“满天的星又密又忙，它们声息全无，而看来只觉得天上热闹。一梳月亮像形容未长成的女孩子，但见人己不羞缩，光明和轮廓都清新露，渐渐可烘衬夜景。小园草地里的小虫琐琐屑屑地在夜谈。不知那里的蛙群齐心协力地干号，像声浪给火煮得发沸。几星萤火优游来去，不像飞行，像在厚密的空气里漂浮；月光不到的阴黑处，一点萤火忽明，像夏夜的一只微绿的小眼睛——钱钟书《围城》.”

General info

    From 《Fortress Besieged》

    By Qian Zhongshu

 

Brief introduction

 The title is based on a French proverb:Marriage is like a fortress besieged: those who are outside want to get in, and those who are inside want to get out. The novel is known for its acerbic asides, such as describing one young lady in the following way:At first, they called her “truth” because “the truth is naked”. But then, she’s not actually completely naked. So they amended it to “partial-truth”.
    The novel was published in Shanghai in 1947. The second edition was published 1948. The third edition in 1949. After the Communist Revolution, the book was not printed again in mainland China until 1980. In the mean time, it was also banned in Taiwan because of its satire of the Nationalist government.
    The novel has been translated into many languages. These include the Russian version which appeared in 1979, the American English version in 1979; and the German version in 1982.

 

Why you should read it:

     The book was begun while Qian Zhongshu and wife Yang Jiang were living in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation. According to Yang Jiang, the successful production of several of her plays inspired Qian to write a full length novel.The novel was begun in 1944, and completed in 1946. Much of the characters and plot are taken from the experiences of Qian and Yang abroad and in China. For example, the opening scene at sea reflects their journey from France to China onboard the ship Athos II.

Emily Zou