Letter from Peking
Encyclopedia
Letter from Peking is a 1957 novel
by Pearl S. Buck
. The story is about a loving interracial marriage
between Gerald and Elizabeth MacLeod, their separation due to the communist uprising in China
in 1945, and their separate lives in China and America.
, with her 17-year-old son Rennie. The mailman arrives three mornings each week, and each time Elizabeth hopes for a letter from her husband Gerald in China
, where she lived with him until Rennie was twelve. They lived in Peking until the war with Japan
, then escaped to Chungking. She and her husband are very much in love, but Gerald, a Eurasian
, sent her and Rennie to America because the communist uprising in China made it dangerous for white people. He was half Chinese and chose to stay in his own country.
Gerald rarely writes because communication with westerners is banned by the communists. Letters must be smuggled out. Today her husband writes, "Whatever I do now, remember that it is you I love." The letter continues. She locks the letter in her desk. This is the first letter from Gerald in three months. It is mailed from Hong Kong. It is the last letter from him.
Elizabeth takes care of her son and the farm. Her parents are long dead. Matt Greene helps take care of the farm. Elizabeth is aware of an American prejudice against the Chinese, and her son is one-quarter Chinese. She misses her husband very much.
Over the winter she remembers their days together and the Chinese man that she loves.
In the spring, after the sugaring
is done, Elizabeth and Rennie go to Little Spring, Kansas
, to bring Rennie's grandfather MacLeod, Baba, to live with them in Vermont. He left Peking when the Japanese invaded China. He lives in a herder's shack on Sam Blaine's farm. He wears Chinese gowns rather than western suits, reads a few old Chinese books, and he has become forgetful. Rennie is embarrassed by how Chinese his grandfather is. Baba dons western clothes for the train ride to Vermont. The local doctor, Bruce Spauldin, believes he has had stroke
s. Elizabeth remembers he was witty and bright when she and Gerald lived with him in Peking. "He is sweet and gentle and easy to live with, and he does not complain."
Elizabeth asks Baba about Gerald's mother, Ai-lan. Elizabeth never knew her. They were married when Baba was advisor to the Emperor
. Baba liked his wife Ai-lan, the sister of his friend Han Yu-Ren - but he did not love her. After Gerald was born, Ai-lan became interested in Sun Yat-sen
's ideas for revolution. Baba supported the Emperor. Ai-lan believed the races could never mingle. She moved south, became a violent revolutionist, and was killed in 1930 by the secret police of the Nationalist government. Gerald saw her infrequently but longed for her. His father would not let Ai-lan "contaminate" Gerald.
The next day, the postman brought a magazine mailed from a post office box in Peking. There was a picture of Gerald's mother on the cover. The magazine was dedicated to a martyr of the revolution. In this way Elizabeth learns that Gerald knew all about his mother, though he never spoke of her.
That summer Rennie falls in love. He and Elizabeth talk about Rennie's Chinese relatives. Rennie wants to be all American and forget his Chinese relatives, including his father. He's worried that being part Chinese will keep a girl from liking him. Elizabeth meets Allegra, Rennie's girlfriend, and does not think her a good match for her son. Allegra's parents leave with her when Elizabeth tells them Rennie is quarter-Chinese. Her husband and Rennie were registered with the American embassy when they were born, so they are legally Americans. But she knows they must know and they would not approve Gerald and Rennie's Chinese ancenstry. Rennie is hurt and angry. She wants her son to find a love as deep as she shares with his father. Rennie leaves home to find Allegra and talk to her.
Baba becomes weaker and more childish that summer. He has strokes. Bruce Spauldin comes to check him. Elizabeth notices that the unmarried Bruce "is even-tempered, inclined to silence and meditation, all good qualities in a husband." Elizabeth realizes that she is alone and lonely, closed off from Peking, though her husband is not dead. She begins to pray. Baba has more strokes and loses all care.
Rennie returns. He asks, "Mother, why did you let me be born?" He is angry with the Chinese part of him. He goes to Sam Blaine's ranch for the rest of the summer. Before he goes, Elizabeth tells him about Gerald's mother, his grandmother, Ai-lan.
Gerald's last letter to Elizabeth included a request that Elizabeth ignored. Now Elizabeth receives a letter from Mei-lan, sent through a silk shop in Singapore. Mei-lan requested that Gerald write the previous letter to Elizabeth. Mei-lan wishes to care for her husband in Elizabeth's absence and requests the support of her "older sister." At this point in the story, Gerald's full last-letter to Elizabeth is printed in the book. He requested her support for his decision to stay in China and protect his wife and child by sending them to America.
She sends a letter expressing her love for him and her full support of Mei-lan and their husband, Gerald.
Baba becomes weaker, but he remembers that he did not marry Gerald's mother to get a son; he did not want a son. Elizabeth understands how loveless Gerald's childhood was.
Elizabeth pulls out Gerald's letters and reads them again. At first he believes in the new government, then his letters become listless. Elizabeth realizes that Gerald is a prisoner.
Baba has another stroke. Bruce treats him, then proposes to Elizabeth. She says she is married. Bruce waits.
Mei-lan writes that Gerald is sad and she wants to be friends with Elizabeth. The letter was mailed in Hong Kong
, for safety. Elizabeth appreciates the letter from her "younger sister" but knows that her neighbors would not understand her love for Gerald living with Mei-lan in China.
Rennie writes that he is studying physics at a mid-western college and paying his way. His roommate, George Bowen, has a very intelligent and good-looking sister. Rennie promises to come home for Christmas.
Mei-lan sends letters to Ellizabeth through friends in Manila
and Bangkok
. She tells her how Gerald is doing.
Sam Blaine comes with Rennie at Christmas. Baba does not remember Sam or Rennie very well, but the Christmas gathering is happy. Rennie has grown to become a man. Elizabeth asks about George Bowen's sister. They argue about Gerald's choice to stay in China and Baba's choice to marry a Chinese woman. Elizabeth explains that love is what matters.
Sam Blaine proposes to Elizabeth. Baba dies soon after. Elizabeth sees a vision of Gerald dying, then learns from Mei-lan that Gerald died and Mei-lan has a son.
Rennie marries George Bowen's twin sister Mary, with Elizabeth's blessing. George and Mary are orphans and love Rennie. Bruce and Elizabeth consider marrying. Elizabeth considers Baba's loveless life a poor example for living, something she will not endorse.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Pearl S. Buck
Pearl S. Buck
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck also known by her Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu , was an American writer who spent most of her time until 1934 in China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in the U.S. in 1931 and 1932, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932...
. The story is about a loving interracial marriage
Interracial marriage
Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing racial groups marry. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation .-Legality of interracial marriage:In the Western world certain jurisdictions have had regulations...
between Gerald and Elizabeth MacLeod, their separation due to the communist uprising in China
Republic of China (1912–1949)
In 1911, after over two thousand years of imperial rule, a republic was established in China and the monarchy overthrown by a group of revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty, having just experienced a century of instability, suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism...
in 1945, and their separate lives in China and America.
Plot summary
In September 1950, Elizabeth MacLeod is living in her childhood farm home in Raleigh, VermontVermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, with her 17-year-old son Rennie. The mailman arrives three mornings each week, and each time Elizabeth hopes for a letter from her husband Gerald in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where she lived with him until Rennie was twelve. They lived in Peking until the war with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, then escaped to Chungking. She and her husband are very much in love, but Gerald, a Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
, sent her and Rennie to America because the communist uprising in China made it dangerous for white people. He was half Chinese and chose to stay in his own country.
Gerald rarely writes because communication with westerners is banned by the communists. Letters must be smuggled out. Today her husband writes, "Whatever I do now, remember that it is you I love." The letter continues. She locks the letter in her desk. This is the first letter from Gerald in three months. It is mailed from Hong Kong. It is the last letter from him.
Elizabeth takes care of her son and the farm. Her parents are long dead. Matt Greene helps take care of the farm. Elizabeth is aware of an American prejudice against the Chinese, and her son is one-quarter Chinese. She misses her husband very much.
Over the winter she remembers their days together and the Chinese man that she loves.
In the spring, after the sugaring
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
is done, Elizabeth and Rennie go to Little Spring, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, to bring Rennie's grandfather MacLeod, Baba, to live with them in Vermont. He left Peking when the Japanese invaded China. He lives in a herder's shack on Sam Blaine's farm. He wears Chinese gowns rather than western suits, reads a few old Chinese books, and he has become forgetful. Rennie is embarrassed by how Chinese his grandfather is. Baba dons western clothes for the train ride to Vermont. The local doctor, Bruce Spauldin, believes he has had stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s. Elizabeth remembers he was witty and bright when she and Gerald lived with him in Peking. "He is sweet and gentle and easy to live with, and he does not complain."
Elizabeth asks Baba about Gerald's mother, Ai-lan. Elizabeth never knew her. They were married when Baba was advisor to the Emperor
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
. Baba liked his wife Ai-lan, the sister of his friend Han Yu-Ren - but he did not love her. After Gerald was born, Ai-lan became interested in Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
's ideas for revolution. Baba supported the Emperor. Ai-lan believed the races could never mingle. She moved south, became a violent revolutionist, and was killed in 1930 by the secret police of the Nationalist government. Gerald saw her infrequently but longed for her. His father would not let Ai-lan "contaminate" Gerald.
The next day, the postman brought a magazine mailed from a post office box in Peking. There was a picture of Gerald's mother on the cover. The magazine was dedicated to a martyr of the revolution. In this way Elizabeth learns that Gerald knew all about his mother, though he never spoke of her.
That summer Rennie falls in love. He and Elizabeth talk about Rennie's Chinese relatives. Rennie wants to be all American and forget his Chinese relatives, including his father. He's worried that being part Chinese will keep a girl from liking him. Elizabeth meets Allegra, Rennie's girlfriend, and does not think her a good match for her son. Allegra's parents leave with her when Elizabeth tells them Rennie is quarter-Chinese. Her husband and Rennie were registered with the American embassy when they were born, so they are legally Americans. But she knows they must know and they would not approve Gerald and Rennie's Chinese ancenstry. Rennie is hurt and angry. She wants her son to find a love as deep as she shares with his father. Rennie leaves home to find Allegra and talk to her.
Baba becomes weaker and more childish that summer. He has strokes. Bruce Spauldin comes to check him. Elizabeth notices that the unmarried Bruce "is even-tempered, inclined to silence and meditation, all good qualities in a husband." Elizabeth realizes that she is alone and lonely, closed off from Peking, though her husband is not dead. She begins to pray. Baba has more strokes and loses all care.
Rennie returns. He asks, "Mother, why did you let me be born?" He is angry with the Chinese part of him. He goes to Sam Blaine's ranch for the rest of the summer. Before he goes, Elizabeth tells him about Gerald's mother, his grandmother, Ai-lan.
Gerald's last letter to Elizabeth included a request that Elizabeth ignored. Now Elizabeth receives a letter from Mei-lan, sent through a silk shop in Singapore. Mei-lan requested that Gerald write the previous letter to Elizabeth. Mei-lan wishes to care for her husband in Elizabeth's absence and requests the support of her "older sister." At this point in the story, Gerald's full last-letter to Elizabeth is printed in the book. He requested her support for his decision to stay in China and protect his wife and child by sending them to America.
She sends a letter expressing her love for him and her full support of Mei-lan and their husband, Gerald.
Baba becomes weaker, but he remembers that he did not marry Gerald's mother to get a son; he did not want a son. Elizabeth understands how loveless Gerald's childhood was.
Elizabeth pulls out Gerald's letters and reads them again. At first he believes in the new government, then his letters become listless. Elizabeth realizes that Gerald is a prisoner.
Baba has another stroke. Bruce treats him, then proposes to Elizabeth. She says she is married. Bruce waits.
Mei-lan writes that Gerald is sad and she wants to be friends with Elizabeth. The letter was mailed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, for safety. Elizabeth appreciates the letter from her "younger sister" but knows that her neighbors would not understand her love for Gerald living with Mei-lan in China.
Rennie writes that he is studying physics at a mid-western college and paying his way. His roommate, George Bowen, has a very intelligent and good-looking sister. Rennie promises to come home for Christmas.
Mei-lan sends letters to Ellizabeth through friends in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. She tells her how Gerald is doing.
Sam Blaine comes with Rennie at Christmas. Baba does not remember Sam or Rennie very well, but the Christmas gathering is happy. Rennie has grown to become a man. Elizabeth asks about George Bowen's sister. They argue about Gerald's choice to stay in China and Baba's choice to marry a Chinese woman. Elizabeth explains that love is what matters.
Sam Blaine proposes to Elizabeth. Baba dies soon after. Elizabeth sees a vision of Gerald dying, then learns from Mei-lan that Gerald died and Mei-lan has a son.
Rennie marries George Bowen's twin sister Mary, with Elizabeth's blessing. George and Mary are orphans and love Rennie. Bruce and Elizabeth consider marrying. Elizabeth considers Baba's loveless life a poor example for living, something she will not endorse.
Characters
- Elizabeth MacLeod (Eve to her husband Gerald) - living at her family's farm in Vermont with her son Rennie after her husband Gerald sent her and him away from Peking.
- Gerald MacLeod - Elizabeth's husband, a university president in Peking, the son of an American father and Chinese mother.
- Rennie MacLeod - Elizabeth's son, age 17 to 20 in the story.
- Matt Greene - caretaker at the Vermont farm.
- grandfather MacLeod (Baba) - Gerald's father, born in Virginia, who left Peking for San Francisco when the Japanese invaded China. He ended up in Little Springs, Kansas, at the farm of Sam Blaine.
- Sam Blaine - American who took in and watched over grandfather MacLeod. Age 42. Grandfather MacLeod had typhoid fever when Sam took him in.
- Dr Bruce Spauldin - The local doctor in Raleigh, Vermont.
- Ai-lan - Gerald's mother. Her fiance died when she was 15. She married grandfather MacLeod when she was 25, he was 30.
- Mei-lan - Gerald's wife-in-absence, second wife or concubine.
- George Bowen - Rennie's college roommate, the brother of his wife-to-be, Mary.