Pearl Buck spent her early years in Nanjing and Shanghai. Raised bilingually, Buck was dismayed by her fellow expatriate classmates’ attitudes toward Chinese students. In 1931, she published her novel The Good Earth to help the United States see China as an ally. Although she left the country in 1934, Buck’s regard for China and its people lasted until her death in 1973; her tombstone, which she designed, is inscribed with her Chinese name.