Liu Character Analysis in The Good Earth

Liu owns the grain market where Wang Lung sells his harvests. He goes to the tea shop where Lotus is a prostitute and treats the women very fairly. Thus, when Lotus hears that Wang Lung wants to find a wife for his eldest son, she suggests Liu’s daughter. Wang Lung finds Liu to be a respectable businessman, and they get along well. Liu’s son also becomes engaged to Wang Lung’s second daughter, who later goes to live in Liu’s house to escape the lusts of Wang Lung’s uncle’s son.

Liu Character Timeline in The Good Earth

The timeline below shows where the character Liu appears in The Good Earth. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...calls Cuckoo in to ask what the man’s profession was, and Cuckoo identifies him as Liu, a grain dealer. When she tells Wang Lung where Liu’s market is, he realizes he... (full context)

The very same day, Wang Lung tells Cuckoo to go to Liu and arrange his son’s marriage. He watches over his sleeping son, thinking with disgust of... (full context)

Liu agrees to the marriage of his daughter to Wang Lung’s eldest son, but wants to... (full context)

...of use to his father. He has Cuckoo set up a meeting for him with Liu, the grain merchant. (full context)

Wang Lung goes that very day to visit Liu. He has to ask a passerby to identify Liu’s house, since he can’t read the... (full context)

Liu enters the room and they secretly examine each other and like what they see. They... (full context)

...engaged to their eldest son so that she can make the food for the festival. Liu agrees to let his daughter go since O-lan is dying, and she arrives at the... (full context)

...second daughter to the house of her betrothed. The next day Wang Lung goes to Liu’s house to propose that the marriage happen soon, but Liu doesn’t have the money for... (full context)

...and examines them when they gather around him, seeing likenesses of himself, his father, and Liu. He asks them what they study in school and finds that it has changed since... (full context)