in and she cowered there in the straw piles asleep. When he called her she put up her arm suddenly as though to defend herself from a blow. She looked at him with her strange speechless gaze. He took her and led her into the room, he was suddenly shy and he was compelled to remind himself, “ The thing is to be done.” Then he lay down and seized her.
B) I think:
(1) This chapter vividly and meticulously describes the Chinese society at that time through the events of Wang Lung’s marriage day : agricultural society, dependence on nature for food, poverty among the people, low status of women, and the lives of wealthy families. Although I haven't lived during this period, I feel very real. Well written!
(2) Especially O-lan. When she was a child, she were sold to wealthy families as slaves by her parents and later the old lady gave to Wang Lung as a woman. She accepts adversity with ease. She deserves the most sympathy.
(3) During the Mao era, China experienced famine and many people were persecuted in various political struggles. Now there are still various complex political issues. Such as ideological and speech control, official corruption, etc. I hope there are authors can write vivid and detailed works that reflect the current situation in China!
in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
?In the opening chapter of The Good Earth, Wang Lung and his new bride, O-Lan, make a point of stopping in his western field to visit the temple to the earth built by his grandfather. There they honor the god and his wife by burning sticks of incense before them, watching until the incense turns to ashes. This moment seems special to Wang Lung, particularly when O-Lan, intending to be helpful, carefully pushes the head of the ash away. As he watches her movement, he thinks, “It was as though she felt that the incense belonged to them both; it was a moment of marriage” (p. 21).
?This scene made me wonder about the religious beliefs and practices of the Chinese peasant in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A cursory Internet search revealed the following:
? The religious beliefs and practices of the Chinese peasants of this time were a blend of ancestor worship, local deities, and folk religious beliefs, deeply intertwined with daily life, including rituals to appease the spirits, harvest gods, and other supernatural entities. At the same time, there was a strong emphasis on family lineage and honoring ancestors through offerings and rituals at family altars.
? Each village had its local deities, including earth gods, river spirits, and protective gods. These were believed to influence local affairs and weather patterns.
? Numerous festivals were held to honor various deities.
? Confucian ethics and values emphasizing filial piety and social harmony also entered into religious beliefs and practices of the time.
In The Good Earth, we find features of traditional religions like Buddhism and Confucianism, as well as Wang Lung’s religious observances, which reflect the connection between the earth and his fortunes. When his fortunes are good, he is pious and shows faith in the earth gods, but when they are in decline, he is bitter toward the gods. In periods of transition, he tends to be anxious about the gods and prays to them frequently. We’ll want to be aware of these variations in his attitude and behavior as we read through the novel.
Although Christianity arrived in China as early as the 7th century, it did not take root until its re-introduction by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century when Christian communities began to grow. By the early 19th century, Protestant missionaries in China attracted small but influential followings and some independent Chinese churches were established. By the 1840s, China was a major destination of Protestant missionaries, and Catholic missionaries followed suit a few decades later. One historian estimates that between 1809 and 1949 some 50,000 served as missionaries in China. Their main goal was conversions, but they made relatively few. They achieved much more success in setting up schools and hospitals. In general, these missionaries were opposed by local elites who were committed to Confucianism and resented Western ethical systems, which they viewed as part of Western Imperialism. Consequently, missionaries were often prime targets during the Boxer Rebellion.
Chapter One
March 11, 2025
1. The Good Earth opens on a spring day, a wedding day. Wang Lung, son of a simple farmer and a principal character, races to his bedroom window at dawn, excitedly tearing the “tattered” paper away and stretching out his arm “to feel the air” (p. 1). A soft wind blows -- full of rain, a sign of fruition, a good omen. “It was as if Heaven had chosen this day to wish him well” (p.2). What is the effect of these sensory images on how you feel as you begin this novel? How do these images and others like Wang Lung’s bathing naked to the waist, the promise of rain to come, and its resultant fruition in the fields enlarge our understanding of Wang Lung and his bride-to-be?
2. The journey of Wang Lung into his new life begins as he attempts to leave the house to fetch his bride at the House of Hwang. Like any hero, he will encounter numerous obstacles on the way to his goal. He doesn’t look like much of a hero at this point, but there are early signs of his potential. What kinds of obstacles must he overcome before he even gets out the door?
3. On his journey to the House of Hwang, the bridegroom will pass in and out of gates and tremble before intimidating walls, structures ubiquitous in China and important archetypal symbols in the earliest literature, appearing at critical points in the classical journey of the hero. Where in this first chapter does Wang Lung encounter these structures? Comment on their meaning and effect.
4. How does Wang Lung behave towards O-Lan as they leave the House of Hwang? What do these actions suggest about them and their future?
5. How does O-lan behave as she eats the peaches Wang Lung has given her? What does this brief scene tell us about her and what her life has been like? ( You might want to check on the symbolism of peaches in Chinese art and culture as you reflect on this scene.)
6. As the couple make their way to Wang Lung’s farm, they stop at the temple of the earthen gods, built by Wang Lung’s grandfather, and Wang Lung burns the incense he had bought earlier that morning. What might motivate their stopping? As the incense burns, O-Lan pushes away the head of the ash. Why might she do this? Having done this, she looks at Wang Lung in fear. Need she have? What is his reaction?
7. Reaching her new home, the bride willingly prepares the wedding feast, modestly refusing to appear before the guests--all men--even to serve the food. And we are not told if she ate any of what she had prepared. When all of the guests are gone, Wang Lung finds her asleep behind the stove beside the ox. What might these circumstances tell us about the attitude toward women in Chinese culture at this time? Wang Lung rouses her and leads her to their room. What comments have you to make on the consummation scene? Did it disappoint you?
8. How does Wang Lung reveal his devotion to and respect for the “good earth” in this opening chapter?
9. What are your overall reactions to this chapter?