Abstract

Pearl S. Buck, a renowned American writer who attempted to portray a true image of China, accomplished her great novel The Good Earth in 1929, which depicts a vivid and humanized Chinese image. However, for the sake of Buck’s unique experience and dual identity, she has depicted the negative sides of China such as brutality, fatuity and stagnation, which are closely related to the prevailing American Orientalism. According to Edward Said, Orientalism is a conventional prejudice that Europeans hold towards Middle Eastern and Asian societies. With such prejudice, they regard The Orient as a static, stagnant and fatuous place. Having carried out researches on this imaginative “other”, Europeans have fabricated Orientalism to highlight their superiority, through which they also obtain a clearer understanding of themselves. The formation of American Orientalism is largely influenced by Orientalism which is originated from Europe. In this paper, both positive and negative images of China in The Good Earth are analyzed respectively to interpret Orientalism reflected in the novel. Through this exploration, this paper aims at projecting an objective Chinese image and a reflection on the influence that Orientalism has exerted on American literature.
In this thesis, three chapters are included. Chapter one elaborates the life of Pearl S. Buck, including her unique life experience and dual identity; and the background of China during Pearl’s writing of The Good Earth, as well as the main contents of the novel. Chapter two introduces the definition and development of Orientalism. Chapter three gives both the deconstructive and constructive interpretation of Chinese image in The Good Earth. In this way, an objective image of China is expected to disseminate before readers.

Key words: The Good Earth; Orientalism; Chinese image

摘  要

赛珍珠是一名著名的美国作家，本着向世界展现一个真实的中国的目的，在1929年创作了小说《大地》，塑造了个性鲜活、有血有肉的中国形象。但由于其特殊经历与双重身份的原因，小说折射出中国野蛮、愚昧、落后的负面形象，这与当时盛行的美国东方主义密切相关。根据赛义德《东方学》一书，东方主义是欧洲人对中东、亚洲等社会的一种传统偏见。在这种偏见下，东方是静止、落后、愚昧的。欧洲人通过研究东方这个“他者”，创造出了东方主义，来突出西方文化的优越性，使自我得以建立。而美国东方主义的形成离不开欧洲的东方主义。本文通过分析《大地》中所塑造的积极的和消极的中国形象来完成小说对东方主义的解读。通过这样的分析，笔者旨在客观地还原小说塑造的中国形象，反思东方主义对美国文学作品的影响。
本文包括三个章节。第一章对赛珍珠生平进行了介绍，包括其独特经历与双重身份。其次对《大地》创作背景以及主要内容进行了介绍。第二章主要介绍了东方主义的含义以及发展。第三章分析了《大地》塑造的中国形象对东方主义的解构与建构，以此来客观看待小说中的中国形象。

关键词：《大地》；东方主义；中国形象