读书笔记
读书心得
I read Cp.2–5 of the book The Good Earth. It describes the life of the people at that time,
A) (1) Cp.2
There was this luxury of living. The next morning this woman rising from his bed as though she had risen every day of her life. The old man cough rose and he said to her, “ Take to my father a bowl of hot water for his lungs.” She asked, “ Are there to be tea leaves in it?” This simple question troubled Wang Lung. He would have liked to say, “ Certainly.” But he knew his father would be angry. He replied, “ No- it makes his cough worse.” Then he lay in bed while in the kitchen the woman boiled the water. He desired that she should like him as her husband.
During these next months, in reality he worked as he always had. When he could go to his house and food would be there ready for him to eat, and the dust wiped from the table. The woman in the morning took the bamboo rake countryside, reaping grass and twig, returning with enough to cook the dinner. In the afternoon she picked the droppings from animals and carried it home for fertilizer for the field. And when the end of the day came she did not rest herself until the ox had been fed. She took their ragged clothes and mended. Their bedding she took into the sun, killing the vermin. The old man’s cough grew better.
One day when Wang Lung was hard pressed with the swelling wheat, her shadow fell across the furrow, and there she stood, with a hoe across her shoulder, without speech she took the furrow to the left of him. The sun beat upon them, there was only this perfect sympathy of movement, of turning this earth of theirs over and over. this earth which formed their home and fed their bodies and made their gods.
When the sun had set, she smoothed a last furrow slowly. Then she said, “ I am with child.”
Wang Lung took the hoe from her hand a he said, “ We will tell the old man.” Out of this body of his, out of his own loins , life!
(2) Cp.3.
when the hour for birth drew near he said to the woman, “ I know nothing of these affairs. Is there none in the great house with whom you were friends, who could come?”
“None in the house!” she cried out at him. She said, “ When I return to that house it will be with my son in my arms, I shall have a red coat on him. And I will wear a new coat and I will show myself and my son to all of them.” “I suppose you need some money,” he said. “ If you will gave me three silver pieces....” she said fearfully. He put the three silver dollars upon the table, he had sold a load of reeds from the pond to the town market. Then, after a little hesitation, he added a fourth piece which he had kept by himself on the chance of gamble. She said, “ It is the first time I have had silver money in my hand.” Wang Lung thinking of the silver. It had come out from the earth that he ploughed.
It came one night, early. She was working beside him in the harvest field. She stopped. “ It is come,” she said. “I will go into the house. Bring me a newly peeled reed, that I may cut the child’s life from mine.”
When he reached the house he found his supper hot on the table and the old man eating. The old man said, “ Ah me, to think that out of all the children l begot and your mother born, one after the other, only you have lived!” Wang Lung stood listening at the door, a thin, fierce cry came out. “Is it a man?”he cried importunately. And the voice of the woman answered, “ A man!”
When she called to him to come in and he went in. She was lying neatly covered upon the bed. Beside her, lay his son. His heart rushed out to these two and he said, “Tomorrow I will buy a pound of red sugar for you.”
(3) Cp.4
The next day after the child was born the woman rose as usual and prepared food for them. Wang Lung went to the market and bought fifty eggs and red paper to boil in the water with them to make them red. And he bought a pound of red sugar. He bought four sticks of incense and he went into the small temple. He watched the four sticks well lit and then went homeward, comforted.
And then, the woman was back in the fields beside him. The harvests were past. They beat the grain out with flails. They winnowed it, the chaff blew away with the wind.Then there were the fields to plant for winter wheat again. She worked all day now and the child lay on the ground. When it cried the woman stopped and uncovered her bosom to the child’s mouth.
Winter came on. There had been such harvests as never were before. In their room were filled full of wheat and rice. Much of this would be sold. Wang Lung was frugal, he sold it at the New Year when people will pay well for food at any price. His uncle sell his grain before it was well ripened to get a little cash. His uncle’s wife was a foolish woman, fat and lazy. There was never anything hanging from the rafters in his uncle’s house. But in his own there was even a leg of pork. There were as well two of their own chickens killed and dried.
Soon the child could almost sit alone. They had had a feast of noodles, which mean long life, on his month birthday, and Wang Lung had invited those who came to his wedding feast and to each he had given a round ten of the red eggs.
From the produce, Wang Lung had a handful of silver dollars.Wang Lung was conscious that he had money more than he need spend.
(4) Cp.5 The New Year approached. Wang Lung went into the town and he bought squares of red paper and two red candles. And he bought pork fat and white sugar, the woman took the rice flour, she mixed and kneaded rich New Year’s cakes. When the cakes were laid out upon the table, the woman said, “ Those are not for us to eat. We are not rich enough to eat white sugar and lard.I am preparing them for the Old Mistress, I shall take the child on the second day of the New Year.”
Then on the second day of the New Year, they rose at dawn and the woman dressed the child in his red coat, and she put on her new coat, they set out on the path across the fields. Then Wang Lung had his reward at the great gate of the House of Hwang. The gateman was impressed with all he saw and he said to Wang Lung, “ Do you sit within my room while I announce your wife and son within.”
It seemed a long time before the gateman returned, bringing back again the woman and child. With short bows to the gateman and to his wife he hurried O-lan away and he took into his arms the child. She said in a whisper, “ I believe that they are feeling a pinch this year. I saw no one slave with a new coat like me.” Wang Lung urged his wife.“ Did you find out why they are poorer?” She replied, “ the cook said ‘ This house cannot stand forever with all the young lords spending money like waste water, and the Old Lord adding a concubine or two each year, and the Old Mistress eating enough opium every day.’” She added, “ The Old Mistress herself told me they wished to sell land.”
Suddenly a thought came to him. He cried, “ we will buy the land.” “ It is a good thing to buy land,” she said pacifically. And the slow smile spread over her face, she said, “ Last year this time I was slave in that house.”
B) I think: (1) This passage talked about family poverty and how to change it. Wang Lung’s family was poor, but they were very thrifty. After O-lan came in, she worked hard, their life improved and they bought land. His uncle's family was still poor because they were not industrious and thrifty. The House of Hwang , due to drug abuse and corruption, although originally rich, but gradually poor.
(2) As a country, there are also the problems of poverty and how to eliminate it. At that time, China only had agriculture and handicrafts, without industry, and was very poor and backward. In the era of Mao Zedong, establishing people's communes and state-owned enterprises could not eliminate poverty but even poorer. After the reform and opening up, foreign investment was introduced, industrial production saw significant growth, and people's lives improved.
“Developing production is a hard principle,” but how can we develop production? We must rely on the enthusiasm and creativity of the masses! We need to rely on the progress of technology. These requires a democratic political system and free surrounding.
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The Good Earth
Antifeminism in Wang Lung’s China
With the birth of Wang Lung’s son in chapter 3 of The Good Earth, we are reminded of the attitude toward women in Chinese culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although it had been many centuries since Confucious had taught that the roles of women were primarily kinship roles--daughter, sister, wife, daughter-in-law, mother, mother-in-law--- and that women were expected to accord with the wishes of men, in the world of Wang Lung, the female child was still considered a burden, whereas a male was seen as a benefit to the family. This belief has its origins in Chinese customs and the religion of ancestor worship. The man who had sons need never worry. His sons would take care of him. Indeed, so strong was this belief that the son had virtually no rights of his own as long as his father lived. This emphasis on the necessity of sons led over time to feelings of disappointment in families when a daughter was born, as is seen in Buck’s novel.
Over time, the teachings of Confucious greatly influenced the roles of women in early Chinese culture, leading later interpreters to define the male-female relationship in terms of yin and yang. Yin represented the female nature: soft, yielding, reflective, passive and tranquil. Yang represented the male: hard, active, assertive, and dominating. Confucius also recommended the physical separation of the worlds of men and women as important to keeping the yin and yang in balance, helping to shape the Chinese family system and women’s place in it. Especially in the houses of prosperous Chinese families, quarters for men and women were separate.
Birthing Customs
? Lying-in period-- It has been traditional for Chinese mothers to observe a lying-in period of thirty days after the birth of a child. During this period, they enjoy rest and a nutritious diet, and families make offerings to ancestors and deities. This practice is still observed by some Chinese families.
? Wrapping newborn in father’s pants--A Google search reveals that the custom of dressing the newborn in the father’s pants is not widely practiced today and is considered outdated or even mythical by most modern Chinese families. It is likely that the custom is not based on historical evidence and it is not part of mainstream postpartum customs.
? Use of red dye and clothing--The color red had special meaning to the Chinese and was used in all kinds of ceremonies. It is typically associated with masculine yang, fire, good fortune, and joy, and is used during the Chinese New Year and other celebrations, including weddings and wedding gowns. Note that Wang Lung buys red dye for the eggs he presents to family members and neighbors upon his son’s birth, and for the sugar that goes into drinks for O-lan. The child will be dressed in elegant red garments for his appearance before the mistress of the House of Hwang.
Birthday Celebrations
? The first birthday celebration for a Chinese child occurs only one month after his/her birth. The Full Moon celebration is considered a significant milestone and is a time when family and friends gather to wish the child well. Such a celebration is described in chapter 4 of The Good Earth:
Soon the child could almost sit alone. They had a feast of noodles, which mean long life, on his month birthday, when he was a full moon of age, and Wang Lung had invited those who came to his wedding feast and to each he had given a round ten of the red eggs he had boiled and dyed, and to all those who came from the village to congratulate him he gave two eggs. ( p. 42 in WSP edition).
This will be followed by the one hundredth day celebration, which arose during earlier times when it was especially meaningful for a baby to reach three months of age. An important event on this occasion is the traditional Grabbing Test, during which many items are spread out before the child. Whatever the baby grabs is said to determine his/her future interests or professions.
? Interestingly, Chinese tradition holds that a newborn is considered one year old at birth, and future birthday celebrations are limited to the 10th, 60, and 70th years, although in more modern times, birthdays from 60 onward are often celebrated annually. (www.ucbaby.ca/baby-birth-traditions)
Hwang and Wang: What’s the Difference?
As best as I can determine, the name Wang is a very common surname in China, and its meaning varies depending on how it is written in Chinese and on the dialect in which it is pronounced. It can mean king or monarch. But it can also mean the strongest, best of its type, great, to rule, to reign over. Hwang, also a common surname, means yellow.
1. How would you describe the overall thrust of chapters 2-5?
2. Chapter 2 opens with the statement: “There was this luxury of living.” What constitutes this “luxury” at first? How does it develop further? How does the character of Wang Lung develop greater complexity and depth?
3. Chapter 3 focuses on the birth of O-lan and Wang Lung’s first son. What are some of the things that we learn about O-lan in this chapter?
4. What do we learn about Wang Lung? How does Wang Lung respond to O-lan’s reaction to his suggestion that he get someone from the great house to help O-lan with the birth?
5. How does Wang Lung react to his son’s birth?
6. One might say that the theme of chapter 4 is prosperity. What are the indications of this prosperity?
7. In this same chapter, Wang Lung thinks “that there was never a man so filled with good fortune as he”(40). But this feeling does not last as he envisions “the air filled with malignant spirits who could not endure the happiness of mortals, especially of such as the poor” (40). Is there reason to worry? How does he comfort himself?
8. What is your sense of Wang Lung’s religious beliefs at this point?
9. In this chapter (pages 40 -41), the author introduces a resonant image of O-lan nursing her new baby as she takes a break from her work in the field. What is the effect of this image? How does it enhance the character of O-lan and how does it point us to the novel’s main theme?
10. In chapter 5, Wang Lung and O-Lan make their second trip to the House of Hwang. How does it differ from the first? How are you feeling about Wang Lung and his family’s prospects at this point in the novel?
11. Why might the author choose to use similar surnames for the peasant farmer and the wealthy landowner?