Dragon Seed Author:Pearl S. Buck Life, Ling Tan always told his sons, did not change. Land is at the bottom of what men want. If one has too much land and the other too little, there will be wars. his children listened with respect, but in their hearts they did not believe him, and their great desire was to go off to the hills where they could be free to fight the enemy. Only l... more »ater, when his second son and Jade, his beautiful daughter in law who knew how to read, came back from the hills, did they realize that war would be overcome by men like Ling Tan, determined to live out their lives on their land, and to hold it until long after the enemy had gone.« less