Abstract
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In spite of its wide popularity in the West, Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, the first Western novel about China, was not warmly received in China, especially among intellectuals. Of course, there are problems with Chinese intellectuals criticism of Pearl Buck, which are based on notions of patriotism. But she is a true evangelist for American universalism. Within this atmosphere of general apathy, Im Hwa, a Korean Marxist critic, avoids crude enthusiasm and excessive cynicism about this novel. A certain image of China can be clearly discerned, not to an Asian who "always sees a part of oneself" in China, but to a Westerner who "wholly sees the other" there. The Other's eye is accepted by Im Hwa as a wise recognition of backward elements." Though he lacked the emotional resistance of Asian intellectuals, his insight about China is still pointed and insightful.
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| Keywords:
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Pearl Buck, East Asia, Kiang Kang-Hu, Hu Feng, metaracism, American universalism, Younghill Kang, backwardness of the East, Orientalism, the Nobel Prize, the Other, the Self, realism, modernism, Saga, Im Hwa
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| About the author(s)
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Choi Won-shik (Choe, Won-sik) is Professor of Korean Literature at Inha University. His
publications include Munhak-ui gwihwan (The Return of Literature) (2001), Hanguk geundae
munhak-eul chajaseo (Search for Korean Modern Literature) (1999) and Saengsanjeok
daehwa-reul wihayeo (For a Productive Dialogue) (1997). (E-mail: cws919@netsgo.com )
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