Fortress Besieged

Qian ZhongshuPeople's Literature Publishing House1991

Rating 4.5
Word count
253K words
Chapters
4
ISBN
9787020024759

Tags

Literature Classical Literature Human Warmth and ColdnessMarriageIntellectualsClassic MasterpieceSatireFull-Length NovelModern Chinese LiteratureModern Literature

Summary

Fortress Besieged is Qian Zhongshu's only novel. Begun in 1944 and completed in 1946, it was first published in 1947 by Shanghai's Chenguang Publishing Company. It remained out of print for a long time until 1980, when the author's revised edition was reissued by People's Literature Publishing House, bringing it back to readers. It has been hailed as "the new Scholars." Set in the early years of the War of Resistance, the novel follows Fang Hongjian, who spends several years studying in Europe but accomplishes nothing and returns home with a bought diploma. He lodges at his former father-in-law's house and holds a nominal post at a bank, then is invited to teach at Sanlü University in Hunan. On the journey he travels with Zhao Xinmei, Sun Roujia, Li Meiting and others, enduring hardships that expose the straitened circumstances and shifting human ties of wartime travel. At Sanlü University he is drawn into intrigues among colleagues and in the end receives no formal appointment, so he returns to Shanghai and marries Sun Roujia; after marriage the two wear each other down amid domestic trivia, mother-in-law tensions and career frustration. With witty metaphors, clever commentary and biting satire, the novel creates a gallery of ridiculous yet pitiable intellectuals—Su Wenwan, Tang Xiaofu, Zhao Xinmei, Li Meiting, Gao Songnian and others. The title "Fortress Besieged" comes from a French idiom: those outside the city want to storm in, those inside want to escape. It refers to marriage, and also to the universal predicament of career and human aspiration.

Editor's review

如果说有一部中国现代小说能让人一边笑出声、一边对人生生出凉意，大概就是《围城》。钱锺书把学问、机智和刻薄熔于一炉，那些关于文凭、饭局、婚姻、职场与面子的比喻，隔了七十多年读来依然锋利，几乎每一页都能摘出金句。它表面写的是一桩桩婚恋纠葛与一次失败的求职之旅，内里却是一幅战时中国知识分子的群像图：虚荣、算计、自卑与自负，被作者看得通透，也写得体谅。人民文学出版社这一版本经作者本人校订，书末附杨绛的长文《记钱锺书与〈围城〉》，交代了小说的人物由来与创作背景，是理解这部作品的重要材料。无论第一遍读热闹，还是多年后重读读人生，这本书都配得上书架上最顺手的位置。

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Reading tips

  1. 先顺着方鸿渐的行踪读，把留学归国、三闾大学、上海婚后看作三段式结构，主线会更清晰。
  2. 遇到妙喻与议论不妨随手标记，钱锺书的幽默常藏在括号与旁白里，第二遍读会发现更多。
  3. 读完正文再读杨绛的附录，能理解书中人物与现实原型的关联，也更懂作者的用心与限度。
  4. 不必急着给人物下道德判断，把方鸿渐的软弱、苏文纨的矫情当作人性的切片来读，收获会更丰富。

About the publisher

People's Literature Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

People's Literature Publishing House publishes across classical literature, foreign literature, documentary writing and folk literature, with 492 titles in its catalogue. Representative books range from the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Lao She's Teahouse and Longxu Ditch in the Selected Works of Lao She, as well as translated foreign literature such as Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Dante's Divine Comedy and Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, alongside documentary and fictional works including Primo Levi's If This Is a Man and João Guimarães Rosa's The Devil to Pay in the Backlands. Its authors include Chinese writers such as Lao She, translators such as Shen Emeri and Li Wenjun, and foreign authors such as James Wood. Overall, the house has a strong record in editing classic works and translating foreign literature, with a publishing character that bridges Chinese and foreign writing and values textual quality.

Contents

  1. Preface to the Reprint
  2. Foreword
  3. Fortress Besieged
  4. Appendix: Remembering Qian Zhongshu and Fortress Besieged (Yang Jiang)

FAQ

《围城》和人民文学出版社的版本有什么区别？ 1980年人民文学出版社重印本经钱锺书本人修订，此后作者又作小幅修改。1991年第2版（ISBN 9787020024759）沿用这一校订文本，是流传最广的中文版本，书末附杨绛《记钱锺书与〈围城〉》。
书的附录是谁写的，重要吗？ 附录《记钱锺书与〈围城〉》由钱锺书夫人杨绛撰写，记述小说的创作经过、人物取材与时代背景，是理解这部作品最可靠的第一手材料，建议正文读完后再看。
没有读过现代文学，能读得懂吗？ 可以。小说故事线并不复杂，语言虽多比喻与典故，但节奏轻快、趣味性强。若遇不熟悉的典故可跳过，不妨碍把握主线，重读时再细品。
这本书适合中学生读吗？ 适合。它常被列入中学生推荐阅读书目，语言机智、人物鲜明。但书中对婚恋与人情有相当世故的描写，低龄读者宜在老师或家长引导下阅读讨论。
“围城”这个书名是什么意思？ 书中借人物之口说明，题义源自法国成语，即“被围困的城堡”：城外的人想冲进去，城里的人想逃出来。它既指婚姻，也指职业与人生愿望的普遍悖论。

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About the author

Qian Zhongshu Author

Qian Zhongshu is an important figure in modern Chinese literary history, combining creative talent with scholarly depth; public information about his life is limited, so his biography should not be over-elaborated. His representative novel Fortress Besieged, with its witty language and sharp satire, portrays the marriage and life dilemmas of intellectuals during the War of Resistance and stands as a classic of modern Chinese fiction. On the scholarly side, the four-volume Guanzhui Bian uses the note-and-comment form to connect Chinese and Western classics, citing widely and displaying broad erudition and keen literary judgment. The collection also includes Six Chapters from My Life "Downunder", which belongs to documentary and essay writing, with a restrained and thought-provoking tone. His works span literature, classical literature, literary appreciation, and fine fiction; his language is precise and his style distinctive, exerting a lasting influence on both readers and scholars.