faithful to the work of pearl s. buck whose year spend in china a a child of missionary parent that provide her with deep insight into the chinese culture and it philosophy and this film adaptation be brilliantly do and both in technically artistry and act . wang lung be a humble farmer grateful for the basic of life represent to survive off of his land and to be newly wed to olan and a servant to a rich and powerful family in the village area . despite wang lung and olan best effort to farm the land and raise kid and and build saving and wealth and a famine threaten to wipe out everything they have work for . choose not to sell their land and a traditional asian belief and they instead journey to a major city to wait out the famine . while in the city and they be reduce to beg and be just one of hundred of other unfortunate homeless family . although not a looter and olan get catch up in a mob looting at a rich man house . she summarily round up for execution by the army and but be save at the last minute . her good fortune and however and be that she find valuable jewel at the loot site that afford her and her family the opportunity to return to their farm to start over again . the newly find wealth transforms wang lung . he become selfish and self center and take credit for the find . he become a very rich farmer but that only make matter bad a he increasingly become more unappreciative and arrogant and difficult to reason with . he lose touch with the basic thing in life that money can not buy represent loyalty and commitment and trust and fairness and honesty . a punishment and nature once again turn the table on wang lung by send a plague of locust to destroy everything he have . bring to his knee and wang lung enlist the aid of all friend and former friend and worker and and family . with all that help and he succeed in save the farm . from that experience and he once again return to humbleness and an appreciation for the basic in life .