What did Pearl S Buck do?

Answer 1

Pearl S. Buck The author Pearl S. Buck was born Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker on June 26, 1892 in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She was born while her Presbyterian missionary parents were on furlough from their first ten years of service in China. When she was five months of age she returned with her parents to their station in Chinkiang (present day Zhenjiang). Her early education consisted of tutoring by her mother, in the Calvinist philosophy of education, and by her Confucian tutor. Her first published works appeared in the Shanghai Mercury, an English-language newspaper with a weekly children’s edition. In 1910 she traveled to the United States to study at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia. While at college, she wrote for the school newspaper, earned two literary prizes, and was elected president of her class. She received a bachelor’s degree in 1914 and was invited to teach psychology at the college. She did so for one semester, but then returned to China to nurse her mother through illness. In 1917, she married John Lossing Buck, an agricultural missionary originally from the state of New York. (www.johnlossingbuck.org) The couple spent their first two and half years in the town of Nanhsuchou China. Miss Buck’s memories of life in this region, combined with her husbands land usage study research became the basis for her best-known work, and second published book The Good Earth. Her first novel, East Wind: West Wind, was rejected by all but one publisher in New York. It was accepted by John Day Publishing on the recognition that the author had great potential for future work. East Wind: West Wind was published in April 1930 and was in its third printing when The Good Earth was published on March 2, 1931. The Good Earth was praised by critics and stood on the best-seller list for more than 21 months. It won the Pulitzer Prize for best novel by an American author in 1932 and has been printed in more than 30 languages, including Chinese. In 1938, Pearl Buck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for her epic portrayal of Chinese peasant life in several of her novels and for the biographies of her parents. She stood as the first American woman to be awarded both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes for literature, and would hold that distinction for 55 years ending in 1993. From her early successes Miss Buck went on to become a prolific writer, publishing close to 1000 pieces of work to date; 120 books, over 400 short stories, 400 non-fiction articles, essays and speeches. She penned most of her work at Green Hills Farm, her American homestead in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Miss Buck and her second husband, Richard Walsh, who was also her publisher at the John Day Company, raised a large family at Green Hills Farm. The couple were married for 25 years and raised many children, seven of which were legally adopted, and two of which who were considered “biracial”. Many children were fostered in their care. In her 17 year first marriage to John Lossing Buck she had two daughters. Her only birth child Carol, suffered from phenylketonuria, resulting in severe developmental disabilities and eventual institutionalization. Miss Buck’s desire to help publicize the cause of the mentally and physically disabled was begun by publishing the story of her personal experiences in The Child Who Never Grew. In addition to her many literary achievements, Miss Buck was a driving force in humanitarian causes. She was a longtime advocate of cross-cultural understanding, women's rights and racial harmony, and as a means of achieving world peace. As early as the 1930’s, she was a vocal supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Miss Buck lived her first forty years feeling the sting of prejudice as a foreigner in China, then feeling as an exiled Chinese person in the United States the last forty years of her life. Pearl S. Buck died on March 6, 1973, she was 80 years old and is interred on her beloved Green Hills Farm in Perkasie Pennsylvania. Today long after her death, Miss Buck’s vision for helping children lives on through the three programs of Pearl S. Buck International Inc. PSBI helps children around the world who have been marginalized due to mixed heredity, hunger, disease, poverty or other tragic circumstance. The Opportunity House program focuses on the plight of children who live in a state of hopelessness and strives to offer them the hope of a successful and happy future through various health and educational services. Welcome House the first adoption agency of its kind, finds homes for special needs children and children of mixed heredity from around the world. The Pearl S. Buck House, a national historic landmark located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania promotes the legacy of Miss Buck by preserving and interpreting her home to educate and develop multi cultural appreciation, opportunities for children and families and worldwide partnerships. Submitted by Donna Carcaci Rhodes, Curator of the Pearl S. Buck National Historic Landmark Home.

Answer 2

Pearl S. Buck The author Pearl S. Buck was born Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker on June 26, 1892 in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She was born while her Presbyterian missionary parents were on furlough from their first ten years of service in China. When she was five months of age she returned with her parents to their station in Chinkiang (present day Zhenjiang). Her early education consisted of tutoring by her mother, in the Calvinist philosophy of education, and by her Confucian tutor. Her first published works appeared in the Shanghai Mercury, an English-language newspaper with a weekly children’s edition. In 1910 she traveled to the United States to study at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia. While at college, she wrote for the school newspaper, earned two literary prizes, and was elected president of her class. She received a bachelor’s degree in 1914 and was invited to teach psychology at the college. She did so for one semester, but then returned to China to nurse her mother through illness. In 1917, she married John Lossing Buck, an agricultural missionary originally from the state of New York. (www.johnlossingbuck.org) The couple spent their first two and half years in the town of Nanhsuchou China. Miss Buck’s memories of life in this region, combined with her husbands land usage study research became the basis for her best-known work, and second published book The Good Earth. Her first novel, East Wind: West Wind, was rejected by all but one publisher in New York. It was accepted by John Day Publishing on the recognition that the author had great potential for future work. East Wind: West Wind was published in April 1930 and was in its third printing when The Good Earth was published on March 2, 1931. The Good Earth was praised by critics and stood on the best-seller list for more than 21 months. It won the Pulitzer Prize for best novel by an American author in 1932 and has been printed in more than 30 languages, including Chinese. In 1938, Pearl Buck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for her epic portrayal of Chinese peasant life in several of her novels and for the biographies of her parents. She stood as the first American woman to be awarded both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes for literature, and would hold that distinction for 55 years ending in 1993. From her early successes Miss Buck went on to become a prolific writer, publishing close to 1000 pieces of work to date; 120 books, over 400 short stories, 400 non-fiction articles, essays and speeches. She penned most of her work at Green Hills Farm, her American homestead in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Miss Buck and her second husband, Richard Walsh, who was also her publisher at the John Day Company, raised a large family at Green Hills Farm. The couple were married for 25 years and raised many children, seven of which were legally adopted, and two of which who were considered “biracial”. Many children were fostered in their care. In her 17 year first marriage to John Lossing Buck she had two daughters. Her only birth child Carol, suffered from phenylketonuria, resulting in severe developmental disabilities and eventual institutionalization. Miss Buck’s desire to help publicize the cause of the mentally and physically disabled was begun by publishing the story of her personal experiences in The Child Who Never Grew. In addition to her many literary achievements, Miss Buck was a driving force in humanitarian causes. She was a longtime advocate of cross-cultural understanding, women's rights and racial harmony, and as a means of achieving world peace. As early as the 1930’s, she was a vocal supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Miss Buck lived her first forty years feeling the sting of prejudice as a foreigner in China, then feeling as an exiled Chinese person in the United States the last forty years of her life. Pearl S. Buck died on March 6, 1973, she was 80 years old and is interred on her beloved Green Hills Farm in Perkasie Pennsylvania. Today long after her death, Miss Buck’s vision for helping children lives on through the three programs of Pearl S. Buck International Inc. PSBI helps children around the world who have been marginalized due to mixed heredity, hunger, disease, poverty or other tragic circumstance. The Opportunity House program focuses on the plight of children who live in a state of hopelessness and strives to offer them the hope of a successful and happy future through various health and educational services. Welcome House the first adoption agency of its kind, finds homes for special needs children and children of mixed heredity from around the world. The Pearl S. Buck House, a national historic landmark located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania promotes the legacy of Miss Buck by preserving and interpreting her home to educate and develop multi cultural appreciation, opportunities for children and families and worldwide partnerships. Submitted by Donna Carcaci Rhodes, Curator of the Pearl S. Buck National Historic Landmark Home.