Neither Satan Nor Saint

Before the publication of Pearl S Buck's The House of Earth trilogy, many western writers'understanding about China was usually imaginary and they described Chinese people either as philosophical Confucians or as unscrupulous scoundrels. Pearl had lived in China for almost half her life, and developed deep affection for China and Chinese people. Thus her China-themed novels were quite different from those of other western novelists, for they had opened a new horizon for the west to see China.This thesis analyses the Chinese image in the trilogy on the basis of postcolonial studies. Pearl S Buck successfully depicted the fortitude,simplicity, and narrowness of Chinese farmers, the heroic nature, gentleness and the guile, cold-bloodedness in Chinese warlords, the anger and patriotism of Chinese revolutionists with no way out, the obedience of traditional Chinese women and the desire for equality in modern Chinese women and the struggle of the Chinese intellectuals between the east and west. Pearl created a series of true images of Chinese people. Under her pen, they were neither saints nor satans, but common folks with their own virtues and faults, sorrows and joys,In the novel, Pearl S Buck adopted the third person limited point of view to reveal the inner feeling of Chinese people as well as used the omniscient viewpoint to depict the grand picture of Chinese society. Sometimes she frequently alternated the two viewpoints, attempting to achieve an effect of two-way communication between the eastern and western cultures. Born in America and grown up in China, Pearl S Buck initiated a unique new perspective in the creation of Chinese image with her advantages of both Chinese and American cultures. Pearl described Chinese people from their perspective and gave the western world a relatively objective introduction of Chinese people. Meanwhile, she also kept a distance from the characters she created, which made her Chinese images variant from those created by the native Chinese writers.There are some limitations in the images she created. From an American missionary family, she inevitably succeeded certain traditional western prejudice. Out of the fear toward Chinese revolutions, she simplified the image of Chinese revolutionists and the warlord under her pen was more a bandit chief in the Water Margin than a modern warlord. The Chinese females and revolutionists could not find their way out except following the western way of reform. On the whole, Pearl's new perspective in the creation of Chinese images broke the orientalist writing in the western world about China as well as helped us objectively see ourselves from the angle of a bystander. In the context of globalization, Pearl's perspective provides beneficial implications for the cross-culture communication between China and western countries in a new era.