Today's November 1, 2008. Currently I am going at 40 m/h to Pearl S. Buck's Farnmhouse / home. Pearl S. Buck is one of America's most famous author. Her Parents were missionaries sent to China. Pearl S. Buck was born in 1892 and she came to America in 1892. She was only 3 months old when she arrived in Zhenjiang City in China. She was born in West Virginia, but spent the majority of her life in China. She learned Chinese before English. She also learned Chinese traditions, culture, and history. Pearl S. Buck has learned about Confusist and Confusisium from a Chinese tutor. Mrs. Buck , but formly Ms. Sydenstricker came to America for College. She attends Randolph-Macon's Women's College in Virginia. Her first husband is Lossing Buck and later married her publisher Richard Walsh. When Buck and Sydenstricker had their first child named Carol. Carol had some problems. Carol Grace Buck has Protein problems because there is not enough proteins to get to their brain. That caused Carol Buck's brain to not grow as expected.
In order to have Carol Buck sent to a Special place called Vinland School in New Jersey, Pearl S. Buck was inspired to write a book. She wanted to sell the book to pay for Carol's school. The first book she wrote was published in 1930 called
The Good Earth. The book was about Chinese Peasants. At first the publisher did not want to publish it because they all said, " Nobody would want to read about Chinese Peasants. "
Richard Walsh took a chance and published her book and
The Good Earth won the Pulitzar.
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck may have one natural born daughter, but she adopted more children. She also had foster children , after she realized that she was taking care of more children than she was supposed to. When Pearl S. Buck , her adopted daughter Janice, her puublisher Richard set off for the U.S , she never returned to China.
She married Lossing in Chiangking, China in 1917, the two were two years apart. When they first met, Pearl was 24 and Lossing was 26. They adopted Janice in 1925 as an infant in New York. In 1935 she divources Lossing Buck and marries her publisher Richard Walsh. Pearl did not change her last name to Walsh was because Richard agreed that Pearl S Buck was already a famous name and she did not need to change it.
The following year ,Pearl and Richard adopts two infant boys named Richard and John. Then in 1937 , she and Richard adopts another boy and girl named Edgar and Jean. The next year in 1938 she learns of her Nobel Literature prize award. Richard and herself adopts Henriette in 1951 and Chieko in 1955. In 1960, Richard Walsh dies of stroke. They were married for 25 years.
She and Richard lived in Green hills farm. She purchased it in 1934 to 1935. The tour guide was named Sandy Bates. I saw in the White House website that she was the same person that gave first lady Laura Bush a tour as well. Sandy Bates said that the original farm house was small, but she had enough money to expand. That way, she could fit all her adopted children a and foster children. One of the barns that she purchased dates back to 1720s. Green Hills farm later became the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. Pearl formed her foundation in 1964 to assist children overseas.
Pearl S. Buck has her name in chinese at the Green Hills Farm museum. Her name was written in origianal chinese characters, not simplified.
In her lifetime, she has written over 300 books. Pearl S. Buck passed away in 1973 of Lung canacer in Veremont. In 1972, when Pearl S. Buck wants to return to China, she was denied Visa. The Chinese government obivously does not like her.
When I went to Green Hills Farm, I was amazed to see the amount of open space that Pearl S. Buck owned. I saw her grave, that grave was in Green Hills, that was her wish. She had a lot of money and in the museum , I saw her collection of Asian art. She had Korean, Japanease and Chinese dresses. One of her dress was sent to China because China is starting a museum that is about Pearl S. Buck in China. She has a robe that has dragons on all sides of her dress and there is even one on the inside. That robe was traditionally made for an emporer , but the Tour guide explained that they do not know how she recieved the robe. She has small boxes given to her by President Nixon after visiting China. It also displays the desk that was used for typing the Good Earth. The Typewriter she used was chinese because of the chinese characters on the typewriter. She has chinese fans, buddhas, her books, chinese books, and a collection of chinese history. She has a Buddha silk that was given to her by the current Dali Lama.
One of her collection included a shoe that women wore when they were babies. They would have their feet tied to the shoe, so their feet would not grow. There were books and photographs. In one room in the second floor she had a collection of trophies, and awards that were awarded to Pearl S. Buck. There were even letters sent to her from the white house. John F. Kennedy invited her because Kennedy liked to invite Nobel Peace prize winners. Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman and Eleaner Roosevelt, and FDR all met her at some point. She won the nobel peace prize because of her book, The Good Earth. There was one other American that won the Nobel Literature Prize award, which is Toni Morrison. She actual complained that her Nobel Peace prize was smaller than Pearl S. Buck. They later changed the size into the size that Pearl S. Buck had. The Tour guide explained, "That painting of Confucious is an antique , but it was originally for her brother. Then her brother's widow sent the painting back to Pearl. "
Pearl S. Buck also have one of those ink dips made out of stone. It was a huge piece of stone that was used for ink.
Some of the places that Pearl S. Buck went to were very close to the place of my birth. I was born in Yangzhou. Yangzhou isn't far from Nanjing. Some of the volunteers at Pearl S. Buck Interational actually went to china last year and followed the route of Pearl S. Buck. They came very close to my Birth place.
