Eli Glass
Ms. Schwartz
World Literature Honors Period 4
10/31/14
The Relationship Between Success and Values The great inventor Albert Einstein once said, “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.” In The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, Wang Lung does the opposite. At the beginning of the novel, when he is still a young man, Wang Lung is an individual who is very moral and has a strong sense of his values, most of which are traditional family values that have been passed on for generations. He worships the gods of the fields, has a good sense of filial piety, and knows his place in society - a lowly, uneducated farmer. However, when he becomes a man of great wealth and power, he lets other’s influence his values.
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At the beginning of the novel, he prays often to the Heavens because he believes that they control the field. He has lived off the land his entire life and he was taught that he needs to pray to them in order to prosper. However, as he becomes more prosperous, Wang Lung starts praying to the gods less and less until they are unimportant to him. When he is on the land with Ching, who is describing a massive flood about to take place, he curses the gods, claiming that he has “never had any good from that old man in heaven, yet. Incense or no incense, he is the same in evil” (291). A man who stands by his religion, like young Wang Lung, would’t be angered by the will of the gods but would simply accept it. Before his success, he would have prayed to the gods to make the waters recede rather than curse them for the flood …show more content…
I would like to point out that Wang Lung was never the most filial of men. Early in the novel, we saw him slip up once or twice. However, at a younger age, he felt guilty when this happened and was able to hold his tongue in most situations. Wang Lung’s uncle is able to exploit Wang Lung based on his filial piety. When the uncle, a lazy man who blames his struggles on an “evil destiny”, asks his nephew to borrow money, Wang Lung explodes, saying, “‘If I have a handful of silver it is because I work and my wife works, and we do not…[let our] fields grow to weeds and our children go half fed!’” (65). But right after he lets these words slip, he “[stands] sullen and unmovable” (66) because knows that his outburst is wrong. However, later in the novel, Wang Lungs lack of sense for filial piety grows evident as he becomes more arrogant. For example, when he is nearing the end of his life, Wang Lung asks without a second thought to be buried below his father but above his uncle and Ching. Asking to be buried above his uncle makes the statement that Wang Lung believes he is a greater man than his uncle. Before his rise through the ranks of society, Wang Lung would never have even considered being buried above his uncle, even though he always had a disliking for him. However, because of his power, he feels that he has the right to disrespect his
From the beginning of Wang Lung’s marriage to O-lan, she saved him time, money, and effort without complaint. She offered wisdom when asked and was smart in the ways of the world. During the famine, when the family went south in search of food, O-lan taught her children how to beg for food, “dug the small green weeds, dandelions, and shepherds purse that thrust up feeble new leaves”(p. 128). She raised her children prudently. She knew how to bind her daughter’s feet, and she gave them a better childhood than she had had. O-lan knew that the land was the only consistent thing in her life, so she willingly helped Wang Lung as he bought more and more land. O-lan knew her place in the family was as a wife and mother. As a wife, she fe...
Ultimately, The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is a timeless, educational, historical novel. Spence purpose to enlighten the reader of the Chinese culture, tradition and its land were met through the use of sources, like the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the scholar-official Huang Liu-hung's handbook and stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang will captivate any reader's attention.
Wang Lung sons constantly bicker about money. They are corrupted by wealth; they care about nothing but their money and physical possessions. They care so much about money that they sell all of Wang Lung’s land after his death. Even though the land can still make more money for them and it is what brought them out of poverty and into a high status in life, they want nothing to do with the land. The corrupt sons live in the corruption of the city and sell the nourishing land. On a basic level the land nourishes their body, but on a more complex level the land nourished Wang Lung’s soul and brought him comfort as well as providing for his needs. Like the Hwang house, the Wang house will fall because it sold its land. No matter what hard times they went through, there is still the land, and no one could steal the land.
Lao Tzu: I will ensure that the people know that I need them to sustain. I will be a leader who is full of humility, as “humility is the root from which greatness springs” (Tzu 59). I am dependent on the people whom I rule. I am sovereign to them. I am the worthless one. I will not take expensive vacations using the people’s money. I will not wear designer clothes at the people’s expense. I would rather take care of the people. I do not want to be an expensive leader at the expense of my people because “[it] is not wise to shine like a jade and resound like stone chimes” (Tzu 60).
In society, often our perspective of people is shaped by their socioeconomic status. People center their values based upon various other origins, such as money or other material things, as opposed to personality to grasp a more authentic understanding of a person.
Qian begins the account of Li Si by describing his rise from the minor position of clerk to his eventual high rank. Qian makes note of the strengths that Li displays to put himself in such a position. Qian even quotes Li as saying that a man's status "simply depends on where one locates oneself." (Qian 25) Li Si's initial step up in society took place on his interest in others' welfare as opposed to his own. This is a virtue which Confucius summed up by saying, "he who acts out of self interest arouses much resentment." (Confucius 16) When serving under the King of Qin, Li Si looked to the betterment of China as a whole. He saw that a unified China would be a stronger China and therefore chose to support the King of Qin, who he felt had "one opportunity in 10,000 generations." (Qian 26) Through his support of who he thought was the best man to lead China, Li portrayed another Confucian virtue; "'What should I do to win the hearts of the people?
In the 18th century, China was influenced by various teachings of philosophers and beliefs that the society had placed emphasis on. Filial piety (xiao) was a major practice around this period when it was strongly carried inside and outside the household. Filial piety is not only the guiding principle of Chinese ethics but it also played an affirmative role in determining the Chinese lifestyle; it was practiced daily in the family and in other areas such as education, religion and government. It was the central root of Chinese morals and the society was constructed upon the principles of xiao, which certainly became the premises of Chinese culture and the society. In Confucianism, the approach of respect, fidelity, and care toward one’s parents and elder family members is the origin of individual ethical behaviour and social agreement. One must put the needs of parents and family elders over self, spouse, and children (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011). Many philosophers and rulers such as Mencius and Chu Hsi also focused on filial piety, applying the virtue to marital life, family, death, and politics. Filial piety was demonstrate in various literatures such as “Dream of the Red Chamber”, “Six Records of a Floating Life”, and “The Classic of Filial Piety” which demonstrated the roles of individuals in Chinese society including politics.
... must deal with all the images put out by society, his peers and his own family, by deciding for himself what values are important to him.
...ut more importantly Mencius' core conception that human nature is also aware of its actions, and considers the well-being of others and that people are morally obligated to do so is also key to attaining our full potential. This conception of human nature and proper order together is what has shaped East Asian political and social thought for centuries. It is credited with creating an East Asia that is economically robust, and socially coherent and once again will be the center of human society in the decades to come. And contrary to popular Western belief, East Asian political thought does appreciate the necessity of the individual in defining society. In fact the only way to attain our human nature is to healthily self-cultivate ourselves morally and materially so we can reach our highest potential and in that way be a valued and contributing member to society.
Confucianism has a close concern on social reality and strong sense of mission on history that ‘the country management and governess as own responsibility’ (Cline, 2007, pp.231). It refers that a person should keep learning and practice what has learnt to become benevolent and righteous for himself, and help others, manage state affairs as well as protect the peace of country (Confucius, 1994). This is a positive life attitude for human being relates to what called “Dao”. In contrast, the ideology of Taoism ignored and removed the barrier of interpersonal relationship, insisting to build peaceful in world based on the value orientation. The theory taught people to show no interest in physical success and social issues because everything has its own natural attributes ( 'Taoism and the arts of China ', 2001). It means that they think doing nothing is better than doing something because the latter one may break the perfection and harmony of nature. Most excellent Confucianism learner became politician in the future, however, most of Taoism learner became solitary (Wang & Chanzit, 2004). It address that the most important thing comes from the interior mind. Taoism cares about the pursuit of spiritual thing like moral and characteristics rather than physical or superficial thing such as reputation and welfare, corresponding to the
Following the Way in the pursuit of goodness leads people to the status of “gentleman.” However, this status can only be achieved from a lifelong pursuit, which if accomplished by many, will eventually lead to innate goodness within the entire society. Confucius reveals the amount of learning and time required for achieving such status of “gentleman” in book two, chapter four, where he states, “At fifteen, I set my mind upon learning. At thirty, I took my stand. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the will of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was attuned. At seventy, I follow all the desires of my heart without breaking any rule” (Analects, in NAWL, eds. Martin Puchner, et al., 3rd edition, vol. A, 1335). Confucius presents the achievement of the “gentleman” status in a superior, yet moderate manner. He does not motivate by promising personal gain or achievement; he instead teaches to always place what is right and morally correct as top priority. It was believed by Confucius that moderation led
Shows how Confucius teaches individuals of both high and low birth to strive for success in their lifetime.
Lei, Ting. "Being and Becoming Moral in a Chinese Culture: Unique or Universal?" Cross-Cultural Research, Feb94, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p58.
In the beginning of The Good Earth, Wang Lung is constantly focused about working his fields, plowing the soil, and harvesting his crops. Even when O-lan tells Wang she is with child once again, he is only solicitous about the land. He is angered by the idea that O-lan won’t be able to help in the field during this time. This is a problem since they now have new land to farm. “…and when Wang Lung perceived one day
For many centuries, Confucianism has been widely revered by the Chinese for its emphasis on morality. Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE, is different to most philosophers in that he showed no interest questioning his existence, the possibility of a God, or the reality that he seemed to live in; instead he focused on the human relations side of philosophy as it was his belief that people should “give (themselves) earnestly to the duties due to men … (and) keep aloof from (spiritual beings)” (Confucius 195). By negating the metaphysical side of philosophy, he was able to devote himself to mold his disciples into ideal gentleman who were morally righteous, and were able to benefit society. He believed in the importance of individuals who knew their roles in an well-structured society, that was a feudal system. In his opinion, the ideal gentleman should be obedient to his elders, have humanness and be morally righteous. Through his teachings, he was able to reform an entire country; the Chinese found Confucianism to embody practices of humaneness that they could apply in their daily lives through his religion.