Honoring Pearl S. Buck’s legacy
Print Edition
THE Shanghai Library’s Huaihai Road Branch has launched the Pearl S. Buck Memorial Exhibition, which is co-hosted by the Shanghai Library, the Shanghai Museum of Artworks and the New York Public Library.
Titled “Pearls of the East, Harmony with the West,” the exhibition honors the legacy of Pearl S. Buck — the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature — whose literary journey was rooted in Shanghai and whose life’s work continues to inspire cross-cultural dialogue.
Shanghai was where Buck’s deep connection with China began. As a young student and writer, she found in this city a wellspring of intellectual and emotional insight, shaping her understanding of the country and giving voice to its stories for a global audience.
Her early years here sowed the seeds for “East Wind: West Wind,” her first novel to address the convergence of civilizations, and later, for her Pulitzer-winning and Nobel-honored masterpiece “The Good Earth.” Through these works, Buck became a literary bridge between East and West — praised by former US presidents Richard Nixon and George HW Bush for her role in cultivating American empathy toward China.
The exhibition traces Buck’s lifelong bond with China through manuscripts, letters, photographs, original broadcasts, documentary footage and artifacts, including authorized replicas of her Nobel Prize medal and Pulitzer Prize certificate.
Rare visual records highlight her humanitarian work — such as her 1941 fundraising for Chinese civilians during wartime — as well as her literary achievements, like the English translation of “Shui Hu Zhuan” (“All Men Are Brothers”), her rendering of “The Water Margin” for Western readers.
Divided into three thematic chapters — “Writing the Earth,” “Between China and the West” and “Mutual Understanding of Civilizations” — the show offers an intimate portrait of Buck’s intellectual courage and cultural empathy. It also brings into focus her enduring message: Understanding across differences is both possible and essential, especially in a world shaped by the tensions of globalization and fragmentation.
A special panel event, “Writing the Earth, Connecting East and West,” was held on the opening day, gathering scholars and cultural experts to reflect on Buck’s literary legacy and its relevance for today’s cross-cultural conversations.
This event is the result of a collaborative effort among institutions in China and the United States, including the Pearl S. Buck International Foundation, her birthplace museum in Zhenjiang, and West Virginia University Library. Together, they continue the work Buck began — building cultural bridges not through diplomacy, but through empathy, literature and shared memory.
Date: Through June 26
Venue: Shanghai Library (Huaihai Road Branch)
Address: 1555 Huaihai Rd M.
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