Guy's Books and Thoughts

Ruth Hayhoe and Pearl Buck

While I have not read Pearl Buck's MY SEVERAL WORLDS, I did run accross a biography on her written about 1982. I guess one can draw some comparisons and contrasts between her and Ruth Hayhoe.

Both started in mission work. But both moved on to other careers, Pearl Buck moved on to writing while Ruth moved on to academics specifically Comparative Education. Pearl Buck moved away from her Christian upbringing towards agnosticism. Ruth, while leaving her strict sect of Christianity, remained in the Christian fold. It is interesting to see the contrasting ways the Chinese govt (PRC) regarded Pearl Buck and Ruth Hayhoe. The PRC rejected Pearl Buck's application to visit in 1972 saying that what she had written was slanderous. By contrast the Chinese govt. has been very receptive to Ruth, who is openly Christian. She was even recently awarded an honorary doctorate from Shanghai. One would have assumed that the PRC would be more receptive to an agnostic like Pearl Buck over a Christian like Ruth. But I understand that the Chinese value Ruth's contribution to the field of education. Ruth has even used some of her own money to help support the education efforts in China.

I think the fact that someone is seen as contributing to their society makes a difference to the PRC. Philip Wang told me that the Chinese govt used to regard his father, the scholar Wang Yun Wu, as a war criminal. Now they say his good points outweigh his bad points and that he was "used" by Chiang Kai Shek. I guess it also helps the Mr. Wang is supporting schools in Mainland China in his father's name. BTW I saw a mention of Wang Yun Wu in a book entitled THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE by Mr. Kindaichi. Mr. Kindaichi cites Wang Yun Wu's Chinese language dictionary and Japanese written words which have made their way into the Chinese language.

I suppose one might draw a parallel between adversaries they have faced, but I would not really say it is the same thing. Ruth had to deal with and eccentric who caused her much grief, the "colonel." The "colonel" was supposedly smuggling Bibles into Mainland China, but Ruth had her doubts about his operation. Were the Bibles really getting to Mainland China? Eventually Ruth quit the "colonel's" organization against his objections. Though the "colonel" caused Ruth much grief, he opened up a whole new world to her, in that he encouraged her to learn Mandarin in addition to the Cantonese she mastered. Ruth left mission work and switched to academics.

Pearl Buck's advesary was in the person of J. Gresham Machen. I must say that my sympathies are with Machen. He was concerned about the doctrinal laxity in the Presbyterian Church. The biography on Machen, by Stonehouse, states the Machen's objections to Pearl Buck being a Presbyterian Missionary was doctrinal not personal. Pearl Buck had written that she believed in Jesus whether or not he lived. Eventually both Machen and Buck left the Presbyterian church. On his death Ms. Buck wrote that both of them were shown out of the church, she by the back door and he by the front door. Though she disagreed with him she admired the fact that he stood by his convictions. As an aside, Mr. Machen, was not a dumb hillbilly. A Southerner, yes. But he was educated, cultured and demanding of his students. The late theologian Francis Schaeffer was one of his students. I should also add then when I took a New Testament Greek class, we used Machen's book on Greek. It also turns out that a pastor in a liberal Lutheran denomination used Machen's book when he went to seminary. Actually I would compare Mr. Machen to "Grandma" - - a friend of mine who all call by that name. Machen's admirers refered to him as "Mr. Valiant for truth." "Grandma"- who is a friend of Ruth's - strikes me as a "Ms. Valiant for truth." For she also was concerened about doctrinal laxity in her own denomination.

Well, I'd better end here. I guess I got a bit long winded. I'll have more thoughts in a later post.