| Lin Yutang(1895-1976)and Pearl S.Buck(1892-1973)are two of the world’s most famous writers,and Moment in Peking and The Good Earth Trilogy are two masterpieces of their works.Lin Yutang was nominated twice for the Nobel Literature Prize for Moment in Peking,and Pearl won the Nobel Literature Prize for The Good Earth Trilogy.Both are Chinese family novels written in English for the Western readers,and show many changes of Chinese society in the first half of the 20th century,presenting different Chinese images.Once published,the two works have attracted many scholars’ attention and promoted the research wave.The multi-angel research directions and diverse research methods have highlighted their rich literary value,but few scholars compare the two works to discover their ethical value,which needs to be expanded.Therefore,this thesis compares the construction of the ethical environment and the change of ethical consciousness and explores the influence of the ethical thought the two writers held by using the ethical literary criticism.The aim is to reflect the novels’ present value,provide new research directions for the two works and fully explore the educational significance for the foreign communication of the Chinese image.As two writers who spread Chinese image,they connect their different life experiences and ethical thought to create different Chinese image.Lin brings us to a beautiful world:the kindness of ethical environment,the realization of women’s self-worth in family and his Taoism ethical thought,all of which allow people to enjoy the beauty of the human world.Pearl used her Puritanism ethical thought to describe a stereotypical and one-sided Chinese world:the opposition of the ethical environment,the marginal position of women in family,all of which makes people taste the hardship and difficulties of life.First of all,in terms of ethical environment,the rich merchant class in prosperous city and free and friendly family ethical environment are set in Moment in Peking,while the latter chooses the bottom farmer in a poor village and suppressed and submissive family ethical environment,which is related to the two writers’ writing purposes and life experiences.At that time,western media spread incorrect or fake Chines image,so Lin Yutang wanted to change the stereotype of Chinese image,and Pearl wanted to record the real life Chinese people by combing her own life experiences,thus leading to the differences in the construction of the ethical environment in the two works.Secondly,as the ethical environment changes,people’s ethical consciousness also changes,among which the male ethical consciousness and female ethical consciousness change in a different way.In Moment in Peking,male consciousness shifts from family-oriented to nation-oriented.They concentrate on the survival of the nation from their family,and focus on not only their family but also the whole nation.Their most obvious change is that their patriotic consciousness is strengthening.The men in The Good Earth Trilogy change from traditional to modern.They are influenced by the changing ethical environment and the wave of new culture,so they are changing from male-dominant model to a man with modern consciousness.In two works,women’s ethical consciousness also gradually awakens,they try to pursue equality,freedom and independence,while there are also phenomena of going astray for excessive pursuit of independence.It is undeniable that women’s ethical consciousness changes from oppression to independence.Combining the construction of the ethical environment and the changes of ethical consciousness,the ethical thought held by the two writers are summarized:Lin holds natural ethical thought of Taoism that means the core spirit is harmony,and Pearl Buck expresses her unique American-style ethical thought throughout her novel.It reveals the relationship between the writers’ own ethical thoughts and their literary creations and communication.By analyzing this thesis,it can clearly recognize that facing the different culture,we should take its essence and discard its dross.Holding right ethical thought finally realizes the harmonious co-prosperity of different culture,which can provide some references for the dissemination of Chinese image and realization of the Chinese Dream. |
