Evolution Of Pearl S.Buck's Cultural Perspective On The East And West In Her "Novels About Exotic Love"

Pearl S.Buck is an eminent and prolific female writer in the United States.She is well-known for her literary works on Chinese subjects.She grew up in China and made great contributions to the bilateral dialogue,understanding,and communication between eastern and western culture after becoming famous.She was hailed as a"cultural bridge" between the east and the west.Given the unique identity and experience of Pearl S.Buck,many of her literary themes are related to the interaction between the eastern and western culture.Since "Exotic Love" can best show the relationship between eastern and western culture,Pearl S.Buck has created a number of novels aboutit through her whole writing career and showed her unusual preference for such topic.This article mainly focuses on the novels that describe the theme of exotic love.The main studying objects are three novels:East Wind:West Wind,Pavilion of Women and The New Year,which were written in her early,middle and late periods respectively.The entry point of the thesis research is the gender metaphor of the characters in the three novels.In order to consolidate the rationality and legitimacy of its colonial rule,whether in the colonial period or after,the west has directly and indirectly constructed and exported such concept to the eastern colonies that the west is male and the east is female through various methods and channels.This view of cultural colonialism is often reflected in the literary works of western writers who describe oriental subjects.This article attempts to analyze the setting of gender and the relationship between the characters in the three novels,and analyzes the cultural metaphors hidden behind the characters' genders and relationships,so as to systematically understand Pearl S.Buck's real view and attitude towards the relationship between the eastern and western culture at different times,so that we can uncover the deep-rooted reasons for the evolution of her cultural perspective on the east and the west.A vertical and comprehensive inspection in Pearl S.Buck's cultural perspective on the east and the west will help studying her literary works and cultural thoughts in different period.Through research,we have found that with the changes in her living environment and the international environment,Pearl S.Buck's views on the relationship and status between Eastern and Western culture have constantly changed:She initial advocated eastern culture and reject and resist western culture to a certain degree;later she gradu,ally realized that the awakening and evolution of the eastern culture need the help of western culture,the two should coexist with each other peacefully and help each other;and in her later years,Pearl S.Buck began to be disappointed with the eastern culture,she felt that the only method to save the eastern culture was complete westernization.In the early and middle period of her writing career,Pearl S.Buck's cultural perspective on the east and the west upholds the position of cultural relativism;however,in his later years,Pearl S.Buck's cultural perspective on the east and the west turned to the position of "orientalism".When examining and studying Pearl S.Buck's cultural perspective on the east and the west,we should pay more attention to the characteristic of its periodic dynamic evolution.A vertical and systematic inspection may bring us some new perspectives and ideas.