Early Life

The Stulting House in West Virginia where Pearl S. Buck was born in 1892.

Pearl S. Buck was born into a Southern Presbyterian family. Her father was Rev. Absalom Sydenstricker, and her mother was Caroline Stulting. Both were missionaries.

The Stulting family, led by Cornelius Stulting (Caroline’s grandfather) fled religious persecution in the Netherlands with his wife, their five married sons and their families in 1847. They eventually settled in West Virginia and bought a 16-acre farmland near Hillsboro in Pocahontas County. Homesick, the Stulting men built the family home like what they had in the Netherlands. Upon Cornelius’s passing, Hermanus (Caroline’s father) and his family moved into the house where Caroline eventually grew up.

The Sydenstickers’ cabin where Pearl’s father, Rev. Absalom, spent his childhood and adolescent years.

Pearl’s father, Rev. Absalom Sydenstricker came from a farming family in Western Virginia. His father was a religious man who often preached to his family about God and the Devil. Rev. Absalom developed an interest in being a missionary in China and believed that it was a territory ripe for conversion to Christianity. His mother agreed on him going to China, with the condition that he got married before leaving.

Caroline and Rev. Absalom Sydenstricker in 1880 around the time of their marriage.

So, shortly after their wedding, Rev. Absalom and Caroline left for China to promote their Christian faith. Their lives in this foreign land were not without challenges. Caroline’s eldest son, Edgar was born in Hangchow (Hangzhou) in 1881. The family moved several times before finally settling in Zhenjiang, in the coastal Jiangsu Province. Zhenjiang is located at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. The couple would go on to have seven children but unfortunately, after Edgar was born, the couple’s three subsequent children – Maude, Edith and Arthur – passed away at a very young age.

When Caroline became pregnant again, the Sydenstrickers decided to return to Caroline’s childhood home to give the baby a better chance of survival. Their fourth child, Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker was born safely on June 26, 1892. Approximately three months after Pearl was born, she traveled to China with her parents. Pearl was given the Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu.

An old image of Zhenjiang, a coastal Chinese city. Zhenjiang is located at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River.

Pearl’s father was rarely at home as he often travelled to the Chinese countryside for his missionary work. In the meantime, Caroline established a small dispensary where she counselled and helped poor Chinese ladies within her capacity. She often arranged for medicines, food, and clothing for them. Rev. Absalom gained enough proficiency in the Chinese language which enabled him to translate the Bible into Chinese.

A portrait of Rev. Absalom Sydenstricker and the Chinese Bible he translated

Pearl’s parents instilled in her that the Chinese were their equals, and they allowed Pearl to play freely with other Chinese children. In her young imaginative mind, Pearl lived in “several worlds”, the “small, white, clean Presbyterian world of my parents” and the “big, loving, merry, not-too-clean Chinese world”. Pearl became proficient in both English and Chinese. She was educated in English by her mother, in classical Chinese by Mr. Kung, a Chinese scholar, and in the local dialect by her Chinese playmates.

Pearl’s daily routine included a morning English lesson by her mother and an afternoon Chinese lesson by Mr. Kung. Caroline encouraged Pearl to develop her passion for writing by insisting she write something every week. Her talent in writing became apparent when at six years old, her writing was published in Shanghai-Mercury, an English language newspaper that featured children’s weekly edition.

The 12-year-old Pearl (back row, right), standing behind her sister Grace, taught hygiene and English to a group of Chinese girls.

From Mr. Kung, Pearl learned about Confucianism, Chinese reading, writing and history. Although she was exposed to Chinese culture since childhood, her mother made sure that Pearl was not detached from her American roots. The family observed American holidays and Caroline cooked as much Western food as she could.

The Sydenstricker family in 1901. From left to right are Pearl, Rev. Absalom, the family’s Chinese governess, Grace, and Caroline.

In 1900, when she was eight years old, Pearl’s seemingly idyllic childhood was shaken by the Boxer Uprising which targeted foreigners. Caroline and her children decided to take refuge in Shanghai, while Rev. Absalom chose to stay back as he was convinced that none of the Chinese would harm him. The family waited anxiously for the next several months before they were united with Rev. Absalom once again. Later that year, they travelled to the United States for one of their periodic visits.

An artist’s illustration of the Boxer Uprising

Pearl remembered her visits to her maternal grandparents’ house fondly:

“For me, it is 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. For me, that house was a gateway to America. May it live again, my Mother’s house, and may it prove for others, too, a gateway to new thoughts and dreams and ways of life.”

~ Pearl S. Buck

The Stulting family was learned and they maintained a comprehensive library in their house where Pearl discovered a collection of novels by Charles Dickens. Despite her father’s disapproval, Pearl read the novels voraciously. Later in her life, she revealed that she read the novels once a year for the rest of her life and stated that her writing style was heavily influenced by Dickens.

Pearl and her younger sister, Grace Sydenstricker

In 1905, Mr. Kung, her tutor, died of cholera. One year later, she witnessed the worst famine in China’s history. During this time, Rev. Absalom managed relief efforts in North China, while his wife Caroline did what she could in Zhenjiang. However, her limited resources were overwhelmed by the number of refugees who came to seek help. Pearl remembered that every morning, soldiers cleared dead bodies in front of the Sydenstrickers’ gate.

As conditions improved, Pearl was enrolled in a nearby missionary school. Caroline, who was always interested in the education of Pearl and her younger sister Grace, insisted that her daughters should experience higher education.

The Randolph-Macon Women’s College

In 1909, Pearl was enrolled to the Randolph-Macon Women’s College from whom she had received a scholarship. The college was located in Lynchburg, Virginia, where her brother, Edgar lived with his wife and children. While awaiting her departure, Pearl attended Miss Jewell’s School in Shanghai, which used to be a prestigious English school. Pearl however, disliked the school and found it dull though she thought that Shanghai was “the most amazing city in the world’s last century”.

Pearl’s graduation picture from Randolph-Macon Women’s College taken in 1914 (click to enlarge)

In 1910, Pearl finally embarked for the United States. At Randolph-Macon Women’s College, Pearl was an outstanding and popular student. She was active in student groups and student governing bodies, and wrote poems and stories for the college magazine. Pearl was the treasurer in her sophomore year and the president of her junior class. She was admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest academic honour society in the United States. She was also a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority.

Graduating in 1914, Pearl remained in the college for one semester and served as an instructor in Psychology. Around this time, Rev. Absalom wrote a letter to Pearl informing her that Caroline, her mother, was ill. Pearl applied for a missionary work opportunity and returned to China to care for her mother.

The Randolph-Macon Women’s College Class of 1913. Pearl, who was a popular student, served as the President of her class.

Meet Pearl S. Buck

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Return to China & First Marriage

An outdoor portrait of Pearl

When Pearl met her parents in China, she was taken aback by her mother’s illness. She recounted:

“Instead of the strong upright figure I had remembered, wearing her thick white hair like a crown, her dark eyes bright, her lips firm, I saw a small little lady, very dainty in dress as always she was, but shrunken and tiny, so tiny that I lifted her up in my arms when I ran to her.”

(Source: Peter Conn: Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography, p. 52-53)

In the four years she had been away, the China which Pearl returned to in 1914 had experienced many changes. The Chinese Revolution in 1911 had overturned the Qing Dynasty. However, the Republican leadership was unable to govern effectively, and this led to warring factions who struggled for control and legitimacy all over China. The dire situation would continue until the Communist take-over in 1949.

Rev. Absalom welcomed the revolution, thinking that it would provide more opportunities to convert the Chinese into Christianity. Several revolutionary leaders such as Sun Yat-Sen were Christian converts themselves. Although the chaos that came with the post-imperial period exposed Westerners in China to occasional violence, generally the policies were tolerant toward Christianity. The first three decades since the 1911 revolution proved to be the most promising for missionary work where Christian chapels, schools, and hospitals were established all over China.

John Lossing Buck and Pearl on their wedding day, taken on May 30, 1917. John was Pearl’s first husband.

One year after Pearl returned to China, she met her future husband, John Lossing Buck (1890-1975). Coming from a farming background, John graduated from Cornell University in 1914 with a degree in Rural Economics. At the university, he developed an interest in China and was a member of the China Study Club. In 1915, he applied to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions to be part of the Agricultural Missionary to China. He arrived in China in December 1915.

Although Rev. Absalom was not particularly fond of John and was suspicious about the depth of his Christian faith, the couple proceeded with their plans and got engaged. After getting engaged, Pearl applied for the position of a missionary wife to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. This also resulted in an increase in John’s salary. The couple got married on May 30, 1917 in Zhenjiang.

Shortly after their marriage, the Bucks moved to Nanxuzhou, an impoverished rural area in Anhwei Province, Eastern China. In this region, Pearl became familiar with the lifestyle of China’s poorest citizens. This is where Pearl got the inspiration and gathered the materials for her critically acclaimed novel, The Good Earth, amongst other stories.

Pearl’s former residence at Nanking University, China with a bust of her outside. Today, it is known as the Pearl S. Buck’s Memorial House.

In 1920, John received an offer from Nanking University to become the Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics. The couple moved to Nanking (Nanjing), where Pearl also taught English literature at the University of Nanking, National Central University, and Ginling College.

Pearl and her daughter, Carol Grace

That same year on March 4, 1920, the couple’s eldest daughter, Carol, was born. During the delivery, a uterine tumour was identified, and Pearl had to undergo a hysterectomy to remove her uterus. At first, Carol appeared to be a normal child. However, when she was three years old, it was clear that she was suffering from a mental disability. The child was brought to Minnesota where, upon further examination, the doctors declared that Carol’s mind had stopped growing.

It was not until many years later, in the 1950s, that Carol was diagnosed with phenylketonuria (PKU) which can be reversed with a change of diet soon after birth. By then however, it was too late for corrective measures as Carol was already an adult. In 1950, Pearl wrote a book about her experiences and personal feelings in caring for Carol, titled The Child Who Never Grew, to help other parents facing similar circumstances.

In 1921, Pearl lost her beloved mother and Rev. Absalom decided to move in with the Bucks. In 1922, Pearl started to write articles on Chinese life for magazines such as The Chinese Recorder, Atlantic Monthly, Asia, and Nation. In 1924, John took a sabbatical and the family travelled to the United States. Pearl took the opportunity to earn her Master of Arts in English from Cornell University. Before they returned to China in autumn of 1925, the Bucks adopted a baby girl named Janice.

Political Refuge

In March 1927, the conflict between the Communist forces, Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist troops, and some warlords climaxed and became known as the Nanking Incident. Amid the violence, several Westerners lost their lives and the Bucks had to go into hiding. Fortunately, a poor Chinese family took pity on the Bucks and hid them in their hut.

After spending a day in terror, the Bucks were rescued by American gunboats. The family sailed to Unzen, Japan and stayed there for several months. It was during this time that Pearl realised that “not all Japanese were militarists”.

They decided to return to Nanking in late 1927 although the situation was still critical. The Bucks were reunited again with Rev. Absalom who had sought refuge in Korea during the crisis. Rev. Absalom would spend the rest of his life in China until his death in 1931.

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Literary Endeavours

Pearl and Lin Yutang, the famous Chinese philosopher, inventor, linguist, translator, and writer who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1940 and 1950.

After her return from Japan, Pearl pursued her passion for writing. She became friends with renowned Chinese writers such as Lin Yutang and Xu Zhimo who encouraged her to sharpen her talents and think of herself as a professional writer.

Sadly, John was indifferent to his wife’s passion as a writer and the couple drifted apart. Pearl contemplated leaving the marriage several times but realised that she needed money for Carol’s special care as well as to support herself. Pearl visited the United States in 1929 to search for long-term care for Carol. Eventually, she registered Carol at the Vineland Training School in Vineland, New Jersey.

During this visit, Pearl met Richard J. Walsh, an editor at John Day Publishing in New York, who agreed to publish her maiden novel. Many publishers before him refused to publish her novel which was about the conflict between new and old China. Pearl’s first novel, East Wind, West Wind, was published in 1930. Subsequently, Richard and Pearl developed a friendly relationship and the two would eventually marry in 1935.

Back in China, Pearl spent most of her mornings writing her next novel, The Good Earth which she managed to complete within a year. Her second novel was published by John Day Publishing in 1931. The Good Earth, a poignant story about the peasant farmer Wang Lung and his slave wife, and their struggles to move up in society, established Pearl’s position as a powerful writer. It was one of the best-selling books of 1931 and 1932.

For The Good Earth, Pearl was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and the William Dean Howells Medal for Distinguished Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1935. The novel would later be adapted into a Broadway play and a major motion picture in 1937. The Good Earth was followed by two other books as its sequels: Sons, published in 1932 and A House Divided, published in 1935. The trilogy was published as The House of Earth.

The Yangtze-Huai River flood in 1931

In 1931, Pearl was involved in a charity relief involving victims of the Yangtze-Huai River floods, which claimed an estimated four million lives. She wrote a series of stories about the hardships of the refugees which were broadcasted on American radio. These short stories were later published as a book titled The First Wife and Other Stories in 1933.

The cover of one of Pearl’s books

Pearl received an Honorary Master’s degree from Yale University in 1933. During this period, she also published All Men are Brothers, an English translation from the Chinese novel, Shui Hu Chuan (1933), and the biographies of her parents The Exile and Fighting Angel (1936). Her parents’ biographies were later combined and published under the title The Spirit and the Flesh in 1944.

During one of her visits to the United States, Pearl agreed to give a talk at a luncheon held by the Presbyterian women, at the exclusive Astor Hotel in New York City. Pearl chose a controversial topic, “Is There a Case for the Foreign Missionary?” and her conclusion was “no”. Pearl argued that while the Chinese could share her Christian faith, they did not need an institutional church filled with missionaries who were either arrogant or ignorant of China. The talk, which would be featured in Harper’s Magazine, was considered scandalous, and Pearl had to resign from her position with the Presbyterian Board.

Pearl’s talk and her questioning the need for missionaries was reported in the Evening Star, a paper in Washington, D.C. on May 2, 1933

Return to the United States and Second Marriage

Pearl and Richard Walsh with the twin boys they adopted

In 1934, Pearl returned to the United States to escape the political turmoil between the Nationalist and Communist parties in China that had become increasingly dangerous for foreigners. She also wanted to be closer to her daughter, Carol. Pearl decided to take up permanent residence in the United States and divorced John a year later in 1935.

Later that same year, Buck married her publisher, Richard J. Walsh on June 11, 1935. The couple took up residence in Green Hills Farm in Buck County, Pennsylvania. Throughout their marriage, until his death in 1960, the couple would go on to adopt six children and foster several children.

John, on the other hand, decided to stay in China after his divorce with Pearl. In 1941, he married a Chinese lady named Lomay Chang (1908-2012) and had two children. Their first daughter, Rosalind was born in China, and their son, Paul was born in the United States.

The Green Hills Farm in Buck County, Pennsylvania

Fame and Nobel Prize

Pearl featured in the Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 10, 1938

In 1938, Pearl’s literary effort led her to become the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. When awarding the Nobel Prize to Pearl, Bertil Lindblad, Director of the Stockholm Observatory at Saltsjöbaden, said:

“Mrs. Pearl Buck, you have in your literary works, which are of the highest artistic quality, advanced the understanding and the appreciation in the Western world of a great and important part of mankind, the people of China. You have taught us by your works to see the individuals in that great mass of people. You have shown us the rise and fall of families, and the land as the foundation upon which families are built. In this, you have taught us to see those qualities of thought and feeling which bind us all together as human beings on this earth, and you have given us Westerners something of China’s soul. When by the development of technical inventions the peoples of the earth are drawn closer to each other, the surface of the earth shrinks, so that East and West are no longer separated by almost insurmountable voids of distance, and when on the other hand, partly as a natural effect of this phenomenon, the differences of national character and ambitions clash to form dangerous discontinuities, it is of the greatest importance that the peoples of the earth learn to understand each other as individuals across distances and frontiers. When works of literature succeed in this respect, they are certainly in a very direct way idealistic in the sense in which this word was meant by Alfred Nobel.”

(Source: https://www.nobelprize.org)

In her Nobel lecture to the Swedish Academy, titled The Chinese Novel, Pearl explained that although she was “an American by birth and by ancestry”, her Chinese upbringing influenced her writing:

“My earliest knowledge of the story, of how to tell and write stories, came to me in China. It would be ingratitude on my part not to recognize this today. And yet it would be presumptuous to speak before you on the subject of the Chinese novel for a reason wholly personal. There is another reason why I feel that I may properly do so. It is that I believe the Chinese novel has an illumination for the Western novel and for the Western novelist.

…The novel in China was never an art and was never so considered, nor did any Chinese novelist think of himself as an artist…

And like the Chinese novelist, 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. For story belongs to the people. They are sounder judges of it than anyone else, for their senses are unspoiled and their emotions are free. No, a novelist must not think of pure literature as his goal. He must not even know this field too well, because people, who are his material, are not there. He is a storyteller in a village tent, and by his stories he entices people into his tent. He need not raise his voice when a scholar passes. But he must beat all his drums when a band of poor pilgrims pass on their way up the mountain in search of gods. To them he must cry, «I, too, tell of gods!» And 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. He must be satisfied if the common people hear him gladly. At least, so I have been taught in China.”

(Source: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1938/buck/lecture/)

Pearl received the Nobel Prize for Literature from King Gustav of Sweden

Pearl continued to write prolifically for the rest of her life. She published over 100 books including novels, autobiographies, biographies, poetry, drama, children’s literature, and translated materials from the Chinese language. Her deep appreciation and knowledge about the Chinese culture played a significant role in forming Western perception and attitude toward China. She penned her own experiences and her observations on many other topics including immigration, adoption, human conflict, Asians and women’s rights. Her later writings included:

• Novels – Dragon Seeds (1942), The Promise (1943), Peony (1948), Imperial Woman (1956), Letter from Peking (1957), The Living Reed (1963), The New Year (1968).
• Short stories – Far and Near (1947) and The Good Deed (1969)
• Non-fiction – The Child Who Never Grew (1950)
• Autobiography – My Several Worlds (1954)
• Play – A Desert Incident (1959)
• Essay – American Argument (written in collaboration with Eslanda Goode Robeson) and Friend to Friend (1958)

Under the pseudonym of John Sedges, she published five novels including the best-seller The Townsman (1945).

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Activism and Humanitarian Effort

After her return to the US in 1935, Pearl became an advocate of the Civil Rights Movement as well as women’s rights, both in writing and on the ground. She was also a strong proponent of inter-racial adoption. Pearl regularly wrote articles about causes that were dear to her heart, calling for an end to discrimination. These articles were published in Opportunity, the journal of the National Urban League and The Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

War Relief Effort

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (left) hands a cheque to Pearl (right), as a donation towards relief efforts in China. Photo was taken in 1940.

In 1937, the war between China and Japan broke out. Pearl and her husband, Richard Walsh, worked hard to raise awareness about what was happening in Asia and to provide relief aid to the victims of war. In 1940, the couple established the China Emergency Relief Committee, an institution that facilitated the delivery of funds for relief efforts (i.e. clothing, food, and medical supplies) in China.

The year 1941 proved to be an eventful year for Pearl. She was elected as the United China Relief (UCR)’s chairwoman, an organisation that aimed to provide financial assistance for China. Her valiant effort to help the Chinese people was recognised, and she was presented the Order of Jade by the Chinese ambassador Hu Shih in Washington D.C. at the Chinese Embassy on March 25, 1941.

Japanese Invasion of China 1937-1944

Pearl and her husband, Richard established the East-West Association in 1941 to raise awareness about the East, to protect Asian Americans against racial intolerance and to improve disadvantaged Asian Americans’ living conditions.

Pearl with her husband Richard Walsh and their daughter, Elizabeth

Pearl’s anti-discriminatory belief was also demonstrated during World War II. Although she supported China in the war against Japan, Pearl was true to her belief that individuals should not be discriminated based on race and nationality. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, American hatred towards Japanese Americans escalated. Pearl condemned the discrimination and the internment of Japanese Americans during the war.

As a member of the advisory council of the War Writers’ Board, she was closely associated with the Office of War Information (OWI). Together with other writers, historians, and journalists, she lent her talents to help in the fight against fascism. They produced war-related content to various media including newspapers, radio, and film.

Unfortunately, Pearl faced some challenges after the war as she was targeted by Senator Joseph McCarthy and some other politicians for her liberal views. She was also under FBI surveillance from 1938 until the end of her life.

An excerpt from Pearl’s FBI file. It is clear that she was closely watched by the FBI, with her every move and publication monitored and record.

Civil Rights

Pearl was a strong advocate for equal rights for women and minorities. In 1942, she had the opportunity to lead the newly created Committee Against Racial Discrimination. This committee, which was part of the American Civil Liberties Union, promoted an end to segregation in the military, the enactment of federal anti-lynching laws, and equal employment opportunities. Pearl was also a strong proponent of the equal rights movement that promoted fair rights for everyone regardless of their gender and race.

Pearl writing on the equal rights for women amendment. Questions and answers prepared by the Research Department of the National Woman’s Party. Edited by Margery C. Leonard. Presented by Mr. McGee. October 2, 1962. 87th Congress, 2nd Session, Serial Set Vol. No. 12445, Session Vol. No. 2, S.Doc. 164.

Immigration

In her fight for humanity, Pearl worked to overturn a Chinese exclusion law that prevented Chinese immigrants from entering the United States. In May 1943, she testified in Congress to convince lawmakers to abolish the law by appealing to them that China was America’s wartime ally and the Chinese should not be barred from entering the country. Pearl’s effort was successful, and the Chinese Exclusion Laws were abolished in October 1943.

Pearl (left) and a group of Chinese-American supporters at the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization where she gave her testimony in May 1943.

Indian Independence

Due to her efforts in supporting India’s independence from Britain, Pearl was elected Honorary President of the India League of America.

Mixed Race Adoption and Children’s Rights

Pearl with her granddaughter, Susan on her lap and adopted daughters, Joanna (right) and Mary Chieko (left), taken in 1965.

Inter-racial adoption was very dear to Pearl’s heart. After her first experience with adoption, Pearl and her second husband, Richard Walsh adopted six children: two infant boys from an adoption agency called Cradle, and four mixed-race children from Asia, Europe, and the United States.

In 1949, unhappy that adoption services at that time considered mixed-race and Asian children unadoptable, Pearl and her friends – renowned theatrical producer Oscar Hammerstein II, his second wife Dorothy Hammerstein, and writer James A. Michener – established the first international, interracial adoption agency called the Welcome House Inc. Initially, it was established to aid mixed-race children fathered by US servicemen in Asia. Since its establishment, the Welcome House has homed thousands of children.

Living the Pearl S. Buck Legacy

Pearl and Oscar Hammerstein II planning for the Gala Welcome House Benefit which was to be held at Music Circus in Lambertville, New Jersey in 1959.

In 1964, following her success with the Welcome House, Pearl established another foundation called The Pearl S. Buck Foundation (later renamed Opportunity House) to “address poverty and discrimination faced by children in Asian countries”. The same year, she opened the Opportunity Center and Orphanage in South Korea, and later it expanded to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Pearl said that:

“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.”

In 1967, Pearl donated US$7 million of her own money to The Pearl S. Buck Foundation. In 1991, Opportunity House and Welcome House Inc. merged to form the Pearl S. Buck International. Today, the organisation is based in Green Hills Farm, Pennsylvania.

Pearl S. Buck International: What We Do

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Later Life and Death

Pearl’s husband, Richard Walsh, passed away in 1960. It is said that after her husband’s passing, Pearl withdrew herself from her circle of friends and quarrelled with many of her relations. Surprisingly, in 1962, Pearl decided to request clemency from the Israeli government for the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who had been involved in the murder of millions of Jews during World War II.

Pearl S. Buck, taken in 1972

In the late 1960s, Pearl decided to raise funds to preserve the family farm in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She wished that the house where she was born would “belong to everyone who cares to go there” and become the “gateway to new thoughts and dreams and ways of life”. Today, her birthplace is a cultural centre and a museum.

Since the Communists won the struggle against the Nationalists in China, Pearl was refused any opportunities to visit China. Satan Never Sleeps, her novel about the tyranny of Communism in China, did not help her to build rapport with China’s new government. The Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was especially hard for Pearl. After all her efforts to help China, she was denounced as an “American cultural imperialist.” Even her attempt to visit China with President Richard Nixon in 1972 was unsuccessful.

From the mid-60s until her death in 1973, Pearl became dependent on Theodore Harris, a former dance instructor. He became her financial advisor, confidante, and co-author, and was also helping her with her daily routine. Her trust in Harris was so great that Pearl even gave control of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation and Welcome House to him, and provided him with a lifetime salary.

Pearl and her confidante Theodore Harris, taken in 1965

Even when he was accused of fund mismanagement and poor treatment of staff, Pearl came forward to defend him, saying that Harris was “very brilliant, very high strung and artistic”. Toward the end of her life, Pearl signed over a significant part of her royalties and estate to a foundation controlled by Harris, called Creativity Inc.

On March 6, 1973, two months before her 81^st birthday, Pearl passed away after suffering from lung cancer in Danby, Vermont. Prior to her death, Pearl designed her tombstone where, inscribed in Chinese characters, was her maiden name Pearl Sydenstricker.

Prior to her death, Pearl designed her tombstone, inscribing in Chinese characters her maiden name Pearl Sydenstricker.

After her passing, Pearl’s children contested her will and accused Harris of having “undue influence” on Pearl during the last few years of her life. The court ruled in the family’s favour as Harris failed to appear in court.

Legacy

Pearl was a woman who lived on her own terms. She was not only a wonderful writer and a Nobel Prize Laureate, but also a humanitarian who did not hesitate to go the extra mile to help many.

Even many years after her death, her writing continues to inspire many contemporary writers and people from various backgrounds.

Kang Liao, the author of Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Bridge Across the Pacific, wrote that Pearl had played a “pioneering role in demythologizing China and the Chinese people in the American mind”.

On Pearl and her work, the English novelist Phyllis Bentley said:

“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.”

Pearl’s novels were also the driving force for the newer generation of writers. Anchee Min, a Chinese American author, claimed that she “broke down and sobbed” after reading Pearl’s novel The Good Earth. Min said that Pearl described Chinese peasants “with such love, affection, and humanity”, and she was inspired to write a fictional biography about Pearl titled Pearl of China in 2010.

Pearl and one of the Welcome House children in the late 1960s.

In December 2012, Pearl’s unpublished manuscript was found in a Texas storage locker. The manuscript, which described the experience of a young genius, was published in 2013 as a novel titled The Eternal Wonder.

Pearl’s activism and humanitarian efforts have also inspired many. Monuments and museums were established, and stamps and books were printed to remember her. Before it was considered politically correct to do so, Pearl worked to raise awareness on sensitive topics such as gender discrimination, racism, and inter-racial adoption. Due to her effort, thousands of inter-racial children were given opportunities they would otherwise not have had. As a result, Pearl received many awards and honours posthumously, including:

• 1973 – inducted in the National Women’s Hall of Fame
• 1983 – featured in the 5¢ Great American Series postage stamp
• 1998 – when visiting Pearl’s former residence at Nanking University, President George H.W. Bush mentioned that “like millions of other Americans, [he] had gained an appreciation for the Chinese people through Buck’s writing”
• 1999 – designated as an Honouree in the National Women’s History Project

In addition, Randolph-Macon College, Pearl’s alma mater, created a Pearl S. Buck Award to appreciate women who produce work that reflect the same values and principles associated with Pearl’s various philanthropic activities.

Stamps issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pearl S. Buck’s birth

Historic partnership brings
priceless Pearl S. Buck collection to WVU

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Click on any of the images below to enlarge.

Self-Portrait

A portrait of Pearl taken during the time she lived in Nanking in the 1920s.

A portrait of Pearl taken in 1932, about the time The Good Earth was published.

Family

The Sydenstricker family in China, in 1894. From left to right are Rev. Absalom, Pearl, Edgar, Clyde and Carie.

Pearl and her son, Edgar Walsh

Edgar Sydenstricker, Pearl’s brother

Richard Walsh, Pearl’s second husband

Pearl and her daughter, Carol Grace, taken in the 1920s

Miscellaneous

A bust of Pearl S. Buck in front of her former residence at Nanking University

Pearl’s study on Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province, China

Pearl (far left) speaking with President John F. Kennedy at a dinner honouring American Nobel Prize winners, while First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy speaks with Robert Frost. Taken in April 29, 1962.

Pearl (third from right) with the Women’s Committee of the Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra Association

Pearl (left) and the famous actress, Luise Rainer met to plan for the million-dollar drive launched by the China Emergency Relief Committee in 1940.

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