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Characters

• Wang Lung – a poor, hard-working farmer born and raised in a small village of Anhwei. He follows morals and Chinese traditions such as filial piety and duty to family. Believes the land is the source of happiness and wealth. He later becomes a very successful man and possess a large land which he bought from the House of Hwang.

• O-Lan – first wife, used to be a slave in the house of Hwang. A woman of few words, she is thoughtful, persuasive and wise. She is hardworking and self-sacrificing.

• Wang Lung's father – desires grandchildren to comfort him in his old age, becomes exceedingly needy and childish as the novel progresses.

• The Poor Fool – first daughter and third child of O-lan and Wang Lung, she starts to grow more mentally retarded as the years go by. Her mental illness was caused by severe starvation during her infancy, and Wang Lung grows very fond of her.

• Second Baby Girl- Suffocated immediately after delivery by O-Lan because the whole family was starving and there was no way to feed it

• Nung En (Eldest Son) – becomes a scholar, is most like the sons of Hwang.

• Nung Wen (Middle Son) – becomes a merchant, is practical and sly. He is frugal and despises his elder brother for giving in to his wife's nagging for riches.

• Eldest Son's Wife – Daughter of a grain merchant and a city woman who hates the middle son's wife. She is brought to the house before O-lan's death and is deemed proper and fit by the dying woman. Her first child is a boy.

• Middle Son's Wife – A gentle rural woman. Hates the first son's wife. Her first child is a girl.

• Youngest Son – Wang Lung originally intended for this son to be in charge of the farm whilst his other two sons were educated, but he became arrogant and ran away to become a soldier.

• Youngest Daughter – Twin sister of the youngest son, betrothed to a merchant's son earlier due to harrassment from her cousin.

• Wang Lung's Uncle – a sly, lazy man who is highly ranked in a band of thieves and a burden to Wang Lung; becomes addicted to opium.

• Uncle's Wife – becomes a friend of Lotus; also becomes addicted to opium.

• Uncle's Son - Wild and lazy, leads Nung En into trouble and leaves to become a soldier.

• Ching – Wang Lung's faithful friend and neighbor. Dies and is buried near the entrance to the family graveyard. Wang Lung plans to be buried nearest to him.

• Lotus – Much-spoiled concubine and former prostitute. Eventually becomes fat. Helps arrange the eldest son's and youngest daughter's wedding.

• Cuckoo - Formerly a slave in the house of Hwang. Becomes madam of the "tea house," eventually becomes servant to Lotus. Hated by O-lan because she was cruel to her in the Hwang House.

• Pear Blossom - Bought as a young girl, she serves as a slave. At the end of the novel she becomes Wang Lung's concubine because she says she prefers the quiet devotion of old men to the fiery passions of young men