Even in His Rise to Power, Wang Lung Respected and Loved...

In traditional Chinese culture, there has always been a strong connection with the earth. The earth gives life and helps to sustain it, and in the end the earth is where you return. For Wang Lung, this was a concept easily grasped. He loved the land, and even in his rise to power, his connection to it remained. When he was most at peace, he was working the land. The times he grew restless were those when he was unable to farm. Often with the gain of monetary wealth, the decline of morality follows closely behind. This is magnified in the lives of Wang Lung’s three sons. The eldest son becomes obsessed with women and is eager to satisfy the desires of the flesh. For the rich, this is a common thing. Once you tire of the beautiful maid†¦show more content†¦Has it ever been more true that money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10)? And it is odd that in a culture with such a strong sense of duty and honor for their ancestors that as their father was dying they were p lanning on how to divide up and sell the land; the land that had given them so much, and the same that had put them through school and fed and clothed them and was the only thing to remain when they had nothing else? This was something Wang Lung could not communicate with his sons. They seemed to think that their wealth would go far beyond the ground from which it came. Maybe they could not remember the months they spent in the hut, or when they had no choice but to eat gruel made from the soil. They did not know how fleeting wealth was as their father had learned earlier in life. Wang Lung himself was not exempt from these same sins as seen in his sons, however. Throughout his life he had two constant forces working within him, not unlike the traditional concept of yin and yang. Yin and yang is believed to be in everything and is the essence of all naturally occurring things. They are opposite but cannot exist without each other, so the struggle is to find the perfect balance. Like with Wang Lung, when he only has the land and his earthen house but no wealth or the misfortune of a drought, he suffers. He cannot feed his family and cannot live. But when there is too muchShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesPerception and Individual Decision Making 165 Motivation Concepts 201 Motivation: From Concepts to Applications 239 3 The Group 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Foundations of Group Behavior 271 Understanding Work Teams 307 Communication 335 Leadership 367 Power and Politics 411 Conflict and Negotiation 445 Foundations of Organization Structure 479 v vi BRIEF CONTENTS 4 The Organization System 16 Organizational Culture 511 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices 543 18 Organizational Change