Taoism and eastern aesthetics in the bicultural novel The Good Earth written by P.S. Buck

Taoism and eastern aesthetics in the bicultural novel The Good Earth written by P.S. BuckFourth International Conference on Asian Studies 201611-12 June 2016, Toronto, Canada

Presented by: Dacil Sanchez Gonzalez, PhD

ObjectiveIdentify the features of Taoist philosophy in P.S. Bucks novel The Good Earth

Image from: www.pearlsbuck.org

MethodPresent principles of Taoism in the artsAnalyze the novel The Good Earth and identify these principlesSupport observations with the authors own arguments in her speech The Chinese Novel

Taoism in the arts

Daodejings five main subjects (Ivanhoe & Van Norden, 2001:158) Social problems and their solutionNonactionTeaching without wordsTaoMysticism

Image from: Chang, Chung-yuan. 2011. Creativity and Taoism: A Study of Chinese Philosophy, Art and Poetry. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd.

Results I: Social problems and their solutionsMoving together in a perfect rhythm, without a word, hour after hour, he fell into a union with her which took the pain from his labor. He had no articulate thought of anything; there was only this perfect sympathy of movement, of turning this earth of theirs over and over to the sun, this earth which formed their home and fed their bodies and made their gods. The earth lay rich and dark, and fell apart lightly under the points of their hoes. Sometimes they turned up a bit of brick, a splinter of wood. It was nothing. Some time, in some age, bodies of men and women had been buried there, houses had stood there, had fallen, and gone back into the earth. So would also their house, some time, return into the earth, their bodies also. Each had his turn at the earth. They worked on, moving togethertogetherproducing the fruit of this earthspeechless in their movement together. (p. 29-30).

Results II: NonactionIf a novelist became known for a particular style or technique, to that extent he ceased to be a good novelist and became a literary technician. () The Chinese novelists varied their writing to accompany like music their chosen themes. (Buck, 2013)

Results III: Teaching without wordsBut the old man had received nothing at all. All day long he had sat by the roadside obediently enough, but he did not beg. He slept and woke and stared at what passed him, and when he grew weary he slept again. And being of the older generation, he could not be reproved. When he saw that his hands were empty he said merely, I have ploughed and I have sown seed and I have reaped harvest and thus have I filled my rice bowl. And I have beyond this begotten a son and sons sons.And with this he trusted like a child that now he would be fed, seeing that he had a son and grandsons. (p. 104)

Results IV: Tao and MysticismDidacticism: moral and ethical stances on situations illustrated in the novel which were frequent in China at the beginning of the 20th century.

ConclusionFive main principles of Taoism are present in the novel:Choice of subject: Ode to the earth Entire creation process was influenced by the principle of nonactionSubtle way of introducing intercultural differences (teaching without words)Didacticism (moral and ethical teachings)Mysticism in some passages

Thank you!

Dacil Sanchez Gonzalezdacilsanchez@gmail.com