I began with the intention of reading a particular book during our time in China that I had seen recommended – I won’t name names, but it was not for me. So I put it down and turned to a trusted favorite author, Pearl S. Buck. I’ve read several of her novels in the past and for this trip chose one titled Dragon Seed. I knew from the cover summary that it would have something to do with a conflict between China and Japan, but I don’t know much history about that part of the world, so I basically went in blind.
The novel centers around a farming family in a village outside a city in China. They are fairly content with their lives and the patriarch in particular has a strong love for his land. Early in the book, they see planes fly over their fields and later smoke coming from the city. Things escalate from there.
Buck doesn’t name any places or dates, but I was eventually able to figure out that events were taking place in the 30s, and from there with a little bit of online research, it became clear that the city attacked was Nanjing and that the pivotal event of the novel was known as the Nanjing Massacre. Both her description of events and what I found online were horrifying.
As we were traveling around Kunming, Dali, and Lijiang, our tour guides would sometimes mention the war with Japan and the Chinese resistance, and it was interesting to be able to connect this to the events and places in the book I was reading.
This is a story of hopeful resistance in the face of great oppression. It pairs well with a cup of oolong tea, or maybe a bottle of Tsingtao.
