Research On "Country China" In Mo Yan’s Red Sorghum And Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth From Intercultural Perspective

Domestic writer Mo Yan, after his award in2012Nobel Prize for Literature, has received wider attention from home and abroad. Pearl S. Buck is an American writer who also has been awarded the1938Nobel Prize for Literature, and has occupied a place in the literature field. Red Sorghum, one of Mo Yan’s masterpieces, has been translated into several languages. Moreover, it was adapted into a cognominal movie in the1990s, and it has great influence in the world. Pearl S. Buck’ masterpiece The Good Earth, which narrates the life in the rural areas of China in an epic way, enables her to become the focus of world attention. Mo Yan, our Chinese domestic writer, and Pearl S. Buck, an American writer, both are well-known for their themes about the rural areas of China. Their descriptions of aspects of the “Country China” in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth fully present the simple Chinese traditional local cultures. This thesis seeks the similar cultural implications of the images of “Country China” embodied in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth, analyzes different cultural values of Mo Yan and Pearl S. Buck that are shown in their descriptions of the “Country China”, explores the reasons for the similarities and differences from the perspective of cultural identity, and then points out the significance and necessity of this research about the “Country China” for carrying forward Chinese traditional local cultures under the background of globalization.This thesis is divided into three parts, including the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion.The first part is the introduction. It introduces early domestic and abroad research achievements about the works of Mo Yan and Pearl S. Buck, and the research direction of this thesis. Then it elaborates the necessity and practical significance of comparison between Red Sorghum and The Good Earth, and explains the purpose and meaning of this thesis.The second part is the main body, which includes four chapters.The first chapter is literature review, which introduces the theoretical basis of this thesis, including the definition of intercultural communication and its significance, cultural implication, cultural value, and cultural identity, then illustrates the intercultural significance of the research about Red Sorghum and The Good Earth. Under current globalized circumstances, this thesis aims to enable the readers to gain a new comprehension about the Chinese traditional local cultures embodied in the “Country China” by Mo Yan and Pearl S. Buck. In the meanwhile, the course of exploring similarities and differences can promote the intercultural communication between the east and the west, and transfer Chinese traditional local cultures.The second chapter analyzes the similar cultural implications of the images of the “Country China” embodied in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth. The analysis is carried out from three aspects, including “the land” of China, folk customs and religious beliefs, and Chinese peasants’ characteristics. These are the common and the most outstanding images of “Country China” in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth.“The land” not only has provided substantial basis for Chinese peasants for thousands of years, but also has served as spiritual support for them. Such folk customs as marriage rites, bound feet of women, and religious beliefs all possess their unique implications. In “Gaomi Eastern Town” of Red Sorghum and Wang Lung’s hometown of The Good Earth, there are full representations about the most original and simple Chinese traditional local cultures. Whether they are good or bad, those cultures are the traditional heritage during the long process of history. The Chinese peasants that are described in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth have to suffer from realistic ordeals as a consequence of the special times. In the specific historical periods, the Chinese peasants’ characteristics possess distinct “duality”.The third chapter analyzes the different cultural values of Mo Yan and Pearl S. Buck embodied by their descriptions of the “Country China” in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth. Mo Yan has “kinship” with his hometown, thus his descriptions from the realism of the “Country China” show Mo Yan’s patriotic feelings and the sense of historical responsibility. On the contrast, even though Pearl S. Buck lived in China for dozens of years, she is still a foreigner. Compared with Mo Yan, Pearl S. Buck describes the “Country China” from cultural and humane perspectives. In Red Sorghum Mo Yan expresses his criticism to the reality, while what Pearl S. Buck expresses in The Good Earth is her sympathy to the situations of the rural areas at that time. The fourth chapter analyzes the reasons of the similarities and differences of the “Country China” in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth from the perspective of cultural identity. Though the images of the “Country China” have common points, the descriptions show different cultural values of Mo Yan and Pearl S. Buck. It is because of different cultural identities that the two writers have both similar and different narrations of the “Country China”. The analysis of the reasons and the research about pieces with different cultural identities background benefit the intercultural communication between China and the western countries.The last part is the conclusion.Mo Yan and Pearl S. Buck set off from their own life experiences to narrate the “Country China” in Red Sorghum and The Good Earth. The descriptions give clear and deep expressions of the simple Chinese traditional local cultures. During the course of history development, the “Country China” takes on changes accordingly. But no matter how times change, generations of diligent Chinese peasants keep working on the land. In the new era, Chinese peasants chase their own “Chinese Dream” on the land that nurtures vitality and hope, and build the “Country China” for this new era. With the development of our society and economy, the descriptions of “Country China” by eastern and western writers attract the world’s attention to China, and enable people to know more China. Nowadays, Chinese culture and western culture integrate with each other as globalization goes on. Therefore, it seems practical to obtain more knowledge about interculture to transfer the splendid Chinese cultures.