In Chinese names, the last name is always written first. Thus, at the end of the novel, we discover that we have the House of Wang, not the House of Lung. Also in China, it was a rather common habit to refer to a person by his profession or rank. […]
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To better understand The Good Earth, a brief review of the history of China at that time that the story takes place would be helpful. After the overthrow of the Ching Dynasty of the Manchus in 1911 by Sun Yat-sen and other dedicated intellectuals who envisioned a united and democratic […]
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The novel opens on Wang Lung’s wedding day. Wang is a Chinese peasant farmer who lives with his father; his mother died six years earlier. His intended bride, O-lan, is a slave in the prosperous House of Hwang. Wang walks to the House of Hwang, where he is embarrassed by […]
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