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Pearl S. Buck
Pearl S. Buck
Pearl S. Buck
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Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and humanitarian. She is best known for The Good Earth, the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932, which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China" and for her "masterpieces", two memoir-biographies of her missionary parents.[1]

Key Information

Buck was born in West Virginia, but in October 1892, her parents took their 4-month-old baby to China. As the daughter of missionaries and later as a missionary herself, Buck spent most of her life before 1934 in Zhenjiang, with her parents, and in Nanjing, with her first husband. She and her parents spent their summers in a villa in Kuling, Mount Lu, Jiujiang, and it was during this annual pilgrimage that the young girl decided to become a writer.[2] She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, then returned to China. From 1914 to 1932, after marrying John Lossing Buck, she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but she came to doubt the need for foreign missions. Her views became controversial during the Fundamentalist–modernist controversy, leading to her resignation.[3]

After returning to the United States in 1935, Buck married the publisher Richard J. Walsh and continued writing prolifically. She became an activist and prominent advocate of the rights of women and racial equality, and wrote widely on Chinese and Asian cultures, becoming particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption.

Early life and education

[edit]
The Stulting House at the Pearl Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia

Originally named Comfort,[4] Pearl Sydenstricker was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia, to Caroline Maude (Stulting) (1857–1921) and Absalom Sydenstricker, of Dutch and German descent respectively.[5] Her parents, Southern Presbyterian missionaries, were married on July 8, 1880 and moved to China shortly thereafter, but returned to the United States for Pearl's birth. When Pearl was five months old, the family returned to China, living first in Huai'an and then in 1896 moving to Zhenjiang, which was then known as Chingkiang in the Chinese postal romanization system, near the major city of Nanjing.[6] In summer, she and her family spent time in Kuling. Her father built a stone villa in Kuling in 1897, and lived there until his death in 1931.[7][8] It was during this annual summer pilgrimage in Kuling that the young girl decided to become a writer.[2]

Of her siblings who survived into adulthood, Edgar Sydenstricker had a distinguished career with the U.S. Public Health Service and later the Milbank Memorial Fund, and Grace Sydenstricker Yaukey (1899–1994) wrote young adult books and books about Asia under the pen name Cornelia Spencer.[9][10]

Pearl recalled in her memoir that she lived in "several worlds", one a "small, white, clean Presbyterian world of my parents", and the other the "big, loving merry not-too-clean Chinese world", and there was no communication between them.[11] The Boxer Uprising (1899–1901) greatly affected the family; their Chinese friends deserted them, and Western visitors decreased. Her father, convinced that no Chinese could wish him harm, stayed behind as the rest of the family went to Shanghai for safety. A few years later, Buck was enrolled in Miss Jewell's School in Shanghai, and was dismayed at the racist attitudes there of other students, few of whom could speak any Chinese. Both of her parents felt strongly that Chinese were their equals; they forbade the use of the word heathen, and she was raised in a bilingual environment: tutored in English by her mother, in the local dialect by her Chinese playmates, and in classical Chinese by a Chinese scholar named Mr. Kung. She also read voraciously, especially, in spite of her father's disapproval, the novels of Charles Dickens, which she later said she read through once a year for the rest of her life.[12]

In 1911, Buck left China to attend Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1914 and was a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Career

[edit]

China

[edit]
Buck photographed in 1932, about the time The Good Earth was published

Although Buck had not intended to return to China, much less become a missionary, she quickly applied to the Presbyterian Board when her father wrote that her mother was seriously ill. In 1914, Buck returned to China. She married an agricultural economist missionary, John Lossing Buck, on May 13,[13] 1917, and they moved to Suzhou, Anhui Province, a small town on the Huai River (not to be confused with the better-known Suzhou in Jiangsu Province). This is the region she describes in her books The Good Earth and Sons.

From 1920 to 1933, the Bucks made their home in Nanjing, on the campus of the University of Nanking, where they both had teaching positions. She taught English literature at this private, church-run university,[14] and also at Ginling College and at the National Central University. In 1920, the Bucks had a daughter, Carol, who was afflicted with phenylketonuria that left her severely developmentally disabled. Buck had to have a hysterectomy due to complications of Carol's birth, leaving her unable to have more biological children.[15] In 1921, Buck's mother died of a tropical disease, sprue, and shortly afterward her father moved in. In 1924, they left China for John Buck's year of sabbatical and returned to the United States for a short time, during which Pearl Buck earned a master's degree from Cornell University. In 1925, the Bucks adopted a child named Janice (later surnamed Walsh). That autumn, they returned to China.[3]

The tragedies and dislocations that Buck suffered in the 1920s reached a climax in March 1927, during the "Nanking Incident". In a confused battle involving elements of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist troops, Communist forces, and assorted warlords, several Westerners were murdered. Her father insisted that the family should stay in Nanjing until the battle reached the city, as he had in 1900 in the face of the Boxers. When violence broke out, a poor Chinese family invited them to hide in their hut while the family's house was looted. The family spent a day terrified and in hiding, after which American gunboats rescued them. They traveled to Shanghai and then sailed to Japan, where they stayed for a year, after which they moved back to Nanjing. Buck later said that this year in Japan showed her that not all Japanese were militarists. When she returned from Japan in late 1927, Buck devoted herself in earnest to the vocation of writing. Friendly relations with prominent Chinese writers of the time, such as Xu Zhimo and Lin Yutang, encouraged her to think of herself as a professional writer. She wanted to fulfill the ambitions denied to her mother, but she also needed money to support herself if she left her marriage, which had become increasingly lonely. Since the mission board could not provide it, she also needed money for Carol's specialized care.

Buck married her publisher, Richard J. Walsh, the same day she divorced John Lossing Buck.

Buck traveled once more to the United States in 1929 to find long-term care for Carol, eventually placing her in the Vineland Training School in New Jersey. Buck served on the Board of Trustees for the school, where Carol would live until she died in 1992 at age 72.[16] While Buck was in the United States, Richard J. Walsh, editor at John Day publishers in New York, accepted her novel East Wind: West Wind. She and Walsh began a relationship that would eventually lead to marriage and many years of professional collaboration.

Back in Nanking, Buck retreated every morning to the attic of her university house, and within the year, completed the manuscript for The Good Earth.[17] She was involved in the charity relief campaign for the victims of the 1931 China floods, writing a series of short stories describing the plight of refugees, which were broadcast on the radio in the United States and later published in her collected volume The First Wife and Other Stories.[18]

When her husband took the family to Ithaca, New York, the following year, Buck accepted an invitation to address a luncheon of Presbyterian women at the Hotel Astor in New York City. Her talk was titled "Is There a Case for the Foreign Missionary?" and her answer was a barely qualified "no". She told her American audience that she welcomed Chinese to share her Christian faith, but argued that China did not need an institutional church dominated by missionaries who were too often ignorant of China and arrogant in their attempts to control it. When the talk was published in Harper's Magazine,[19] the scandalized reaction led Buck to resign from the Presbyterian Board. In 1934, Buck left China, believing she would return,[20] while her husband remained.[21]

United States

[edit]

Buck divorced her husband John in Reno, Nevada, on June 11, 1935,[22] and she married Richard Walsh that same day.[20] He reportedly offered her advice and affection that, her biographer concludes, "helped make Pearl's prodigious activity possible". The couple moved with Janice to Green Hills Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which they quickly set about filling with adopted children. Two sons were brought home as infants in 1936 and followed by another son and daughter in 1937.[15]

After the Communist Revolution in 1949, Buck was repeatedly refused all attempts to return to her beloved China. Her 1962 novel Satan Never Sleeps is heavily anti-communist and filled with religious themes, and was adapted into a film in the same year. During the Cultural Revolution, Buck, as a preeminent American writer of Chinese village life, was denounced as an "American cultural imperialist".[23] Buck was "heartbroken" when she was prevented from visiting China with Richard Nixon in 1972, reportedly due to political interference by Jiang Qing, a prominent figure in the denunciation of Buck.[20]

Nobel Prize in Literature

[edit]

In 1938, the Nobel Prize committee wrote:

By awarding this year's Prize to Pearl Buck for the notable works which pave the way to a human sympathy passing over widely separated racial boundaries and for the studies of human ideals which are a great and living art of portraiture, the Swedish Academy feels that it acts in harmony and accord with the aim of Alfred Nobel's dreams for the future.[24]

In her speech to the Academy, Buck took as her topic "The Chinese Novel". She explained, "I am an American by birth and by ancestry", but "my earliest knowledge of story, of how to tell and write stories, came to me in China." After an extensive discussion of classic Chinese novels, especially Romance of the Three Kingdoms, All Men Are Brothers, and Dream of the Red Chamber, she concluded that in China "the novelist did not have the task of creating art but of speaking to the people." Her own ambition, she continued, had not been trained toward "the beauty of letters or the grace of art." In China, the task of the novelist differed from the Western artist: "To farmers he must talk of their land, and to old men he must speak of peace, and to old women he must tell of their children, and to young men and women he must speak of each other." And like the Chinese novelist, she concluded, "I have been taught to want to write for these people. If they are reading their magazines by the million, then I want my stories there rather than in magazines read only by a few."[25]

Humanitarian efforts

[edit]
Pearl S. Buck receives the Nobel Prize for Literature from King Gustav V of Sweden in the Stockholm Concert Hall in 1938

Buck was committed to a range of issues that were largely ignored by her generation. Many of her life experiences and political views are described in her novels, short stories, fiction, children's stories, and the biographies of her parents entitled Fighting Angel (on Absalom) and The Exile (on Carrie). She wrote on diverse subjects, including women's rights, Asian cultures, immigration, adoption, missionary work, war, the atomic bomb (Command the Morning), and violence. Long before it was considered fashionable or politically safe to do so, Buck challenged the American public by raising consciousness on topics such as racism, sex discrimination and the plight of Asian war children. Buck combined the careers of wife, mother, author, editor, international spokesperson, and political activist.[26] Buck became well-known as an advocate for civil rights, women’s rights, and disability rights.[27]

In 1949, after finding that existing adoption services considered Asian and mixed-race children unadoptable, Buck founded the first permanent foster home for US-born mixed-race children of Asian descent, naming it The Welcome Home. The foster home was located in a 16-room farmhouse in Pennsylvania next door to Buck's own home, Green Hill Farm, and Buck was actively involved in everything from planning the children's diets to buying their clothing. Among the home's Board of Directors were librettist Oscar Hammerstein II and his second wife, interior designer Dorothy, composer Richard Rodgers, seed company tycoon David Burpee and his wife Lois and author James A. Michener. As more and more children were referred to the foster home, however, it quickly became apparent that it couldn't accommodate them all and adoptive homes were needed. Welcome Home was turned into the first international, interracial adoption agency, and Buck began actively promoting the adoption of mixed-race children to the American public. In an effort to overcome the longstanding public view that such children were inferior and undesirable, Buck claimed in interviews and speeches that "hybrid" children of interracial backgrounds were actually genetically superior to other children in terms of intelligence and health. She and her husband Richard then adopted two mixed-race daughters from overseas themselves: an Afro-German girl in 1951 and an Afro-Japanese girl in 1957, giving her eight children in total.[15] In 1967 she turned over most of her earnings—more than $7 million— to the adoption agency to help with costs.[28]

Portrait of Buck by Samuel Johnson Woolf

Buck established the Pearl S. Buck Foundation (name changed to Pearl S. Buck International in 1999)[29] to "address poverty and discrimination faced by children in Asian countries." In 1964, she opened the Opportunity Center and Orphanage in South Korea, and later offices were opened in Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. When establishing Opportunity House, Buck said, "The purpose ... is to publicize and eliminate injustices and prejudices suffered by children, who, because of their birth, are not permitted to enjoy the educational, social, economic and civil privileges normally accorded to children."[30] In 1960, after a long decline in health that included a series of strokes,[31] Buck's husband Richard Walsh died. She renewed a warm relationship with William Ernest Hocking, who died in 1966. Buck then withdrew from many of her old friends and quarreled with others.

In 1962 Buck asked the Israeli Government for clemency for Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal who was complicit in the deaths of six million Jews during World War II,[32] as she and others believed that carrying out capital punishment against Eichmann could be seen as an act of vengeance, especially since the war had ended.[33]

During a December 17, 1962 visit to the Kennedy White House, Buck urged the Kennedy administration to help resolve People's Republic of China-Taiwan relations by supporting de facto independence of Taiwan for a 10 to 25 year period with an agreement that afterwards a plebiscite could be held based on a negotiated settlement.[34]: 103 

Buck’s ties with her native state remained strong. In the title essay of My Mother’s House, a small book written by Buck and others to help raise funds for the Birthplace Museum, she paid tribute to the house her mother had cherished while living far away: ‘‘For me it was a living heart in the country I knew was my own but which was strange to me until I returned to the house where I was born.[27] In the late 1960s, Buck toured West Virginia to raise money to preserve her family farm in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Today the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace is a historic house museum and cultural center.[35] She hoped the house would "belong to everyone who cares to go there," and serve as a "gateway to new thoughts and dreams and ways of life."[36] Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush toured the Pearl S. Buck House in October 1998. He expressed that he, like millions of other Americans, had gained an appreciation for the Chinese people through Buck's writing.[37]

Final years and death

[edit]

In the mid-1960s, Buck increasingly came under the influence of Theodore Harris, a former dance instructor, who became her confidant, co-author, and financial advisor. She soon depended on him for all her daily routines, and placed him in control of Welcome House and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. Harris, who was given a lifetime salary as head of the foundation, created a scandal for Buck when he was accused of mismanaging the foundation, diverting large amounts of the foundation's funds for his friends' and his own personal expenses, and treating staff poorly.[38][39] Buck defended Harris, stating that he was "very brilliant, very high strung and artistic."[38] Before her death, Buck signed over her foreign royalties and her personal possessions to Creativity Inc., a foundation controlled by Harris.[40]

Pearl S. Buck died of lung cancer on March 6, 1973, in Danby, Vermont. She was interred on Green Hills Farm in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. She designed her own tombstone. Her name was not inscribed in English on her tombstone. Instead, the grave marker is inscribed with the Chinese characters 賽珍珠 (pinyin: Sai Zhenzhu) representing the name Pearl Sydenstricker; specifically, Sai is the sound of the first syllable of her last name (Chinese family names come first), and Zhenzhu is the Chinese word for pearl.[41][42]

Buck left behind three contradictory wills, resulting in a three-way legal dispute over her estate between her financial advisor Theodore Harris, the nonprofit Pearl Buck Foundation, and her seven adopted children. After a six-year battle, the dispute was settled in her children's favor after both Harris and the Pearl Buck Foundation dropped their claims (the latter in return for a financial settlement from Buck's children).[43]

Legacy

[edit]
Pearl S. Buck's former residence at Nanjing University
A statue of Pearl S. Buck stands in front of the former residence at Nanjing University

Many contemporary reviewers praised Buck's "beautiful prose", even though her "style is apt to degenerate into over-repetition and confusion".[44] Robert Benchley wrote a parody of The Good Earth that emphasised these qualities. Peter Conn, in his biography of Buck, argues that despite the accolades awarded to her, Buck's contribution to literature has been mostly forgotten or deliberately ignored by America's cultural gatekeepers.[45] Kang Liao argues that Buck played a "pioneering role in demythologizing China and the Chinese people in the American mind".[46] Phyllis Bentley, in an overview of Buck's work published in 1935, was altogether impressed: "But we may say at least that for the interest of her chosen material, the sustained high level of her technical skill, and the frequent universality of her conceptions, Mrs. Buck is entitled to take rank as a considerable artist. To read her novels is to gain not merely knowledge of China but wisdom about life."[47] These works aroused considerable popular sympathy for China, and helped foment a more critical view of Japan and its aggression.

Chinese-American author Anchee Min said she "broke down and sobbed" after reading The Good Earth for the first time as an adult, which she had been forbidden to read growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. Min said Buck portrayed the Chinese peasants "with such love, affection and humanity" and it inspired Min's novel Pearl of China (2010).[48]

In 1973, Buck was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[49] Buck was honored in 1983 with a 5¢ Great Americans series postage stamp issued by the United States Postal Service[50] In 1999 she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project.[51]

Buck's former residence at Nanjing University is now the Pearl S. Buck Memorial House or in Mandarin 賽珍珠紀念館 (pinyin: Sai Zhenzhu Jinianguan) along the West Wall of the university's north campus.

Pearl Buck's papers and literary manuscripts are currently housed at Pearl S. Buck International[52] and the West Virginia & Regional History Center.[53]

Selected works

[edit]

Autobiographies

[edit]
  • My Several Worlds: A Personal Record (New York: John Day, 1954)
  • My Several Worlds – abridged for younger readers by Cornelia Spencer (New York: John Day, 1957)
  • A Bridge for Passing (New York: John Day, 1962) – autobiographical account of the filming of the film adaptation of Buck's children's book, The Big Wave

Biographies

[edit]
  • The Exile: Portrait of an American Mother (New York: John Day, 1936) – about her mother, Caroline Stulting Sydenstricker (1857–1921); serialized in Woman's Home Companion magazine (10/1935–3/1936)
  • Fighting Angel: Portrait of a Soul (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1936) – about her father, Absalom Sydenstricker (1852–1931)
  • The Spirit and the Flesh (New York: John Day, 1944) – published the two above-mentioned biographies in one volume - Fighting Angel: Portrait of a Soul and The Exile: Portrait of an American Mother.

Novels

[edit]
See also: List of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1930s
  • East Wind: West Wind (New York: John Day, 1930)[54] – working title Winds of Heaven
  • The Good Earth (New York: John Day, 1931); The House of Earth trilogy #1
  • Sons (New York: John Day, 1933); The House of Earth trilogy #2; serialized in Cosmopolitan (4–11/1932)
  • A House Divided (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1935); The House of Earth trilogy #3
  • The House of Earth (trilogy) (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1935) – includes: The Good Earth, Sons, A House Divided
  • All Men Are Brothers (New York: John Day, 1933; revised 1937) – a translation by Buck of the Chinese classical prose epic Water Margin (Shui Hu Zhuan)
  • The Mother (New York: John Day, 1933) – serialized in Cosmopolitan (7/1933–1/1934)
  • This Proud Heart (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1938) – serialized in Good Housekeeping magazine (8/1937–2/1938)
  • The Patriot (New York: John Day, 1939)
  • Other Gods: An American Legend (New York: John Day, 1940) – excerpt serialized in Good Housekeeping magazine as "American Legend" (12/1938–5/1939)
  • China Sky (New York: John Day, 1941) – China trilogy #1; serialized in Collier's Weekly magazine (2–4/1941)
  • China Gold: A Novel of War-torn China (New York: John Day, 1942) – China trilogy #2; serialized in Collier's Weekly magazine (2–4/1942)
  • Dragon Seed (New York: John Day, 1942) – serialized in Asia (9/1941–2/1942)
  • The Promise (New York: John Day, 1943) – sequel to Dragon Seed; serialized in Asia and the Americas (Asia) (11/1942–10/1943)
  • China Flight (Philadelphia: Triangle Books/Blakiston Company, 19453) – China trilogy #3; serialized in Collier's Weekly magazine (2–4/1943)
  • Portrait of a Marriage (New York: John Day, 1945) – illustrated by Charles Hargens
  • The Townsman (New York: John Day, 1945) – as John Sedges
  • Pavilion of Women (New York: John Day, 1946) – made into a feature film Pavilion of Women (Universal Focus, 2001)
  • The Angry Wife (New York: John Day, 1947) – as John Sedges
  • Peony (New York: John Day, 1948) – published in the UK as The Bondmaid (London: T. Brun, 1949); – serialized in Cosmopolitan (3–4/1948)
  • Kinfolk (New York: John Day, 1949) – serialized in Ladies' Home Journal (10/1948–2/1949)
  • The Long Love (New York: John Day, 1949) – as John Sedges
  • God's Men (New York: John Day, 1951)
  • Sylvia (1951) – alternate title No Time for Love, serialized in Redbook magazine (1951)
  • Bright Procession (New York: John Day, 1952) – as John Sedges
  • The Hidden Flower (New York: John Day, 1952) – serialized in Woman's Home Companion magazine (3–4/1952)
  • Come, My Beloved (New York: John Day, 1953)
  • Voices in the House (New York: John Day, 1953) – as John Sedges
  • Imperial Woman The Story of the Last Empress of China (New York: John Day, 1956) – about Empress Dowager Cixi; serialized in Woman's Home Companion (3–4/1956)
  • Letter from Peking (New York: John Day, 1957)
  • American Triptych: Three John Sedges Novels (New York: John Day, 1958) – includes The Townsman, The Long Love, Voices in the House
  • Command the Morning (New York: John Day, 1959)
  • Satan Never Sleeps (New York: Pocket Books, 1962)
  • The Living Reed A Novel of Korea (New York: John Day, 1963)
  • Death in the Castle (New York: John Day, 1965)
  • The Time Is Noon (New York: John Day, 1966)
  • The New Year (New York: John Day, 1968)
  • The Three Daughters of Madame Liang (London: Methuen, 1969)
  • Mandala: A Novel of India (New York: John Day, 1970)
  • The Goddess Abides (New York: John Day, 1972)
  • All under Heaven (New York: John Day, 1973)
  • The Rainbow (New York: John Day, 1974)
  • The Eternal Wonder (believed to have been written shortly before her death, published in October 2013)[55]

Non-fiction

[edit]
  • Is There a Case for Foreign Missions? (New York: John Day, 1932)
  • The Chinese Novel: Nobel Lecture Delivered before the Swedish Academy at Stockholm, December 12, 1938 (New York: John Day, 1939)[56]
  • Of Men and Women (New York: John Day, 1941) – Essays
  • American Unity and Asia (New York: John Day, 1942) – UK edition titled Asia and Democracy, London: Macmillan, 1943) – Essays
  • What America Means to Me (New York: John Day, 1943) – UK edition (London: Methuen, 1944) – Essays
  • Talk about Russia (with Masha Scott) (New York: John Day, 1945) – serialized in Asia and the Americas magazine (Asia) as Talks with Masha (1945)
  • Tell the People: Talks with James Yen about the Mass Education Movement (New York: John Day, 1945)
  • How It Happens: Talk about the German People, 1914–1933, with Erna von Pustau (New York: John Day, 1947)
  • American Argument with Eslanda Goode Robeson (New York: John Day, 1949)
  • The Child Who Never Grew (New York: John Day, 1950)
  • The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen (New York: John Day, 1953) – for children
  • Friend to Friend: A Candid Exchange between Pearl S. Buck and Carlos P. Romulo (New York: John Day, 1958)
  • For Spacious Skies (1966)
  • The People of Japan (1966)
  • To My Daughters, with Love (New York: John Day, 1967)
  • The Kennedy Women (1970)
  • China as I See It (1970)
  • The Story Bible (1971)
  • Pearl S. Buck's Oriental Cookbook (1972)
  • Words of Love (1974)[57]

Short stories

[edit]

Collections

[edit]
  • The First Wife and Other Stories (London: Methuen, 1933) – includes: "The First Wife", "The Old Mother", "The Frill", "The Quarrell", "Repatriated", "The Rainy Day", "Wang Lung", "The Communist", "Father Andrea", "The New Road", "Barren Spring", *"The Refugees", "Fathers and Mothers", "The Good River"
  • Today and Forever: Stories of China (New York: John Day, 1941) – includes: "The Lesson", The Angel", "Mr. Binney's Afternoon", "The Dance", "Shanghai Scene", "Hearts Come Home", "His Own Country", "Tiger! Tiger!", "Golden flower", "The Face of Buddha", "Guerrilla Mother", "A Man's Foes", "The Old Demon"
  • Twenty-seven Stories (Garden City, NY: Sun Dial Press, 1943) – includes (from The First Wife and Other Stories): "The First Wife", "The Old Mother", "The Frill", "The Quarrell", "Repatriated", "The Rainy Day", Wang Lung", "The Communist", "Father Andrea", "The New Road", "Barren Spring", *"The Refugees", "Fathers and Mothers", "The Good River"; and (from Today and Forever: Stories of China): "The Lesson", The Angel", "Mr. Binney's Afternoon", "The Dance", "Shanghai Scene", "Hearts Come Home", "His Own Country", "Tiger! Tiger!", "Golden flower", "The Face of Buddha", "Guerrilla Mother", "A Man's Foes", "The Old Demon"
  • Far and Near: Stories of Japan, China, and America (New York: John Day, 1947) – includes: "The Enemy", "Home Girl", "Mr. Right", "The Tax Collector", "A Few People", "Home to Heaven", "Enough for a Lifetime", "Mother and Sons", "Mrs. Mercer and Her Self", "The Perfect Wife", "Virgin birth", "The Truce", "Heat Wave", "The One Woman"
  • Fourteen Stories (New York: John Day, 1961) – includes: "A Certain Star," "The Beauty", "Enchantment", "With a Delicate Air", "Beyond Language", "Parable of Plain People", "The Commander and the Commissar", "Begin to Live", "The Engagement", "Melissa", "Gift of Laughter", "Death and the Dawn", "The Silver Butterfly", "Francesca"
  • Hearts Come Home and Other Stories (New York: Pocket Books, 1962)
  • Stories of China (1964)
  • Escape at Midnight and Other Stories (1964)
  • The Good Deed, and other Stories of Asia, Past and Present (1970)
  • East and West Stories (1975)
  • Secrets of the Heart: Stories (1976)
  • The Lovers and Other Stories (1977)
  • Mrs. Stoner and the Sea and Other Stories (1978)
  • The Woman Who Was Changed and Other Stories (1979)
  • Beauty Shop Series: "Revenge in a Beauty Shop" (1939) – original title "The Perfect Hairdresser"
  • Beauty Shop Series: "Gold Mine" (1940)
  • Beauty Shop Series: "Mrs. Whittaker's Secret"/"The Blonde Brunette" (1940)
  • Beauty Shop Series: "Procession of Song" (1940)
  • Beauty Shop Series: "Snake at the Picnic" (1940) – published as "Seed of Sin" (1941)
  • Beauty Shop Series: "Seed of Sin" (1941) – published as "Snake at the Picnic (1940)

Individual short stories

[edit]
  • Unknown title (1902) – first published story, pen name "Novice", Shanghai Mercury
  • "The Real Santa Claus" (c. 1911)
  • "Village by the Sea" (1911)
  • "By the Hand of a Child" (1912)
  • "The Hours of Worship" (1914)
  • "When 'Lof' Comes" (1914)
  • "The Clutch of the Ancients" (1924)
  • "The Rainy Day" (c. 1925)
  • "A Chinese Woman Speaks" (1926)
  • "Lao Wang, the Farmer" (1926)
  • "The Solitary Priest" (1926)
  • "The Revolutionist" (1928) – later published as "Wang Lung" (1933)
  • "The Wandering Little God" (1928)
  • "Father Andrea" (1929)
  • "The New Road" (1930)
  • "Singing to her Death" (1930)
  • "The Barren Spring" (1931)
  • "The First Wife" (1931)
  • "The Old Chinese Nurse" (1932)
  • "The Quarrel" (1932)
  • "The Communist" (1933)
  • "Fathers and Mothers" (1933)
  • "The Frill" (1933)
  • "Hidden is the Golden Dragon" (1933)
  • "The Lesson" (1933) – later published as "No Other Gods" (1936; original title used in short story collections)
  • "The Old Mother" (1933)
  • "The Refugees" (1933)
  • "Repatriated" (1933)
  • "The Return" (1933)
  • "The River" (1933) – later published as "The Good River" (1939)
  • "The Two Women" (1933)
  • "The Beautiful Ladies" (1934) – later published as "Mr. Binney's Afternoon" (1935)
  • "Fool's Sacrifice" (1934)
  • "Shanghai Scene" (1934)
  • "Wedding and Funeral" (1934)
  • "Between These Two" (1935)
  • "The Dance" (1935)
  • "Enough for a Lifetime" (1935)
  • "Hearts Come Home" (1935)
  • "Heat Wave" (1935)
  • "His Own Country" (1935)
  • "The Perfect Wife" (1935)
  • "Vignette of Love" (1935) – later published as "Next Saturday and Forever" (1977)
  • "The Crusade" (1936)
  • "Strangers Are Kind" (1936)
  • "The Truce" (1936)
  • "What the Heart Must" (1937) – later published as "Someone to Remember" (1947)
  • "The Angel" (1937)
  • "Faithfully" (1937)
  • "Ko-Sen, the Sacrificed" (1937)
  • "Now and Forever" (1937) – serialized in Woman's Home Companion magazine (10/1936–3/1937)
  • "The Woman Who Was Changed" (1937) – serialized in Redbook magazine (7–9/1937)
  • "The Pearls of O-lan" – from The Good Earth (1938)
  • "Ransom" (1938)
  • "Tiger! Tiger!" (1938)
  • "Wonderful Woman" (1938) – serialized in Redbook magazine (6–8/1938)
  • "For a Thing Done" (1939) – originally titled "While You Are Here"
  • "The Old Demon" (1939) – reprinted in Great Modern Short Stories: An Anthology of Twelve Famous Stories and Novelettes, selected, and with a foreword and biographical notes by Bennett Cerf (New York: The Modern library, 1942)
  • "The Face of Gold" (1940, in Saturday Evening Post) – later published as "The Face of Buddha" (1941)
  • "Golden Flower" (1940)
  • "Iron" (1940) – later published as "A Man's Foes" (1940)
  • "The Old Signs Fail" (1940)
  • "Stay as You Are" (1940) – serialized in Cosmopolitan (3–7/1940)
  • "There Was No Peace" (1940) – later published as "Guerrilla Mother" (1941)
  • "Answer to Life" (novella; 1941)
  • "More Than a Woman" (1941) – originally titled "Deny It if You Can"
  • "Our Daily Bread" (1941) – originally titled "A Man's Daily Bread, 1–3", serialized in Redbook magazine (2–4/1941), longer version published as Portrait of a Marriage (1945)
  • The Enemy (1942, Harper's Magazine) – staged by the Indian "Aamra Kajon" (Drama Society), on the Bengal Theatre Festival 2019[58]
  • "John-John Chinaman" (1942) – original title "John Chinaman"
  • "The Long Way 'Round" – serialized in Cosmopolitan (9/1942–2/1943)
  • "Mrs. Barclay's Christmas Present" (1942) – later published as "Gift of Laughter" (1943)
  • "Descent into China" (1944)
  • "Journey for Life" (1944) – originally titled "Spark of Life"
  • "The Real Thing" (1944) – serialized in Cosmopolitan (2–6/1944); originally intendeds as a serial "Harmony Hill" (1938)
  • "Begin to Live" (1945)
  • "Mother and Sons" (1945)
  • "A Time to Love" (1945) – later published under its original title "The Courtyards of Peace" (1969)
  • "Big Tooth Yang" (1946) – later published as "The Tax Collector" (1947)
  • "The Conqueror's Girl" (1946) – later published as "Home Girl" (1947)
  • "Faithfully Yours" (1947)
  • "Home to Heaven" (1947)
  • "Incident at Wang's Corner" (1947) – later published as "A Few People" (1947)
  • "Mr. Right" (1947)
  • "Mrs. Mercer and Her Self" (1947)
  • "The One Woman" (1947)
  • "Virgin Birth" (1947)
  • "Francesca" (Good Housekeeping magazine, 1948)
  • "The Ember" (1949)
  • "The Tryst" (1950)
  • "Love and the Morning Calm" – serialized in Redbook magazine (1–4/1951)
  • "The Man Called Dead" (1952)
  • "Death and the Spring" (1953)
  • "Moon over Manhattan" (1953)
  • "The Three Daughters" (1953)
  • "The Unwritten Rules" (1953)
  • "The Couple Who Lived on the Moon" (1953) – later published as "The Engagement" (1961)
  • "A Husband for Lili" (1953) – later published as "The Good Deed" (1969)
  • "The Heart's Beginning" (1954)
  • "The Shield of Love" (1954)
  • "Christmas Day in the Morning" (1955) – later published as "The Gift That Lasts a Lifetime"
  • "Death and the Dawn" (1956)
  • "Mariko" (1956)
  • "A Certain Star" (1957)
  • "Honeymoon Blues" (1957)
  • "China Story" (1958)
  • "Leading Lady" (1958) – alternately titled "Open the Door, Lady"
  • "The Secret" (1958)
  • "With a Delicate Air" (1959)
  • "The Bomb (Dr. Arthur Compton)" (1959)
  • "Heart of a Man" (1959)
  • "Melissa" (1960)
  • "The Silver Butterfly" (1960)
  • "The Beauty" (1961)
  • "Beyond Language" (1961)
  • "The Commander and the Commissar" (1961)
  • "Enchantment" (1961)
  • "Parable of Plain People" (1961)
  • "A Field of Rice" (1962)
  • "A Grandmother's Christmas" (1962) – later published as "This Day to Treasure" (1972)
  • ""Never Trust the Moonlight" (1962) – later published as "The Green Sari" (1962)
  • "The Cockfight, 1963
  • "A Court of Love" (1963)
  • "Escape at Midnight" (1963)
  • "The Lighted Window" (1963)
  • "Night Nurse" (1963)
  • "The Sacred Skull" (1963)
  • "The Trap" (1963)
  • "India, My India" (1964)
  • "Ranjit and the Tiger" (1964)
  • "A Certain Wisdom" (1967, in Woman's Day magazine)
  • "Stranger Come Home" (1967)
  • "The House They Built" (1968, in Boys' Life magazine)
  • "The Orphan in My Home" (1968)
  • "Secrets of the Heart" (1968)
  • "All the Days of Love and Courage" 1969) – later published as "The Christmas Child" (1972)
  • "Dagger in the Dark" (1969)
  • "Duet in Asia" (1969; written 1953
  • "Going Home" (1969)
  • "Letter Home" (1969; written 1943)
  • "Sunrise at Juhu" (1969)
  • "Two in Love" (1970) – later published as "The Strawberry Vase" (1976)
  • "The Gifts of Joy" (1971)
  • "Once upon a Christmas" (1971)
  • "The Christmas Secret" (1972)
  • "Christmas Story" (1972)
  • "In Loving Memory" (1972) – later published as "Mrs. Stoner and the Sea" (1976)
  • "The New Christmas" (1972)
  • "The Miracle Child" (1973)
  • "Mrs. Barton Declines" (1973) – later published as "Mrs. Barton's Decline" and "Mrs. Barton's Resurrection" (1976)
  • "Darling Let Me Stay" (1975) – excerpt from "Once upon a Christmas" (1971)
  • "Dream Child" (1975)
  • "The Golden Bowl" (1975; written 1942)
  • "Letter from India" (1975)
  • "To Whom a Child is Born" (1975)
  • "Alive again" (1976)
  • "Come Home My Son" (1976)
  • "Here and Now" (1976; written 1941)
  • "Morning in the Park" (1976; written 1948)
  • "Search for a Star" (1976)
  • "To Thine Own Self" (1976)
  • "The Woman in the Waves" (1976; written 1953)
  • "The Kiss" (1977)
  • "The Lovers" (1977)
  • "Miranda" (1977)
  • "The Castle" (1979; written 1949)
  • "A Pleasant Evening" (1979; written 1948)
  • Christmas Miniature (New York: John Day, 1957) – in UK as Christmas Mouse (London: Methuen, 1959) – illustrated by Anna Marie Magagna
  • Christmas Ghost (New York: John Day, 1960) – illustrated by Anna Marie Magagna

Unpublished stories

  • "The Good Rich Man" (1937, unsold)
  • "The Sheriff" (1937, unsold)
  • "High and Mighty" (1938, unsold)
  • "Mrs. Witler's Husband" (1938, unsold)
  • "Mother and Daughter" (1938, unsold; alternate title "My Beloved")
  • "Mother without Child" (1940, unsold)
  • "Instead of Diamonds" (1953, unsold)

Unpublished stories, undated

  • "The Assignation" (submitted not sold)
  • "The Big Dance" (unsold)
  • "The Bleeding Heart" (unsold)
  • "The Bullfrog" (unsold)
  • "The Day at Dawn" (unpublished)
  • "The Director"
  • "Heart of the Jungle (submitted, unsold)
  • "Images" (sold but unpublished)
  • "Lesson in Biology" / "Useless Wife" (unsold)
  • "Morning in Okinawa" (unsold)
  • "Mrs. Jones of Jerrell Street" (unsold)
  • "One of Our People" (sold, unpublished)
  • "Summer Fruit" (unsold)
  • "Three Nights with Love" (submitted, unsold) – original title "More Than a Woman"
  • "Too Many Flowers" (unsold)
  • "Wang the Ancient" (unpublished)
  • "Wang the White Boy" (unpublished)

Stories: Date unknown

  • "Church Woman"
  • "Crucifixion"
  • "Dear Son"
  • "Escape Me Never" – alternate title of "For a Thing Done"
  • "The Great Soul"
  • "Her Father's Wife"
  • "Horse Face"
  • "Lennie"
  • "The Magic Dragon"
  • "Mrs. Jones of Jerrell Street" (unsold)
  • "Night of the Dance"
  • "One and Two"
  • "Pleasant Vampire"
  • "Rhoda and Mike"
  • "The Royal Family"
  • "The Searcher"
  • "Steam and Snow"
  • "Tinder and the Flame"
  • "The War Chest"
  • "To Work the Sleeping Land"

Children's books and stories

[edit]
  • The Young Revolutionist (New York: John Day, 1932) – for children
  • Stories for Little Children (New York: John Day, 1940) – pictures by Weda Yap
  • "When Fun Begins" (1941)
  • The Chinese Children Next Door (New York: John Day, 1942)
  • The Water Buffalo Children (New York: John Day, 1943) – drawings by William Arthur Smith
  • Dragon Fish (New York: John Day, 1944) – illustrated by Esther Brock Bird
  • Yu Lan: Flying Boy of China (New York: John Day, 1945) – drawings by Georg T. Hartmann
  • The Big Wave (New York: John Day, 1948) – illustrated with prints by Hiroshige and Hokusai – for children
  • One Bright Day (New York: John Day, 1950) – published in the UK as One Bright Day and Other Stories for Children (1952)
  • The Beech Tree (New York: John Day, 1954) – illustrated by Kurt Werth – for children
  • "Johnny Jack and His Beginnings" (New York: John Day, 1954)
  • Christmas Miniature (1957) – published in the UK as The Christmas Mouse (1958)
  • "The Christmas Ghost" (1960)
  • "Welcome Child (1964)
  • "The Big Fight" (1965)
  • "The Little Fox in the Middle" (1966)
  • Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (New York: John Day, 1967) – set in South Korea
  • "The Chinese Storyteller" (1971)
  • "A Gift for the Children" (1973)
  • "Mrs Starling's Problem" (1973)

Television credits

[edit]

Film credits

[edit]

Awards and recognition

[edit]
Sign for the Pearl S. Buck Meeting Room, photographed outside of the Doylestown Branch of Bucks County Free Library in 2025.

Museums and historic houses

[edit]
Pearl S. Buck's study in Lushan Pearl S. Buck Villa

Several historic sites work to preserve and display artifacts from Pearl's profoundly multicultural life:

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Pearl S. Buck

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from Grokipedia

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American novelist and biographer whose works drew on extensive personal experience living in rural . Born in , to Presbyterian missionaries, she spent much of her childhood and early adulthood in , where she observed peasant life firsthand and learned to speak Chinese fluently before English. Her breakthrough novel, (1931), depicted the struggles of Chinese farmers and earned her the in 1932, making her the first American woman to receive that award. In 1938, Buck became the first American woman awarded the , recognized "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in and for her biographical masterpieces." Over her career, she authored over 100 books, including novels, short stories, and nonfiction, often challenging Western stereotypes of Asia through realistic portrayals grounded in empirical observation rather than ideological preconceptions. Beyond literature, Buck was a humanitarian advocate who founded organizations to support interracial adoptions and the rights of disabled children, informed by her experiences raising a daughter with , and she lobbied against discriminatory U.S. policies. Despite her early acclaim, Buck's reputation waned in academic circles post-World War II, partly due to shifting literary priorities favoring abstract over her accessible, experience-based realism, though her works remain valued for their causal insights into human resilience amid poverty and cultural upheaval.

Early Life

Birth and Missionary Family

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker, who later adopted the name Pearl S. Buck, was born on June 26, 1892, in , at her maternal grandparents' home on farmland near the mountains. Her parents, Absalom West Sydenstricker and Caroline Stulting Sydenstricker, were Southern Presbyterian missionaries who had been stationed in since 1880 but returned to the on furlough prior to her birth. Absalom, born in 1854 in , dedicated his life to evangelical work, including translation into Chinese dialects, while Caroline, born in 1857 in , managed the practical aspects of family life amid frequent relocations. The couple had seven children in total, with Pearl as the fourth surviving daughter; several siblings died in infancy or early childhood due to disease. The Sydenstrickers' vocation shaped Pearl's earliest environment, as her parents viewed their work as a divine calling to convert Chinese populations to despite cultural and linguistic barriers. Absalom's fundamentalist zeal often prioritized spiritual outreach over material comforts, leading to a peripatetic existence, whereas Caroline's resilience stemmed from her own rural upbringing and prior experience in . In October 1892, when Pearl was approximately four months old, the family sailed back to , settling initially in Tsingkiangpu (now ), where Absalom resumed his proselytizing efforts amid the volatile conditions of late society. This return marked the beginning of Pearl's lifelong immersion in , though her American birth and heritage instilled a dual identity.

Childhood and Immersion in China

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck was born on June 26, 1892, in , to Absalom Sydenstricker, a Southern Presbyterian , and Caroline Stulting Sydenstricker, both of whom had been stationed in since 1880 but were on in the United States at the time of her birth. Three months later, in October 1892, her parents returned to their mission post in (then Tsingkiangpu), province, bringing the infant Pearl with them, where she would spend the majority of her childhood and adolescence until age 18. As the fourth of seven children—though only three, including Pearl, survived infancy—Buck grew up in a modest compound amid Chinese surroundings, cared for by her mother and a Chinese amah (nurse). This environment fostered an early and profound immersion in ; she learned to speak fluently before mastering English, interacting daily with Chinese servants, neighbors, and playmates while observing rural life along the Yangtze River. Her father's zealous evangelism exposed her to the challenges of work, including resistance from local communities and events like the 1900 , which disrupted the region when Buck was eight years old and heightened the family's isolation. Buck's formal early education occurred at home, supplemented by a Chinese tutor for language and literacy in characters, alongside her mother's instruction in English, Bible studies, and Western classics, rendering her effectively bilingual and culturally hybrid from childhood. She began writing stories in both languages as a young girl, drawing from observed peasant hardships—such as famines and floods—that her parents documented in mission reports, though her mother's more empathetic worldview, influenced by direct aid to locals, shaped Buck's own developing appreciation for Chinese resilience and traditions over rigid proselytizing. This immersion, spanning over 40 years in China before her permanent departure in 1934, provided firsthand insight into agrarian society, Confucian values, and folk customs, which she later credited as foundational to her literary authenticity rather than American influences.

Formal Education

Pearl Buck's early education in China primarily consisted of private tutoring by her mother in English subjects and by a Chinese tutor in classical , fostering her bilingual proficiency. In 1910, at age 18, she returned to the and enrolled at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in , a Methodist-affiliated institution for women. She graduated in 1914 with a degree, having studied among other subjects. Following her return to China after graduation, Buck pursued further studies during a family in the United States; in 1924, she enrolled at in , earning a degree in English in 1925. This advanced degree supported her subsequent teaching roles at universities in China, including .

Experiences in China

Marriage and Rural Life

Pearl Sydenstricker married , an American agricultural economist and , on May 13, 1917, in . The couple, both involved in missionary and educational work in , shared a commitment to understanding and improving rural conditions, with Buck assisting her husband in his studies of Chinese farming practices. Following their wedding, the Bucks relocated to Nanhsuchou (present-day Nanxuzhou) in rural Province, a impoverished region where John Buck conducted fieldwork on as part of his research for . Pearl Buck adapted to village life, English at a local school and serving as an interpreter for her husband, while immersing herself in the daily routines of peasant families amid cycles of , , and toil. This period, spanning roughly the first five years of their marriage, exposed her to the harsh realities of subsistence farming, including , dependency on manual labor, and the vulnerability of rural households to and . Their experiences in profoundly shaped Buck's empathy for Chinese rural dwellers, as she documented the resilience of farmers who tilled small plots with primitive tools, often yielding just enough for survival. In 1920, the couple welcomed their only biological child, a daughter named Carol, who was later diagnosed with , a that influenced Buck's later advocacy for children with disabilities. By the early 1920s, deteriorating security in rural areas prompted a move to , where John Buck joined the faculty of the University of Nanking, but the foundational years in Anhui remained central to Buck's firsthand observations of agrarian life.

Observations of Chinese Society

Buck's immersion in rural during the and allowed her to closely observe the agrarian foundations of peasant society, where families depended on small landholdings for amid unpredictable and soil fertility. Accompanying her husband, , on agricultural surveys, she documented the technical routines of farming, including and cultivation, ox-plowing, and practices that sustained households through cycles of planting and harvest. These experiences revealed the precarious economic balance, with peasants like those she knew facing chronic indebtedness to landlords and vulnerability to crop failures that could wipe out years of labor. She witnessed devastating famines, such as those in the early , which forced peasants into extreme measures including the sale of children, migration to cities for manual labor, and in isolated cases, underscoring the fragility of rural self-sufficiency without modern infrastructure or government aid. In her accounts, these events highlighted not just natural causation—droughts and floods—but also systemic factors like unequal land distribution and disruptions that exacerbated hunger, leading to social upheaval as families fragmented under survival pressures. Buck noted the resilience of peasants who rebuilt through sheer toil, yet critiqued the cultural rooted in Confucian acceptance of , which often perpetuated cycles of over . Gender dynamics formed a core of her observations, revealing a patriarchal order where women bore disproportionate burdens in labor and reproduction while lacking autonomy. Daughters were frequently devalued, with Buck encountering instances of among impoverished families unable to afford dowries or extra mouths to feed, a practice tied to son-preference for lineage continuity. She described the physical toll of traditions like foot-binding, which immobilized women and symbolized elite status but crippled rural laborers, rendering them dependent and limiting mobility for fieldwork or escape during crises. and addiction further eroded family stability, as men squandered resources on vices imported via unequal trade, leaving wives to manage households amid moral and economic decay. Despite these hardships, Buck emphasized the universal humanity in Chinese social bonds, portraying extended families as networks of mutual aid against isolation, contrasting with Western individualism. Her depictions avoided exoticism, grounding critiques in causal realities like overpopulation straining resources and imperial legacies fostering corruption, while praising the peasants' ethical stoicism and communal rituals that fostered endurance.

Departure from China

In the early 1930s, political instability in intensified due to the ongoing civil conflict between the Nationalist forces under and the , culminating in events such as the Communist (1934–1935) and sporadic anti-foreign violence amid economic hardship and Japanese encroachments in following the 1931 invasion. This environment posed growing risks to Westerners, including missionaries and academics like Buck's husband, agricultural economist , whose work in rural surveys made them visible targets in volatile regions. By 1934, Buck determined that continued residence had become untenable for her family's safety, prompting a permanent departure from the country where she had spent over three decades immersed in its culture and . Her biological daughter, Carol, born in 1921 with untreated —a causing severe intellectual impairment—had already been placed in a specialized U.S. institution, the Vineland Training School in , for care unavailable in , underscoring earlier strains on family logistics. Buck, her husband, and their adopted daughter Janice sailed from that summer, leaving behind a life of deep personal attachment despite her fluency in Chinese and affection for its people. The move marked the end of Buck's direct involvement in , as subsequent events—including the full-scale Japanese invasion in 1937 and the Communist victory in 1949—prevented any return, though she continued advocating for Chinese relief efforts from the . Her husband initially shared reluctance to abandon his research commitments but accompanied the family; their marriage dissolved in 1935 shortly after resettlement.

Literary Career

Breakthrough Works

Pearl S. Buck's literary career began in the with articles and short stories published in American magazines, including The Nation and The Atlantic Monthly, where she depicted Chinese rural life and cultural contrasts drawn from her experiences. These early pieces, often focused on themes of East-West encounters, established her voice as an observer of Chinese society but garnered limited attention until her transition to novels. Her debut novel, East Wind: West Wind, appeared in October 1930 under the John Day Company after rejections from multiple publishers, motivated in part by financial needs for her daughter's institutional care. The work interweaves stories of two Chinese women navigating arranged marriages, foot-binding traditions, and emerging modern influences, reflecting Buck's firsthand immersion in Confucian and rural customs. It received positive reviews for its authentic portrayal of Chinese domestic life, launching her professional relationship with publisher Richard J. Walsh and marking her entry as a amid the Great Depression's literary market. Though not a commercial blockbuster, the novel sold steadily and positioned Buck for subsequent successes by humanizing peasant perspectives without romanticization. Following this, Buck published Sons in 1932 as the second installment in what became the House of Earth trilogy, shifting focus to generational conflict and filial piety in a Chinese family amid revolutionary upheavals. The novel built on East Wind's thematic foundations, earning critical praise for its narrative depth and realistic depiction of social transformations, though it relied on the momentum from her prior work. These early novels demonstrated Buck's skill in blending autobiographical elements with broader socio-historical analysis, distinguishing her from contemporaneous Orientalist fiction by prioritizing empirical observation over exoticism.

The Good Earth and Early Success

The Good Earth, Buck's second novel, was published on October 2, 1931, by the John Day Company after initial serialization in The Saturday Evening Post. The narrative chronicles the life of Wang Lung, a poor Chinese farmer, through cycles of prosperity and hardship, reflecting Buck's intimate knowledge of rural Chinese existence gained from her years living among peasants. Drawing on empirical observations rather than romanticized ideals, the book eschewed Western stereotypes of China prevalent in earlier literature, presenting a realist portrayal of familial bonds, land's centrality to survival, and societal upheavals like famine and revolution. The novel achieved immediate commercial triumph, becoming the top-selling fiction title in the United States for both and 1932, with translations into over 30 languages amplifying its global reach. This success stemmed from its accessible prose and vivid depiction of universal human struggles, resonating with Depression-era American readers seeking insights into foreign agrarian life amid economic distress. Critics praised its authenticity; for instance, the Pulitzer Prize jury highlighted its groundbreaking representation of Asian peasantry, awarding Buck the for the Novel in 1932—the first such honor for a work centered on non-Western themes. Buck's breakthrough propelled her literary career, enabling sequels Sons (1932) and A House Divided (1935), which extended Wang Lung's family saga and further solidified her reputation. The novel's acclaim also spurred adaptations, including a Broadway play in 1932 that ran for nearly two years and a 1937 film starring and , who won an Academy Award for her role as . These developments marked Buck's transition from obscure missionary's wife to internationally acclaimed author, with selling millions of copies over time and influencing Western perceptions of through a lens of causal economic and rather than ideological abstraction.

Nobel Prize and Global Recognition

In 1938, the was awarded to Pearl S. Buck "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in and for her biographical masterpieces, which have gained a permanent place in the literary art of our age." This recognition marked her as the first American woman to receive the . The highlighted Buck's authentic portrayals drawn from her extensive residence in , distinguishing her work from earlier Western depictions often reliant on secondary sources or romanticized views. Buck attended the Nobel award ceremony on December 10, , at the , where she was one of only two laureates present that year. In her Nobel lecture, titled "The Chinese Novel," she explored the historical depth of Chinese literary traditions, emphasizing the novel's role in depicting ordinary lives and critiquing the underappreciation of non-Western forms in global . At the , Buck expressed gratitude while underscoring the prize's significance for writers addressing universal human experiences beyond national boundaries. The Nobel accolade amplified Buck's international stature, with The Good Earth—previously honored by the in 1932—achieving widespread translations and sales that introduced millions to nuanced views of Chinese agrarian society. Her oeuvre, encompassing over 100 works, earned translations into dozens of languages, contributing to cross-cultural dialogues on amid rising global tensions in the late . This global reach established Buck as a pivotal figure in early 20th-century , bridging Eastern and Western perspectives through empirically grounded narratives rather than ideological abstractions.

Personal Life

Divorce and Second Marriage

Pearl S. Buck married agricultural economist on May 13, 1917, in , where they resided for much of their early married life. The couple had one biological child, Carol Grace Buck, born in 1920, who was later diagnosed with , a causing intellectual disability; they also adopted a daughter, Janice, in 1925. Their marriage, which lasted 18 years, was reportedly unhappy from the outset, strained by professional differences and personal incompatibilities, with Buck increasingly focused on her writing career while Buck pursued agricultural research. The union effectively dissolved by 1933, amid Buck's growing professional success and her relationship with publisher Richard J. Walsh. On June 11, 1935, Buck obtained a from John Lossing Buck in . Later that same day, she married Walsh, president of the John Day Company, which had published her breakthrough novel in 1931; Walsh had previously divorced his first wife, Ruby Abbott, facilitating the union. Buck's second marriage to Walsh proved more supportive of her literary and humanitarian pursuits, with the couple settling at Green Hills Farm in , shortly after their wedding; Walsh managed her publishing affairs and collaborated on several projects until his death in 1960. This partnership allowed Buck greater stability, enabling her to expand her family through adoptions and focus on advocacy work.

Family Dynamics and Adoptions

Pearl S. Buck and her first husband, , welcomed their only biological child, daughter Carol, on March 4, 1920, during their residence in rural . Carol suffered from (PKU), an inherited that, untreated, led to severe intellectual impairment and required eventual institutionalization at the Training School in , where she lived from childhood until her death in 1992 at age 72. Buck initially managed Carol's care at home with scant medical insight or spousal assistance, an experience that informed her later writings, including The Child Who Never Grew (1950), which detailed the emotional and practical burdens of parenting a disabled child. In 1926, the Bucks adopted an infant daughter, Janice, while still in , marking their first foray into amid the ongoing demands of Carol's condition and life. This addition highlighted Buck's early commitment to expansion despite hardships, though the faced strains from professional divergences, Carol's needs, and differing priorities, culminating in separation by the early 1930s and formal . Following her 1935 to publisher Richard J. Walsh, Buck assembled an extended adoptive of six additional children, raising a total of seven adopted alongside Carol's institutional care at their farm, Green Hills. Adoptions included two white infant boys from the Cradle Society in and four mixed-race children of European, , and American origins, such as those with German-African and Japanese-African heritage, defying prevailing racial and religious matching norms in U.S. child welfare. life emphasized practical nurturing and cultural integration, with Walsh's support enabling Buck's focus on transracial parenting, though the household's diversity and size demanded robust logistical adaptations. Buck's personal adoptions underscored her critique of exclusionary practices, motivated partly by Carol's challenges and observations of orphaned children in .

Humanitarian Efforts

Founding Welcome House

In 1949, Pearl S. Buck founded Welcome House, the first international and agency in the United States, specifically to address the plight of mixed-race children—often Amerasians born to Asian mothers and American servicemen during and after —who were routinely deemed unadoptable by established agencies due to prevailing racial prejudices. Buck's initiative stemmed from her direct encounter with the barriers faced by such children; unable to find an agency willing to place a 15-month-old Korean-American child, she established Welcome House as an initial permanent foster home at her residence in , providing care while seeking permanent adoptive families. The agency's founding reflected Buck's broader humanitarian commitment, informed by her decades of experience in and observations of social stigmas against mixed-race offspring, whom she argued possessed inherent resilience and potential despite societal rejection. Welcome House operated on principles of non-discrimination, matching children primarily from with American families through rigorous screening processes, and by the time it ceased adoption operations in 2017, it had facilitated over 7,000 placements worldwide. Early challenges included legal hurdles under state laws and cultural resistance, yet Buck's personal involvement—leveraging her literary fame and networks—enabled the agency's growth into a model for challenging racial barriers in .

Advocacy for Mixed-Race Children

Pearl S. Buck observed the social stigma and abandonment faced by mixed-race children in , particularly those born to American servicemen and local women during and after , prompting her to challenge U.S. adoption agencies' reluctance to place such children with American families. In , unable to find an agency willing to facilitate the of a 15-month-old mixed-race boy, Buck personally arranged to bring him to her home on , naming him David Yoder, which highlighted the systemic barriers rooted in racial prejudices of the era. This experience led Buck to found Welcome House in as the first U.S. adoption agency dedicated to interracial and international placements, specializing in mixed-race children of Asian descent who were often deemed unadoptable by established organizations. Through Welcome House, she facilitated the of hundreds of biracial children, emphasizing their potential for integration into American society and providing for those awaiting placement. Buck's extended to public writing and speeches, where she portrayed these children as inherently resilient and "superior" hybrids capable of bridging cultures, drawing on observations of their adaptability amid adversity to counter eugenic-era doubts about racial mixing. Buck lobbied for policy changes, including reforms to U.S. immigration laws to ease the entry of children for , arguing that their American paternity conferred rights and obligations on the to rescue them from in their birth countries. In the and 1960s, amid the Korean and Wars, she expanded efforts by establishing the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, which supported over 25,000 children through education and care programs in , such as the 1965 aimed at integrating biracial Korean-American youth locally rather than solely through relocation. Her work persisted into her later years, with Welcome House operating until 2014, though critics later noted that her emphasis on transnational sometimes overlooked maternal ties in , prioritizing opportunities in the U.S. based on empirical patterns of stigma and these children endured.

Broader Social Causes

Buck advocated for racial equality and civil rights throughout her career, drawing from her experiences in China where she witnessed discrimination firsthand. She served as a lifetime member of the NAACP and on the board of the National Urban League, actively challenging segregation and racial discrimination in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s alongside figures like Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1951, she publicly protested the Washington, D.C., school district's decision to ban her from speaking at an all-Black high school due to her race, framing it as an act of systemic racism that undermined democratic principles. Buck also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives in May 1943 to support repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act, arguing on moral grounds that such laws contradicted American ideals of justice and contributed to global tensions. She condemned the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as unjust and racially motivated. On , Buck supported the to ensure legal equality regardless of gender and promoted access to as essential for women's . A close friend of , she endorsed modern family planning methods to address poverty and overpopulation, particularly in agrarian societies like , which she depicted in her writings as strained by unchecked . Buck viewed reproductive choices as tied to broader economic independence, criticizing traditional constraints on women in both Eastern and Western contexts based on her observations of rural Chinese life. As a pacifist, Buck campaigned against and nuclear armament, joining the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and advocating to prevent global conflicts. She opposed Western imperialism in , founding the East and West Association in the 1940s to foster cultural understanding and reduce prejudices that fueled wars, while publishing Asia magazine to highlight Asian perspectives often ignored in American media. Her peace efforts emphasized dialogue over intervention, rooted in her belief that mutual respect between cultures could avert the violence she had seen during the Chinese Revolution and .

Political Views

Critique of Western Interventions

Pearl S. Buck sharply criticized Western interventions in China as rooted in cultural arrogance and exploitative motives, viewing them as extensions of imperialism that disregarded Chinese sovereignty and traditions. In her autobiographical works The Exile (1936) and Fighting Angel (1936), she portrayed her missionary father Absalom Sydenstricker's evangelical zeal as emblematic of "spiritual imperialism," where Western missionaries leveraged extraterritorial rights—gained through unequal treaties like the Treaty of Nanjing (1842)—to preach, establish schools, and build hospitals without accountability to Chinese authorities, often aligning with military and commercial encroachments. This critique stemmed from her firsthand observations in China from 1892 to 1934, during which she witnessed events like the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901), where anti-foreign sentiment targeted missionary privileges as symbols of subjugation. Buck extended her condemnation to broader Western policies, arguing in her 1933 article "China and the West" that European traders and powers approached with inherent contempt, treating its people as inferior and exploiting trade imbalances from the (1839–1842, 1856–1860) onward, which forced open ports and concessions without mutual respect. She rejected the paternalistic notion that Western "civilization" should be imposed, as seen in her 1932 public statements decrying missionary arrogance, which prompted debates within Presbyterian circles and her resignation from denominational ties. Through the East and West Association, founded in 1940, Buck advocated "critical internationalism" against , , and unilateral interventions, urging Americans to abandon views of as a sphere for dominance. Her stance highlighted how such policies fueled Chinese resentment, contributing to the 1919 May Fourth Movement's anti-imperialist fervor. While Buck's critiques drew from empirical immersion rather than abstract , they faced pushback from defenders who dismissed them as exaggerated, yet her influence waned post-World War II amid rising U.S. anti-communist priorities that reframed interventions as anti-Soviet necessities. Nonetheless, she consistently prioritized cultural empathy over coercive reform, warning that Western hubris perpetuated cycles of conflict rather than genuine exchange.

Positions on China and Communism

Pearl S. Buck, who resided in from infancy until 1934, observed the initial emergence of there as early as 1921, viewing it initially as a response to peasant grievances amid warlordism and nationalism, though she soon questioned its ideological foundations. By the 1930s and 1940s, her writings reflected growing skepticism toward the , as she highlighted the risks of ideological extremism over pragmatic reform, warning in a 1944 New York Times piece that 's internal divisions favored over , describing the era as the "darkest hour" in its history. Her early partial sympathy for communist agrarian appeals, evident in pre-1949 commentary, was later downplayed in her reflections, prioritizing evidence of authoritarian tendencies she had long anticipated from her firsthand exposure to revolutionary fervor. Following the Communist victory in October 1949, Buck emerged as a staunch critic of 's regime, rejecting U.S. recognition of it and decrying its suppression of individual freedoms in essays and novels. In works like The Three Daughters of Madame Liang (1969), she portrayed the personal toll of communist repression on families, drawing from reports of purges and ideological conformity to illustrate a system incompatible with human dignity—a stance she articulated explicitly as one she could not endure. She publicly named in 1950s critiques, condemning his leadership's cult-like enforcement and economic policies, and extended support to Chinese exiles by inviting dissidents to the , actions that intensified official animosity toward her. Buck's opposition extended to international policy, as seen in her 1971 New York Times essay "The Two Chinas," where she argued for acknowledging both the and the Republic of China in forums like the , emphasizing the distinct political realities and rejecting unilateral legitimization of the communist state amid its isolationist aggressions. This position, rooted in her lifelong affinity for the Chinese populace contrasted against the regime's coercive apparatus, led to her books being banned in for nearly three decades and her visa denial in 1972, explicitly linked to anti-Mao statements. Her critiques, informed by decades of immersion rather than abstract theory, consistently privileged the welfare of ordinary Chinese over ideological collectivism, influencing American discourse on non-interventionist empathy toward the oppressed.

Engagement with American Debates

Buck actively engaged in American debates on racial equality, drawing from her experiences in China to critique domestic racism as incompatible with democratic ideals. In a 1942 address at Howard University, she urged balancing patriotism with equality, arguing that racial prejudice undermined U.S. moral authority abroad. She became a lifetime member of the NAACP, served on the board of the National Urban League, and acted as a trustee of Howard University, using these roles to advocate for desegregation and anti-discrimination policies. In 1951, after the Washington, D.C., school district banned her from speaking at Cardozo High School—an all-Black institution—due to segregation policies, Buck publicly condemned the decision, stating that "racial discrimination has no place in a nation of free people" and emphasizing Washington's role as the national capital in modeling equality. Her advocacy extended to opposing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, which she viewed as a betrayal of constitutional principles amid wartime hysteria. Buck also supported the in the 1930s and 1940s, aligning with progressive reformers like to challenge gender-based legal inequalities, at a time when labor unions and some feminists opposed it over fears of lost protections. These positions reflected her broader commitment to universal , informed by firsthand observations of prejudice in both and the U.S., though her emphasis on and sometimes clashed with mainstream liberal priorities. During the early , Buck criticized McCarthyism's domestic excesses, warning against and ideological . In a 1950 speech to librarians titled "World Understanding through Reading," she cautioned that suppressing books and ideas mirrored the America opposed, urging as essential to . Her East-West Association, aimed at fostering cultural exchange, became a target of investigations, leading to its dissolution in the early amid accusations of pro-China sympathies. Despite this scrutiny—exacerbated by her nuanced views on Asian —Buck maintained that true required upholding at home, positioning her as a defender of dissent against what she saw as demagogic overreach.

Controversies and Criticisms

Literary Reception and Dismissal

Pearl S. Buck's novels, particularly published in 1931, achieved widespread commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1930s, selling over two million copies by 1935 and establishing her as a leading voice in depicting Chinese rural life for Western audiences. The novel earned the in 1932, praised for its vivid portrayal of peasant struggles amid , , and social upheaval. This early reception positioned Buck as a bridge between Eastern and Western literary traditions, with her accessible prose contrasting the experimental dominant in elite circles. Buck's international stature peaked with the 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded for her "rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in " and contributions to , , and , marking her as the first to receive the honor. However, the prize elicited immediate controversy among critics, who viewed it as undeserved amid more European contenders, with some dismissing her work as overly sentimental and lacking artistic depth. Post-award, assessments of her oeuvre sharpened, faulting later novels for and perceived decline in originality, though empirical sales data—over 100 million books sold lifetime—underscored her enduring popular appeal against elite disdain. Mid-century dismissal intensified within academic and modernist literary circles, where Buck's clear, narrative-driven style was derided as simplistic or commercial, unfit for canons prioritizing fragmentation and irony; critics like those in reviews accused her of exoticizing through stereotypical depictions, ignoring her firsthand immersion in rural from 1914 to 1933. Gender biases compounded this, with male reviewers attributing her success to mass-market pandering rather than merit, a pattern evident in dismissals framing her as a "popular" rather than "serious" author. Such critiques often overlooked causal factors like her upbringing's empirical grounding in Chinese dialects and customs, privileging ideological conformity to evolving tastes over verifiable authenticity. Recent scholarship has challenged this marginalization, arguing that institutional biases in mid-20th-century academia—favoring insular over realism—unfairly eclipsed Buck's innovations in humanizing non-Western peasants, with reevaluations citing her influence on global despite earlier snubs. Peter Conn's 1996 biography contends her exclusion stemmed not from literary failings but from discomfort with her advocacy for and critiques of Western imperialism, reflecting broader causal tensions between populist truth-telling and elite gatekeeping.

Accusations of Cultural Representation

Pearl S. Buck's novels, particularly (1931), drew accusations from some critics of perpetuating an Orientalist view of as static and timeless, divorced from historical change and revolutionary dynamics. Historian Jonathan Spence highlighted the work's "oddly archaic language" and placement in a "timeless zone," arguing it reinforced Western perceptions of as unchanging and resistant to modernization, such as ignoring events like Mao Zedong's Autumn Harvest Uprisings in 1927. Such portrayals were said to exoticize and struggles, emphasizing individual fate over systemic social or economic forces. Critics employing postcolonial-feminist frameworks further accused Buck of stereotyping Chinese women as passive victims lacking agency, as seen in the depiction of in , who embodies silent submission amid patriarchal oppression. In her translations, such as All Men Are Brothers (), Buck was charged with amplifying misogynistic elements from the original texts, rendering terms like "妖娆的妇人" as "a lovely, loose-looking " to impose moral judgments of corruption or moral flaw on female characters like , thereby preserving Western biases rather than challenging cultural . These representations were viewed as reinforcing a Western that exoticized and essentialized Chinese as either burdensome or deviant. Chinese intellectuals in , including leftist critics, scrutinized Buck's focus on life for alleged inaccuracies in depicting rural economies and family structures, suggesting an outsider's ignorance of 's evolving social realities and a tendency to overemphasize feudal backwardness. During the Maoist era, her works faced broader ideological condemnation in for portraying a pre-revolutionary, that downplayed communist progress, leading to bans and dismissal as culturally insensitive propaganda. Later academic analyses echoed concerns about inauthenticity, with figures like questioning Buck's authority despite her decades in , claiming her narratives lacked the nuanced insider perspective of subsequent Chinese-American writers.

Political Backlash and Exclusion

During the post-World War II era, Pearl S. Buck faced significant political backlash in the United States due to her liberal positions on international relations, civil rights, and opposition to aggressive anti-communist policies, which aligned her with figures scrutinized during the Second Red Scare. Senator and other conservative politicians targeted her for these views, portraying her sympathy for Chinese peasants and criticism of Western imperialism as evidence of communist leanings, despite Buck's explicit anti-communist writings, such as her condemnations of Mao Zedong's regime in works like The Three Daughters of Madame Liang (1969). This scrutiny peaked in the early 1950s, when Buck was listed among suspected "Red Sympathizers" in McCarthy-associated compilations, leading to informal blacklisting that limited her access to certain public platforms and government-affiliated opportunities. Buck's involvement in organizations promoting East-West understanding, such as the East-West Association co-founded with her husband Richard Walsh in the , further exposed her to backlash, as the group was accused of harboring subversive elements and effectively dissolved amid McCarthyist investigations around 1952. Her advocacy for repealing the in 1943 testimony before and opposition to Japanese American internment during were reframed by critics as naive or pro-Asian sentiments undermining American security interests. These attacks reflected broader suspicions of ""—experts like Buck who had lived in and offered nuanced critiques of U.S. policy there—often labeling them as Soviet-influenced despite their predictions of the Chinese Communist victory being based on firsthand observation rather than ideology. The political exclusion extended to professional repercussions, with Buck's public persona increasingly marginalized in conservative circles, though she continued humanitarian work through her adoption agency Welcome House. This era's hostilities contrasted with her earlier acclaim, highlighting how her commitment to clashed with the era's binary anti-communist fervor, where moderate was often equated with disloyalty. Primary accounts from Buck's foundations and academic analyses confirm the attacks were ideologically driven rather than substantiated by evidence of or affiliation, underscoring McCarthyism's tendency to penalize dissenters regardless of their actual positions.

Later Years and Death

In the decades following , Buck resided primarily on her farm in , where she sustained her commitment to humanitarian causes, including the operation of Welcome House, the adoption agency she founded in 1949 to facilitate placements for Asian-American and mixed-race children abandoned or orphaned amid wartime displacements. She expanded her advocacy to broader civil rights issues, contributing essays to publications like and engaging in efforts against , such as critiquing school policies in Washington, D.C., during the 1950s. Buck also collaborated on cultural projects, including advisory roles in adaptations of her works, such as the 1960 film version of -inspired The Big Wave. Throughout the 1960s, Buck authored additional novels, biographies, and essays—bringing her total output to over 100 works—while addressing themes of global inequality and , though her literary productivity slowed amid health challenges and administrative duties for her foundations. She vacationed frequently in with family, reflecting a pattern of seeking respite from her base. Buck died of on March 6, 1973, at age 80 in Danby, , following a prolonged illness. Her death marked the end of a career defined by prolific writing and institutional , with her estate supporting ongoing charitable initiatives.

Legacy

Literary and Cultural Impact

Buck's novel The Good Earth (1931), the first volume of her House of Earth trilogy, achieved unprecedented commercial success as the best-selling book in the United States for both 1931 and 1932, propelling her to international prominence and earning the for the Novel in 1932. The work's vivid portrayal of Chinese peasant life, drawn from her decades of residence in rural , emphasized themes of family resilience, land attachment, and cyclical human struggle, distinguishing it from prevailing exoticized Western depictions of . This authenticity contributed to her selection for the in 1938, the first awarded to an , with the Swedish Academy citing her "rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in and for her biographical masterpieces." The novel's adaptations extended its reach: a Broadway play premiered in 1932, followed by a 1937 film directed by Sidney Franklin, starring as Wang Lung and as O-Lan, who received the . In literary terms, Buck's oeuvre challenged modernist tendencies toward by grounding narratives in empirical observation of agrarian societies, influencing subsequent American fiction on themes through its emphasis on universal human conditions over national exceptionalism. Her prolific output—over 100 works including novels, biographies, and children's —prioritized causal realism in depicting socioeconomic forces shaping individual lives, such as , migration, and familial duty, which resonated amid the Great Depression's focus on rural hardship. Culturally, Buck's writings reshaped Western understandings of by humanizing its rural majority, countering of inscrutability or backwardness with relatable portrayals of diligence and complexity, thereby fostering and informing U.S. policy discourse on in the interwar period. As the first major non-Chinese author to vividly animate for Western audiences, she bridged East-West divides, with her influence evident in wartime efforts to cultivate positive Allied views of against Japanese aggression. This impact persisted, as her translations and advocacy later prompted renewed Chinese interest in her work post-1970s reforms, underscoring her role in bidirectional cultural exchange.

Enduring Humanitarian Influence

Pearl S. Buck established Welcome House in 1949 as the first U.S. adoption agency dedicated to placing biracial and international children, particularly Amerasian orphans rejected due to racial prejudice following World War II and the Korean War. Motivated by her own unsuccessful attempt to adopt a mixed-race child denied on account of skin color, Buck personally adopted seven children of diverse racial backgrounds from Europe, Asia, and the United States between 1926 and the 1940s. The agency facilitated the adoption of thousands of such children, challenging institutional biases in social work and religious organizations that prioritized racial and religious matching, thereby influencing early transracial and international adoption practices. In 1964, Buck founded the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to sponsor impoverished children in , providing support for health, education, and vocational training, which expanded her humanitarian reach to intercultural aid and poverty alleviation. She also advanced disability rights through her 1950 memoir The Child Who Never Grew, detailing her experiences raising daughter Carol, who suffered from (PKU) and required lifelong institutional care after outgrowing home management. The work advocated for into preventable causes of intellectual disabilities, community-based care over isolation, and public destigmatization, contributing to shifting societal attitudes toward intellectually disabled individuals by humanizing their families' struggles. Buck's efforts fostered enduring cross-cultural understanding and racial harmony, principles embedded in the organizations that merged into Pearl S. Buck International, which continues , programs, and cultural exchange initiatives globally. Her advocacy against adoption barriers and for marginalized groups laid groundwork for modern policies permitting transracial placements and influenced civil rights discourses on , demonstrating causal links between personal experience in and targeted interventions against . These institutions have sustained her influence, supporting child welfare and bridging divides in ways that prioritize empirical needs over ideological conformity.

Modern Recognition and Institutions

Pearl S. Buck International, established by Buck in 1964 as the Pearl S. Buck Foundation and renamed in 1999, sustains her humanitarian efforts by sponsoring children in to combat and , while also facilitating international adoptions through its Welcome House program, founded in for biracial children. The organization maintains her residence in , as a museum site offering tours and educational programs on her life and work. It further promotes her legacy via annual events, including the Woman of Influence award, which in July 2025 recognized a contemporary figure for advancing marginalized communities, echoing Buck's advocacy. The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Museum in , operated by a dedicated foundation since the early , preserves her 1892 childhood home and exhibits artifacts illustrating her Appalachian roots and path to global authorship. In August 2024, the museum marked its 50th anniversary with the debut of “My Mother’s House – A Dream Shared,” a permanent exhibit highlighting Buck's personal reflections on her origins as documented in her writings. Randolph College, Buck's alma mater from the class of 1914, administers the Pearl S. Buck Award annually to women embodying her principles of cross-cultural understanding and , with recipients including figures honored for literary and activist contributions since the award's . The U.S. Postal Service commemorated Buck with a 22-cent stamp in its issued on September 16, 1983, depicting her portrait to acknowledge her literary and humanitarian impact.

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