Pearl S. Buck

Pearl S. Buck was born on June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Her parents were missionaries in China. When Pearl was just a baby, her family moved to China. She grew up there and lived most of her early life in that country.

Pearl learned two languages as a child. She spoke English with her parents. She spoke Chinese with the people around her. She learned about Chinese village life and old customs. This helped her understand two different cultures very well.

Life was not always easy for Pearl. Her family was poor and moved a lot. She saw hard times, like fighting and natural disasters. Later, she wrote books about her parents called The Exile and The Fighting Angel.

Pearl's mother wanted her to get a good education. Pearl went to college in Virginia and finished in 1914. Then she went back to China. In 1917, she married a man named John Lossing Buck. They lived in the countryside, where John studied farming. Pearl taught school and began to write.

In 1930, Pearl wrote her first novel. It was called East Wind, West Wind. Then in 1931, she wrote her most famous book, The Good Earth. This story was about a poor farmer and his family in China. Many people loved this book. It was the best-selling book in America for two years in a row!

In 1932, Pearl won a big award called the Pulitzer Prize for The Good Earth. She wrote two more books about the same family, making a set of three books together.

Pearl kept writing many books through the 1930s. In 1938, she won the biggest prize of all: the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was the first American woman to ever win this prize! Over her life, Pearl wrote more than seventy books.

Pearl did not just write books. She also worked to help people. During World War II, she spoke to Congress about unfair laws that kept Chinese people from moving to America. Her hard work helped change that law in 1943.

Pearl cared deeply about children who needed homes. In 1949, she helped start Welcome House. This was one of the first places to help find families for children of mixed backgrounds. In 1964, she started another group called the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to help children in Asia.

Pearl's own daughter, Carol, had a disability. Pearl wrote a book about this called The Child Who Never Grew. This book helped people understand and be kinder about disabilities.

Pearl was married twice. First to John Lossing Buck, and later to a man named Richard Walsh, who helped publish her books. Together, they adopted several children and created a big, loving family.

Pearl lived much of her later life on a farm in Pennsylvania called Green Hills Farm. This place is now a museum about her life.

Pearl died on March 6, 1973, in Vermont. She was almost 81 years old. She left behind many books and important charities that still help people today. Pearl S. Buck showed the world that stories can help people understand and care about each other, no matter where they come from.