The Good Earth: Chinese Culture and History   Tags: bound feet, boxer rebellion, chinese culture, chinese exclusion act, chinese history, foot binding, foot-binding, footbinding, good earth, lotus feet, pearl s. buck, russo-japanese war  

In preparation for the eighth grade annual trip to Yangshuo, the eighth grade students will read Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth and explore its human relationships reflected in Buck's character development. The beautiful countryside of Yangshuo in Guilin Province evokes the setting of The Good Earth.

While the story spans 1882-1939, the focus of this school assignment, historically speaking, will cover the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Boxer Uprising, and the Russo-Japanese War. While in Yangshuo, students can then imagine what life might have been like for the book's characters during those times. They may realize that today many Chinese still live in tiny rural villages very similar to the The Good Earth characters.

The Idyllic Life - Photo by Jimmy Su

"I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings. Like Confucius of old, I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and angels."
                                                                                                                                      ~Pearl S. Buck